Wright, Johan Santana, and even the dl-stricken Jason Bay aside… Name 5 Mets… I’ll wait…
…Okay I’m going to guess you said:
1. Ike Davis, mostly because of the chatter surrounding his terrible performance at the plate and the debate of whether or not to send him to the minors has been a topic of conversation for about 2 weeks now. (Btw – I vote send him down. I’m sorry but the Mets are too hot to have a dead bat in the lineup.)
2. R.A. Dickey, because he is having a career year. It’s a shame that more people still don’t know his name. For a knuckleball pitcher to be as dominant as he has been is almost unheard of. In his last start not only did he not walk anyone, he only got to a 3 ball count ONCE in the game, and that was in the 9th inning! Too early in the season to throw out the name Cy Young, but definitely not too early to whisper All Star Game. He’s been fantastic.
3. Daniel Murphy. In the beginning it was a bit of a shaky ride with Murph. He was bounced around a bit trying to figure out where he belonged. Well, he’s settled in now and being quite the stud, consistently getting hits and driving in runs, all while being under the radar of the media, and even most of the fans.
4. Mike Baxter. Mostly likely you just learned of him due to his OUTSTANDING, not to mention injury laden catch to save Johan’s no hitter on Friday night (Johan, by this kid a car or something). With Bay out, this kid has stepped up in a way I don’t think anyone imagined. With .323 average over 40 games he has more than fill the void of Jason Bay, of course up until his injury the other night.
5. Now here is where it’s a toss-up. I could guess you’d say Niese because he’s a young kid that’s having a somewhat solid year (4-2) although his ERA is a bit high, being just over 4 (4.11). I could guess Duda, because even though his average is at .258, his 31 RBI’s are only 2nd to David Wright for most on the team this year, so he gets it done when he needs to. I could guess “that New-en-whatever guy” (Kirk Nieuenhuis by the way) as you know him, but I know he’s another guy in the lineup hitting over .300. And I’ll even toss in maybe someone would guess Valdespin simply for his “I am the man right now” quote after his 1st major league hit which doubled as a 3 run homerun to lift the Mets over the Phillies back in May. After that, forget it. Hairston, Turner, Torres, Thole, Cedeno, Nickeas, etc… Who are these guys?! Where did they come from?
Friday morning, as I do every morning, I was listening to Boomer and Carton on WFAN, and the discussion was, “Is Johan Santana a beloved Met?” I am not going to lie; I did side with Craig when he said that Johan wasn’t. It’s funny because even though I am only 28, but I am very much on the side of history in these situations. I always feel like current guys need to go through a waiting period of sorts before they can be on the same level as those who came before them. Silly, I know. Friday morning I really didn’t think there were any current “beloved” Mets at all. Maybe it was just me, but I didn’t feel emotionally connected to this year’s team, and I really haven’t since probably 2007. And trust me, it has nothing to do with whether they’re winning or losing. (This year my disconnection from the Mets is largely due to my Devils being in the midst of a Stanley Cup run.) However, after getting to watch the last three games in a row, including Friday night which went on to be not only history, but a truly magical night for the Mets as a franchise, I will fully admit that I was completely wrong. It’s easy to see that not only is Johan beloved, but this whole team is.
This team is electric. Maybe it’s because most of them haven’t really been here before. Maybe it’s because they haven’t been jaded by failed playoff runs, all star games, or even just being in first place for a major league team. This group is hungry, and you can see it in the way they play. Not one guy doesn’t hustle out of the batter’s box, not one guy doesn’t sacrifice his body to make a play for the ball, not one guy isn’t hustling 100% of the time. It’s refreshing to see. And to top it all off, they’re having fun out there. You can see it in their style of play. This is a great bunch, and with nothing to prove to anyone, they are out there exemplifying what a baseball team should be, heart and all. I know it’s extremely early in the season, but I recall there being another Mets team of no-names who went on to do great things… Will there be another “miracle” in 2012? It will sure be fun to watch and find out.