It seems like it has been an eternity.
It seems like a different time, a different place, and a much different team. Once upon a time, there was hope in Queens, and while it certainly seems like that was an eternity ago, it has actually only been five years.
Think about what it was like to be a Mets fan during the fall and winter of 2004.
The Mets had been a disappointment since winning the National League pennant in 2000, and after making bad moves for players who were past their primes, signing bargain-basement free agents, and finishing behind the lowly Montreal Expos twice, the New York Mets had gone from World Series contender to laughing-stock.
After another disappointing season in 2004, it looked as if the Mets would be going through another period of terrible baseball, much like they had during the early and mid-1990s.
The Mets lone superstar, Mike Piazza, was beginning to show his age, and it was no secret that his best days were behind him. Their ace starter, Al Leiter, was also aging, losing his control on the mound and losing favor in the club house. Every gamble the Mets took on players, be it Jason Phillips, Braden Looper, Richard Hidalgo, or Kaz Matsui, had been a disappointment at best, and an outright failure at worst.
Then, after the 2004 season ended, the Wilpons decided enough was enough.
Underachieving manager Art Howe was fired, and replaced with proven champion, and former Yankee player and coach, Willie Randolph. General manager Jim Duquette, who was responsible for the worst trade the team has seen since Tom Seaver was shipped to the Queen City, was reassigned and replaced by Montreal Expos GM Omar Minaya, with the stipulation that he alone would be in charge of roster decisions, and would be allowed to spend what he felt was needed to improve the team.
No matter what Mets fans may think of Randolph and Minaya now, they had a good start, and the moves went a long way toward proving to the fans that the Mets were serious about being a contender once again.
The rest of the baseball world, especially free agent players, however, wasn't buying it. The Mets had garnered the reputation as being bumbling fools on the field who played in a dump of a stadium, an organization with no chain of command and cheapskate ownership, and not only the fourth best team in their division but second class citizens in their own city. In other words, nobody wanted to play at Shea.
As that offseason wore on, things began to look grim for the Mets. They continually lost out on players they wanted, including Carlos Delgado, who opted to sign with division rival Florida rather than come to Queens. It began to look like the Mets of 2003, would be the Mets of 2004.
Then, as the holiday season had begun, so did the rumblings that the Omar Minaya and company were courting the great Pedro Martinez. The Mets would offer more money and years than any other team, including Martinez's previous team, the Boston Red Sox. It was enough to get Pedro to sign, and that was enough to open the eyes of the baseball world, and admit that the Mets were for real.
Sure, on paper, especially after five years, the Pedro Martinez signing looks like a bad one. By the numbers alone, the Mets paid $53 million for one healthy season of Pedro Martinez. But look at what else the Martinez signing brought the Mets.
The minute Martinez donned that black Mets jersey at his press conference, he brought with him credibility that the organization had lacked for quite some time. Martinez was the first domino that would lead to Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, four consecutive winning seasons, and the team's first playoff appearance since its World Series loss to the Yankees in 2000.
Now, in what seems like a lifetime later, the Mets find themselves in a familiar position.
The Mets are coming off of a terrible season that comes after two straight late season collapses. They've seen their beautiful new stadium totally devour any offense the team could muster. They've sat at home and watched division rival Philadelphia capture a World Series title, and then had to root for the cross-town rival Yankees to keep the Phillies from winning a second!
And now, with GM Omar Minaya in no position to demand anything, especially after a terrible season for a team with the highest payroll in the NL, once again, the Mets are bordering on laughing-stock status.
So where is this team's Pedro Martinez, for whom the Mets will spend whatever it takes to give the team instant credibility? John Lackey is now in Boston, Benji Molina is a nice player, but he's no difference maker, and Jason Bay is a nice thought, but he doesn't seem to be in any rush to play in Citi Field.
And no, Kelvim Ecobar is not the answer either.
There doesn't seem to be a Pedro out there this offseason, and even if there is, he's probably going to cost way more than Jason Marquis, the only player who was practically begging to play for the Mets, and his two year, $15 million contract was too rich for Minaya and company.
With no savior in sight, and ownership that isn't showing the same effort it did to improve five years ago, it could be another long season in Flushing. Yes, the Mets find themselves in a similar position to five years ago, but Mets fans shouldn't expect a similar result.
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