Oh, the Mets

K Rod wind-up, originally uploaded by Hoosiers United.

The Mets have always been the second franchise in New York, often toiling in the shadows of the Yankees. However, this gives the Mets, and their fans, a certain authenticity and character. Personally, I grew up watching Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, Ron Darling, and the rest of those mid-1980s teams that contended year after year, winning it all in 1986. Since, the Mets have largely teetered between decent and awful.

Despite all the years of mediocrity, the past 3 years have been especially rough, with 2 late-season swoons and a ridiculously overpriced, underperforming team in 2010. The failures of this season have been punctuated by the fiasco surrounding K-Rod (shown here in happier times in Cleveland closing out a win on an extremely successful roadtrip). Losing a former All-Star closer for the season to an injury sustained during a fight with your fiance's father in a lounge at Citi Field has again focused attention on what happens off the field, and not on it. Of course, for most of this season the Mets haven't given their fans anything to focus on on the field, either.

I hope that there is a chance they can bring back the glory days, and given some of the good, young talent they have it's not impossible for the Mets to contend in the coming years. Hopefully they'll deliver a title sometime soon so I'm not stuck watching the 1986 championship video to see them win it all.