By Stephon Johnson / @StephonJohnson8
Hey, Mets fans …
That may come off as a little rude to some of you. If that's the case ... I failed. That was meant to sound ruder.
I understand that you, like much of the media, believe in narrative and continuity. However, using that "C" word when your team went into Thursday night with a 7.5-game lead with 17 games left to play is a little irrational.
Did you just wince at that last sentence? Did you wince specifically when I wrote the phrase "17 games left to play?" It makes you think of that "C" word again, doesn't it? You're thinking of 2007. You're thinking of this:
Or you might be thinking of this:
Maybe you're thinking of late September 2008 and what New York Post columnist Mike Vaccaro wrote on how the ending to that season would be different than the previous one (and it wasn't)? Two words: Shut up.
Going into Thursday night, the Mets had the exact same lead they did after sweeping the Washington Nationals last week. And yet, the sky wasn't falling then. But the sky is falling now, apparently.
Look, Mets fans. I know you've been heartbroken before. I know that you were hurt in public in such a way that the scars haven't fully healed. The pain is still there. It makes you listen to way too much Drake than you should. You envision Tom Glavine getting booed off the mound in game number 162. You think about Jimmy Rollins. Jimmy !$%@^@& Rollins. But let's run down a few things.
If the Mets go 6-10 the rest of the way, the Nationals would have to go 14-3.
If the Mets go 7-9 the rest of the way, the Nationals would have to go 15-2.
If the Mets go 8-8 the rest of the way, the Nationals would have to go 16-1.
Are you listening? Are your eardrums open for christening?
The Mets are 36-21 since the All-Star Break, 20-8 in the month of August and 10-5 for the month of September. Not convinced yet? How about the Flushing/Corona All-Stars having three games against the Atlanta Braves, three against the Philadelphia Phillies and four against the Cincinnati Reds? Those are all teams that are not very good and are playing out the string.
But pay me no mind, just buy in to the narrative fed by our media brethren:
Today’s back page and lead story via @therealarieber https://t.co/tfa327dB6D pic.twitter.com/IYP6zhUaoo
— Newsday Sports (@NewsdaySports) September 17, 2015
Go ahead and give in to it. Buy yourself the entire beer section at Costco. Numb the pain that you're not going to experience. Carry the failure of players who are no longer a part of the team you root for. Dump all of that on to the current group. It makes it easier, doesn't it? If it doesn't work out, you can just say that you knew all along that it would end this way because you're cursed.
Just keep your neuroses to yourself. Because if you can't ... well, let Arnold tell you one more time.
