To steal a quote from Aaron Lewis of Staind, “it’s been a while.”

I’ve stayed clear of ranting about the Mets, quite honestly, because I can’t take early season games that seriously. Yes, I still watch every pitch of every inning, and it bothers me when they lose, but I’ve learned over the years that playing well in April or May means nothing. I mean seriously, does any intelligent baseball fan think that the Rockies, who breezed through the National League last fall will remain 7 games under .500?

If you don’t, then why on earth are so many Mets fans shopping for Maalox on a daily basis? Is it because we collapsed last year? Well, it’s time to get over it.

See the difference between athletes and fans is that the key to being a successful professional is a short memory. Do you think guys who struggle against a pitcher have a prayer of getting a hit if they say to themselves, “Man this guy has my number. Last season in the third at bat against him during a game in June he made me look silly.”

No. So why do fans say to themselves every time the Mets lose, “Here we go again.”

I have a theory. It’s because Mets fans have no clue how to handle expectations. We’ve had success over the last couple of years and it’s gone to our head. We’ve spent money, and have a solid lineup, but it doesn’t give us the Rite of Passage to think we should win every game. So when the team loses, or plays bad, or get announced on Opening Day for crying out loud in the case of poor Aaron Heilman, some fans (and some who don’t admit it) boo. Why? Because Mets fans are used to being jaded by teams that were supposed to be contenders.

I take you back to 1988. Man, was that team good - better than the 1986 team. You remember that team right? The team that shouldn’t have won, but got the biggest break in World Series history? I was at the game, and watched the entire upper deck head for the parking lot down 5-3 and thought to myself, “what’s wrong with these people?” It’s a question I’ve asked myself for the past 20 years.

In 1988 we ran into the juggernaut that was the LA Dodgers and that stupid Mickey Hatcher and a dominant Orel Hershiser. We, along with the Bash Brother, needle-injecting A’s, were the two best teams in baseball, by far. The Dodgers were better than us over those two weeks and won. Fast forward a few years to Saberhagen and Boo-nilla and Vincent Van Go Away of the early 90s and the Mo Vaughn/Robbie Alomar Era, and it’s no real secret that Mets fans are genetically programmed to expect disappointment. So the defense mechanism is to get angry about it. And why not right?

Wrong. It’s baseball people. Enough of the woah is me crap. I dealt with it for years with the Rangers, an organization so crippled by fear and loathing that it hamstrung itself every time the team made the playoffs. That was until Messier slayed the dragon. We’re not cursed. Let the Cubs or Phillies fans implode under fan scrutiny. Heck, the dynasty is wearing off in the Bronx and fans are getting edgy there too. I call it the “Curse of the Giambino.” This team is good, albeit a little aged, so we need allow them to heal from last year naturally, and good baseball will follow. Don’t make them feel like their playing on egg shells against the Reds. We need to start a streak at home. Those 90s and early 2000 teams? You know why we struggled immediately afterwords? Freddy Coupons knew if he overpaid and the team stunk, BOO!! YOU wouldn’t come to the ball park and support. He never had a Carl Pavano coupon.

The point here is not to coddle this high-priced group or to express your anger that they’re overpaid and you’re not. Don’t nit pick and say they’re not trying or the need to try harder and show BOO!! YOU some effort. Carlos Beltran has played the same way his whole life. Heilman has the same stuff and used to be effective and can be again. And Oliver Perez is, well, he’s exactly what we thought he is when we traded for him: mind-blowingly inconsistent.

The point is simply to urge fans to understand that even in a great year this team is going to lose 70 games and that every time they take the field they are playing against major league teams. There will be times when we win. There will be times when we look great like we did in Philly, and when we look not so great, like in Chicago. The Red Sox got it handed to them by the Rays. They were swept in Tampa and scored like, 4 runs in 3 games. It’s a long season. Don’t beat yourselves up in early May saying things like, “boy that game’s gonna cost us in September.” It’s not productive and really not on the minds of the guys that have 400 more at bats to worry about and over 1000 more outs to record. Come to grips that the Phillies are very good, and have had our number, but that can change in a New York minute.

Or when Johan takes the ball.

OLF Notes

As much as it’s hurts sometimes being a Met fan, I am thankful that I don’t have to listen their announcers. But boy Sterling and Waldman crack me up. And that said, I still have yet to find ONE person who likes Michael Kay. If you know one let me know, seriously, I’m looking for one.

During the Seattle series, I was subjected to this classic Waldman/Sterling banter that went something like this:

“Ya know Suzyn, I saw something the other day that really shocked me. Hideki Matsui is 0-8 career against Felix Hernandez. OH-FOR-EIGHT! I just couldn’t believe it…THAAAA 1-0…cut on and fouled back.”

“You’re right John. It’s hard to believe that someone with Matsui’s ability could be hitless against anyone.”

“THAA 1-1…outside, nope nipped the corner for a strike. Delayed call by the home plate umpire, he needs to work on that…..Ya Know Suzyn, I was just shocked when I read that.”

Yep, “shocked” that a guy of Matsui’s “ability” could go hitless in two games against a guy with probably the nastiest fastball/off speed combination in the AL over the span of three years.

THAAA 2-2….

Lastly, I have Sexon on my fantasy team. Boy do I wish “losing your damn mind” was a category.

Tommy Dee is a contributor to Hot Foot, a realistic Met fan and editor of SNY’s TheKnicksBlog.