Rickey’s Overdue Mets Update: The “Holy Shit, We’re Relevant Again!” Edition

No, it’s not Shark Week at Shea Stadium, evidently that’s some kind of rally cap routine that Rickey was previously unfamiliar with. (Note that Damion Easley cares not for your silly baseball superstitions). See, this is a big reason why Rickey digs baseball: in no other profession will you ever see a group of multi millionaires doing goofy stuff like this. Anyhow, make no mistake, as far as the Mets season is concerned, it's on like Donkey Kong. Nervous that this newfangled recent winning trend was merely the latest of many stutter starts in their 2008 season, Rickey waited a while before discussing the Mets current hot streak. Then we waited some more. And a bit more. And lo and behold, we are now faced with incontrovertible statistical evidence that the Mets are once again a team to be reckoned with. A relevant sporting club.

Just how good are your New York Mets? Well, they’re a solid enough team to bounce back from two tough losses in one week and proceed to win both series—a feat that would’ve been insurmountable a mere month ago. They’re a team featuring dominant starting pitching. They’re a team that battles back from run deficits. A team with its eyes fixed on the postseason and a certain swagger in their step. Furthermore, they’re a team with enough of a presence to once again attract outlandish trade rumors such as the potential acquisition of Manny Ramirez. (From a humor perspective alone, you have no idea how much of a wet dream this would be for a blogger like Rickey—the guy is a comedy goldmine). And of course we’d be remiss in discussing the new look Mets without mentioning Carlos Delgado’s recent rebirth from the valley of ashes in Flushing Meadows. It’s officially safe to start complimenting him now, yes? A scant six weeks ago, Rickey was eagerly shoveling dirt on the guy’s grave, so how did we end up here? Rickey suspects that a conversation much like this one transpired in late June:

Carlos Delgado’s Agent: “Hey Carlos, were you aware that this is a contract year for you?”

Delgado: “Contract year you say? What the deuce is that?”

Carlos Delgado’s Agent: “Well it’s the last year of your contract, and a time when most baseball players seek to improve their value on the free market.”

Delgado: “Go on.”

Carlos Delgado’s Agent: “There are a number of ways to improve your value, but the main ones include timely hitting, good fielding, and an adherence to the fundamental mechanics of baseball.”

Delgado: “Your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.”

And scene. Flash forward to present day where this greybearded phoenix is batting in the cleanup spot and has emerged a force to be reckoned with once again. And while he continues to light it up, the rest of the team is following suit behind him, playing at a level not seen since the 2006 season. A 12K gem from Oliver Perez? Fernando Tatis being the very definition of clutch? Santana pitching (shudder) a full nine innings? Beltran’s absurdly awesome catch two nights ago? Jose Reyes flashing gang signs while consistently proving himself to be a far better player than Jimmy Rollins? These are all quite good things. Exciting things. Things that keep Rickey glued to the tv screen with a bowl of pistachios in his lap (pistachios have replaced peanuts as Rickey’s current ballgame snack of choice—we find that they’re easier to shell and far more sophisticated).

All this having been said, a substantial portion of the season remains to be played and Rickey remains guarded after last season’s epic tailspin. We don’t care how hot a team gets; courtesy of last year, it’s still going to be DEFCON 2 in Rickey’s mind for quite a while. Moreover, we are all too familiar with Billy Wagner and the rest of the bullpens’ uncanny ability to suck at the most inopportune of times. Oh and for a moment, forget the Phillies because the possibility of the Marlins and their $6,000 payroll screwing over everyone else in the NL East is alarmingly real. So don't break out that anointing oil just yet. In reality, the Mets are probably somewhere right in the middle: they were never as bad as they appeared earlier this season and they’re probably not quite as good as they appear to be now. (Yes, Rickey’s playing the “pessimistic Mets fan” angle with the hopes of being pleasantly surprised in October).

Note: for those who are gluttons for fiduciary punishment, the Mets released their preliminary seating prices for the 2009 season at Citi Field. It should come as no surprise that they’re roughly a 50% increase over current ticket prices. Look, we’re not expecting the Wilpons to run a charity or anything here, but they really are pricing the average baseball fan right out of the stadium altogether. Who knows, maybe this team should start failing again so we can all snag affordable seating at Citi Field and Rickey can finally get back to writing funny posts mocking the Mets. We miss those…

[posted at Humor Blogs]