Keidel: Mets Fans Miss The Point -- You're In The Damn World Series!
By Jason Keidel
» More Columns
More than a few friends grumbled when the Mets announced their starting rotation for the World Series.
Say it again, the Mets are in the World Series.
That's the part that seems to elude so many Mets fans. Listening to Mike Francesa's show on Thursday and Friday -- the two days after the Mets beat the Cubs in the NLCS -- it was jarring to hear so many slobbering devotees miss that most salient point.
Everyone wants to whine about the Wilpons. They won't sign Cespedes. They won't keep Murphy. Will Wilpon find a few bats to replace them? They even made a few Madoff references.
Web Extra: Guide To Citi Field | Best Eats At Citi Field | Best Bars In NYC To Watch Mets In World Series
No one doubts that the Wilpon family has earned the bulk of baleful observations hurled their way over the last decade. But this is the one time they're insulated and inoculated from the doomsday cliches. As is the team.
Say it again, the Mets are in the World Series.
We get it. The sports fan is naturally cynical, especially the Mets (and Jets) fan. The montage of mistakes stretches back decades. There's a reason you've only won one World Series since 1969. You've suffered so much heartache over the years, you naturally wonder when the dream cloud bursts and the alarm clock blares.
When my teams reach the championship round, I ponder the myriad ways they can gag it away. What if this pitcher pulls a muscle? What if my QB twists his knee in the first quarter? What if the cosmos conspire against me?
But this goes beyond the normal, neurotic New Yorker. You are entering the World Series as the hottest team on the planet, with the biggest bat since Lou Gehrig, the best young rotation since the Bobby Cox Braves, and the most sizzling closer since Mariano Rivera -- all of whom are well-rested. And you're worried about Matt Harvey getting the nod over Jacob deGrom?
This is like complaining that you won a hand with the ace of clubs instead of the ace of hearts. Harvey has been fantastic in the playoffs. And while no one questions deGrom's heart, talent, or temerity, he did suffer a slight dip in his fastball's velocity. And the Mets noticed.
Besides, if the Mets lose Game 1, whom would you rather have for Game 2? And if the Mets win Game 1, who better to take the house money and double-down in Game 2? And if the World Series goes to a deciding Game 6, which is quite possible considering the mojo and karma Kansas City is working with, then whom would you rather have on the bump than deGrom?
We've all tired of Harvey's off-field antics, taken our shots at his inflated sense of self. He's a diva. We know it. He knows it. But the quid pro quo is he can wear sunglasses indoors as long as he sparkles outdoors.
One thing we also know about Harvey is he doesn't choke. Or, as they say on the street, he isn't shook. Every since he endured the acid rain of public disdain over his arbitrary 180 innings, since Scott Boras bogarted the mike and made some absurd suggestions, Harvey has pitched like the man you expected.
The Mets have answered all the questions. When some of us worried they blew the playoffs when the blew the home-field edge, they beat the Dodgers. When we worried about Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta sneaking out of Flushing with a win or two, the Mets beat both.
When we worried these neophyte Mets would wilt under the glaring lights of October baseball, and surrender to the cosmic momentum of the favored Cubs, the Mets swept them.
The Mets proved they can win at home and on the road. They can beat your best pitcher and win with their worst. They can beat you with homers or singles. They can win with stolen bases or station-to-station baseball. They can beat you with Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, David Wright, or Curtis Granderson.
Even if you play a shell game to pick the rotation, the Mets will have the pitching edge for at least the first three games of the Fall Classic. So stop worrying.
Say it again, the Mets are in the World Series.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
