I Still Remember

No two ways about it, the past two games have felt really, really good. "How nice is life?" Sip asked -- pretty damn good, pal.

The Mets have played basically flawless baseball the first two games of the year. The geezers at the front end of the rotation have pitched exceptionally, the defense has turned 7 double plays, and the Mets have been scoring runs.

It hasn't all been perfect. Scott Schoeneweis did the one thing he couldn't do in the 8th inning last night, allowing Albert Pujols to come to bat as the tying run. Sure, Chris Duncan singled fair and square, but Schoeneweis can't walk David Eckstein there on 4 straight balls, and he can't forfeit an 0-2 advantage against Duncan there with three wasted pitches.

Though the Mets have been scoring runs, not one player has had a particularly noteworthy offensive game. Through two games we have one extra base hit, and even that came courtesy of a misplay by So Taguchi out in left field.

But that all said, who really cares? I expect Schoeneweis to be fine and I have no doubt the offense will come around.

What matters so far is that the Mets have made the hated, loathsome, much-despised Cardinals look more or less futile in front of their home fans, fans who came to the ballpark expecting a celebration.

Maybe it sounds petty, but I take great pleasure in whatever pain their fans are experiencing right now. As I wrote the other day: "[T]hese three games to open the season in St. Louis, I don't want the Mets to win, I want them to dominate. I want them to send a message right off the bat to the Cardinal faithful."

The shame is that no outcome in the first series of the regular season can approximate the suffering the Cardinals inflicted on us last year. Watching the obligatory clips of last year's NLCS and just seeing Reyes, Wright, Beltran, etc. in action again, it all makes my heart bleed for last year's team.

Last year was more exciting than any other season I'd ever seen, and ultimately far more painful. It's tempting to think that last year resonates so powerfully simply because of how fresh the taste is, but there's more to it than that.

I watched last season more closely than any before it. Not because I was all of a sudden more interested, but rather because I all of a sudden had the time to do so. I remember Game 1 of the 2000 NLDS; it was an afternoon game in San Francisco and I was in Central Park playing in a high school soccer game.

I remember Game 6 of the 1999 NLCS. Watched that one entirely, but I wasn't in the house in Atlanta when Kenny Rogers delivered ball 4.

Last year was much more immediate. It was my first full calendar year out of college. When I got done with work I came home and I turned on the game. When the playoffs came around I watched every moment, from Shea when I could, from somewhere else when I couldn't. I was there for every moment, basically, and every aspect of it was seared on to my psyche. The highs, the lows, and ultimately, the sheer devastation.

I still remember all that, and as we watch the Mets play the Cardinals, it's impossible to not think of it. I don't mean to rain on anybody's parade, but I'd be lying if I said the excitement generated by the first two games of the season wasn't tinged with a hint of regret. (Why couldn't we have just played like this last October, damn it?!)

The most you can hope is that the bitter taste of last year motivates the boys, and through two games at least the Mets look like they've been playing with purpose.

I know nothing we do now could possibly compensate for what happened last October, but honestly, I would be overjoyed with a sweep. The parallels to '86 would come fast and furious, but that's not what it's about for me.

For me it's about moving on, and in some small measure, sweeping these redbird bitches would help me do that. It would hammer home the fact that this is a new year, and whatever disappointments we suffered last year are over and done with. That was then, this is now.

If we lose tonight and it doesn't happen, eh, oh well -- the Mets have won this series, and if you can win 2 out of 3 every time, well, most 108-win teams make the playoffs.

But still, a man can dream, right?

Remember the Maine!

- A.F.O.M.G.

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