The Future Is Now, Mr. Met.

I am a Mets Fan. Glutton for punishment would be an understatement. Thick and thin, I always end up back at the blue and orange.

It started when I was about 7 years old, and was able to see the World Series Champs, with the famous Mookie Wilson / Billy Buckner play at first base at the now late Shea Stadium. As a kid at a very impressionable age, it was easy to have the Mets grow on me.

I vaguely remember those days, or the few that followed immediately. I can clearly remember the big names, like Cone, Strawberry, Gooden, Hernandez, Darling, Carter, Dykstra, HoJo and Ojeda to name a few. Then you scatter in some other names like Ray Knight, Craig Jeffries, Roger McDowell, Elster and Magadan to the mix, and you have a pretty entertaining roster for a good 4-5 years in the mid to late 80's, and into the early 90's.

Unfortunately for me, when I was able to start watching and really understanding the game, was in the early to mid nineties. They were awful. WPIX in Buffalo provided me with a lot of Mets games to watch during those years. Starting in grammar school watching with my dad, up until high school when I had my own TV.

1991 through 1996, they didn't break the .500 mark, and were an embarrassment to Mets fans all over. There were some good to great players during those years, who wasted their prime talent and years on a team which was not even close to successful. Todd Hundley was a really good switch hitting catcher with some power and played most of his career (1990-98) on some terrible Mets teams. Thank goodness for Jeff Kent's sake, he was able to get out of New York when he did in 1996, and have a Hall of Fame career with San Francisco.

The thing that I forget sometimes, are the guys that came through and had a cup of coffee with the Mets in those years. Some of them were good to great players, albeit earlier in their careers. Mr. Firecracker, Vince Coleman played parts of 3 seasons. Hall of Famer Eddie Murray spent 2 seasons in the orange and blue. Brett Saberhagen spent some time in the NY rotation. Lance Johnson, Bernard Gilkey, Brett Butler, Carl Everett and Jeremy Burnitz all trolled the outfield, while names like Carlos Baerga, José Vizcaino, Willie Randolph and Tony Fernendez took the infield. These teams were bad, and bad for a long while.

Into the late 90's, the team started to turn things around. It started with (or should I say all Mets fans thought so) the young pitching arms that were dubbed "Generation-K". It could be said now, and even for the last 15 years, that the Mets rushed these kids, and none of them panned out as promised. All three of them struggled for the Mets. Bill Pulsipher and Paul Wilson never amounted to much with the Mets, or anyone else for that matter. Injuries and just overall disappointment ended their NY careers, and ultimately followed them throughout their careers. Isringhausen was the most successful, however not with the Mets. After an incredible start with the Mets in 1995 (9-2, had to look it up!!), he had injury problems as well with torn shoulder, broken wrist and reconstructive elbow surgery. As a Mets fan during this time, I was just floored with the amount of disappointment, and how quickly the ship went down.

The late nineties also provided me with a rejuvenation as a Mets fan. The Mets seemed like they decided to take a run at things, and made some bold moves both through trades and free agency. Mike Piazza was the most prominent, and became the face of the franchise through the late nineties and right through the mid 2000's. Al Leiter was near money on the mound every start, and the savvy veteran left hander was entertaining to watch. No hit man Kenny Rogers made an appearance in 1999, along with Orel Hershiser. Rickey Henderson and Robin Ventura were staples for the Mets in the late nineties, and provided offense for New York that made them competitive again. This team made it to the NLCS in 1999, loosing to the Braves, and then to the World Series in 2000, where then lost to the Yankees.

My 'fandom' took a hit after college. Graduating in 2001, I found solace with the Mets in college. They were there for me in spring during finals as a get away, and over the summers away from my friends to watch. To say that since that time I have been disappointed, would be an understatement.
In the mid to late 2000's, the Mets went from being REALLY bad, to being really good at collapses of monumental proportions. In 2006, they made it to the NLCS, where we all remember the Carlos Beltran "bat on the shoulders" strike out.

In 2007, I was able to finally make my trek to New York City, and see my first and only game at Shea Stadium. It was in the shadow of the then framework of Citi Field, that I watched a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. This started a drop for the Mets from first place, to missing the playoffs. It was a remarkable choke job, which they again were able to allow to happen in 2008. Since these 2 years, they Mets have failed to make the playoffs, finish above .500, or really put an entertaining product on the field.

These short comings over the years, were not helped with the general managers that were chosen by the Wilpon family. Steve Phillips was the general manger from 1997 through 2003. See a correlation here? He was single handedly responsible for the gutting of, and destruction of everything holy in the Mets locker room. Where to start? Bringing Mo Vaughn back from bi-lateral torn biceps? Bringing back Bobby Bonilla and Jeremy Burnitz back to Flushing? Now granted, he did have his hay day with 2 moves in my opinion. Piazza and Glavine. But other then that, he placed the Mets in financial disarray with bad players and bad contracts. One of those contracts will be paid out for the next 40 years! (see Bobby Bonilla).

Omar Minaya did no better. It seemed to me that Minaya was focused on making the Mets the Latin American landing spot of the Northeast. There were some great acquisitions there by Omar, including Carlos Delgado, Pedro Martinez, and Johan Santana, but There was never the focus on building around that core, and the Mets squandered the Beltran contract, Pedro's great pitching as a Met, and Santana in his prime.

Now granted, Sandy Alderson's start to the Mets with the signing of Jason Bay turned out to be a bust and a half, arguably the worst in Franchise history. The Mets have not had a single big time free agency signing since that day. Most of that is due to the Wilpon's investing with Bernie Madoff, but I digress.

We are again at rock bottom, but the future is bright. I do not say that often, especially with being a Bills, Sabres, and Mets fan. In the last 18 months, I have watched Alderson pluck prospects from San Francisco and Toronto, for aging veterans. Now please, do not make the mistake that I do not appreciate what Beltran and R.A. Dickey did for me as a fan, including a Cy Young award. However, the previous Mets general managers would never have pulled those triggers.

 For Beltran, Alderson was able to get a top tier pitching prospect in Zack Wheeler. We all watched with baited breath as he climbed the ranks through the minors over the last 2 seasons. His debut last night in Atlanta was electric to say the least.

For Dickey, the reigning Cy Young holder, Alderson acquired a veteran Catcher in John Buck. More importantly, was the other pieces. Wuilmer Becerra was a throw in, and some think if he continues to improve could be in the majors in 2016 and has a very high ceiling. Travis d'Arnaud was rated the second best prospect in the East Coast League, behind...wait for it...Bryce Harper. He could be the catcher of the future in Flushing. Lastly, the pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard, who was recently rated number 29 on MLB's Top 100 Prospects list. That is quite the haul for an aging knuckleballer.

Matt Harvey was a draft pick, the last one made by Minaya's regime. What a pick. This guys is magic, and I cannot say anything else. He is miles ahead of most pitchers at his age with his experience. I have tried to watch all of his starts, which is something I cannot say I have done since Pedro was in a Mets uni.

Between Harvey and Wheeler, I have hope. Combine this with the recent comments from Alderson that the Mets will finally be able to get back into the free agent market soon, means hopefully they can build with some bats around this highly talented starting pitching. With Jonathon Neise and Dillon Gee finally pitching well and becoming somewhat stable and consistent, the starting rotation could be set for a while. Plugging in 4/5 starters for a couple of years, it is feasible to see that the Mets have built a pitcher strong minor league system. I could see in 2 seasons, the Mets rotation being Harvey, Wheeler, Niese, Rafael Montero (in Las Vegas AAA), and Gee. Noah Syndergaard could be ready then, or sooner, depending on his development.

What the Mets need to do, and what Alderson needs to do, is work on putting the package together at one time. They are entering another 5-10 year window with this pitching coming up right now. In that window, Alderson MUST make sure to get the offensive and defensive support to make sure that these talented pitchers stay with the Mets, and make them a respected franchise once again. If they want to build from the rotation back, he has succeeded in starting that. Lets hope that Harvey/Wheeler/Montero do not fall the way of Pulsipher/Wilson/Isringhausen.

This is a long rant, but I feel the future is now. As long as Alderson knows how to put the puzzle together. Go Mets.