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Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

Centerfield Nov 05 2009 03:21 PM Re: 2009 World Series IST

Thank god this year is over. I've been racking my brain trying to think of a season that sucked more than 2009 and coming up blank.

metirish Nov 05 2009 04:45 PM Re: 2009 World Series IST

You know what though , I really don't care that they won....I feel the same today as yesterday....

Edgy DC Nov 05 2009 05:41 PM Re: 2009 World Series IST

Yup. And plenty of seasons were worse. C'mon.

Centerfield Nov 06 2009 07:41 AM Re: 2009 World Series IST

[quote="Edgy DC":kb8zipnp]Yup. And plenty of seasons were worse. C'mon.[/quote:kb8zipnp] I'm being serious here. There have been plenty of seasons when the team was bad, but few have been this bad where the expectations coming in were as high as they were. As misguided as it may have been, Sports Illustrated picked the Mets to win it all for instance. Then there was the rash of injuries, the sucky play, and the Castillo drop. Basically the entire summer was miserable. Pedro went to our most hated division rivals and thrived. The one team we were rooting against in the National League won it all. The one team we were rooting against in the American League won it all. When we finally sucked it up and rooted for the Phillies in the World Series, they lost as well...leaving us with having to deal with another MFY victory parade. Other than career-ending injuries to Reyes and Wright, you cannot script a more miserable season for Mets fans. You may think otherwise, but for me, 2009 is as bad as it has ever been.

Edgy DC Nov 06 2009 08:03 AM Re: 2009 World Series IST

[quote="Centerfield":34cr8sez][quote="Edgy DC":34cr8sez]Yup. And plenty of seasons were worse. C'mon.[/quote:34cr8sez] I'm being serious here.[/quote:34cr8sez] I'm not saying you're not serious, I'm saying you're being at least a little nearsighted. The most recent wound hurts the most and is freshest, and certainly takes your mind off the pains that had come before, but perspective is the tonic for that and perspective tells me no way. People were saying it was the worst season ever as reacently as 2001 (a season that included an insane rush toward the top of the standings in August and September --- and 2003 also. In 2007 and 2008, people in as much seriousness as you, were arguing how much better it is to fall out of the running in mid-summer than to get punched on the last day of the season --- essentially that 2007 and 2008 were the worst. The team can't rationally be continually having their worst season.

MFS62 Nov 06 2009 08:20 AM Re: 2009 World Series IST

[quote="Centerfield":1m9rhoyq] As misguided as it may have been, Sports Illustrated picked the Mets to win it all for instance. [/quote:1m9rhoyq] Of course. I had forgotten that. Now everything is clear. It was the dreaded SI curse. Maybe there's something to it. Later

Benjamin Grimm Nov 06 2009 09:11 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

I don't know. It's hard to recall a worse season. Maybe 1992 or 1993? So much went wrong this year, and it ends with a Yankees championship. I agree that this one is an all-time stinker.

Edgy DC Nov 06 2009 09:13 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

I'm really disappointed that folks don't remember the same thing being said over and over several times in the last few years, including years in which the team managed to contend. (But this time we're right!)

soupcan Nov 06 2009 09:19 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

If not the worst, then 2009 is top 3 at least. High expections, injuries, lackadaisical play, bad losses, embarassing PR missteps, Phillies and Yankees...and you can throw a pinch of Madoff in there as well.

Number 6 Nov 06 2009 09:24 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

OK, some people cry "worst year ever" after every season. How about the people saying that here? Do they do that? If they do, then maybe you should get on them individually. Right now you're just generalizing. I've never said that other years were about as bad as they could possibly be. I'll say that about this year. It was a worst-case scenario, and it sucked about as bad as I could imagine a baseball season sucking. And since I'm not responsible for the opinions of others, I don't feel nearsighted about this at all.

metirish Nov 06 2009 09:26 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

It was a horrible season and it was over by the All-Star break.....for me that was the worst part.

TransMonk Nov 06 2009 09:27 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

I would say that 2001, 2007 and 2008 were bigger disappointments. This season was over in June for all intents...I've been over it since then.

Edgy DC Nov 06 2009 09:28 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Number 6"]OK, some people cry "worst year ever" after every season. How about the people saying that here? Do they do that? If they do, then maybe you should get on them individually. Right now you're just generalizing. I've never said that other years were about as bad as they could possibly be. I'll say that about this year. It was a worst-case scenario, and it sucked about as bad as I could imagine a baseball season sucking. And since I'm not responsible for the opinions of others, I don't feel nearsighted about this at all.

Yeah, I'm generalizing. And I'm sorry for that. I don't really have the time (nor, sadly, as much of the archives as we used to have) to go back and check --- so if people honestly look at the past and say, "No, that wasn't me he's talking about; I was more or less cool with 2004 and 1993," then fine. Though you just materialized in this debate. So I'm certainly speaking of you in neither the past nor the present.

Top of my head here.

Things That Didn't Happen in 2009:

[list][*]The franchise's best player being dumped mid-season by a cheap interim controlling executive with a chip on his shoulder.[/*:m]
[*]Trading their misanthropically loveable best slugger that same night just to turn the knife.[/*:m]
[*]The team's (and league's) best pitcher being busted for drug abuse at 21.[/*:m]
[*]That same pitcher being busted for relapsing a few years later.[/*:m]
[*]That same pitcher and two others being arrested for gang-raping a New Yorker in spring training.[/*:m]
[*]A championship defense derailed (and forever, so far) as four fifths of the deepest pitching staff in team history goes down at the start of the year with injuries (or drug suspensions), leaving a hugely talented Mets team relying on Terry Leach and John Mitchell.[/*:m]
[*]A brilliant, partly crazy, and exciting manager that had dynamically altered Mets culture for the better being fired by a petty, insecure, womanizing GM desperately trying to save his own skin.[/*:m]
[*]The franchise's highest paid slugger, unwilling to bear criticism, threatening to hurt or kill a sportswriter in a street fight.[/*:m]
[*]The team's leadoff batter throwing firecrackers into a crowd that included children.[/*:m]
[*]The clubhouse essentially declaring war on the sportswriters.[/*:m]
[*]One player hitting another in the head swinging golfclubs in the clubhouse.[/*:m]
[*]A wholesale and profoundly expensive renovation of the roster to add a handful of MVP candidate sluggers, only to find out every last one of them had left their candidacy behind them at their last address.[/*:m]
[*]A work stoppage.[/*:m]
[*]A beloved and respected manager playing golf with his coaching staff because of a work stoppage, dropped by a heart attack on the golf course, and the bullpen coach sobbing as he recalled the sound of his friend's head hitting the pavement.[/*:m]
[*]A trio of talented exciting pitchers all going down with career threatening injuries under an old-school manager who pushes his players to cowboy up.[/*:m]
[*]Another talented young pitcher headed to the disabled list with depression, amid stupid macho questions about his manliness.[/*:m]
[*]A rookie pitcher suffering a brain siezure in a parking lot where a veteran AAAA player had taken him to get high.[/*:m]
[*]An outspoken catcher getting on his high horse as a pre-emptive strike against a media who were getting close to breaking stories about him cheating on his wife with a teenager or teenagers, making a much bigger story out of his skirt-chasing than it ever would have been.[/*:m]
[*]A big investment in a Japanese player falling flat amid injuries, accusations, and xenophobia in the fanbase.[/*:m]
[*]Xenophobia of any stripe exhibited by the fanbase.[/*:m]
[*]Accusations of anti-Semitism against the senior partner, forcing the Jewish junior partner to come to guy's defense in order to spare the team embarassment, even though the two clearly had little respect left for each other.[/*:m]
[*]A titty-model publicity-hungry wife a pitcher shamelessly trying to use the team to raise her own profile.[/*:m]
[*]The team's best pitching prospect (one of the brightest in the game) traded in a desperate deadline deal for a talented but wild middling starter, in a deal that seemed doomed at face value and would only get worse, as the prospect was immediately called up, having some success, shutting down the Red Sox twice in high-profile starts, while the pitcher we acquired never turned the corner and the team predictably faded from contention.[/*:m]
[*]A world series lost after an irrational in-game assault by the Yankees' 'roided-up pitcher against the Mets cleanup hitter, defending himself with nonsense, as nobody in charge had the stones to toss him from the game.[/*:m]
[*]A playoff run derailed in part by a cab accident.[/*:m]
[*]A season derailed in part by a 'roided up relief pitcher having nothing after he got back from his suspension, but continually and painfully trotted out in key spots by the manager.[/*:m][/list:u]

The team had a bunch of injuries. It happens from time to time. 1972. 1987. 2004. It happens to other teams and it sucks. But it'll happen again. Mets personnel bear some, but not all, responsiblity for the rash of injuries, and it's best to be particular about how many moral judgements you want to make about that, benefiting as we do from hindsight.

(Can you see why I never got to play Annie?)

Number 6 Nov 06 2009 09:41 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

I did just pop in to the discussion, but since you seemed to be questioning an idea as opposed to an individual (and an idea I happened to share), I didn't feel like my reply would be completely out of the blue. Your list of woes is well-taken, though if we were in the appropriate wound-licking mood I'm sure we could put together a list of 2009 woes that would look pretty good (or, bad) at the end of it. "Worst season ever" is obviously a subjective thing - for instance, there are people here who are tormented by the Yankee victory while others don't seem to care - but I think there's plenty of empirical evidence to justify holding this position. At any rate, I'm not sure it justifies your disappointment.

Centerfield Nov 06 2009 09:44 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

You're dancing around the point. Bad things happen each year...and certainly more bad things could have happened this year. But because of the points I mentioned earlier, it's tough to come up with a year that sucked as much as this year sucked. And I don't think I'm being nearsighted at all. I'm trying to take a step back and try to look at each season as objectively as I can. Short-sighted statements by others in recent years are irrelevant to my point. 2007 and 2008 sucked. But at least we were in the race and the MFY's didn't win it all. 2003 was surely a disappointing season, but the Braves weren't in the Series, and I had fun watching Beckett shut down the MFY's in Game 6. 2001 was actually fun for a while, and Game 7 of the World Series made me incredibly happy.

TransMonk Nov 06 2009 09:48 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Centerfield":2p9lxcqm] 2007 and 2008 sucked. But at least we were in the race and the MFY's didn't win it all. 2003 was surely a disappointing season, but the Braves weren't in the Series, and I had fun watching Beckett shut down the MFY's in Game 6. 2001 was actually fun for a while, and Game 7 of the World Series made me incredibly happy.[/quote:2p9lxcqm] It sounds like your level of grief has as much to do with the Yankees as the Mets. I can't share that rationale. For my money, the way 2006 ended was even far worse than 2009.

Edgy DC Nov 06 2009 09:48 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Centerfield":xt27ecep]You're dancing around the point.[/quote:xt27ecep] I'm certain I'm not. If I am, that's one fucking huge tarantella I just did.

Centerfield Nov 06 2009 09:55 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

I think you are. My point was that 2009 sucked worse than other years because many shitty things happened this year. If you disagree, the way to refute that point is to select another year and demonstrate that the sum of shitty things of that year exceeds the sum of shitty things that happened this year. You, instead, listed shitty things that have happened throughout the years, but did not happen this year. That list does little to address my point. The argument that such a list would refute is the idea that all shitty things happened this year. Which is clearly not my thesis.

Centerfield Nov 06 2009 09:57 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

And I know I turned the thread into an argument about arguing. Sorry. Look, I don't really care if other years were worse for anyone else. As Number 6 says, it's a matter of personal preference. For me, though, this one takes the cake. And I don't believe this is just a knee-jerk, short-sighted reaction.

Centerfield Nov 06 2009 10:03 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="TransMonk":wcp869mw][quote="Centerfield":wcp869mw] 2007 and 2008 sucked. But at least we were in the race and the MFY's didn't win it all. 2003 was surely a disappointing season, but the Braves weren't in the Series, and I had fun watching Beckett shut down the MFY's in Game 6. 2001 was actually fun for a while, and Game 7 of the World Series made me incredibly happy.[/quote:wcp869mw] It sounds like your level of grief has as much to do with the Yankees as the Mets. I can't share that rationale. For my money, the way 2006 ended was even far worse than 2009.[/quote:wcp869mw] Not as much, but Yankee misery certainly enhances my baseball season. If the Mets suck, or have been eliminated, I look for other things from baseball. And Yankee losses are at the top of that list. I also don't let disappointing ends destroy my enjoyment of a season. For me, 2006 was one of my favorite seasons. Sure it was disappointing in the NLCS. But Met juggernauts are rare. I enjoy them when I get them. I'm not saying 2007 and 2008 were easy...but for me, they rank higher than, say, 2004 or 1993.

Number 6 Nov 06 2009 10:05 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

Yeah, the criteria for worst season ever is subjective. Despite that, there are obviously only a certain number of seasons which could reasonably be considered for the crown of shit. 2009 obviously fits in that group. Among them, your mileage may vary depending on how you judge the relative impact of a number of things. One thing I think I can say objectively, 2009 was unique in my experience as a season which just kept piling on. The team got worse and worse, players kept going down with very few returning, the embarrassments on and off the field mounted, and it was all topped off by a postseason which was a worst-case scenario in just about every way. It was an avalanche of shit, and it was utterly relentless. If there was ever a season that made me wonder about my karma, it was 2009.

Edgy DC Nov 06 2009 10:07 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

I selected every year. I didn't realize the Yankees were so key to your argument. The Mets can't really control that much about what happens with the Yankees except for the last 15 years or so, six head-to-head games and, in 2000, by chance, the World Series. Maybe they should put out a highlight film: "2009: No Gang Rapes!"

metirish Nov 06 2009 10:11 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="TransMonk":31ah4881]I would say that 2001, 2007 and 2008 were bigger disappointments. This season was over in June for all intents...I've been over it since then.[/quote:31ah4881] At least with those seasons there was plenty to enjoy.....07/08 anyway , seasons that ended badly but were worth tuning into till the end.

Number 6 Nov 06 2009 10:15 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Edgy DC":6417hsdt]Maybe they should put out a highlight film: "2009: No Gang Rapes!"[/quote:6417hsdt] Hey, the calendar year isn't over.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 06 2009 10:23 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Centerfield":2lt5fueq] I also don't let disappointing ends destroy my enjoyment of a season. For me, 2006 was one of my favorite seasons. Sure it was disappointing in the NLCS. But Met juggernauts are rare. I enjoy them when I get them. [/quote:2lt5fueq] I'm with you on that. 2006 was a terrific season. Having October baseball to watch was a lot of fun. It was the second-best season of the decade that's just ending.

TransMonk Nov 06 2009 10:27 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

I agree, 2006 was a lot of fun...but it was a horrible ending to a great year. For me, the way that season ended hurt more than 2007 and 2008. They were the best baseball team that year and should have won it all.

Ashie62 Nov 06 2009 10:54 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

The First cut is the Deepest 1973 Mets Mine is losing the 1973 WS to the A's

Ashie62 Nov 06 2009 10:57 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Edgy DC":12k3nuos]I'm really disappointed that folks don't remember the same thing being said over and over several times in the last few years, including years in which the team managed to contend. (But this time we're right!)[/quote:12k3nuos] Human Nature? Denial? Essence of a Mets fan Insanity? Maybe a bit of all...It is a unique fan base if nothing else

Fman99 Nov 06 2009 10:59 AM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Ashie62":2fcajm36]The First cut is the Deepest 1973 Mets Mine is losing the 1973 WS to the A's[/quote:2fcajm36] Seriously. I was crushed when the Mets lost to L.A. in 1988.

G-Fafif Nov 06 2009 12:40 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

Though I recently declared 1979 and 1993 Co-Worst Seasons Ever, 2009 has been its own kind of hellish, to be sure. And the hell you've been in most recently tends to be hottest.

Centerfield Nov 06 2009 12:43 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Edgy DC":2tklaj9l]I selected every year. I didn't realize the Yankees were so key to your argument. The Mets can't really control that much about what happens with the Yankees except for the last 15 years or so, six head-to-head games and, in 2000, by chance, the World Series. Maybe they should put out a highlight film: "2009: No Gang Rapes!"[/quote:2tklaj9l] Oh I realize it's out of their control. It's just that if the Mets are giving me nothing that year, I root for my second favorite team, which is "anyone who can beat the MFY's".

Centerfield Nov 06 2009 12:43 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Number 6":27v9u4gt] One thing I think I can say objectively, 2009 was unique in my experience as a season which just kept piling on. The team got worse and worse, players kept going down with very few returning, the embarrassments on and off the field mounted, and it was all topped off by a postseason which was a worst-case scenario in just about every way. It was an avalanche of shit, and it was utterly relentless. If there was ever a season that made me wonder about my karma, it was 2009.[/quote:27v9u4gt] Yes, this exactly.

metsguyinmichigan Nov 06 2009 12:54 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Centerfield":4iivryxh][quote="Number 6":4iivryxh] One thing I think I can say objectively, 2009 was unique in my experience as a season which just kept piling on. The team got worse and worse, players kept going down with very few returning, the embarrassments on and off the field mounted, and it was all topped off by a postseason which was a worst-case scenario in just about every way. It was an avalanche of shit, and it was utterly relentless. If there was ever a season that made me wonder about my karma, it was 2009.[/quote:4iivryxh] Yes, this exactly.[/quote:4iivryxh] Agreed, and summed up brilliantly. But as much as this sucked, 1977, to me, was more painful. That was absolute betrayal and a sign that the team was about to careen off the cliff while the bastard MFYs won the series and here heading upward. There's a reason why, years later, I had Dick Young's obit taped to my fridge. One a bad day, I'd see it and say, "On the bright side, the bastard Dick Young is dead." Conspired to banish my idol and destroy my team.

Edgy DC Nov 06 2009 01:00 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

Yeah, gun to my head, I go with 1977 also. Also ended in a Yankee championship, for those who mark that on their scorecards. Funny thing is that's the year I committed to fanhood. The pain grown men were walking around with was so compelling, I had to enter into it, for some bizzarre reason. It seemed so real.

bmfc1 Nov 06 2009 01:19 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

There may have been worse seasons but this one stings and burns and since it just happened, it gets my vote. That doesn't mean that the others weren't worse, but that they didn't just end. The fact that the Mets contributed to the MFYs #9 moment of the season, according to [u:34ri7y2f]New York[/u:34ri7y2f] magazine, the fact that we ended up having to root for our divisional rival to WIN the WS, the fact that they still lost to our most hated team (again, subjective--hate is in the eyes of the beholder) in the WS, and fact that the season was so bad that we don't look ahead with hope or any faith in the team's management, makes it King Worst to me.

themetfairy Nov 06 2009 01:58 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

I agree that the cumulative effect of every possible thing that could go wrong actually going wrong this season made this the worst ever. Everything from the injury parade to the MFY parade simply sucked.

bmfc1 Nov 06 2009 02:06 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

TMF: "the injury parade to the MFY parade"--excellent!

Edgy DC Nov 06 2009 02:10 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

If I posted that list for any reason, it was to suggest that every possible thing didn't go really go wrong at all.

Vic Sage Nov 06 2009 02:16 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

worst. ever. by far. not even close. In 1977, we already had sucked for a number of years, and there was little expectation of winning anything. That we also lost Seaver was painful but, being Mets fans, we at least could be optimistic about the "potential" of Dan Norman. And any season that ends up with big games in October doesn't qualify in top 5 worst seasons. It can certainly be disappointing to go far, and then fall just short. And that pain is acute. But as a season, i can go to games all year with hope in my heart. This year? After a post-season in 2006 and 2 close calls in 07 and 08, we were expected to take it to the wire in 09. Instead, the season was over in June. It wasn't just injuries... it was the quality of play. The games became literally UNWATCHABLE. I shared a season plan and gave away most of my 2nd half tickets. I have never done that before. NEVER, in 40 years of attending Mets games on a semi-regular basis. And then the ultimate insult added to the slew of injuries. Having the phukking phils and the MFYs in the WS. I didn't watch 1 inning of the WS this year. not one single inning. And today, i have to share my train this morning with Yankme fans, decked out in full regalia, going to a parade that is paid for by tax dollars. This is not just a top 5 worst season... this is not top 3... this is the single worst season of baseball i've ever had to endure. period. full stop. And the fact that nobody raped anybody, or threw firecrackers, nor was anybody traded that i cared much about, doesn't actually effect that reality one iota.

G-Fafif Nov 06 2009 02:18 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="bmfc1":32r51ifh]TMF: "the injury parade to the MFY parade"--excellent![/quote:32r51ifh] Agreed. Made me picture a parade of injured MFYs, limping and bandaged. Wish I could say that image didn't make me smile.

G-Fafif Nov 06 2009 02:23 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Edgy DC":dqkog49r]If I posted that list for any reason, it was to suggest that every possible thing didn't go really go wrong at all.[/quote:dqkog49r] 1986 lacked a Met 20-game winner. No Met was voted National League MVP in 1986. Not every Met stayed out of jail in Houston in 1986. Yet I will feel comfortable, within the boundaries of reasonable baseball hyperbole, saying every possible thing went right in 1986.

Edgy DC Nov 06 2009 02:29 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[quote="Vic Sage":21cqwknl]worst. ever. by far. not even close. In 1977, we already had sucked for a number of years, and there was little expectation of winning anything. That we also lost Seaver was painful but, being Mets fans, we at least could be optimistic about the "potential" of Dan Norman.[/quote:21cqwknl] This just gets more and more puzzling. I realize this all subjective and emotional, but plain facts are being tossed over. In 1975, the Mets were 82-80 and finished in third. In 1976, the Mets were 86-76, and again finished in third. And the idea that what happened in 1977 was tempered in any way by Dan Norman is a-historical.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 06 2009 02:37 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

I had high hopes after 1976. It was, to date, their second-best season (in terms of wins) ever. I was pretty rattled by the Seaver trade. I remember gloomily sitting on a curb with my friends, thinking the Mets would never have a player like that again. But kids are resilient, and, while I wasn't all that excited about Dan Norman, I saw Steve Henderson as that next big star we were craving. (I remember Joe Torre on TV saying that he wouldn't trade Steve Henderson even-up for Tom Seaver. What a bullshitter.) If I had been older and wiser, I would have perhaps seen 1977 for what it was, the beginning of a steep decline. I didn't understand at the time that Mrs. Payson's death left the Mets in the hands of people who didn't care about winning, only about cost-cutting. I'll still say 2009 was the worst, because it wasn't one bad event, it was a whole shitstorm. One thing after another. I'm glad there wasn't a season like this when I was 15. I might have become permanently demoralized.

metirish Nov 06 2009 02:39 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

All we are missing here is narration by Daniel Stern.

G-Fafif Nov 06 2009 02:47 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

Mets were considered possible contenders entering '77, though hindsight suggests that was a misdiagnosis. They had been rotting from within for a few years, to be sure, but on the surface, with their pitching, they didn't seem particularly doomed after 1976, not doomed in the way they became. They'd been finishing in the neighborhood of third place for so long, it seemed likely they'd just stick around and maybe get lucky. The late '70s were suck without borders. The final three years were just one monstrous pit. I choose '79 as the standout (or flopout) among them for it seemed like the culmination of the disaster; all that had been sown in the way of bad management was being reaped. At least there was a speck of hope entering '77 and, yeah, Steve Henderson (if not Dan Norman) gave off a flicker of potential for a few weeks. '79 was just so empty, figuratively and literally. I'll take dashed hope over no hope if that's the choice. (The '78 club, as bad as its brethren by the end, was actually decent for the first two months, 23-24 on Memorial Day -- it didn't take much to sate me.) If '09 is an aberration, somehow, and we rebound in '10, we'll look back on this as a rogue season. If it was a turning point, then I don't want to know what we've turned toward.

metsmarathon Nov 06 2009 02:52 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

y'know, at least we din't have to listen to fran healy this year... i'm willing to nominate this year as a candidate for "worst met year ever" i think my choice comes down to this and 1993, with a wink at 2003. both '93 and '03 felt hopeless, like the mets had dug themselves a deep, deep hole of embarrasment and shittyness out of which they might never climb. this team still has some silver linings out there. they're scratched up silver linings with lots of question marks and other mixed metaphors, but they're there nonetheless. where were the same in '93? in '03? sure, this season featured a new, unique, and relentless brand of suck, but i think '93 was worse. yeah... i think '93 was worse. i wasn't really around for the '77 season, and and don't have much perspective on it, but after i was born they were a 0.500 team...

metsguyinmichigan Nov 06 2009 02:55 PM Re: Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

"In 1977, we already had sucked for a number of years, and there was little expectation of winning anything. That we also lost Seaver was painful but, being Mets fans, we at least could be optimistic about the "potential" of Dan Norman." This is just my perspective. But you have to understand. I was just 13 and Seaver was EVERYTHING. Wore my hair like his, aspired to grow up to be 6-1, 205 -- fell short on the former, over-exceeded on the latter (but not anymore :) ) -- and would defend to the death anyone who dared disparage him or my team. Completely stupid, looking back. But that's where I was. And I was one of those kids who read the papers every day and saw the talk that it might happen, and was in complete denial. And when the bastards actually went and did it, well, I was like Charlton Heston pounding away at the sand in front of the wreckage of the Statue of Liberty. Absolutely shattered. MY team did this to ME? This season was obviously horrible, but it terms of actually affecting my life, it doesn't come close to 1977. I can't fault them for the injuries, but I can for trading my hero. I big difference between something that happens to them and something they do. Looking back, it was silly and probably a good life lesson for a kid. Also made seeing the 300th win in person years later a cathartic event.