Always make the difference between optimism and hope. I’m not an optimist at all — I’m a prisoner of hope. I don’t believe in optimism. That’s too thin.
—Dr. Cornel West, Real Time With Bill Maher, February 11, 2011
I hope Carlos Beltran is feeling 29 again. That Jose Reyes is all revved up to go at 27 and then doesn’t go anywhere. That David Wright swings free and easy, his shoulders and his mind less burdened than they’ve been in recent seasons.
I hope Daniel Murphy stitches together his several partial skills and creates a versatile monster. That Brad Emaus is the steal of the century at second. That the inevitable “Hu?” jokes give way to back page headlines along the lines of THAT’S HU!
I hope Angel Pagan and R.A. Dickey are not at all surprising in 2011, just more of what they were in 2010. That Mike Pelfrey’s bad outings are aberrations rather than indicators. That Jon Niese extends his June form into September.
I hope Francisco Rodriguez earns his way back to everyone’s trust off and on the field. That Johan Santana proves a medical marvel. That the National League Comeback Player of the Year is named Chris and that the award is split two ways.
I hope Nick Evans’s lack of options is balanced by a bounty of base hits. That Josh Thole and Ike Davis are the youngest old pros imaginable. That Oliver Perez inspires a round or two of stories about how “maybe Omar Minaya knew something after all.”
I hope Luis Castillo catches on with Oakland or Seattle. That Bobby Parnell is both a year older and wiser. That Jenrry Mejia’s next appearance, whenever it may be, is universally described as “polished”.
I hope Terry Collins is as ready as he says he is. That Luis Hernandez’s next home run is pain-free. That somebody can come in and get a lefty out as needed.
I hope Jason Bay hits this year like he hustled last year. That Sandy Alderson has cause to buy in July. That somebody to whom I’ve given no thought in mid-February is one of my favorite Mets come mid-season.
I don’t know that I’m all that optimistic about the 2011 Mets. But by god, on this day of all days, I am brimming with hope.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by You Gotta Believe!, Greg Prince. Greg Prince said: Only one thing a #Mets fan can do on the day pitchers & catchers report. Here's hoping… http://wp.me/pKvXu-22Z [...]
Fuckin’ A.
Hear, hear! (I don’t think I could’ve put it as eloquently as Fman99, above.)
You said it all for me.
If you can’t be optimistic at the start of spring training, you have some serious problems.
Here’s Hoping should be the Mets new motto :)
http://fastcache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2011/02/xlarge_7624d5a90695cb621297780841.jpg
Good God, we’re all doomed.
Happy pitchers and catchers everybody.
Greg,
While I too can’t wait for the season to begin and hope for the best, I’ll only have genuine hope once the Wilpons sell the team.
Amen.
Can’t we all just get along?
Greg, I guess that’s why both Hope and Baseball can precede the word ‘Diamond’ but there’s no Optimist Diamond.
I hope you’re right about this season.
Greg
U r the man
Cant we get together before each game and you lead us in a prayer and/or visualization meeting.
Are you listening Ha Shem?
be and stay well all us beknighted souls.
Right there with you, my friend! Let’s Go Mets!
I hope Greg at FAIF is 100% right !!
Man this is what i needed
You had me until “ollie Perez.”
Just long enough to pique a sucker GM somewhere.
Now *there’s* something to hope for.
2011 stat line for Ollie Perez
NYM W – 0 L – 5 ERA 7.93
STL W – 15 L – 3 ERA 2.05
Awesome
The AP is reporting that Jason Isringhausen had an audition for the Mets today.
If the Mets sign him, he should be required to wear his Mercury Mets jersey in all appearances.
Word is the Wilpons made a call to The Donald about buying a stake in the team. Good God, talk about frying pan into the fire!
Pluses: The Donald calling Ollie Perez into his office and saying, “You’re fired!” Melania Knauss in the house.
Minuses: Everything else you could possibly think of. The Mets on The Apprentice? Citi Field becoming Trump Field? Prices doubling overnight?
Still waiting for the New Jersey Generals to win a USFL Bowl.
Plus: Yankees have Hank and Hal, we have Jeff and Ivanka. Even with Jeff dragging us down, we still win that category by a MILE.
Greg,
You must have drank that Mets Kool Aid.
I hope we are all yelling “Boooooooffff” in the 7th inning. I hope that Jenry Mejia’s call up happens in July. I hope that by the end of spring training we will be talking about which starters have minor league options. And I hope that on opening day at City Field we are all singing “Jose, Jose-Jose-Jose” in the 8th.
Trump? Did anyone see the “30 on 30″ NJ General doc?
If we can get Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson to do for the Mets what they did for the Tampa Bay Bandits, then we’d be in business.
We’d have a fun poster and logo, at any rate.
If there’s such thing as the Law of Averages, some of these are bound to happen. Some. Not most, not many, but some. Perhaps Castillo catching on in Oakland or Seattle is the most likely one though.
I didn’t put Cornell West’s quote into a Mets context when he said it, but it fits.
[...] http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2011/02/15/heres-hoping/ [...]
I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
Get busy winning or get busy losing.
LOL this is great. I actually was picturing Morgan Freeman’s voice while reading the post, having just watched Shawshank on AMC.
I thought FOR SURE Greg’s post was going to end with Red’s open-ended, “I hope…..”
A commenter rendered “anonymous” when we made a technical switch nailed that particular pitch in June 2008.
Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
The days are getting longer and the pitchers and catchers are in camp. Let’s go Mets!!
I am heading to PSL tomorrow so I will bring some of that HOPE with me!
We have 27 pitchers in camp so I HOPE we have some catchers there!
I am also bringing a scorecard…roster..who’s who in baseball…Does anybody know who these guys are?
This team is bulit on “Hope and Wishes”
I’m just hoping that this new regime takes Ollie’s inevitable miserable spring as a sign that he isn’t and never will be an even halfway decent pitcher, unlike the last regime which perpetually believed he’d eventually “find his groove”. There is no groove to find.
Right on, Greg.
Long time reader, first time commenter…
This post was pretty damn inspiring. I’m kind of sick of having to hope for so many variables to happen, but hey, it’s almost spring, we’re all brimming with hope in spring.
In any case, slow clap for Mr. Prince here.
[...] not the freshly squeezed Florida OJ (optimism juice) spring should bring. I’m still clinging to a patina of hopefulness that the Mets will somehow be more glittering than ghastly in the coming months. And if they’re [...]