As a lifelong New York Mets fan, I have become accustomed to frustration and disappointment. We never take winning for granted and we savor every moment we have had in the spotlight.
The 2015 season was simply amazing. The Mets were teetering between buyers and sellers at the trade deadline when they decided to go "all in" with Yoenis Cespedes. To say it worked out would be a huge understatement. It was literally game-changing. We all knew that "La Potencia" couldn't sustain the pace he had spoiled us with in August and September, but we were having too much fun to get bogged down with reality.
Reality did come in the playoffs when Superman looked a lot more like Clark Kent. Yet he was still incredibly exciting to watch at the plate. When he stepped up you felt as if anything could happen. His presence changed the entire Mets lineup and psyche of the opposing team.
But now that the World Series is history, most Mets fans understand that the team's future is now. Not since the mid-80s have the Mets been so primed to run the table with their extraordinary young pitching staff. This is a special moment in time where they have three to five quality starters in their arsenal that anything beyond a world championship or perhaps several championships would be a disappointment.
Conventional wisdom says that pitching is the key to success yet it is clear the Mets need more pop in their bats. Banking on their current lineup to all have career years doesn't seem like a good bet. Help needs to come in one form or another and Cespedes is so tempting.
Fact is he is a very good player and any team would be lucky to have him in the middle of their lineup. He will likely hit 25 homers and drive in close to 100 RBIs. But what he did in New York the last two months of the season was an aberration.
The reality of being a Mets fan today is understanding the financial limitations. Signing a player to a long and expensive contract will only deplete resources that could have gone elsewhere. We have been shackled by long, bad contracts before and I not sure Cespedes is worth that risk.
Well at least that is what my brain tells me. My heart feels differently. I have my Bleacher Report alerts set for Mets updates and every time I see something come through my heart jumps a beat. I am desperately waiting to see the outcome of Yoenis Cespedes sweepstakes. (Please God anyone but the Yankees or Nationals!). And I am secretly hoping the Mets bring him back. But that is my heart. It only remembers the good. The amazing. The home runs and the 2015 runaway pennant race.
What it doesn't see is the player, who has a career .271 batting average; who is defensively inconsistent at best and especially in centerfield; and a player who has played on four teams over the past four years -- highly valuable or not worth the headache?
The baseball pundits predict news to break at any moment and I am truly torn. This year maybe the Mets best chance of becoming world champions in over 30 years but that won't happen without that extra big bat. The question is: Is Cespedes really the best for us. I hope so.