I don't think the immediate future is good. Do you remember the 2000 season, the team got to the World Series? That was good, and maybe they should have won (or at least got back to Yankee Stadium to get finished off there). They really really should have won game 1, but found ways to blow it. After that series, they had a couple of down years instead of working from the momentum, like they had done going from 1999 to 2000 (and even building into '99). That game 1 loss was a game that they, as a franchise, just needed a couple of years to get over.
And those couple years were some down years (2001-2004). Some bad trades. Some bad players. And eventually, the players, coaches, and management from the 2000 team were all gone. Omar Minaya came in to run the baseball operations after the 2004 season, Willie Randolph was named manager, Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez came in as free agents, and we had some good prospects. The Mets were getting built for the future.
And the future came with a good team in 2005, and a team that was made to win it all in 2006. But that didn't work out. They blew their chance in game 7 of the NLCS that year after Endy's catch, and I've said for 2 1/2 years that the franchise hasn't recovered from it yet. This is why I brought up the 2000 team and aftermath. There's a lot of parallels between the two, and some differences too. After 2000, it took into a 5th year before things got pointed in the right direction. After 2006, we had a let down too. A different way of letting down though. We had leads and blew them late, missing the playoffs by 1 game in each of the past 2 seasons. I think we're still on our downslide following that game 7 loss almost 3 years ago. The current team is starting to show signs of slippage.
Back to the parallel, things didn't really get worked out for the Mets earlier this decade until the house was cleaned out and players and management who were part of that 2000 team were gone. I really think that's the same remedy we need here. Clean house. Rid ourselves of everyone who was part of the teams in 2006, 2007, and 2008, because those years collectively have a stink similar to the 2000 team.
It will take a few years to remake the club into a contender, and for us to try again. But I think it's the only way. Throwing new players at this thing just isn't going to make it better.
