I look at the last few years, see the wasted opportunities and shake me head. The popularity of Madonna, the girls wearing tights on the street, and the Yankees unable to make it back to a World Series after losing one in the beginning of the decade. This all seems so familiar. I cannot shake it, but I get this eerie feeling that we are a few drug problems short of another decade wasted to take advantage of a NY Yankees slump.

Let’s see… we have a third baseman who is a perennial MVP contender. David Wright is able to hit for average and power, drive in runs, and has some speed on the base paths.

Hmmm…a trip down memory lane dredges up the name Howard Johnson. Yes HoJo was a fan favorite. He was not as good as a hitter as Wright, but he was a little faster from first to second. He was in the running for MVP three years. I remember people purchasing Mets tickets to see him and right fielder with tons of five-tool potential.

Oddly enough, we have an outfielder who has that rare mix of hitting, power, speed, fielding skills, and a powerful arm. His name is Carlos Beltran. He does not play right, but maybe the slight shift that finds him in center has kept him away from the white horse and the modern drug no-no, steroids.

Today’s team has purchased an ace, Johan Santana. Santana has a strong fast ball and a circle change. The ‘80s version of this Cy Young winner has to be Dwight Gooden. Gooden was more of a power pitcher with a sweeping curve, but he was one of the best and the focus of the starting rotation, much like Santana.

The good thing is that this potential dynasty that had gathered at Shea Stadium is that they won a single World Series. Maybe this team could capture a few World Series tickets for fans before their careers take a dreaded dive.

The Philadelphia Phillies stand in the way, but the Mets have been putting up a fight and could make good on all that expensive talent and those seasons loaded with expectations one of these years.

In a new century where the Red Sox and White Sox could end their torment, surely a club like the Mets could manage to win at least on championship to give a whole new generation hope that they can mock Yankees fans for more than a couple of years.

Posted under New York Mets