Reyes Takes His Talents to South Beach

The year was 2006, Democrats were poised to take back control of both houses of congress, and the Mets were actually playing well. These were heady times, simpler times, I had not yet been jilted out of my childhood innocence, I still believed in the fundamental rightness of humanity, I believed that perhaps the New York Mets could win a World Series in my lifetime, or at least maintain a measure of respectability that has proved so elusive since there founding in 1962.

With Jose Reyes's departure to the greener, or perhaps tealer, pastures of South Florida, that era of hope has officially come to an end. I feel not unlike a beleaguered Jacobin, during the Bourbon Restoration, wistfully reminiscing about the revolutionary promise that had once appeared so close to fruition and now could not seem farther from the present reality. (Indeed there is something similar between sports fandom and political partisanship, it becomes an entrenched part of who you are, how you see yourself, though it realistically bares little relationship to the ins and outs of everyday life.)

I bare no grudge against Reyes, the Mets are a sinking ship with no realistic hope to win during the life of his new contract, and the reconstituted Miami Marlins are emerging as a potential juggernaut, willing to spend money in hopes of filling their new stadium. It was just 3 years ago when the glove was on the other hand, the Mets had a brand new state of the art stadium and World Series aspirations. Three years of injuries, bad luck, and bad baseball put the kibosh on that dream for the Mets. Now, cash strapped because of their involvement in Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme, as well as their inability to fill their stadium because of the consistently bad product they've put out on the field, the mets have have willingly let the once future king of Queens go to a division rival and essentially wave the white flag for the next several seasons. I will continue to root for the Mets, simply because I've got no other choice(though I clearly do have other choices, I could root for the Yankees or one of other 29 teams or perhaps give up on baseball, though both of those options are anathema to me). Days like today are why I sometimes question my interest in sports, no one involved in the decision making process gave a damn about my thoughts or feelings, from Reyes to the owners of the Mets, and yet it seems I'm the one left to carry the burden of sadness over Reyes's decision.

Reyes made his debut as 20 year old embodiment of the future, today he is an embodiment of the past.