The New York Mets have won six games in a row.
They're riding high after stumbling out of the gate to start the season, and fans are once again pouring through the gates at Citi Field.
Talk show radio in New York is filled with optimistic listeners calling in to voice their opinions about how this team is "different" and how there's "something special going on here."
However, as a lifelong Mets fan, I know better.
Over the course of my 20 years as a diehard fan of the Amazin's, I've learned a thing or two about heartbreak, disappointment, and missed expectations.
Let me start by saying that I truly hope this is the start of a magical summer in Queens, and I believe it very well could be.
But let's not jump the gun.
Six wins in a row is great, and the possibility of finishing the month of April with an above .500 record is incredible, especially when you consider the Mets sat at just 5-13 before their recent surge.
However, as a Mets fan, I've seen this script before. It's been acted out nearly every season since I began bleeding orange and blue.
They'll win six in a row, then lose eight out of 10.
The lineup will hit a collective .350 over the winning streak, and then .250 during the skid.
The starting pitching will go from looking like a collective group of All-s|Stars to a staff filled with arms that can't make it through five innings against the National League's bottom feeders.
It's not that I'm a pessimist, it's just that the Mets give us, the fans, no choice but to think in such a negative light.
If the Mets want to finally shed the loser label that they've created for themselves over the past five seasons, and restore faith in their fanbase, they'll have to do a lot more than win six straight. Even seven, eight, nine, or 10 won't do. Give me a month in which the Mets dominate in every facet of play, and maybe I'll truly believe something special is going on in Queens.
But until they do that, I have no choice but to exhibit an air of doubt for every Ike Davis home run, David Wright web gem, or strong performance out of the pitching staff.
Maybe this team can keep its strong play going for an extended period of time. Maybe this really is the start of something special. Then again, maybe they're just teasing us like usual.
It's a maybe world in Metsland, but maybe, this is the team…this time.
Email: scottres@buffalo.edu
