Thirty years ago, my husband & I had two sons.

‘Children need a solid education and religious training,’ my mother advised. Music and sport, fresh air and nature must be part of the raising up, among other key variables. I meted them out in equal doses. Nevertheless, despite what I calculated as equal inputs, the outcomes were two very different young men.

‘You pin, you win,’ said the elemental, focused wrestler. ‘My sport teaches me how to get up every time I fall down, and we all teach each other our best tricks,’ elaborated the fluid skateboarder. My husband & I marveled at and embraced the variety in our developing family. What a delightful, cross-functional little team we were.

We kept on providing and encouraging that balanced education, so that the mechanic who could figure out anything about a car came to enjoy throwing pottery, and the philosopher who was fluent in the German poets learned how to change an electrical outlet. Over time, each has rounded out his own growing portfolio of skills.

The bottom-line – driven Moneyball & sabermetrics sensations of the 00s lent huge intelligence to player selection and team formation, in our case, the ‘Moneyball Mets’ of the Minaya / Alderson / Collins era. With this calculus, and with the support of Pray4Mets, the team made it to the World Series in 2015. What happened to its formulaic potential in ’16, ’17 & ’18?

Mets’ new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen has come on the scene to further refine the inputs. His recent trades, or lack of them, indicate that the Mets are now able to pay attention to what could be considered the more intangible aspects of team formation. Had he been driven by money and numbers only, Wheeler & Syndergaard would likely be ex-Mets by today.

Life and baseball are not only about statistics and numbers, especially in the long term. There are other variables, some known and some unknown. Our Mets mechanics are now starting to write poetry, too. They are coming together, merging meter with rhythm.

I’m so glad we didn’t trade Noah,’’ said Todd Frazier, who picked up three hits and drove in three runs in the Mets’ 16-hit attack. “He’s a No. 1 or a No. 2. He’s throwing 96 to 100 every game, nasty slider stuff. We love playing behind him. I’m happy he’s here now.

“It’s contagious,’’ Syndergaard said of the positive feelings within the team. “There is a positive energy coming through this clubhouse and we are going to run with it. It’s kind of snowballed right now in terms of the positive energy.’’

He’s not alone. Callaway feels the same way.

Read & listen more on these subjects at:

Kevin Kernan (NY Post)

https://nypost.com/2019/08/04/marcus-stroman-shows-why-mets-dealt-for-him/

https://nypost.com/2019/08/04/keeping-noah-syndergaard-is-making-all-the-difference-for-mets/

Rev. Douglas Ousley (Church of The Incarnation, NYC): https://churchoftheincarnation.org/sermons/fools-gold-2/

Quotes: NY POST

Let’s Keep Going, Mets!

Send your thoughts, musings, prayers & incantations to me at Pray4Mets@gmail.com.

Maureen Edelson, Creator

Pray4Mets

Montclair, NJ USA