Someday

Wow... long time, right?

It's weird to be back on the blog but figured the loss of Jose Reyes deserved a mention. As longtime (i.e., former) readers are aware, my blog handle, A Friend of Mr. Glass', was inspired by our injury-prone former sparkplug.

Like so many others, Jose Reyes was my favorite Met. The excitement surrounding him on his way up and through those first few seasons, and then again this past season, was breathtaking at times.

You never had as much fun at Shea/Citi Field or at home watching on the tube as when Reyes lashed one into the gap. That's the way we'll all remember him. Dreadlocks bouncing in his wake, careening full throttle for third and diving in amid a plume of dirt.

Beyond the sheer enjoyment of watching him play, Reyes was, and will remain, a symbol of a very exciting time in my life -- the end of college and my life back in New York. Those first few years out of college are pretty great; you have no real responsibilities, you have a little scratch in your pocket, and if you're a sports fan, you can watch basically any game you want.

Back in 2005 and 2006, I wanted to watch basically every game, so sure enough I did. Reyes is a big part of those memories, right there with D-Wright, Pedro, Uncle Cliff, and so many others. He was very much the poster boy for an era of Mets baseball.

* * * * *

Guys, it didn't take Reyes signing with Miami to make it clear that era is over. The Mets were bad last year, bad the year before that, and bad the year before that.

I love Reyes, but look at this team -- what are we holding onto? Was there any combination of moves that would have made us a contender in 2012? No; no question about it, full stop.

I hate to lose Reyes because I think he's awesome and fun to root for, but he wasn't going to make this team great again; if he was, he'd have done it by now.

It's time for a new generation of players to lead the way. The Mets won't be good again until guys like Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and on and on are contributing at the big league level, and that's not happening until 2013 at the earliest, 2014 more likely.

And that's OK. We don't have to win every year; we don't have to win every 25 years, evidently, because they haven't and here we all are just the same. People say they at least need to "try" -- "trying" is what we did the last few years, it didn't work.

It's time for a new model. It's time for new players. We won't win in 2012, won't win in 2013. But if we follow through on this process, someday, maybe, it will be worth it.

So goodbye, Jose; goodbye, old friend. You were awesome. We had a lot of good memories, and those aren't going anywhere. Others may boo when you return, but I'll be cheering for you.

- A.F.O.M.G.