Which came first, the chicken
or the Mets? That is the question about the meat of
their season: Are they good because they have so much
chemistry, or do they have so much chemistry because
they are good?
That is one of
the oldest questions in sports, and the toughest. If
it were just a matter of everybody getting along with
each other, then Dale Carnegie classes would win the
World Series every year. On the other hand, if it were
just a matter of talent, then the Yankees still would
be playing.
Any of us who
watched the Oakland Athletics and the Yankees in the
1970s grew up believing that harmony isn't a necessity.
But these Mets, who open the National League Championship
Series against the Cardinals tonight at Shea Stadium,
make a good case that they are better on the field because
of what happens in the dugout, in the clubhouse and
at the occasional department store.
If a player gets
jammed into a weak grounder, he gets laughed at when
he comes to the bench. In ballplayerese, that translates
to, "Don't sulk. We all make outs. You'll hit a
rope next time."
If anybody gets
in a funk, someone will snap him out of it by pointing
out his most peculiar character flaw. "You've got
to put up your dukes when you come in here," Billy
Wagner said, referring to psychological defenses, not
the fistfights that Cliff Floyd claims to have seen
on other teams.
Carlos Beltran
was shopping recently and was just about ready to buy
a handful of shirts bedecked with palm tree designs.
Then he realized that Ramon Castro makes a spectacle
of anybody who dares walk in the clubhouse wearing a
Hawaiian print or a pink or yellow shirt, so he took
a pass.
"When Castro
was [rehabbing] in Port St. Lucie," Beltran said,
"everybody could wear what they wanted."
That might sound
like kids stuff, but there does seem to be more to the
Mets than meets the eye. Yes, they do have an astronomical
payroll, but they didn't have the most talented club
in the world at their disposal in the Division Series
and they still swept the Dodgers.
Score one for
feelings. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa does. "I
always [note] the 'expert' who says team chemistry is
something that doesn't exist and it's not important,"
said the man who has won six Division Series, four pennants
and one World Series. "If you have that, it's just
like a general manager trading for a superstar.
"It starts
with the right people. And they have to think that those
things are important," La Russa said. "If
you have a bunch of jerks that ignore that message,
get rid of the jerks.
"Just treat
your teammate like you would your family. It ain't all
that tough," La Russa said, adding that one reason
the Mets are so good is, "they are a very tight
club" (as opposed to being an uptight club).
Not that it's
a church picnic. The Mets can show tough love, like
the time recently when an anonymous teammate posted
a barbed note on Lastings Milledge's locker. Maybe that
will help Milledge grow.
Carlos Delgado
insists that it helps that they are mostly sanguine.
"When you win 97 games, you are a lot more forgiving,
so you have to keep that in consideration," the
Mets first baseman said. "But we have tough skin.
We know we're kidding around and we feed off that positive
energy."
Sorry, this observer
doesn't buy it altogether. But we'll give the Mets credit
for half a sale. It does say something for them that
there's a good feeling on a club that has a strong Latino
presence, an African American manager and white players
from various backgrounds (including Shawn Green, the
most high-profile Jewish big leaguer). These guys all
do share a spark.
"It's collective.
It's an ownership," said Willie Randolph, who was
on Yankee championship teams that were famous for their
infighting. "If you can get 25 guys who are unselfish
and want the opportunity to experience something very,
very special, that's really where the chemistry comes
in."
On the other
hand, broadcaster Tim McCarver said in the Mets clubhouse
yesterday, "The worst team I was ever on was the
'71 Phillies, and we loved each other." From his
viewpoint, these Mets were good before they had chemistry.
So maybe the
real answer has nothing to do with the chicken or the
egg. It's that the Mets' chemistry is more like chicken
soup: It can't hurt.
DID YOU KNOW?
Paul Lo Duca batted .364 in five games, and Jose Reyes
hit .346 (9-for-26) with two homers and eight RBIs in
six games against the Cards this season.
