Wright and Reyes: The Spirit of The Mets

Once again we watched David Wright and Jose Reyes come up to bat in the ninth inning with a chance to do something special. Once again we saw the cornerstones of this current group of Mets come up with a runner in scoring position. Once again we saw what we once touted as the best left side of the infield in the game come up in a pressure situation. And once again we saw them fail.

To say Wright and Reyes do not perform well in the clutch is an understatement. The fact is that these two- Wright especially- become completely different hitters when there is any kind of pressure to perform. And with every late and close Wright strike out and Reyes pop up comes more than just a disappointing at bat. For they are microcosms of something much larger; with their constant struggles under pressure comes the reminder of what a failure the Mets-THEIR Mets- have been.

There are some players that possess an innate ability to rise to an occasion. They either have IT or they don't. IT is a quality that is not reflected in box scores or in fantasy statistics. IT does not necessarily correlate with natural ability. And as fans we can't really explain IT, but only know if a player has IT by watching them day in and day out.

While there may have been better all around hitters than Keith Hernandez, there was nobody you would rather have up in a pressure situation because he definitely had IT. And IT rubbed off on his team. Hernandez's Mets were known for their ability to thrive under pressure.

Mike Piazza went through stretches where he willed his team to victory in the most dramatic fashion. He had an uncanny ability to deliver in the most surreal settings. And he was able to do this not solely because of his freakish talent, but because he had IT. And IT also rubbed off on his team. The Piazza led Mets were loved for being gritty and entertaining.

And what are the Wright and Reyes Mets known for? Well, during their era we have seen a disappointing post season and the biggest collapse in the history of baseball. In fact the collapse was so bad that the Mets attempted to categorize the next year's collapse as not really a collapse because it was not as massive as the previous collapse. In other words, these Mets, like the Mets of prior eras are a reflection of their stars. And what a disaster IT has been.