When they win, articles I read are positive, and people I talk to are pleased, but they have this raised-eyebrow kind of look. Almost as if they are surprised as they say things such as, "Yeah, I know, crazy right?"
When they lose however, a flood of pent up angst is spewed, as if everyone expected it to happen, even amidst a streak such as this. Scapegoats are appointed, and the person emits a "here we go again" type attitude.
I attribute this to the results of the last two seasons. No matter what Carlos Beltran does, the memory of his frozen bat against Adam Wainwright unfairly won't be forgotten. No matter how good Johan Santana pitches, he is overshadowed by the dark cloud surrounding Oliver Perez's currently squandered contract and uncertain future.
It is almost as if the media, and we as fans, are just waiting for Collapse 3.0 to happen. And this time when it does, we will be ready. Our coping mechanisms have setup the expectation of failure so that we don't get as upset this time around. We always blame the team for being mentally weak, lacking confidence, and belief in themselves. But I think it is us who suffer from those same insecurities. Every game has become like a mini-series. Are we overreacting, or is that just baseball?
Here's the bottom line. Only a championship will satisfy us because personally I am tired of reminiscing over one from 23 years ago. We have seen the team coast in first place all year, just to miss the playoffs. We have chanted MVP to Wright and Beltran, and booed them during slumps. Nothing will be good enough for us until they win it all.
Wins keep us quiet, losses frustrate us, and we try to have faith. I know the media needs something to talk and write about, so it is easy to pick on what is not working, plus it generates more discussion. I must try to not get sucked into that vortex of negativity. It is a long season and I am an optimistic fan, but even I can admit that patience is thin.
Baseball is funny. You have to let each day go, good or bad, or it will affect you the next day. Maybe, in order to get through the season, I need to do the same.
