Worst Season Ever (Split from World Series IST)

[Centerfield]

Thank god this year is over.

I've been racking my brain trying to think of a season that sucked more than 2009 and coming up blank.

[metirish]

You know what though , I really don't care that they won....I feel the same today as yesterday....

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yup.

And plenty of seasons were worse. C'mon.

[Centerfield]

Yup.

And plenty of seasons were worse. C'mon.[/quote:kb8zipnp]

I'm being serious here. There have been plenty of seasons when the team was bad, but few have been this bad where the expectations coming in were as high as they were. As misguided as it may have been, Sports Illustrated picked the Mets to win it all for instance. Then there was the rash of injuries, the sucky play, and the Castillo drop. Basically the entire summer was miserable. Pedro went to our most hated division rivals and thrived. The one team we were rooting against in the National League won it all. The one team we were rooting against in the American League won it all. When we finally sucked it up and rooted for the Phillies in the World Series, they lost as well...leaving us with having to deal with another MFY victory parade. Other than career-ending injuries to Reyes and Wright, you cannot script a more miserable season for Mets fans. You may think otherwise, but for me, 2009 is as bad as it has ever been.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yup.

And plenty of seasons were worse. C'mon.[/quote:34cr8sez]

I'm being serious here.[/quote:34cr8sez]
I'm not saying you're not serious, I'm saying you're being at least a little nearsighted.

The most recent wound hurts the most and is freshest, and certainly takes your mind off the pains that had come before, but perspective is the tonic for that and perspective tells me no way. People were saying it was the worst season ever as reacently as 2001 (a season that included an insane rush toward the top of the standings in August and September --- and 2003 also. In 2007 and 2008, people in as much seriousness as you, were arguing how much better it is to fall out of the running in mid-summer than to get punched on the last day of the season --- essentially that 2007 and 2008 were the worst.

The team can't rationally be continually having their worst season.

[MFS62]

As misguided as it may have been, Sports Illustrated picked the Mets to win it all for instance. [/quote:1m9rhoyq]
Of course.
I had forgotten that.
Now everything is clear.

It was the dreaded SI curse.

Maybe there's something to it.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't know. It's hard to recall a worse season. Maybe 1992 or 1993?

So much went wrong this year, and it ends with a Yankees championship. I agree that this one is an all-time stinker.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm really disappointed that folks don't remember the same thing being said over and over several times in the last few years, including years in which the team managed to contend. (But this time we're right!)

[soupcan]

If not the worst, then 2009 is top 3 at least.

High expections, injuries, lackadaisical play, bad losses, embarassing PR missteps, Phillies and Yankees...and you can throw a pinch of Madoff in there as well.

[Guest Number 6]

OK, some people cry "worst year ever" after every season. How about the people saying that here? Do they do that? If they do, then maybe you should get on them individually. Right now you're just generalizing.

I've never said that other years were about as bad as they could possibly be. I'll say that about this year. It was a worst-case scenario, and it sucked about as bad as I could imagine a baseball season sucking. And since I'm not responsible for the opinions of others, I don't feel nearsighted about this at all.

[metirish]

It was a horrible season and it was over by the All-Star break.....for me that was the worst part.

[TransMonk]

I would say that 2001, 2007 and 2008 were bigger disappointments.

This season was over in June for all intents...I've been over it since then.

[Guest Edgy DC]

OK, some people cry "worst year ever" after every season. How about the people saying that here? Do they do that? If they do, then maybe you should get on them individually. Right now you're just generalizing.

I've never said that other years were about as bad as they could possibly be. I'll say that about this year. It was a worst-case scenario, and it sucked about as bad as I could imagine a baseball season sucking. And since I'm not responsible for the opinions of others, I don't feel nearsighted about this at all.

[Guest Number 6]

I did just pop in to the discussion, but since you seemed to be questioning an idea as opposed to an individual (and an idea I happened to share), I didn't feel like my reply would be completely out of the blue.

Your list of woes is well-taken, though if we were in the appropriate wound-licking mood I'm sure we could put together a list of 2009 woes that would look pretty good (or, bad) at the end of it. "Worst season ever" is obviously a subjective thing - for instance, there are people here who are tormented by the Yankee victory while others don't seem to care - but I think there's plenty of empirical evidence to justify holding this position. At any rate, I'm not sure it justifies your disappointment.

[Centerfield]

You're dancing around the point. Bad things happen each year...and certainly more bad things could have happened this year. But because of the points I mentioned earlier, it's tough to come up with a year that sucked as much as this year sucked.

And I don't think I'm being nearsighted at all. I'm trying to take a step back and try to look at each season as objectively as I can. Short-sighted statements by others in recent years are irrelevant to my point.

2007 and 2008 sucked. But at least we were in the race and the MFY's didn't win it all.

2003 was surely a disappointing season, but the Braves weren't in the Series, and I had fun watching Beckett shut down the MFY's in Game 6.

2001 was actually fun for a while, and Game 7 of the World Series made me incredibly happy.

[TransMonk]

2007 and 2008 sucked. But at least we were in the race and the MFY's didn't win it all.

2003 was surely a disappointing season, but the Braves weren't in the Series, and I had fun watching Beckett shut down the MFY's in Game 6.

2001 was actually fun for a while, and Game 7 of the World Series made me incredibly happy.[/quote:2p9lxcqm]

It sounds like your level of grief has as much to do with the Yankees as the Mets.

I can't share that rationale. For my money, the way 2006 ended was even far worse than 2009.

[Guest Edgy DC]

You're dancing around the point.[/quote:xt27ecep]
I'm certain I'm not. If I am, that's one fucking huge tarantella I just did.

[Centerfield]

I think you are.

My point was that 2009 sucked worse than other years because many shitty things happened this year.

If you disagree, the way to refute that point is to select another year and demonstrate that the sum of shitty things of that year exceeds the sum of shitty things that happened this year.

You, instead, listed shitty things that have happened throughout the years, but did not happen this year. That list does little to address my point. The argument that such a list would refute is the idea that all shitty things happened this year. Which is clearly not my thesis.

[Centerfield]

And I know I turned the thread into an argument about arguing. Sorry.

Look, I don't really care if other years were worse for anyone else. As Number 6 says, it's a matter of personal preference. For me, though, this one takes the cake. And I don't believe this is just a knee-jerk, short-sighted reaction.

[Centerfield]

2007 and 2008 sucked. But at least we were in the race and the MFY's didn't win it all.

2003 was surely a disappointing season, but the Braves weren't in the Series, and I had fun watching Beckett shut down the MFY's in Game 6.

2001 was actually fun for a while, and Game 7 of the World Series made me incredibly happy.[/quote:wcp869mw]

It sounds like your level of grief has as much to do with the Yankees as the Mets.

I can't share that rationale. For my money, the way 2006 ended was even far worse than 2009.[/quote:wcp869mw]

Not as much, but Yankee misery certainly enhances my baseball season. If the Mets suck, or have been eliminated, I look for other things from baseball. And Yankee losses are at the top of that list.

I also don't let disappointing ends destroy my enjoyment of a season. For me, 2006 was one of my favorite seasons. Sure it was disappointing in the NLCS. But Met juggernauts are rare. I enjoy them when I get them.

I'm not saying 2007 and 2008 were easy...but for me, they rank higher than, say, 2004 or 1993.

[Guest Number 6]

Yeah, the criteria for worst season ever is subjective. Despite that, there are obviously only a certain number of seasons which could reasonably be considered for the crown of shit. 2009 obviously fits in that group. Among them, your mileage may vary depending on how you judge the relative impact of a number of things.

One thing I think I can say objectively, 2009 was unique in my experience as a season which just kept piling on. The team got worse and worse, players kept going down with very few returning, the embarrassments on and off the field mounted, and it was all topped off by a postseason which was a worst-case scenario in just about every way. It was an avalanche of shit, and it was utterly relentless. If there was ever a season that made me wonder about my karma, it was 2009.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I selected every year.

I didn't realize the Yankees were so key to your argument. The Mets can't really control that much about what happens with the Yankees except for the last 15 years or so, six head-to-head games and, in 2000, by chance, the World Series.

Maybe they should put out a highlight film: "2009: No Gang Rapes!"

[metirish]

I would say that 2001, 2007 and 2008 were bigger disappointments.

This season was over in June for all intents...I've been over it since then.[/quote:31ah4881]

At least with those seasons there was plenty to enjoy.....07/08 anyway , seasons that ended badly but were worth tuning into till the end.

[Guest Number 6]

Maybe they should put out a highlight film: "2009: No Gang Rapes!"[/quote:6417hsdt]

Hey, the calendar year isn't over.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I also don't let disappointing ends destroy my enjoyment of a season. For me, 2006 was one of my favorite seasons. Sure it was disappointing in the NLCS. But Met juggernauts are rare. I enjoy them when I get them.
[/quote:2lt5fueq]

I'm with you on that. 2006 was a terrific season. Having October baseball to watch was a lot of fun. It was the second-best season of the decade that's just ending.

[TransMonk]

I agree, 2006 was a lot of fun...but it was a horrible ending to a great year. For me, the way that season ended hurt more than 2007 and 2008. They were the best baseball team that year and should have won it all.

[ashie62]

The First cut is the Deepest 1973 Mets

Mine is losing the 1973 WS to the A's

[ashie62]

I'm really disappointed that folks don't remember the same thing being said over and over several times in the last few years, including years in which the team managed to contend. (But this time we're right!)[/quote:12k3nuos]

Human Nature?
Denial?
Essence of a Mets fan
Insanity?

Maybe a bit of all...It is a unique fan base if nothing else

[Fman99]

The First cut is the Deepest 1973 Mets

Mine is losing the 1973 WS to the A's[/quote:2fcajm36]

Seriously. I was crushed when the Mets lost to L.A. in 1988.

[G-Fafif]

Though I recently declared 1979 and 1993 Co-Worst Seasons Ever, 2009 has been its own kind of hellish, to be sure. And the hell you've been in most recently tends to be hottest.