Vic Sage wrote: So, I'd be irritated if the Mets signed Clemens... right up till he threw his first shutout. Then i'd get over it and start perceiving him (rightly or wrongly) as a misunderstood hero who i have the honor of watching on his march to Cooperstown as one of the greatest pitchers of all time. See how that works? Like we did with Pedro. Who, after the scene when he headlocked Zimmer, didnt have anything but ill will for Martinez? And talk about a guy with a rep as a headhunter. remember when he pointed to his head as if to say Ill drill you right in the noggin? But Pedro plays for us now, and we see him close up. We bury those memories, almost canceling them out with new Met memories. Wow, he's such a hard worker. Gosh, he's such an unselfish and good teamate who even lightens the team on the bench. Boy, he seems to give 100% plus everytime I see him out there. Seven inning pitcher, my ass. Both the opening post by Edge (awsumly written) and the responses, especially VicSage's are well put forth, and well recieved. Both angles apply to my beliefs. I like a team that you can grow with and thats grows with you. I like a modem of consistancy. I like familiar faces and seeing Met career statistics accumulate. I accept the state of flux teams go through. Sometimes changes are warrented and/or justified and sometimes made just for the sake of change. Some changes I jump for joy about. Some I bang my fist down in anger. And everything in between. But Ive learned thats part of the game. I accept it. I felt my 1st winds of change with the Mets (that personally affected me) when they traded Agee. He was my hero. But that turned out to be warrented, not by the trade itself or who was involved (Houstons Rich Chiles & Buddy Harris), but because he had reached his peak and was pretty much done at that point. Seaver was another story, because he had plenty of gas left in the tank, and he showed it when he ironically went on to pitch his no-hitter with the Reds. We all know he, at some point during those years he was away, would have pitched the Mets 1st (and maybe only) no-hitter. You can say thats mere speculation,....but come-on. You know he would have. (The Ryan deal I cant equate, because I seriously didnt see him going on to accomplish what he did, at that time) Im just ramb'lin now, so more to the point: Reyes is my shortstop. Im not interested in any other. Not even a better shortstop. I want to take the ride this guy provides, come hell or high water, at this point in time. If he comes up lame next season (or the season after that..), or really blows chunks as far as playing the game, I can change my opinion. Just like teams change personnel, I have the right to do that. But Ive really enjoyed seeing this kid on the road to baseball maturity. And I expect to continue to do so as long as he provides the positive aspects that make a good player. Reapeat the above paragraph and substitue Wrights name for Reyes. The same sentiments apply. Both still have some growing to do. Its even fun to watch em mess up, like when Wright turned the bag on that grounder down the line in Philly. WHAT AN IDIOT, I screamed. But I bet Ill never see him make that mistake again. The fact that he did that in the 1st place is one of those things that make him who he is. Niether one is 'The Franchise", at least not yet. But both are the anchor a team should have for thier fans. There should be some sense of stability on any baseball team and its a proven fact that you can go out and buy a complete all star team, and not be the best team out there. Its the intangables that make the game so great. Bottomline, if the Mets even think of moving either while they are young and still growing I will go ballistic. If they live up to our hopes and thier potential they should stay Mets as long as they wish to stay Mets, and we as fans should give them the support to insure they want to. These two should be off the table as far as any quick fix trading goes. Im my mind, the only two right now. That can change, like baseball does.