When the "good little guys" actually win - despite long odds - it is a time for celebration. Optimism flourishes...yes things can be tough...but it will get better. ("It's getting better all the time" - the Beatles.) And even if the end result is heartbreaking (for example I left New York this morning to to visit my Dad, who is incarcerated - oops, I meant to say living - in a Florida nursing home), at least each and every victory has its own momentary - if temporary - reward.
Live in the moment. (From Acting 101.) This weekend I celebrate one of those victories. Some battle weary foot soldiers I know recently won one....perhaps their victory will be temporary. And the consequences may not be far-reaching. But when the good guys win and the bad are vanquished...it is indeed time to raise a glass in celebration.
Accordingly, I released my song "Just Desserts" as a single (which should be on ITunes in about a day. And the song - lyrics are below - can now be previewed on TUNECORE Definitely a time to celebrate.
Triumphs...good little guys triumphant against all odds...leads me to comment on baseball, the Mets - and Jose Reyes. Even with the Mets' utterly horrible performance in Colorado on Friday evening, well - last week was a good week. (And the Mets rebounded from that loss by winning the next two against the Rockies.)
Jose Reyes, the superstar ex-Met, happens to be an example of one type of modern athlete. I am a long-time Mets fan but...well - I never liked Jose Reyes. Despite his charismatic personality, blazing speed, high level of enthusiasm, and tremendous skill with the bat and at the shortstop position. Early last week Jose Reyes returned to New York this week for the first time as the shortstop for his new team, the Florida - oops! I mean Miami - Marlins. Having left New York as reigning National league batting champion and new owner of the megabucks contract bestowed upon him by Marlins' ownership, Reyes was showered with boos by the fans, played lackadaisically in the field, had only one hit in the midweek three-game series, failed to attempt a stolen base with his blazing speed in a crucial spot - and was basically a non-factor as the Mets implausibly swept the series.
Someone in New York Sports Radio (whom I greatly admire and respect) recently stated that he never takes offense when a ballplayer moves to a new team which offers a better contract. After all - you and I would do it, right? Well - a person making $80,000 who now has the opportunity to make $100,000...well, yes, that's a definite lifestyle booster. A professional athlete making millions? The additional money isn't going to change a lifestyle...unless we're talking about a fourth condo or tenth Lexus.
Still...it's the athlete's option to go where the money is....fine. But just take the money and run! My issue with Mr. Reyes is that he felt "disrespected". Disrespected! The Mets had disrespected him by not offering a huge contract...the same Jose Reyes who sometimes failed to run out ground balls. Who complained about his manager to Those In Charge. (What happens to managers who dare to criticize their star players? Bobby Valentine, please take careful note.) The same Jose Reyes who would make make the spectacular play - but who sometimes approached the easiest plays as if it was 6 pm - and he was taking the 8 pm out of Grand Central. The same Jose Reyes who wanted to win passionately - and then did nothing in the crucial 2006 Game Seven playoff against the Cardinals. The same Jose Reyes who did little to keep the Mets from blowing the lead in the divisional race the following year. And - the same Jose Reyes who was so obsessed with winning the 2011 NL batting championship (after all, the batting championship would enhance his value) that, after getting a base hit in the first inning of the last game of the season, he asked his manager (not exactly "asking" of course) to leave the game in order to protect his average and his lead in the race (thereby depriving any fans who arrived at the ballpark after the first inning the opportunity to see him perform). But Jose - a homegrown Met - he just loved the Mets fans. And the Mets. And - playing in New York. Didn't he?
Reyes returned to Citifield and the Mets management graciously ran a video tribute on the Citifield scoreboard. Some cheers. But - over the next few days the bulk of the Mets fans delivered the message i.e., "Jose - we don't need you, we don't want you. Have a nice life!" Boos every time Mr. Reyes took the field. And to my fellow Mets fans I say..."good call"!
The Mets swept the Marlins...whatever else happens, savor the feeling. Jose Reyes never had what I would call his "signature moment" as a Met. Tommie Agee, Ron Swoboda, Mookie Wilson, Mike Piazza, Jose Valentin...even Todd Pratt, Al Weis, and Endy Chavez...all had signature moments, forever embedded in the collective consciousness of the Mets fan. But as the little Mets - fielding a team of nine home-grown players - most of whom making a pittance in comparison to Jose Reyes - were vanquishing the big bad Marlins - the same Marlins team with with all the huge contracts (including Reyes') handed out during the past off-season - the signature moment - at least in this little game if not for the Mets season - belonged to...Justin Turner. A young role player who pinch hit in the ninth inning with the Mets behind by a run and the bases loaded...who kept fouling off pitch after pitch off Marlins reliever Heath Bell (another ex-Met with a tremendous new contract). And who - in the chilly mist on a nasty April afternoon - drew a bases loaded walk to force in the tying run. (Which set up the Mets walk-off victory and series sweep just a few moments later.)
The Marlins may yet make a good run at the top spot in the division...the Mets may still fall victim to a shortage of experienced, proven talent. But for one three game series, victory went to the Mets. A triumph against the new team of the player who left them for more money - which was a business decision - the player who felt "disrespected" because the Mets failed to try to keep him. Mr. Reyes, struggling to prove himself worthy of his new contract, may yet have a spectacular season. He may even have his signature moment as a member of the Marlins. In the meantime...the sweep felt good...Jose Reyes' ineffectiveness felt good. It was a good week to be a Mets fan. And a great week for the "little good guys" of the world.
Just desserts.
See you all soon...until then,
Stevenn
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JUST DESSERTS (c) by Stevenn Beck
everybody gets what they deserve
no matter how long it takes
everybody gets what they deserve
may happen too soon it may happen too late
I don't take any pleasure from it
the painful end to an old friendship
everybody gets what they deserve
getting their just desserts
everybody gets just what they need
even from someone else
everyone taking a little piece
even at someone else's expense
you always tried to come up with the line
that made you feel satisfied
everybody gets what they deserve
getting their just desserts
you spent a lifetime looking down
you were better than anyone
but you never got off the ground
now you're out of touch you're out of time
you're all done
everybody dodging bullets again
hoping they're for someone
nobody taking stand or two
unless it's to stand up for themselves
it's hard for me to comprehend the sight
of you struggling to do anything right
everyone dodging bullets again
and getting their just desserts
you started out as number one
you had it all planned in advance
you advertised your skills in Spiegels
but you lost your way you lost your place
you lost your chance
everybody gets what they deserves
no matter how long it takes
what goes around sure comes around
no matter how much we all feel safe
i don't take any pleasure from it
cause it's something you had every right to except
everyone gets what they deserve
getting their just desserts
everyone gets what they deserve
getting their just desserts...
everyone gets what they deserve
getting their just desserts...
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