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Greg Prince and Jason Fry
Faith and Fear in Flushing made its debut on Feb. 16, 2005, the brainchild of two longtime friends and lifelong Met fans.

Greg Prince discovered the Mets when he was 6, during the magical summer of 1969. He is a Long Island-based writer, editor and communications consultant. Contact him here.

Jason Fry is a Brooklyn writer whose first memories include his mom leaping up and down cheering for Rusty Staub. Check out his other writing here.

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You Don't Know What To Think

It was the elbow, all right.

His teammates knew, his manager didn't. Once again, when you want to feel empathy for Victor Zambrano — and he deserves it, based on Michael Morrissey's account in the Post — you're at a loss. You credit him with sucking it up and pitching better than he ever has as a Met (he made Andruw Jones look completely foolish) and for going out and being determined to do his job, especially on an early afternoon after a long night when six-sevenths of the bullpen got work.

But you're a pitcher and your livelihood is in your elbow and your ultimate value to your team is in that elbow and you come back to “man, what are you thinking going out there?” How could you not let your manager know you're hurting? (Come to think of it, how could Randolph and Peterson not know something that Pedro Martinez and Darren Oliver did?) How could you go out there and, according to David Lennon in Newsday, end your season by tearing your flexor tendon when you had to sense you were in danger of doing yourself perhaps irreparable harm?

Of course Victor Zambrano doesn't occur in a vacuum. I imagine if I were a soft-spoken sensitive soul from another country who has never gotten anything close to an even break from the fans of the team that I pitch for, I'd feel compelled to show them. If that was his motivation or it was the natural instinct of an athlete to compete and not let the guys down or an underestimation of how much pain he was in, then it's understandable if not exactly excusable. Lisa Olson in the News lays out the “heartbreaking” particulars in chilling terms:

Blame the snarky media, the impatient fans, the organization that might not have done its best due diligence. In the end, there's a man who once had great promise — “best stuff I've seen in a long time,” said [Cliff] Floyd — who may never pitch again.

Since we all tend to take everything Pedro does or says as the Gospel Truth, I think we owe him the courtesy of considering his statement on his friend Zambrano as reported by Morrissey:

Martinez said Zambrano has been hurt all year and opted to pitch yesterday “because of the damn pressure you guys put on him. Before you guys really hurt a guy, you need to do a little research,” Martinez said. “We're human beings, and we're trying to do a job.”

The media has a job to do but they, too, don't do it in a vacuum. Victor Zambrano has pitched badly more often than not. He's also been hurt on more than one occasion since he's been here. It's easy for me to sit here and type that guys should sit if they ache, but that's apparently not how it works. They all have guaranteed contracts but they force themselves out there. Beltran did. Wright did. Zambrano did. Some hurt more than others. When Beltran recently took a few days to get it together (because he nearly fell apart last year by pushing it), the “whispers” start over how tough he is. Ludicrous.

Anybody who's watched Victor Zambrano since August 2004 could have ascertained that this was not a pitcher performing up to his ability. Anybody who saw him leave the mound late in Spring Training and then read that he had such a bad case of the flu that they had to tend to him intravenously could figure that this was not somebody at the top of his game. Yet there he was, pitching in Washington on April 13. Not pitching well, but pitching. The rationale, that perhaps his injury and his illness had taken a toll on him, was eighth-paragraph stuff for most of us. Oh, it's Victor again. How's Kazmir doing?

Let's not pretend he was going through life as Walter Johnson before waking up with an owwie. Victor Zambrano could be maddening on the mound, as maddening for losing the strike zone as for our could-having-sworn he had such great control of it just an inning or a start or a week ago. The Are you there God? It's me, Victor persona stood in dispiriting contrast to the confidence of Pedro, the steeliness of Glavine, the matter-of-factness of Trachsel, the determination of Bannister, the effortlessness of Benson, the emotion of Seo. C'mon Victor! We care! Don't you?

He did. He cared about pitching, he cared about contributing, he cared about not letting down people who didn't care all that much what happened to him if he was going to go three-and-oh on yet another batter. Now he's headed for the Disabled List and surgery and when or if he'll be back, who knows? The same people who were so upset to see him take the ball every fifth day will be angered by his inability to do the same.

As human beings, we'd feel sorry for a guy in so much pain that he pushed himself until he was crying. As Mets fans, we don't feel anything for a Met in that position until it's too late.

15 comments to You Don't Know What To Think

  • Anonymous

    It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy… or confounding, disappointing pitcher.
    Sad yes, but perhaps it will help us in the long run, one way or another. Heilman to start, a move for a quality arm, time for the kids… silver linings.

  • Anonymous

    count me among those who feel if not quite guilt, then just plain bad, and sorry.
    last season i was not ready to give up on the guy because he did show a capacity for improvement. this season, though, he seemed to backslide terribly — now apparently we know why — and his performance highlighted why i thought it a terrible move to raid the starting rotation for middle relief. (yet the way the bullpen was operating i was forced to acknowledge maybe the mets were on to a new model for building a pitching staff.)
    there are questions to ask — why the pitching coach didn't know about his condition, especially when some players did. but the main thing is that the rotation is now in a total shambles. it's a good thing we have a decent lead on the division, because it's going to tighten, and soon. may 6 might be considered as some sort of high water mark for the season. at the very least, the team has reached its first crisis.

  • Anonymous

    “Total shambles?” We still have Pedro, Glavine and Trachsel doing what they've been doing (two of those three are very good news, the other one we know what we're getting). Bannister's hamstring is not supposed to be a killer (who knows, but we can only go by what we know/see and they weren't even ready to throw him on the DL until the last minute). If he's back, that's four of five. Filling in with Lima doesn't seem brilliant but he is a proven starter. I think there's a fellow named Pelfrey who will not be in Binghamton all that long.
    The season does not end on May 6.

  • Anonymous

    Agreed. As much as I feel absolutely terrible for Zambrano, I don't think losing him for the season is the epic tragedy some are making it out to be, considering the availability of replacement options and the likelihood that whoever takes that slot in the rotation will probably perform better than Victor had been up to this point.

  • Anonymous

    i'm not suggesting it does, but i think the back end of the rotation, never solid, is now a mess. bannister is a work in progress — we've been comparing him to zambrano, for goodness sakes — and trachsel has been spotty. and we didn't know who was going to be the fifth starter even before this happened.
    all i'm saying is it's a challenge, a serious one. i'm not assuming pelfry comes up before september, if then. i AM assuming the mets will start seeing who might be available to trade for (though then the question is the asking price) or sign as a low-price free agent.

  • Anonymous

    As the owners of this site are painfully aware, Victor Zambrano is my favorite Met. And I am devastated today, as both a human being and a Met fan.
    When the press and the fans perpetuate the idea that any player who gets injured or ill is weak, soft etc., players–especially the ones who feel their place is not secure–are forced to go out there in pain. Unless you're Pedro Martinez or Curt Schilling, being injured is like being gay. Nothing to be ashamed of in reality, but very different in Macho World.
    Victor was pitching very well and the last thing he wanted in this world was to go down AGAIN. So he went out there and did his best to work through it, much like those of us who still go to work every day regardless of illness or injury. He thought he could do it but ultimately could not. And to criticize someone for trying his best and working himself to death is cold. It's not like it's September and we're teetering on the brink of elimination.
    He tried and he failed. I know to Met fans failing is a sin punishable by death, but human beings–even baseball players–do fail. It's the ones who DON'T try their best who should be criticized.
    I hope everyone's happy. They got their wish. They were so vicious, so sadistic and put so much pressure on a decent, hard-working man that he finally broke. Well done.
    Laurie

  • Anonymous

    Unless you're Pedro Martinez or Curt Schilling, being injured is like being gay. Nothing to be ashamed of in reality, but very different in Macho World.
    Interesting analogy.

  • Anonymous

    Injuries always make things cloudy. The cloud makes you admire Zambrano's dedication (recklessness?), and feel guilty for perhaps inciting it, and naturally feel pity for such a terrible injury to a human being, especially a Met. And you begin to wonder, well, he was hurting, maybe he wasn't that bad after all. That may be true. But remember the realization we had in San Diego: “Victor Zambrano doesn't know how to pitch“. Injuries and unfair pressures don't excuse fatally flawed pitch selection, and they don't change the fact that our rotation was seriously uncertain with him in it, injured or otherwise. We have to be able to feel bad without re-defining Zambrano as a person. He was a victim yes, but he had a hand in his own downfall, and we would disrespect him to assume all the responsibility ourselves.

  • Anonymous

    Through his first 13 starts of 2005, he had one horror show of a game (7 runs), but pitched 6-8 innings a game, and gave up this number of earned runs in the other 12 starts:
    2,3,2,3,3,3,2,1,1,3,2,2
    That's not a man who “doesn't know how to pitch,” nor was it a fluke. The Victor Zambrano you saw since then was a man valiantly trying his best to work around some obvious physical problems that he hoped would be fleeting. That unfortunately turned out not to be the case, but he gave it all he had.
    We also had it pounded into our skulls that Kaz Matsui “doesn't know how to play the game” and was totally, irrevocably, irretrievably a lost cause. I stood up for him too because I recognized it for the typically impatient, overdramatic Met-fan short-sightedness that it was. Amazing what someone can do when they're healthy, huh?
    You go, Kaz.

  • Anonymous

    I was merely quoting Jason's post on Zambrano's outing in SD a few weeks ago, when we saw Z.–not struggle merely with his control–but seemingly with choosing the right pitch at the right time. That may have been due to the mental strain he was under, but still, it was pretty frustrating to watch. You're absolutely right, we mistreated Zambrano on a daily basis, and we should be ashamed. But its patronizing to assume that the fans and the media can single-handedly make or break a player.
    And go, Kaz, indeed. He deserves every opportunity to prove he is the player who we signed from Japan. We've just gotta cross our fingers that he keeps playing as fluidly and as productively as he has–and that he doesn't get hurt, a distressing habit he's developed since coming to the Mets.

  • Anonymous

    When a pitcher is feeling discomfort, he readjusts his mechanics to compensate for it. This not only plays havoc with his control, but affects what pitches he can and can't throw. It also causes strain on whatever body part is being used to compensate. It's pretty clear that this is what we've been seeing this year from Victor. He did it until he couldn't do it anymore. But he is still a very good pitcher when he is healthy.
    And constant abuse affects your emotional state regardless of what you do for a living… but especially when you're doing it in front of millions of people. Fans and media can indeed make or break a player's confidence. It's a myth that players don't mind or even hear the abuse. Sure, they say all the right things in interviews (“The fans gave a right to boo,” “it just shows they care,” “I deserve to be booed,” “it doesn't bother me,” etc.) but don't buy it. ;-)
    Anyway, what you're missing is that the abuse didn't so much make it impossible for him to pitch (although that was a big part of it) as it made him feel forced to pitch through injury. He desperately hoped he could pitch his way back into good graces, even though he didn't deserve the bad graces to begin with. He was reminded early on that he was NOT SCOTT KAZMIR!! Scott Kazmir isn't even “SCOTT KAZMIR!!” Met fans need to grow out of this obsession with thinking any player they don't know is The Savior. Scott Kazmir did nothing to deserve the blind adulation that Victor Zambrano felt he needed to live up to in order to not let us down.
    There are so many players out there who sit or go on the DL with every bruise and bump. They incur no (public) wrath, but those who go out there and play through the pain until they collapse are the ones who get crucified by the fans. What a world.

  • Anonymous

    Was in Wanna Believe territory this morning, heading out the door to see Jose Lima work his magic. It was in short supply. I don't think we're screwed, but it's hard to say we've been elevated.

  • Anonymous

    I was too upset about Victor to even be excited about Lima Time, which is saying something for me. I've always adored him. Thank God I was somewhat detached from this game today.

  • Anonymous

    Meaning no direspect to the Zambrano fans who have posted, but I just
    can't get on this “poor Victor, the fans/media drove him to it” bandwagon.
    He wasn't booed for not being Scott Kazmir, he was booed for pitching
    badly. And that is what he mostly did — erratic control, questionable pitch
    selection, bad results. Not every time, but too many times.
    Turns out that the reason was an undisclosed injury, rather than a
    failure of skill and talent, as we all thought. Nobody knew, nobody
    understood, said Pedro in his friend Victor's defense. Well, OK,
    but whose fault was it that nobody knew?
    Of course we all feel terrible for the guy as a human being, first that
    he struggled and now that he has hurt himself badly. It was never
    anything personal against the guy, and most of us cheered when he
    showed some progress.
    But let's face it: the guy clammed up when he should have spoken up
    to the manager and the pitching coach and the trainers. The boos
    and the media pressure happened because of that bad decision and
    its consequences — not the other way around.

  • Anonymous

    Comment deleted.
    You can cuss all you want, but attack the post, not the poster.