Savannah Man

I was recently sifting through old posts I'd started but never finished or finished and never published, and I stumbled across this one from mid-February 2012. I called it "Savannah Man", mostly because that kinda rhymes with "Piano Man" (whose tune I borrowed), but also in reference to the Mets' A ball affiliate, which to me is a perpetual symbol of the hope of youth coming up through the farm before they've had a chance to succumb to the reliable attrition of the cruel minor league ladder. Looking back I want to give the poor bastard who wrote it (early 2012 me) a big hug. A few of the player references are obviously dated, but nearly all of this still applies today. Which is so, so sad. I think I just felt a cosmic hug from 2016 me. Oh well, let's go Mets.

To the tune of "Piano Man", by William Joel...

It's late in the offseason calendar
The season's just six weeks away
But the vibe among Mets fans is palpably
Funereal, somber, and gray

And perhaps this despondency's suitable
I get that the roster is thin
And our owners are broke
We're the butt of the joke
So we need change to come from within

(Chorus)
Give us some hope for the future now
Give us a reason to dream
'Cause despite our collective embarrassment
We still want to have faith in this team

Critics and writers and fans alike
Have low expectations at best
They've been so overwhelmingly negative
I find I'm profoundly depressed

They say Wright is no longer a superstar
They think nothing of Thole and Pelf
They say Bay is a joke
Murphy's mirrors and smoke
And Santana's a shell of himself

(Chorus)

In October Jose hit free agency
And we're not sure what offer they made
But it wasn't enough
So he packed up his stuff
And he headed down south to get paid

With the Wilpons financially clusterfucked
Buddy Selig just won't bring 'em down
Why the hell are we stuck at the bargain bin?
We deserve a lot more in this town

(Chorus)

They'll see pretty small crowds at the stadium
Not much reason to laugh or to smile
But between you and me
I'll watch passionately
With my head in the sand for a while

So if anyone giving them half a chance
Is just willfully blind and naive
Then to hell with all reason
Just get to the season
'Cause fuck it, ya gotta believe

(Chorus)