The thing about Doc

So there's a new kid in town. Name is Felix Hernadez, pitches up in Seattle. I've yet to see him pitch but everything I read mentions his name along side Doctor K's. 19 year old, with an arm that paints like Picasso. And every time I read about it, it's like a punch in the stomach. You can't understand unless you're a Met fan. No, I know every team has had some phenom who didn't reach his potential. But Doc was different, and still is.
Royals fans had Saberhagen, who had this quirky thing about having big seasons every other year. And sure he came up a young age, like Doc, and had great success early in his career. But his highs weren't as high, and his lows weren't nearly as low. Cub fans right now have Kerry Wood, but he's looking more like Sid Fernandez than Doc. Showed flashes of brilliance right away but never for an entire season, let alone his first 3 seasons. Sports Guy was right, the closest thing is LeBron. But not really. LeBron didn't win a MVP his second season, as Doc won the Cy Young. Then a title his third year? That's how great Doc was. What's so painful about it, is to see the career Roger Clemens has had. One of the best ever. Shoulda/coulda/woulda been Doc's career. Was it injuries? Or the drugs? Too much success too soon? Too much hype? Yes, it was all of that. And so many people like to bring up the drug use. I can't deny that it played a big part in ruining a great career. But this wasn't a selfish jerk like TO. Or a shameless self promoter like Sosa. Or someone who everyone thought was a big jerk like Bonds. He was this shy kid from Florida who said yes sir, and no sir. (well he could have said no a few more times) He just wasn't all that's wrong with sports. He was all that was right with it, but he just couldn't handle it. And the Mets of the mid 80s to the mid 90s, should/coulda/woulda been the Yankees of the past 12 years if Doc and Darryl had lived up to expectations. So now I hear about the new kid, the "next Doc" and if you know me, you know I love to throw around the term "the next" But I don't care to see the next, I'd like to rewind the clock. Before free agency went crazy. When teams brought up their own, and built around them. To when I was 8 years old and just started to love baseball. There was nothing but excitement about the future. The future of the game, and of my favorite players. This is why it stings so much to hear about the new kid on the block. Who will surely have a nice career, and when he's 22 he'll be shopping himself on the free agent market, probably to end up in NY with either the Yankees or the Mets just to tease us of what could have been some more.