"The Mets Are In Trouble, Buddy"

I'm sitting at work, dealing with a bunch of different matters. I'm answering e-mails that won't stop, rushing from office to office for answers, and trying to arrange meetings around other meetings. Every half hour, when he catches me at my desk, one of my work acquaintances (another Mets fan) walks by, glares, and states with venom and vigor: "The Mets are in trouble, buddy."

The first time he walked by, I mutterred something and shook my head. The second time, I tried to offer a retort but he scurried out. The third time he did it, he sat next to me and added this for effect: "If you don't think the Mets are in trouble, there's something wrong with you. You got Johan and 4 bums." When I responded that a Mets team with a similar rotation and a bullpen that's far worse than the 2010 team should be (the 2008 pen) won 89 games, he started to bash the offense. When I noted that Jason Bay in effect replaces Carlos Delgado's production, he called Daniel Murphy a "liability."

It was then that I paused to take in exactly what was going on here. It's February 24th...all of the Mets have gathered in Port St. Lucie, and Opening Day is in 39 days. 39 days! We've been without Mets baseball for nearly five months and it seemed lately that even the most pessimistic of Mets fans had started to look forward to the 2010 season. However, my work acquaintance isn't one of them.

I then came to the conclusion that it is some fans' preference and wont to relish in the fact that the Mets might fail, instead of hoping that they become Champions -of the Wild Card, the Division, the National League and/or the World. I used to think these fans were simply pessimistic, but now I think they actually enjoy acting this way.

This is perplexing to me. Is someone who claims to be a Mets fan, yet spends his or her day (during Spring Training no less) attempting to make other Mets fans miserable by stating how the season is over in February actually a Mets fan? I say no. I would term these people Mets followers.

A fan (especially one of the Mets), has every right to be aggravated or angry at the state of the team/franchise, but a true fan would never relish the possiblity of his or her team failing - since that result would hurt too much.

Now, I understand that Citi Field (for many reasons) will never have the feel of Shea Stadium. However, we should all hope (and for those of us who attend lots of games - we can make this happen) that in 2010, Mets fans shake off the pain that was the last 3 seasons and focus on rooting and making noise instead of sulking and arguing with eachother. If not, this faction of followers will multiply and then the Mets may actually be in trouble, buddy.

Beards, Superstition, and the Mets

A little over a week ago, my friend Jeff called me with an idea..a call to put down the shaving cream. His idea was for us (and any of our other Mets fan friends who agreed) to grow a beard. Having gone down this road before with what we hoped would be Playoff beards in September of 2007, I was hesitant at first - due in large part to the fact that we were forced to shave off our beards in late September of 2007 after we attended a Philip Humber meltdown against the Nationals at Shea (in an effort to reverse the team's fortunes).

Even though the wounds from the 2007 beard-growing fiasco are still fresh, starting today, and continuing through the morning of April 5th (Opening Day), Jeff and I will be abstaining from shaving. Let's call this one the "Opening Day Beard." With tomorrow being the official reporting date for pitchers and catchers, spring training is about to be underway. And as spring training - and the countdown to Opening Day - starts, our shaving stops. I am not a person who experiments with wild facial hair. The only other real beard I grew was for the 2007 fiasco. I do go 4 or 5 days without shaving during the week if I have nothing important to do, but I am usually as close to clean shaven as possible.

When I broke the news to my girlfriend this morning, she was less than pleased. She thought I was joking at first, before realizing how serious I was about the Opening Day beard. I really don't even know what Jeff and I expect to get out of this. After 4 and a half months without baseball, we've started to become delirious. I suppose the beard is many things...

It's a show of unity for the upcoming season, a sort of reverse countdown to Opening Day (the longer the beards get, the closer we get to Opening Day), and eventually, a type of cleansing on April 5th - when we shave our beards and finally wash off the filth and grime of the 2009 regular season.

Superstition and the Mets have always gone hand in hand. Many of us (Mets fans) wear the same jersey to the ballpark over and over if the Mets are on a winning streak, and remove it once the streak ends. If we're watching the game together in certain spots on the couch or the floor and something good starts happening, we don't move. If we're planning to watch a game at a bar, but remember that 3 months ago, the Mets lost a close game while we wathced the game at that very same bar, we switch the locale. No one knows for sure if any of this stuff matters, but it gives us a feeling of closesness with eachother and the team.

With pitchers and catchers set to report to Port St. Lucie in less than 22 hours, here's to a successful 2010 season - and to the continued use of ridiculous superstitious nonsense by fellow Mets fans.

LGM.

A Good Sign for the 2010 Season

As I exited a store a few hours ago, I thought I felt something land on my hat. When I asked my girlfriend to confirm, she burst out laughing. In the picture above, to the left of the Mets insignia, is what landed on my hat. A huge glob of bird crap. It wasn't white, it was brown...and extra disgusting.

I was going to try to salvage that hat, but the car ride home with the bird crap on it would've been unbearable. After I got over the shock of losing my beloved hat, I realized that this is a fantastic omen for the upcoming season. Now, I'm off to get a new hat...

An Injection of Sanity

Let me preface this by explaining a few things: I'm not affected by how the Mets are perceived in the papers/on the airwaves. I have no intention of getting into a debate regarding the Mets' medical staff/injury diagnoses. And when I look at the Mets' 2009 final record, I don't take it seriously. Why? Because those weren't the Mets. Those were imposters, filling in for the afflicted members of the team, trying in vain to stay respectable.

Today is February 1st. The most hellish month in the baseball offseason has come to a close. In 17 days, pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Port St. Lucie for Spring Training. It's so close, you can almost smell the grass and the leather, almost hear the snap of David Wright's glove as he has a catch with Jose Reyes. This should be a time of joy, but most Mets fans are instead miserable. Some of them are miserable for the sake of it, some are miserable because the media has told them they should be, and some are miserable because they honestly feel they've been sold a false bill of goods by the soon to be 2010 Mets.

They're wondering where all their shiny new toys are. They're angry that the team that lost 92 games hasn't completely re-made itself...furious that ticket prices were only lowered by a few percent. These fans are like dogs that have been infected with rabies, foaming at the mouth, running around looking for someone to bite. They refuse to back down, refuse to let common sense get in the way of their misery - or their pointless diatribe.

In 2004 (and 2002 and 2003), the Mets were bad. They were often unwatchable. They trotted out lineups that included Danny Garcia, Vance Wilson, Jason Phillips, Mike Glavine, and Jeff Duncan. The team was an abomination. During the offseason of 2004, things began to fall into place for the Mets. Over the course of the 2004 offseason, and the four offseason's that followed, the Mets continued to add star quality players to the team - but never added more than two at a time. Here's a rundown of the BIG moves (at the time, not moves that were seen as being big in hindsight, like the Duaner Sanchez trade).....

Offseason of 2004 - Signed Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran.

Offseason of 2005 - Traded for Carlos Delgado and signed Billy Wagner.

Offseason of 2006 - Re-signed Tom Glavine and signed Moises Alou.

Offseason of 2007 - Traded for Johan Santana.

Offseason of 2008 - Signed Francisco Rodriguez and traded for JJ Putz.

In 2005, the Mets were contenders for the Wild Card, but faded in September. In 2006, they dominated the National League and ran away with the Division Title. They would've most likely made it to the World Series and won it, but they lost their setup man (Sanchez) in late July, and then lost their #1 starter (Pedro) and #2 starter (Orlando Hernandez) the week before the Playoffs began. In 2007, they choked - but still won 88 games. In 2008, they lost their closer (Billy Wagner) in August, and missed the Playoffs by a game. Going into the 2009 season, the Mets were expected to contend for a World Series Title. And then...the roof came crashing in.

The 2009 season wasn't the most disappointing season in Mets history - since the players who were left by the time August rolled around had no shot of competing. Instead, it was the most numbing. The injuries started in March, and kept piling until they reached the point of being almost unfathomable. The Mets not only lost tons of players...they lost pretty much every one of their impact players - and lost them for months at a time. On the offensive side, Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado went down in May, then Carlos Beltran started to limp - and eventually went down. Ryan Church (before the trade) was hurt. Then, David Wright got drilled in the head. Around them, the Mets lost backups (Angel Pagan, Alex Cora) and then the backups to the backups (Fernando Martinez, Wilson Valdez). It was absurd. The pitchers went down too. Oliver Perez missed most of the year with knee problems, John Maine missed 3 months, Jon Niese tore his hamstring, Fernando Nieve almost did the same thing as Niese...and then they lost Johan.

There isn't a team in Major League Baseball that could've overcome the amount of injuries that the Mets had in 2009. No shot. The result of all those injuries? 4th place, 70-92.

During the 2009 offseason, much like from 2004-2008, the Mets made one huge move - signing Jason Bay. The rest of the moves were minor. However, coming off of all the injuries, the fans were thirsty for more.

Fans began screaming for major changes. Ownership apologized on WFAN. Writers piled on the Mets every chance they got. Fans failed to renew their season tickets. People criticized Citi Field. Babies cried. There were dogs and cats living together...mass hysteria.

Some of that hysteria can be understood - SOME of it. It's understandable for the fan base to be worried going into 2010, considering what happened in 2009. However, it wasn't the core that failed last year. It was the replacements. Nevertheless, instead of counting on the Mets' players bouncing back, most fans are counting on everyone else's players having career years while each of the Mets sinks deeper into irrelevance. I don't know why, but that's the feeling.

From 2006-2009, the Mets had four all star caliber hitters in their prime who held together their lineup (Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran). In 2010, the Mets will have four all star caliber hitters in their prime who hold together the lineup (Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Jason Bay). In 2008, the year the Mets won 89 games and missed the playoffs by one game, their rotation included Johan Santana, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey. The 2010 rotation will include those four pitchers, along with one more yet to be determined name. Instead of overspending on volatile relievers, the Mets spent wisely on two high potential relievers who were rather inexpensive (Ryota Igarashi and Kelvim Escobar). The 2010 team, which has question marks, like every other team in baseball, will be fun to watch. It should be competitive, just like the 2005-2008 versions of the Mets were.

Yet, the fans still froth at the mouth. Instead of being satisfied that Jason Bay signed, they're angry that the Mets didn't get that fifth big hitter for their lineup to play first base. If they relaxed, they'd realize that the Mets haven't HAD that fifth big hitter in their lineup in quite some time...they'd realize that the Mets' top power hitting prospect plays first base. His name is Ike Davis. I wanted the Mets to trade Luis Castillo, but they couldn't. It sucks, you move on.

The bullpen has been solidified.

The Mets didn't hand out any outlandish contracts.

The one thing the Mets didn't do, that I (and most every other fan hoped they would) was acquire a #2 starter. The free agent market outside of John Lackey was extremely underwhelming, and a trade never materialized. Do the Mets have less of a chance of making the Playoffs since their rotation hasn't been bolstered with the acquisition of that #2 starter? Maybe. Maybe not.

Instead of focusing on what the Mets don't have, let's focus on what they do have:

Four of the best offensive players in baseball, in David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Jason Bay.

A bullpen that's anchored by one of the best closers in the game.

A rotation that's anchored by one of the best pitchers in the game.

That's the core.

People wanted to break that core up. They wanted wholesale changes because of one fluky, insanely injury ravaged, hellish season. They didn't get their wish.

The Mets fans (some who seem like Yankee fans), well they wanted some shiny new toys - even if they weren't very shiny. They didn't get their wish.

What we have, is an immensely talented ballclub...one that should contend as long as it stays relatively healthy - which isn't a far-fetched idea.

17 days until Spring Training. Mets Baseball is almost here. Don't miss out because you've been brainwashed into believing your team isn't good enough, or because you think you've been duped. This team IS good enough.

Just sit back and watch.

Left Field at the Citi? We'll Call it BayRut

If Peter Gammons had any idea what he was talking about when he bellowed that Jason Bay would rather play in Beirut than in Queens, the scene that unfolded late this morning at Citi Field would have never taken place.

Those who believed Gammons were the same who had already given up on the Mets' offseason. The rest of us took it for what it was: A crock from a bitter Red Sox fan who resembles a turkey. Sorry Peter, I had to.

The Jason Bay who emerged from his seat and calmly and confidently fielded questions this morning, bore no resemblance to a man who didn't want to play in New York for the Mets. He stated repeatedly that the Mets were always on his list (of 3 to 4 teams). He mentioned that the deal had been struck right around Christmas, and that the supposed hold-up had nothing to do with a desire not to play for the Mets, and everything to do with the fact that the important parties were out of the Country until recently(Bay himself and Omar Minaya).

Bay looked comfortable, and it was easy to envision him sliding into the #4 or #5 slot in the order and starting to rake. All of the naysayers and downers who questioned the Mets' motives, Bay's desires and the state of the Mets need look no further than this quote from Bay: "Like I said, record-wise, I know what happened here on the surface, with guys getting hurt. I think that I offer a perspective where, if you look from a talent standpoint...the lineup, if you have everyone healthy you have an amazing lineup and arguably you have the best pitcher, fresh perspective, I don’t see how that can’t be good."

Could it be that Jason Bay sees a team that averaged 90 wins for 4 years in a row before being decimated by injuries? There's always a certain amount of BS that has to be cut through at press conferences, but the above quote from Bay seemed genuine and on the money. Like lots of fans had been repeating ad-nauesum, Jason Bay was able to see past what was a freakishly miserable 2009 and fix his eyes on the big picture.

And here is that big picture:

The offensive core of the 2010 Mets will consist of Jose Reyes (26), David Wright (27), Jason Bay (31) and Carlos Beltran (32). That's a damn good core. Bengie Molina will probably be signed as well (not a huge fan of that potential move, but if it's for 1 or 2 years it's not terrible). Then, the Mets will either find a platoon partner for Daniel Murphy or take a chance on Carlos Delgado on a low-base salary. Offense shouldn't be a problem for this team in 2010, and the bullpen shouldn't be a problem either.

The starting rotation...Johan and ????...An ace and 4 other guys...

The starting rotation is the last item on Omar Minaya's agenda as we sit here on January 5th (along with maybe, finally finding a deal that rids the Mets of Luis Castillo).

Johan Santana, Ace, will be in the rotation. Oliver Perez (who was injured and aloof all of last year and who is attempting to rehab his body and mind in Arizona) will be in there as well. Those seem to be the only two certainties. Jonathon Niese could turn out to be the #5 starter, but that remains to be seen. Mike Pelfrey and John Maine are being dangled as potential trade bait that could net the Mets Carlos Zambrano. The Mets could always sign Ben Sheets - a huge injury risk, but the most talented guy out there (via trade or free agency). I pray that they stay away from Joel Pineiro, and his price tag will hopefully help to answer that prayer.

In 44 days, Pitchers and Catchers will start reporting to Port St. Lucie for Spring Training. In addition to Johan, Ollie and the relievers, what other pitchers will be there? January, to me, is the last hurdle in the too long winter of baseball-less discontent. It's the last month until November 2010 where we won't see a picture or video of a Met in uniform on a field - with a glove, or a bat, or just standing there in the sun on the grass. If I was Marty McFly, I'd jump in the Delorean and head to mid-February. Unfortunately, that's not an option. Mets fans will again be forced to be patient, or cause riots, while we wait for our #2 starter to arrive. Who will it be?

Patience - or Lack Thereof

Much like this agitated cat, Mets fans are growing impatient. To use this picture as an example, Mets fans are the cat and the offseason (thus far) is the empty bowl.

Some fans are still calm as can be and others are edgy. A handful have taken to being negative for the sake of it, and the ones who are buying the doomsday scenarios and reckless vitriol being presented by the media are beyond help at this point. All, however, are waiting to be fed.

Before Roy Halladay was traded to the Phillies and John Lackey signed with the Red Sox on the same day, most fans were in agreement with the following notion: Of all the deals that had been made so far this offseason (trades and signings), there wasn't a single player they were upset about the Mets missing out on. To name a bunch of the major moves - 32 year old Chone Figgins signed a deal with Seattle, Placido Polanco (whose value is as a 2nd baseman) signed a 3 year deal to play 3rd base for the Phillies, the Yankees traded for Curtis Granderson, Randy Wolf signed with the Brewers, and the Braves signed two geriatric relievers (Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito).

If the Mets had made any of those moves, they would've been foolish AND they would've been blasted by the media. Figgins would've been seen as an older player with little power, Polanco as someone out of position, Granderson as someone who can't hit lefties, Wolf as too expensive, and Wagner and/or Saito as too old. Since those players all went to other teams, the moves were praised by the media around here and the Mets were painted as a team that had "missed out." Even though they didn't make an offer for any of those players.

When the Halladay and Lackey deals went down, though, lots of the fans reached their breaking point. Lackey didn't sign with the Mets, so to the media (and consequently the fans), that meant that the Mets were a terrible organization who Lackey didn't want any part of. Does that mean the other 28 teams in baseball besides the Mets and Red Sox are also horrible franchises? Because Lackey didn't sign with any of them either.

Halladay is a different story. He went to the Phillies. Does that move improve the Phillies marginally? Absolutely. However, to acquire Halladay, they traded 2008 AL Cy Young Award Winner and proven Postseason bulldog Cliff Lee (along with some of their top prospects). Halladay made it known that the ONLY team he was willing to accept a trade to and sign an extension with was Philadelphia. The Mets had no shot. Again, though, the media spun it as the Mets missing out (when 28 other teams missed out as well), and the fans got angrier and louder.

Today is December 23rd. As an intense and fiercely loyal Mets fan, here is my take:

The biggest need for the Mets this offseason is to find a corner outfielder/middle of the order bat. Right now, they have the best offer on the table for Jason Bay. People are speculating that since he hasn't accepted the Mets' offer yet, he must not want to play here. That may be true. However, using that logic, by rejecting the Red Sox' offer when it was the only one on the table, that must mean he didn't want to play in Boston either. What this appears to be, is a game of cat and mouse. The Mets want Bay, he wants a five year deal (while the Mets have only guaranteed four). Each side is trying to avoid blinking. I'm aggravated at the pace of the negotiations, and I'll be furious if the Mets miss out on Jason Bay and fallback option Matt Holliday. However, they're both still on the market and their suitors are minimal. One of them will probably be a Met in the coming days.

The Mets needed to address their bullpen, and they found one piece with the signing of 30 year old Japanese Reliever Ryota Igarashi. He throws in the mid to upper 90's, and was snatched up on a 2 year deal worth between 3 and 4 million - a very solid move for the Mets that was almost ridiculed because they haven't yet addressed the offense and rotation. If the Mets add one more power reliever (perhaps Octavio Dotel), their bullpen will be in very good shape.

That leaves the starting rotation. If you're a fan who's angry that the Mets didn't sign Jason Marquis (he of the career 4.48 ERA and 1.40 WHIP), I don't know what to tell you. The Mets need a solid #2 type starter to slide in behind Johan Santana, and Marquis is not that. Neither is Randy Wolf. The only #2 type starters on the market are injury risks (Ben Sheets to name one). And I'd much rather have the Mets take a chance on someone like Sheets, if the alternative is someone like Marquis or one year wonder Joel Pineiro. Low-risk, high-reward is the better bet than moderate risk-no reward.

Again, I'm antsy. I wish the Mets had done everything already...signed that power bat, acquired that #2 starter, finished upgrading the bullpen...but they haven't. I can't guarantee that the Mets will fill every hole. But I also don't believe that a team in New York with a brand new ballpark - a team that won 90 games on average from 2005-2008, only to suffer through the worst injury ravaged season in the history of baseball, is undesirable to free agents and as some writers have taken to spewing "a third place team even with Bay and others." I think that idea is a crock. If we're sitting here in a month and the roster is made up of retreads and R.A. Dickey, I'll have been proven wrong. And I'll be pissed. But it isn't January 23rd, it's December 23rd. Carlos Beltran signed in January, Johan Santana was traded in January. Mets fans should have a little more patience...not tons, just a little. See what happens.

The Disappearance of True Sports Journalism

Around the time I was nearing the last leg of my daily morning commute, while I was hustling through the howling winds by battery park on my way to the subway, my thoughts were on baseball.

I thought first of David Wright, since he's a resident of the City, and I wondered what he might be doing today. Was he as excited for the season as I was? With the dawn of blogs, followed by facebook and twitter, the intensity of the fans during the offseason has been increasing.

And as the Winter Meeting have progressed - with little action by anyone, save for the Yankees who dealt a few of their overhyped prospects for a glorified platoon player - lots of Mets fans have become increasingly agitated. They were first bothered by the fact that the Mets wouldn't be spending money this offseason (which was perpetuated by the vast majority of the Mets' beat writers). Then, they were aggravated when a Yankee shill who's about to be honored by the Hall of Fame for some reason, penned an article stating that all the Mets were interested in was signing low-cost Latino's (the inflammatory part of the article was slyly removed by editors from the online edition after fans got wind of it).

When the first actual quote from anoyone but an unnamed source or supposed team insider came out yesterday (from Omar Minaya stating that the Mets would indeed be in on the big free agents), the writers printed it. They didn't apologize for spinning their agenda's in their effort to move papers. They didn't give the Mets credit. Everyone is aware that the object is to sell papers, and interesting negative stories sell. But if you're going to print stories like that, back them up with facts and common sense.

And then it dawned on me...The same supposed journalists who have been damning blogs to hell, are slimier and more fallacious than most bloggers. Worse, they're vindictive and agenda-driven. What else could possibly explain the unbelievable amount of piling on that has been done to the Mets since the 2009 season came to a close? A team who from 2005-2008 won 90+ games per year on average, had suffered a hellish injury marred season. Their punishment for their injuries and the record that resulted, has been writers (mostly local and some national) claiming that the Mets are a loser franchise that won't spend money. A team with no direction.

The fans who follow this team, but aren't as consumed with baseball as some, bought into the nonsense. They started to believe that the Mets were a loser team, even though 2005-2008 proved differently. They feared that the Mets wouldn't spend money, even though they've spent money every season and offseason in recent memory (obtaining Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, and extending David Wright and Jose Reyes).

So far this offseason, all the Mets have done so far is signed a backup catcher and showed remarkable constraint. It's something I'm thrilled about. While other teams have been handing out contracts to middling players that were excessive in both years and dollars, the Mets have lied in wait. It's the tact they took with Carlos Beltran, who signed in January. And it's the tact they took with the Johan Santana sweepstakes, which concluded around February. As the days have passed, the suitors for Matt Holliday have dwindled (the Cardinals are getting impatient, the Yankees dealt for Granderson, Red Sox officials have indicated they only have interest in Jason Bay).

All the while, the Mets lie in wait. Some of the fans that were perilously close to the edge, due in large part to the rambling and nonsensical hyperbole from the area's baseball writers, have slowly started to back off the edge. Others are still skeptical. The one's who have been level-headed throughout, are becoming even more confident in the direction of the team. One thing, though, is starting to become clear. The area writers (with some exceptions...Dave Lennon of Newsday for one) may want to take a look in the mirror before accusing blogs of being nonsense filled wastelands that are threatening to make newspapers obsolete. With every article that gets pumped out, the disappearance of true journalism is becoming more and more obvious. The writers are doing a fine job of single-handedly making their work obsolete. They don't need any assistance from us.