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Hat tip to Jeff Pearlman for this link

You would think the owner of a team that hasn’t won anything in ages and knows that he presides over a hostile fans base would think twice about taking to the microphone to address a sold out crowd on what was supposed be a night of celebration and have it turn into a fiasco.  No this is not about Freddy or Jeffy Skill Sets as even as clueless as they both are they know and the Mets P.R. staff is savvy enough to know that the club owners are not very popular with the fan base, so you wonder what was the P.R. staff of the Golden State Warriors thinking by letting team owner Joe Lacob speak during Chris Mullin Night in Oakland.

The Warriors fans it seems hates ownership and it may be unfair to Lacob who is the new owner and is trying to fix what previous owner Chris Cohan broke, like firing the iconic Mullin as the teams GM but Lacob, as the video shows, looks totally shocked at the response he received from the fans and was totally unprepared on how to deal with the hostile crowd. Instead of just sticking to the script and getting on with the unveiling of Mullin’s retired jersey in the rafters, Lacob looks like he’s ready to piss his pants, if it weren’t for the great job that Mullin and Rick Barry do in supporting Lacob, I’m sure there would have been a puddle at center court.

After watching that video I wondered if Mets fans would do the same to the Skill Sets. They wouldn’t because I doubt we would get the chance. The Skill Sets know they are personas non grata with the Mets fans and as inept as we all think they are they’re not that out of touch that they don’t understand the shit storm of a reaction they would get if they tried to make a speech at Citi Field.

It’s a shame that Mullin’s night was marred by this display of fan revolt but there is also something refreshing about a fan base that sells out an arena game after game letting an owner have it for not putting a winning team on the court.

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Why is Freddy smiling? Well, he just beat the rap! picture credit to John Marshall Mantle of the NY Times

I care about Fred Wilpon’s finances as much as he cares about mine which is nil.  Yesterday was a win for Fred and Uncle Saul but was it a win for Mets fans? That remains to be seen.

My concern in this whole clusterfuck of finance is how and when do the Mets get back to being championship contenders and that Jeffy Wilpon is kept away from the big boys running the baseball operations. It doesn’t matter if the Skill Sets discover gold, oil and a poppy field in Mo’Zone, as long as Sandy Alderson and his staff are allowed to do the baseball work, things have a good chance of working out for Mets but if they go back to business as usual then yesterday could be looked at as a dark day for Mets fans.

I have no problem with the Skill Sets owning the Mets what bothers me is when they get themselves involved in things they have no business in like obtaining players either by free agency, trading or drafting. Right now you have very competent people employed to run that end of the business like you did in the mid 60’s when Whitey Herzog ran the farm system and in the 80’s when Frank Cashen ran the organization, both times the Mets had their best success. I believe if Wilpon leaves Sandy Alderson alone this could be a renaissance of Mets baseball and if Fred was smart he’d understand this.

The Skill Sets are still faced with massive debt on the team, ball park and SNY so all yesterday really did was drop one of their 99 problems now that Irv Picard ain’t one. One of those 99 problems for the Mets is how to get ass’s in the seats of Citi Field, of course winning would help solve that but in order to get the fan base revved up the ownership had to show there is a commitment to winning. By commitment I don’t mean spending stupid money like in the past but showing the fan base that they really want to improve this team. As it stands today the club is deficient in starting pitching and bench depth as well as not having a bona fide veteran catcher to go along with a crippling contract of Jason Bay who doesn’t look like he’s going to have a turnaround season. You want to win back your fan base, allow Alderson to deal Bay with the team that will take half of the $35 mil that owed to Bay ($16 mil this season and next with a $3mil buyout in ’14) and the Skill Sets take the other half then I’ll say there is a commitment to making the Mets better and the fan base will know it and maybe that will get folks back to attending games at Citi Field. But again with the massive debt still on the Wilpon’s shoulders I doubt we’ll see this. You know maybe if they just started telling Mets fan the truth about the financial commitment they are making towards the team would be a good start to mend fences with the fan base.

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At what point during this spring training are we as Mets fans allowed to be concerned? See there is a segment of Mets followers who feel that some of the fan base overreacts to things in the spring but as we find ourselves just a mere 16 days away from opening day there are so many questions and so many concerns about the Mets team that will open the 2012 season.

Now you can say your expectations of the 2012 Mets are not high so this spring is just par for the course. As I type up this post, Mike Pelfrey is pitching like a guy who is closer to being released than sure up a spot in the starting rotation. Pelf’s line on the day is so bad the Mets should try to get FEMA to send them disaster aid money, 2.2 innings pitched with 8 runs scored all earned 8 hits and 4BB and oh yeah 4 K’s.  At this point when do Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins sit down and make a baseball decision and either release Pelfrey or pursued him to take a minor league assignment. It’s not just today’s start  but the other two he’s made this spring weren’t any good, add that into his lousy 2011, how can you give him a roster spot? I’d rather see Miguel Batista or Chris Schwinden get Pelfrey’s starts until Matt Harvey is ready to take a big league turn every 5^th day.

I hate to question the seriousness of a player’s injury but is Ruben Tejada coming back any time soon? Is he hurt or injured? There is a big difference. I don’t blame Terry Collins for being a bit of a red ass over Tejada’s inability to get back on the field with what was reported as a “strained groin”. Is it more serious than the club is letting us know? Tejada hasn’t played in 7 days so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say his groin is more than strained.

You may not think its panic time for the Mets but I can guarantee the folks in the back offices of the team that are trying to sell tickets and advertising and secure sponsorships are concerned.  Collins has said time and again this spring, it is imperative that the team gets off to a good start of the season.  There isn’t enough big league talent or depth on this team to overcome a 5-15 start. With the difficulty of selling tickets and the negative vibe with the fan base and media who cover the team, even a 12-8 start would be seen as a success.

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I’m already feeling Mets fatigue as the stories out of St Lonesome other than Santana’s healthy and Matt Harvey is a stud, all the other news has the stink of negativity to it. But is it really that bad or is it because it’s the Mets that it’s portrayed that way?

Sure the rash of pulled obliques is a concern but is it serious enough to where some fans are going off the deep end? Of all the pull muscles in the abdomen area that bother me it’s Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ because I thought he had a real shot of making the team but this will most likely stall his major league debut. Scott Hairston’ is somewhat disconcerting but he’s a 4^th outfielder who can be replaced by a waiver pick up at end of spring. Lucas Duda’ back looks to be fine as his Grand Slam yesterday is testament to.

Tim Byrdak is having his knee operated on today and contrary to all the bridge jumpers he’ll be back by mid-April. Is there a fan base in baseball that would get all worked up about a LOOGY missing 4 weeks of action in spring, some Mets fans reacted like idiots over the news of Byrdak’s injured knee.

If you want to throw yourself on the ground and kick up a tantrum, then do so over David Wright’s sore side. That’s the injury to watch.

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It was just the first exhibition game of the spring but that won’t stop the negativity surrounding the Mets to permeate via the MSM and some in the fan base.

First up with anti-Mets propaganda is Joel Sherman, who feels that Mets fans are idiots and expect Sandy Alderson to turn around this clusterfuck in a season and a half. There are certain guys I usually avoid reading and Sherman is one along with Filip Bondy, Ian O’Connor and Andy Martino as they seem to have a real deep hatred for the Mets and zero objectivity.  The three hacks, Sherman, Bondy and O’Connor are just Highlander shills whereas Martino wishes he was anyplace else but the Mets beat.

It’s hard to get all work up over last night’s game. Sure as Mets fans we were excited just to see baseball on our flat screens but you have to remember one thing THE GAMES DO NOT COUNT!!!! That is why they are exhibition games, practice games, an exercise on working on different aspects of hitting pitching and defense to get ready for the season.     

But with all that some things did stand out:

The Mets may lead the majors in hair, lots of hair.

That is some outstanding chin hair that Dillon Gee possesses. I would grow one of myself but it would look like a big bundle of steel wool.

I’m pulling for Mike Baxter to make the 25 man but he’s got use his head better in the field. I believe it was in the top of the 5^th with a runner on 1^st, Lombardozi executed a hit and run with a single to left. Baxter rushed to the ball and tried to throw the runner out at 3^rd   instead of looking at the batter/runner to hold him at 1st this allowed Lombardozi to take 2^nd base.

Adam Loewen sure looks like a pitcher in the batter’s box. He’s big with a lot of hair so he fits the mold of the modern Met

What was up with all the bases the Mets were stealing? Did Terry Collins summon his inner Al Lopez ? Will the Mets be the Go-Go Mets of 2012?

Matt Harvey had some command issues  but nothing to get worked up over.

Josh Thole look pretty good behind the plate.

Bryce Harper is going to be a pain in our ass for the next 15 years.

I liked seeing Kirk Nieuwenhuis get into the game. He looks bigger than the listed 6’ 3” 215 lbs  and he made a nice diving catch in the 5th but then got a little cocky in the 8^th trying to make a one hand catch that he dropped. Two hands Capt Kirk.

From today’s NY Times we get Scott Boras crying about the ownership of the Mets and Dodgers in a crock of shit lament that it’s bad for baseball that both major market teams are in bad financial straits. No Scott you mean not having both team especially the Skill Sets making dumb ass baseball business decisions and agreeing to bad contracts is bad for the business of Scott Boras.

Also in that story is word that Nails is headed to the big house for a 3 years stretch, a sad ending for sure.

Good to see Mike Steffanos is back to blogging about the Mets at his Mike’s Mets site, do yourself a favor and check out his site.

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With the Mets closing their training camp for the weekend as they get ready for Monday’s reporting day for pitchers and catchers, they won’t be much news coming from St. Lonesome today. It would be nice though, to get some sort of report on Johan Santana and how he feels after yesterday’s bullpen session.

So far it seems Santana is feeling good, in fact he says he’s not rehabbing the shoulder but getting it strong for the season which is great to hear but I would hope that he and the Mets take the slow lane in his comeback.

If Santana can make it back to the mound on Tuesday for another pitching session, it will be a huge step in his comeback but I just hope the team and the fan base don’t get overly optimistic on what Santana will bring to the Mets this season. Anything the team gets from him will be a plus and I still don’t think we will see Santana until late May at the earliest, pitching in a real game for the Mets.

Today is another 50 degree and sunny day in NYC and the winter has been unbelievably uneventful as far as the weather is concerned. So you know what that means? It will snow on opening day

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Sure there’s a bit of snow today and it’s colder than we’ve been used to this winter but when it comes to trying to get a gauge on the arrival of spring, nothing answers that query like Truck Day.

This coming Monday the truck filled with Mets gear will be packed and headed south to Pt. St Lonesome and as far as I’m concerned it can’t get there soon enough. This off season has been as uninteresting as none I can remember as a Mets fan.  So with spring training just a mere 8 days away we can only hope the day to day workouts and games give this grumpy fan base a spark.

There is a lot of anger amongst the faithful but what worries me is that apathy could overtake that anger, it’s one thing when your fan base has passion both positive and negative but when the folks stop caring then you have a major problem.

The Mets need  to find the baseball version of Jeremy Lin.

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My good buddy Ed “Rusty Jr.” Marcus over at The Real Dirty Mets has a very good column posted this morning on the patients Mets fans will have for the team this coming season. Ed asks the questions will fans show up at Citi Field, if the team gets off to a slow start will fans call for Terry Collins and Sandy Aldersons head and how much more cat calls will we hear from the stands of Citi Field for the Skill Sets to sell? All very good questions.

This off season has been as dormant of any positive Mets news in a long long time. The specter of the Madoff trustee law suit and the teams financial straits have overshadowed any baseball move made by the club as all the moves and non-moves have been money driven. That being said, I can’t wait until training camp opens as we can finally get back to discussing hitting, pitching and defense and hopefully some baseball related story lines.

The die hard “the Mets are in my blood” fan will come out to Citi Field no matter what this coming season brings.  With all the talk of boycotts and protest and insurrection by a part of the fan base, let me say don’t count on me for support. Am I pissed off about the way the Skill Sets have run this franchise and besmirched the good name of the New York Mets? Oh hell yeah! Do I wish they were gone from their seat of power as owner of the team? Double oh hell yeah? But will I abandon my Mets fandom? Infinity hell no!

If Terry Collins can continue to move this team in the direction he has and improve on how they fundamentally play baseball, then this could be a very interesting season. Two major things have to happen for the Mets to play above all expectations this coming season, they must master the fundamentals of baseball and they have to stay healthy, those two aspects of the game will be the difference in whether the dormant Mets fan will come out to Citi Field or will stay home. The Mets do not have the raw talent to be a contender for a division or a wild card berth, but if they limit the mistakes on defense and on the bases along with staying healthy, especially the very fragile starting pitching, the Mets could be the big story of the 2012 baseball season.

If the Mets do become this out of the blue story ,no one in the fan base will give a rat’s ass about the owner. We care about the Skill Sets now because we’re bored and angry, bored because there hasn’t been anything baseball related to discuss thus we’ve started to turn on ourselves (just check out Twitter any afternoon) and angry because we want to have a team we can be proud to call ourselves fans of.  What the Skill Sets have to worry about is that the die hards don’t become the minority among the fan base.

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Well, Freddy Skill Sets came pretty close to being truthful with the fan base when he was interviewed by Brain Costa of the WSJ. Fred was in Arizona (wow Bolt goes to Phoenix?) for the quarterly owners meeting.  When asked about his financial struggle and the toll it is taking on him, the Mets organization and its fan base, Freddy Sez:

“How could anybody deny that it’s been a challenging time?” Wilpon said. “But I came from nothing. I meet the challenges. So does Saul and Jeff and our whole family. We’re meeting the challenges and I think we’ll be fine.”

“I think we’ll be fine”? Really?  How so Freddy ? What’ch ya keepin’ on the down low from us? The new minority shares are a band aid on a gaping wound but you know what, maybe the Skill Sets luck is changing as his Guardian Angel, Bud Selig is staying on for 2 more years as baseball czar and Wilpon enabler and as always has Freddy’s back:

“He’s been a great owner,” Selig said. “Loves his team. He’s everything you’d want in a local owner. He’s had some economic problems, not caused by himself, and I have a lot of faith in him that he’s working his way through them.”

And he’s oh, so good,

And he’s oh, so fine,

And he’s oh, so healthy,

In his body and his mind.

He’s a well respected man about town,

Doing the best things so conservatively.

Then Freddy was asked about Jose Reyes and his thoughts on Reyes:

“Reyes was 17 years old when I met him,” Wilpon said. “He spoke pretty good English at that time, too. He said to me, ‘Can you give me some advice?’ I said, ‘Yeah, never wipe that smile off your face.’”

Humm, “never wipe that smile off your face” looks like Freddy eats at Wo Hop like I do. Thankfully for Reyes’ sake Freddy didn’t hit him up with “Kid, I know a guy who can make you rich beyond belief”

Here is a nice picture on a rainy, windy, cold New York afternoon

Years before we would get to the 50^th Anniversary of the NY Mets, Dana Brand was all pumped up about putting together a symposium at Hofstra University where he taught, on the history of the Mets. As you all know Dana passed away last year but his dream of having a conference at Hofstra will become a reality on April 26-28. Please check out all the details here and hopefully we can all meet up at Hofstra that weekend and celebrate not just the legacy of the NY Mets but of Dana Brand as well.

Steve Popper, the Mets beat writer for the Bergen Record is leaving the Mets beat and will become the Records man at MSG following the NY Knickerbockers. Not only is this a big loss for Mets fans but a huge loss for Mets bloggers like myself and other bloggers who have had the privilege of meeting Steve at various team functions. Many of the beat writers and media folk won’t even give us a response to a hello but Popper (as well as Adam Rubin and Kevin Kernan ) has always been friendly to us and has been gracious in sharing his thoughts with us about the Mets. Good luck Steve and thanks.

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When it comes to the Skill Sets financial situation it seems we Mets fans are better off ignoring what they say and instead focus on what they do. From the outstanding reporting of Eno Sarris of Amazin’ Avenue,  we discovered that the Skill Sets have hired  CRG Partners , a firm that works with businesses swimming in red ink and tries to either help them turnaround their business or it they are too far gone, file for bankruptcy. From reading the story, it looks like the Skill Sets are ready to be made comfortable for the inevitable, their loss of the Mets.

Sure, as Mets fans we should be rejoicing that the end of the Wilpon/Katz reign of ownership is closer to a conclusion than ownership as led on, and that has been the primary problem with the Skill Sets, their inability to be truthful with their fan base. If there is one thing indisputable about the Mets fans base, it is loyal and forgiving but it you take their kindness for weakness, you will feel their wrath. I truly believe if Fred Wilpon came to Mets fans with honesty over  the  grave financial situation that has alter severely the way the Mets have done business, instead of the “keep moving nothing to see here, we’re doing great ” deny, deny, deny spin, he would have had the backing of the fan base in trying to keep the team in his and his families stewardship, instead the constant false reports of selling minority shares, or tickets selling like “hot cakes” , or reports of a payroll north of $100 mil with money left for taking on a big contract for a pennant run which in realty is a payroll struggling to reach $90m and the only players signing are non-descript bush leaguers grateful for employment. No one ever learns, the cover up is always worse than the crime.

So due to the disrespect of the Mets fans intelligence, we have a mob with pitch forks and torches at the ready to run the Skill Sets out of Queens. One silver lining in all this though is the emergence of the of writers like Sarris and Howard Megdal, who dig and do the dirty work to bring Mets fans the truth behind the shell game being run at Citi Field. 

I wonder if the news that Bank of America has put notice on small businesses they lend money to that they are calling in the loans on those businesses they feel is a bad risk.  Mets have just taken out a $40 mil note from BOA, what would happen if that loan was recalled?

As much as we all want the Skill Sets out of the way and a new owner with deep pockets to take over our beloved Mets, how can we as a fan base be happy with all this financial bullshit that has had a negative effect on our beloved baseball team? My wanting the Wilpon’s out of the owner’s box at Citi Field is not due to personal malice, it’s due to the destruction of the core of my favorite baseball team. I don’t want to care about the Wilpon’s financial straights but I have to as it has an adverse effect on something I love, The New York Mets. That pisses me off to no end.

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