11 days until pitchers and catchers

Yesterday I hopped over to Mid-Town Manhattan (where miraculously  there was no snow on the ground when I left about four inches of the white stuff on my walkway in Staten Island) to attend a meeting of the Casey Stengel Chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR). It was there that I met up with Dana Brand who was one of the guest speakers at the event.

As I greeted Dana I asked him “So are you ready for pitchers and catchers” ? He gave me that look you give the dentist when he says “would you like Novocain or gas”?  Dana was not the only Mets fan in attendance that had that same queasy feeling bout the 2010 Mets season.

I never thought it could happen but the Wilpon’s have now displaced the Dolan’s of MSG as the worst owners of a NYC franchise.  I thought I despised Jeffey Skill Sets more than most but after talking to the Mets fans yesterday, I see I have competition.

By this time in the winter, as a baseball fan ,Super Bowl Sunday signals the home stretch of winter and knowing that spring training is around the corner. Usually for Mets fans we start to think of April and opening day, and opening day is usually cold. But we never cared about the cold. We wore Mets sweatshirts under our Mets jackets and figured our Mets gloves and the knit Mets hat we got last season on Fan Apprecitaion Day would shied us from the elements. We were just happy to have a ticket and a seat to root for our favorite baseball team. But from what I’ve read and heard from Mets fans this winter,  I have a feeling opening day at $iti Field will not be a hot ticket, in fact I figure the longer you hold out the better your chance to get a prime seat for below cost.

Where and when did this all go wrong? I’m starting to think the demolition of Shea Stadium will become our Curse of the Bambino, or Billy Goat.

When a team opens a new ballpark, the fan base is usually fired up about the new home and the great amenities so you’d think as Mets fans we’d be happy about all there is at $iti Field. But the more I talk to Mets fans and the more I think about it, maybe we should have stayed at Shea. Shea was a pitchers park and no one screamed to pull in it’s fences. But after one season at $tit, the cry is, “the outfield fence is too high” “the ball doesn’t carry” “the fences need to come in” what we’re really saying is “this place sucks, we want our Shea Stadium back”. Face it Mets fans we hate change and we hate $iti Field.

Now I ‘d say it’s mostly us old timey Mets fans that hate change and I know I’m of that crowd, it surprises me that I’m like that with the Mets as I embrace progress with everything else in my world. I guess I need one small part of the old world to stay with me. I still want pinstripe unis with no name on the back and blue caps with and orange NY. I want organ music instead of ear splitting pop shit, and this from a guy who still listens to Black Sabbath albums with the volume on 10 but at a baseball game I want to here the Mexican Hat dance played on a Thomas organ. I don’t want to be told to “Clap my hands” I’m not a idiot I know when to clap and when to cheer and when to say “AH SHIT!!”. I want my teams National League heritage to be displayed and educate fans of where we came from how our lineage evolved from the days of John McGraw and Mel Ott and Carl Hubble to Bobby Thomson and Willie Mays along with Zack Wheat and Joe Medwick and Dolph Camli and Jackie Ribinson and Duke Synder. NYC was always an NL town until now that the Wilpon’s let that distinction slip away and for that they should be ashamed of themselves.

Jeff Wilpon has not only surpassed Jim Dolan as the most spoil son of a rich man in NY sports but he is close to reaching M. Donald Grant status as a franchise killer. But we shouldn’t put the blame all on young Jeffey, I put  90% of the fiasco that is now the NY Mets on Fred Wilpon. Freddy has the power to tell sonny boy, “I’m sorry but you are in way over your head here my boy, it’s time for me to find a real baseball man to run this franchise and bring it back to respectability and to being a championship baseball team”. If Fred Wilpon does not step up and do what is right for the NY Mets franchise, he will become as hated here as much as Walter O’Malley. The only difference is Mets fans might be wishing he move himself and team someplace else.

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Mets fans of a certain age are mourning the death of another Shea Stadium icon, Mets organist extraordinaire Jane Jarvis passed away yesterday at the age of 94 at the Llian Booth Actors Home in Engelwood NJ where she lived since 2008 when a crane accident displaced her from her Upper East Side apartment in Manhattan.

Ms. Jarvis had a slew of musical credits on her resume but to Mets fans she was the lady whose sweet tones of the Thomas organ filled our summer days and nights at Shea Stadium.

Rest in peace Sweet Lady Jane whenever I hear the Mexican Hat Dance I’ll think of you.

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As I get ready to watch the New York Football Giants play the Carolina Panthers, in what could be the last game at GIANTS Stadium, I got to thinking how I have no emotional attachment to that Stadium like I had with Shea Stadium, when the last summer of Shea was a six month wake.

Now maybe it’s that fact that I’ve spent many more days at Shea than I have at Giants Stadium, even though I’ve been to many games there in the past 34 years but there is just not that attachment to the Meadowlands like I had with Shea and from the looks of things, I don’t think many Giants fans do either.

A lot of that non-emotion has to do with the fact that there are a lot of Giants fans who have never been to the Stadium. Think about that as Mets fans. For years, there was a huge waiting list for Giants season tickets, in fact season tickets were left in wills and estates to carry over from family to family. I’ve been lucky between my brothers and friends, I usually get to 2 games a year at Giants Stadium but there is a huge population of Giants fans who have never seen Big Blue play live and in person.

When the Last Days of Shea were upon us, the blogs and news media outlets were full of stories by Mets fans of the joy of growing up going to games at Shea Stadium. For all the complaining we Mets fans did about Shea from leaky pipes, to floods in the bathrooms, to no concourse space and on and on, when the last day at the ball park came, we cried like babies. Something tells me there will no tears shed for Giants Stadium today. I guess that’s one more reason why baseball is better than football, much more emotional.

Another Giants related story that had me thinking Mets was the story in the News about Wellington Mara and the day Giants Stadium opened and how happy he was that the Giants finally had their own home. Mr. Mara ran the Giants for years and when his nephew Tim Mara joined him in ownership, the team took a downward turn. I remember my brothers debating the Wellington/Tim Mara spilt as Wellington wanted to build through the draft and Tim was more of a showman and wanted to go after big name players and thus there was a huge spilt. It wasn’t until Pete Rozelle stepped in and told both Mara’s for the good of the NFL they needed to find someone to run the football operations of the team, and get the Giants back as NFL title contenders. Isn’t that where the Mets are today?

Freddy Skill Sets is not involved in the day to day moves of the Mets, he has turned the team over to his son Jeffey, who in turn has David Howard, the noted house shyster as his consigliore, neither one of them know anything about running a baseball team. They have a lame duck GM in Omar Minaya and a lamer duck manager in Jerry Manuel and now have a team with assets of close to $1 billion dollars but a team that no one wants to play for and is disrespected through out baseball.  What they need is a George Young, a guy to come in a run the baseball ops the right way, with a plan to build a solid foundation. This is not some small market; pocket the revenue sharing, type of franchise. This is a franchise with outstanding financial and fan support resources, what it lacks is leadership and until young Jeffey and Shyster Dave are removed from the day to day doings of the baseball end, the Mets will continue down the path of failure.

The fan base is not just angry but hugely disappointed in the direction this franchise is headed. The easy thing to do is abandon ship but we never will, this team is too much a part of us to that. Guys like me have to much invested here, but that doesn’t mean as fans we just sit back a take it.

I’d love to sit here and wave blue and orange poms-poms and praise the signing of Kelvin Escobar and R.A Dickey and Ryota Igrashi but there is so much more that needs to be done and I don’t have any faith in the front office to get it done.

I feel sorry for Omar Minaya. His biggest mistake as GM to me was hiring his friends into top jobs. It doesn’t work. From Tony Bernazzard to Ramon Pena to Bingo mgr Mako Oliveras to Julio Franco to Luis Aguayo they all failed at their jobs and they all failed Minaya. Now some of you are saying “see too many Latinos” but if you can look past your bias, you’ll see it’s more of guys that Minaya grew up through the ranks from player to scout to front office person throughout baseball that he surrounded himself with and it could just cost him his job. Add in the fact that Minaya is real old school when it comes to evaluating talent and maybe his way of thinking is outdated in today’s baseball.

Ownership and the front office can try to con us with “the team will be better as all those who were injured will be back healthy “ propaganda but their non-action speaks louder than words and the really need to do something to stem the tide of pessimism that they have cast over the franchise.

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Lynn Cohen works tirelessly for her Pitch In For A Good Cause foundation and as her last event of the season she has a deal for you  remember, there will come a day during the winter that you wish you were at a ball game even to watch this bunch of slugs :

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I’ll be honest here I watched very little of last nights Mets game. The game of the night was at The World’s Most Famous Arena that was a loud as I’ve heard it in years. When the Garden Faithful are in full voice it is one of the most intimidating buildings to play in kind of like Shea Stadium in the 80’s. I’m sure $iti Field will be that way in 30 years when it’s falling apart and the Board of Health closes the Shake Shack.

 

From switching back and forth during between periods and commercials of the Rangers-Caps game it just seems that every game that is not a Johan Santana start are all the same. Starting pitching stinks, no one can get a big hit, and a miscue or two in the field. So I guess I really didn’t miss much last night.

 

What more is there to say? J-Man will alter his lineup today with Dan Murphy getting a day off (WOW how the fan base has turned on this kid. Folks it’s not his fault ) in favor of Sheffield, Omir Santos gets the start behind the plate (take your time getting back Brian Schneider) and Beltran will go to the 3 hole with Rob Deer, I mean David Wright going down to 5. But really who cares? Unless Livan Hernadez goes 7 innings today odds are the Mets will lose again today.

 

The worst part here is I’m not even mad anymore. It’s three weeks into the season and I’m borderline apathetic about this team. You know how they say a team takes on the personality of its manager ? Well I’m close to becoming a fan taking on the personality of my favorite baseball team by not giving a shit if they win or lose.

 

Let’s face it sure it’s April but what have we seen so far that says this season won’t end like the last two? The last two editions of the NY Mets talked the talked but could never walk the walk and this one looks headed in the same direction.

 

The good thing about a complete failure of this team is all of the Anti-Omar contingent (and the numbers of loyalist to this group grows with every uninspiring loss) will get their pound of flesh as anything less than a Wild Card berth would have to trigger a total house cleaning.

 

I can’t believe I just wrote that. It’s April and I’m contemplating cleaning house in Flushing but how else can you think as this Mets team is so uninspiring.

 

You must check out Dave Singer’s NY Sportsdog for his Keith Hernandez “Slumpbuster” I want one to wear this weekend at $iti Field.

 

Check out Brooklyn Mets Fan as he has video of his interview with former Mets star and graffiti artist Dwight Gooden and also check out the pilot of a show he’s pitching to SNY called “Stars and Fans of the NY Mets”

 

Don’t forget tonight Pro Baseball Central at 9PM EDST on Blog Talk Radio.

 

   

 

 

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Sorry about the technical difficulties but a big thank you to Joe Mc Donald for putting it on the lift and changing the spark plugs. We are farrrrrrrrrr behind so here we go:

 

The only thing better than the Mets winning on opening day is winning on opening day when the next day is an off day as my pals who are Highlander supporters are all walking around aimlessly muttering “What the fuck, what the fuck” after going 0-1 <dancing like Michael Flatley>

 

I am calling for an all out boycott of FOX Game of the Week this Saturday and every Saturday the Mets are not a participant if they black out the Mets-Marlins game in NYC. The biggest problem he is the dipshit Marlins management starting the game at 6PM due to a concert that’s schedule for after the game. Be that as it may, this black out rule is total bullshit and even though FOX has a contract with MLB and has this exclusive window, it would be nice if the Used Car Salesman would step up and come to the aid of the one franchise that walks lock step with every edict handed down from his office and get FOX to lift the ban in NYC. The game is not scheduled to be televised in South Florida (let that roll around in your head for moment a local baseball game not televised. Yeah I’m stupefied too) but I guess all five Marlins fans don’t care but not us Mets fans as I’m ready to take hostages if I miss an hour of Saturday’ game.

 

Good post by The Mets Police on the Mets management dropping the ball (which they do as well as the ’62 team) in not putting more historic markings in the parking lot that was once Shea Stadium.

 

Tim Marchman (one of my fav writers and I do miss the NY Sun sports page) has a great column on WSJ on the cutting back of sports coverage in newspapers. In cities like Pittsburgh the Post-Gazette may not even send a beat guy on the road to follow the Pirates and even the Old Grey Lady is cutting back on-site reporting. Marchman points out how bloggers and other web based writers have really taken over in covering games either being at the games or just covering them from TV but are able to file a story or opinion as soon as the game is over. It is stunning to guy of my generation who had to wait to get the NY Post when it was an afternoon only paper, to read about games on the West Coast, now I can read those stories with my Cheerios, first thing in the AM.

 

Quick observations on yesterday’s game:

 

I was nervous in the first inning as Johan had trouble with command but he adjusts brilliantly after that to pitch a gem.

 

Yes, The Gangsta’ left a ton of guys on base but please come off the ledge and stop with the “here we go again” lament at least until the end of this series 

 

Highlander fans won’t tell you to your face but they love our Daniel Murphy because he reminds them of Don Mattingly and it kills them that they have Douche Bag Rodriguez and we have not only D-Wright but Danny Baseball.

 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE I’m beeeggggggggggggginnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg you NO MORE BLACK UNIFORMS!!!!!!! And ditch those two-tone hats!!!!!!! Mex and Ronnie hit it out of the park, the Mets gray roadie is CLASSIC!!!!!!!!!

 

Now that’s a bullpen!             

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I was thrilled to come home yesterday and see that my copy of Greg Prince’ book “Faith And Fear In Flushing” had arrived. As soon as I saw the front cover I knew that this is THE book for Mets fans to add to their library as nothing sums up Mets fandom like the picture of Gary Carter and Ray Knight hugging after Game 6 of the 1986 World Series and the bottom picture of Yadier Molina watching Aaron Heilman’ pitch in the 9^th inning of <reaches for a Kleenex> Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS go out of Shea Stadium. Best of times, worst of times indeed and isn’t that what being a Mets fan is all about?

This book is more about what it’s like to be a Mets fan and how it is that we became a fan of this team. In fact Greg, shows we are more than fans, this team in imbedded in our DNA we are so hooked we couldn’t leave if we wanted to.

My family and friends know how I live and die with the Mets and they get their jollies by asking me “What team would you root for if the Mets cease to exist”?  I usually turn red and start cursing as that is akin to asking which of my two children I love the most.  As there are no other kids I could ever love like mine and I could never live and die with another team like I do with the Mets.

As far as I’m concerned this book is a must read for all the younger Mets fans. You guys need to know the history of this organization. You need to see your roots. As much as we all love David Wright and Jose Reyes you need to know about Roy Staiger and Teddy Martinez. As much as you all wear your 31 PIAZZA and 17 HERNANDEZ you have to learn about 31 PARKER (Harry) and MILLAN (Felix) and by reading Faith And Fear In Flushing you will be a better educated Mets fan.

This book is for the REAL Mets fan. The fan who couldn’t wait to attain drinking age to have a cold Rheingold  or  open a bank account at Manufacturers Hanover or pick out a car at your NY, NJ Fairfield County Plymouth dealer. The fan who feels that the 7 train is the ultimate stretch limo. The fan who sits in the Upper Deck of Shea and brings his sandwich and can of soda (placed in the freezer the night before and wrapped in tin foil for the ride to Shea) The fan who no matter how bad things are going in there life can smile at the sight of Mr. Met and feel secure that Gary Cohen and Howie Rose are on the job brings us the sights and sounds of Mets baseball. The fan who could sit and listen to Jane Jarvis play the Thomas Organ and for all of us who look to the late great Tug McGraw when things look hopeless and say YA GOTTA BELIEVE!    

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Lot’s of Mets news today and I have to peruse my brackets. I miss the days of the great NCAA Tournament contest at Jody’s on Forest Ave in Staten Island. Jody ran a pool where you played a ticket for 10 bucks and you had to pick the Final 4, the Championship game. The tie breaker was the total combined score of the championship game. The pool started out as something for the barflies to do while wiling away their time at the bar and through word of mouth on the Island kept growing and growing. Friends and relatives started sending in picks and before you knew it there were over 100, 000 entries and the cash prize went over $1mil bucks.

 

But of course some dumb fuck who one a boat load of dough reported this on his Income Tax which got the attention of the IRS and due to the hot spot light on the US Government the pool is no more. Sad so so sad.

 

Who’s better than Toby Hyde when in comes to knowing the baseball farm hands? No one. Here is his write up on newest Mets chucker, Fernando Nieve.

 

Nick Evans has been an after thoughT all off season and early spring as the right handed bat the Mets need off the bench but with a very productive spring due to increased playing time with the Wright, Delgado and Tatis off playing in the Patriot Games, Warlord Jerry is starting to think that Evans will head to Cincinnati with the team come April 6. I still feel the same about Evans as did the first time I saw him play, he looks and plays like Dave Magadan clone

 

On this date in 1961 the State of NY voted to approve a bond issue to develop a parcel of land that was used for the 1939 Worlds Fair in Flushing Meadow for the construction of a new multi sports stadium. That stadium would become <bows head> Shea Stadium

 

Speaking of ball parks, Paul Goldberger has a piece in the March 23^rd issues of New Yorker magazine looking at $iti Field and that ornate piece of shit they are building in the Bronx. 

 

I’m close to the point where I’m ready to demand the Mets give Jon Niese the 5^th spot in the rotation and tell everyone else to go the fuck home. That includes Petey as well. Enough already with the retreads and old men give the kid the job show him some confidence and guidance and bet the results will be better than anything Livan, Freddie, or Rotund Redding will give you.

 

  

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I had car issues and computer issues today so I’m not in any kind of mood to write but Joe McDonlad has a video of the last piece of Shea Stadium to bite the dust. Shea Stadium is no more. Let that swril around your brain for awhile. The Shea Stadium Era is done. Rest in Peace Shea.

Don’t for get tomorrow night PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL at 9PM EST with our guests Paul Coutinho  of ESPN1050 Radio and Martin Gandy of Talking-Chop.

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With a rare Saturday with nothing to do (just one basketball game today, my daughter’ and that was a home game at noon which means just a walk around the corner from my house ) I decided to give my eyes and fingers a day off but since the computer was on as my son finished a report for school, I figured “what the hell’ I’ll throw out a quick post so with The Grateful Dead Steal Your Face vol 1 and 2 in the background away we go.

Seems there was a very nice turnout in the cold for the last day of Shea wake. Dave Singer at NY Sports Dog has a clip of those in attendance singing my favorite song. It looks like by the end of the week Shea Stadium will be just a pile of rubble. After looking at the clip of the folks singing Meet The Mets it occurs to me that the Skill Sets are not worthy of such loyal and passionate fans.

I see where the Rays have signed LOOGY extraordinary Brian Shouse to a two year deal which seems a bit much for a 40 yr old lefty but now there is a logjam in the Tampa pen and they are looking to move Chad Bradford. Bradford is up to make $3.5 mil in 2009 and how would he look in the Mets pen in the 6^th or 7^th inning? Damn good if you ask me. I think I’ll just slam my hand in a car door now and save me the pain for when Omar tells us the Mets have no interest in Bradford.

I missed St Joseph of Torre on Larry King last night ( I was at Devils-Pens game more on that in a minute.) But a couple of things about this book. Torre didn’t get involved with this book for the money or for notoriety this was his revenge against the Highlanders for the way he feels he was shoved out the door by Two Packs A Day Hank, Shallow Hal and Pee Wee Cashman. Make no mistake St. Joe is one scorned ex-employee and he wanted the world to know it. As impossible as this may seem I know a few people close to the Highlander high archy and others who have dealt with St Joe and they inform me there are Two Joe’s, public Joe who is gracious and suave and then there is down and dirty Joe who lets all the Brooklyn come out of him when you rattle his cage.

With that low rent asshole David Wells coming out with his dumb ass statements against Torre (remember Wells got his ass kicked by a Guido midget in a Manhattan diner so I doubt he has the onions to punch Torre in the face) it reminded me of a story my Highlander operative relayed to me.

One Old Timers day, Wells was not scheduled to pitch and during the regular game decided he wanted to go up to the owners box and hobnob with the old timers while his teammates were engaged in a game. As he was trying to finagle getting a cocktail he saw the Highlander Clipper, Joe DiMaggio and struck up a conversation. After a while Wells took off his uni top and undershirt so he could show Joltin’ Joe the faces of his kids and mom he had tattooed on his upper torso. Needless to say, the sight of a shirtless Wells did not go over well with the old timers and swells in the Bronx Robber Barons Box. At that point the phone in the suite rang and on one end was one angry manager as word got to St Joe that Tons o’ Fun Wells was up in the owners box swillin’ and chillin’. Wells was told to get back to the Highlander bunker and when he arrived, St Joseph of Torre morphed into Brooklyn Joe and had to be restrained for giving Wells a good old fashion Brooklyn ass kicking. No wonder Torre laughed when he was told of Wells’ comments for St Joe knows who the real “punk ass” is.

 

Went to the Prudential Center last night for the Devils-Penguins game a good one as the Devils came back from 2 goals down to tie in regulation and win in OT on Jamie Langenbrunners second OT winner in two nights. I really like The Rock. It has great sight lines and the wide concourses make it very manageable to get around but I have (of course ) a few issues. First, the area around the arena is mostly office buildings and the streets are the darker than the other side of Mars. There aren’t any places to go get something to eat before the game so you either eat at home or eat at the arena which is your standard arena/stadium fare. The area you enter to get into the arena is small and when there is a big crowd on a cold night the open doors create a wind tunnel and you freeze your ass off waiting to get in. Then when you get in they have security guards who use a wand on you to search for weapons which for some reason cracks me up as I say to myself ‘are you kidding? This is Newark” Who doesn’t have a piece on them”? Add to that the guards all look like they just got out of the Rahway State Pen. Forget President Obama, when a black guy in a “doo-rag” and gold teeth is patting my pasty white ass down looking for a shive well that my friends tells me there really is Change in America. One last thing, how can a concession stand that is one of the biggest I’ve seen in an arena run out of hot dogs and pretzels after the first period of a hockey game?

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