There has been a lot of talk about Fernando Martinez and his share of “boos” Wednesday night at Citi Field, after failing to run out a pop up that was ultimately dropped. Fellow Mets fan, friend and colleague, Tanya Mercado of citifieldofdreams.com was at the game and said that Martinez heard it from the crowd all night.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I am not saying I am pleased with Fernando’s actions. Even Johan Santana knew to run hard on strike three in the dirt. But the same fans who had no unwillingness to boo Martinez better not be the same ones who didn’t boo Jose Reyes for similar actions. I don’t want to hear “Reyes is a superstar who has proven himself and we can let it slide.” That has nothing to do with it. Just like Martinez being 20 years old and making his Major League debut has nothing to do with his blunder. But either cut him some slack, as you did Reyes, or get on Reyes too. There are too many inconsistent Mets fans lingering about and they can’t have it both ways.
You can make the argument that Reyes was playing with a bad calf. But when he saw the ball was not going out, he put it in full gear, only it was too late. He should have been in full gear out of the box. You can also make the point that at least Reyes ran, while all Martinez did was stand there and even turn his back on the play. But the only reason Reyes ran was because he was breaking into his home run trot! No matter how you slice it, both were equally wrong and embarrassed themselves in front of 40,000 people.
Should Martinez have been benched after his lack of hustle Wednesday night? Gee, I don’t know … let’s see, was Reyes??? Jerry Manuel needs to put an end to behavior like this immediately. Martinez deserves some kind of wake-up call from the start. And he did apologize and said it will never happen again. But for fans to pick and choose who can get away with certain actions and who can’t, is as bad as Jerry Manuel putting Ramon Castro and Ryan Church in his invisible doghouse. Everyone needs to be treated equally. Of course, every fan will have their favorite players and also have players that they dislike, for whatever reason. But you can’t take exactly the same situation and treat it differently because one player is more popular than the other. It’s not a popularity contest. And by no means am I discounting Reyes. I love the guy and can’t wait for him to come back from the DL. But what made him exempt from the boos? Even on this site, everybody and their mother was defending him in the days after his then-labeled “boneheaded” play(s). I know that David Wright has also been booed this year for his many strikeouts. No one has defended that!
We preach teamwork and unity, but how do you expect a guy like Martinez to feel if he hears it from the crowd and maybe someone else who is just as deserving of it, does not? It’s the fastest way to cause resentment and friction among teammates. And I think fans, not just F-Mart, need that wake-up call. It’s not just Mets management; we need to do our part as fans to be fair and just and evenly supportive to our players as well. If we boo, we boo, but we boo everyone. And if we don’t, then we don’t, end of story …
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Well I’ve made it very clear I think boo’ing anyone, especially before the ALL STAR game that is wearing the uniform of the team I love is the most idiotic thing ever…..
With that, I can’t believe all the attention this is getting. The kid busted it on every other play, it was clearly a mistake, you’d think the bases were loaded, 2 outs bottom of the 9th in game 7 of the WS.
A 20 year old kid, on his 2nd day in the bigs, on the biggest stage in the world made a mistake. One that didn’t cost the game. ENOUGH already
I find it odd that I find myself agreeing with Kay. (no offense) This blog captures the whole essence of what is wrong with fans today. They have become too impatient. The booing has become too ridiculous and very embarassing because it gives all the fans a bad rap when its just a small minority that acts poorly.
I am neither approving of nor against booing … that wasnt my point … my point was that Mets fans need to be consistent and not pick and choose when they are going to boo and when they aren’t … they can’t cause friction and play favorites … the players will notice it … we’re not talking about a guy who can hit 40 homers versus a guy who hits .185 … that .185 guy would expect to not be as popular and he accepts it … we’re talking about players’ feelings and morale here …
Denise – my comments were not pointed at you or your blog, I am just responding on the attention throught the media both newspapers and radio that is getting.
Oh I know, I just wanted to clarify some things
It was a mistake. I can understand booing him initially because he didn’t hustle…but that’s it. Not again when he comes out into the field or in his next AB or EVER again for that one mistake. If he does it again, give it to him twice as hard and bench him. But 1 mistake in his 2nd game – no matter how stupid – doesn’t deserve all of this. Would I have booed? I don’t know…I probably would’ve just yelled out “really? jeez…” and shook my head for a minute. I remember my last game at Shea last year (vs Washington last May…Pelf took a no-hitter into the 7th or 8th, but the Mets lost 1-0), Jose Reyes (I believe) was on base with two outs, and the batter hit a routine fly ball to RF. Jose did not hustle, and when the ball was dropped, he was only able to get to 3rd…if he had even just been JOGGING he would’ve scored. I think it sends a better message to pull out a superstar for not hustling than to pull out a rookie…taking F-Mart out probably would’ve done more harm than good.
I’m curious to see if it was just a one at-bat thing. I was also at Wednesday’s game and I’m hoping the fans who booed only did it for that one at-bat. I didn’t boo but it’s good that the fans voiced their displeasure. Notice how in the post-game report, he mentioned his embarrassment and how he would never do it again. Good. He now knows that the fans weren’t happy with his poor decision to not run out his popup. He’s not in tonight’s starting lineup, so we’ll have to wait to see what the fans’ reaction will be the next time he comes up to bat. If they boo him again, then I would think it’s overkill and it could affect him negatively. I hope the fans show him encouragement. It will only help him develop as a major league player.
Great blog Denise. I agree with Kay and Devin. Kay hit it right on when she brought up him busting it out. Fans were quick to forget that great catch he made against the bullpen fence.
Mets fans are just so bitter about the past two years that they are intolerant of any mistakes.
I understand if it was a veteran who did the mistake. I would not tolerate that. Case in point, the base running blunders Reyes has made this year. But give the kid a chance. The booing could affect the kids’ psyche. Things like that do damage.
He deserved the boos and should be grown up enough to realize he made a mistake. But the fans should leave it at that and not boo him again unless he does something stupid again. The comparison to Reyes is irrelevant becuse they are 2 different players at different points in their careers. One is not a basis of comparison for the other. F!Mart got the point and it should be left at that for now.
I agree completely Denise. I get so irked whenever I hear comments like “he’s a seasoned veteran and paid his dues he’s entitled to a free pass.”
If you’re a seasoned veteran, shouldn’t your baseball acumen and instincts be better than that of a rookie?
Shouldn’t it be the other way around, where we should expect mistakes or not running hard from a rookie, and yet not tolerate it from a veteran?
The veterans should of jumped down the kids throat, but they can’t because they’ve committed that same offense.
These things didn’t happen when the original Keith, Gary(Carter) and Ron were in the clubhouse.