It’s not likely that we’ll only get better where we were weak and remain the same where we were strong from year to year. It’s more likely they’ll be a little give and take in both area’s.

I don’t care. I’m going down there and I’m gonna be LOUD. Have a good time, enjoy myself rooting for my favorite team.

but overall, the pitching was fine last year, and that included a full 10% of the starts going to Maine and Perez (in which they went something like a snappy 3-13). Not to mention another bunch to Mejia, Neive, and a few other luminaries that I have banned from my mind.

I did the math one day, and IIRC it was ~18-20% of the GSs that went to guys that were horrid, or had no business starting a ML game (borderline being in the pen).

simply replacing those starts with nominally qualified ML starters, and the team is instantly better, even taking into account losing Johan. And I am talking about the marathon of the regular season, not what happens in a short playoff series.

Let’s say Joahn is -5 wins (him to his replacement). Offset that by a +10 for all the crapitude not in the rotation now. Or be conservative, and say 5. That means you are at least break even to last year.

so start at 79 wins, add 2 for not having Jerry, and bingo, the team is still a .500 team. But, factor in the offense almost has to be better (and starting with Beltran and Reyes in the lineup goes a long way to that), and hard to see losing so many low scoring and 1 run games.

whatever, think what you want, but I really, truly don’t see how people are predicting this team to win many FEWER games than the train wreck from last year did!

Walking’s free, so is breathing but that’s about it. If your driving gas, tolls, parking and all that could be included in the cost of just about anything you do. What are you going to do? Hang out on your roof?

For Met Fans mix it up a bit. Don’t stay away because of lowered expectations on the field. Come out have a good time, cheer for Reyes and Wright, take a few seconds to appreciate one of the best CFers of all time before he heads on, root for Ike and Josh, Pelf, Niese and RA.

Remember how much fun it was when we were under dogs? Squeezing into the playoffs and then taking down the Big Red Machine? Sending the Birds back to Baltimore? Scaring the life out of the Braves in the driving rain?

Lots of good baseball to be seen at Citi this year. How much? That’s what we’re gonna find out.

Spend a buck and come see for yourself, it’ll be more fun than a lot of things you could do.

And once you been to a museum it’s done until they change the displays!

And I don’t care how much money the Wilpons may or may not lose to the Madoff thing…
If the fans come out and buy tickets they will go after talent when needed and the ticket prices won’t need to go up to make up for the lack of attendance the previous year and MAYBE the players will get the energy they need from a large cheering crowd to rise above the predictions made on them!

Everyone agrees the crowd can turn the tide and affect the opposition in a football game.
Why would they not extend that belief to the HOME team and Baseball?

At one time (with the highest payroll) they were looked upon as the buffon. Free agents used them to drive up the price and signed elsewhere for less.

They got it under control but it didn’t just happen. They had to move the Mell Halls to make room for the Bernie Williams. They essentially got 5 key players who were here for a decade, four of whom were here for 15 years at least. That formed the core of a team that experienced success and grew a culture of competitiveness and even more important, competence. Players believe that the organization is competent, fans too. That competence is what makes guys want to resign with the NYY, come over in the first place, have to be booted out before they leave or even go year to year cause they just want to be there. The best guys just want to be there. That wasn’t always the case.

There is a feeling that the NYY have a plan, a well thought out one. One that encompasses all possibilities, not just the best case. One with multiple options and one that everyone from the players, coaches, FO and ownership expect to result in long Octobers and it’s not acceptable to let each other down.

It’s a plan that goes well beyond just throwing a bunch of well compensated former All Stars together and expecting to catch lightning in a bottle.

Nicely said Joe.

Maybe the expectations aren’t as high as in years past but the dissapointment level will be lower too and if they do surprise, the joy that much more. Tickets can be had inexpensively and the way the stadium is you can buy the least expensive one and just walk around. Women like the stadium a lot more than they did Shea and there are fun free things for kids to do. The foods good, we have some really good players and real baseball fans love to see guys on other teams in person too.

Every team has someone I want to see. Ramirez/Stanton/Johnson, Zimmerman/Werth/Ramos/Norris, Lee/Rollins/Halliday/Brown,Utley, Pujols/Holliday/Carpenter, Castro/Garza/Soto, Greinke/Weeks/Cain/Fielder, Votto/Bruce/Chapman/Arroyo, Mccutchen/Alverez, Bourn/Wandy/Castro/Figgy/Keppinger, Tim/Matt/Madison/Buster/Aubrey, Tulo/Cargo/Ubaldo, Upton/Drew/Johnson, Maybin/Thatcher/Hudson/Bell and Kershaw/Furcal/Uribe and even Mattingley.

For 50 bucks a person you can catch a game, have lunch or dinner, a beer or two, meet up with friends in CF and root for YOUR TEAM. What’s wrong with that?

Might even allow you to come out and see Reyes 81 times a year down the road instead of 3 or God forbid, 9.

Don’t take for granted that you can see Reyes (or Wright) anytime you want down the road without at least helping in the effort and make sure your voice is heard by cheering loudly for them.

Can you go to college and get a Phd in Temporal Clarity?
Is having good writing skills, spelling and grammar a pre-requisite to being a “Baseball Expert”?
Does watching a game everyday qualify you as an EXPERT? If so then there are a LOT of experts in this world, more experts than non experts!

The closest thing to an expert regarding sports is the Vegas Odds makers. But all they really do is set the odds based on potential betting for that team and a team that is 3-1 today will quickly become a 20-1 in three weeks if they suffer one injury!

It takes a lot more than a Magnetic sign on the side of your pickup truck or van to be an EXPERT PLUMBING SPECIALIST!

The fact that some newspaper who picked you because of your writing skills and assigned you to a baseball team does not make you an expert.

None of the so called Experts gave the Giants a prayer of winning the WS last year.
Yet they did!

162 games is a long time! Despite what “EXPERTS” may say anything can happen over the course of those games.
Injuries, Players not performing as expected, A rival over achieving, just about anything that can’t be foretold will change the outcome of this season!

I will remind everyone that we were predicted to win the division 3 years straight since signing Beltran. Were the experts right then?

I doubt very highly they are right now as well!

If the game results were actually predicatble there would be no point in playing and going to see games!

And if you buy into the “EXPERTS” and decide to wait until they are a winning team before you go to see them then you will be responsible for them being ranked even lower the following year because they don’t HAVE the money to compete and get the players they will need to be a champion!

There is only one EXPERT opinion you should listen to.
Your HEART!
If in your heart you love the Mets and want to see them do well then go out and get some tickets so you can BE THERE whenever they transition from loser to winner and help to support them so they can add a winner or two to the roster on top of it and ensure the EXPERTS will pick us next year!