20
2013
MMO Featured Post: Why You Should Watch The Mets This Season
An article by 
With less than thirty days before pitchers and catchers report to Port St. Lucie for Spring Training there is little excitement for the upcoming season. Bad baseball may be better than no baseball, but 2013 appears to be another year of tempered expectations for most Mets fans. As a result, ticket sales and television ratings will likely take yet another hit, but should they? I’m not about to tell you how to spend your hard earned money, but I am here to tell you that there are plenty of reasons to watch the 2013 New York Mets.
The Kids
The departure of RA Dickey undoubtedly deals a blow to the starting rotation for this upcoming season, but the youth movement will be in full effect this summer. The first youngster found his way to the show last fall, when Matt Harvey posted a 3-5 record in ten starts. However, his record is a poor representation of the 2.73 ERA and 10-plus strike outs per nine innings he posted over that time. Simply put, Harvey’s performance on the field was only bested by his character off of it. No one will demand more of the 23 year old than he will of himself, but at first glance, it looks as if he’ll have the talent to back it up.
Next up on the premiere pitching path will be top prospect, Zack Wheeler. With only 33 innings pitched at the Triple-A level, Wheeler will almost certainly spend the first portion of the season in the minors. However, when he debuts he will bring with him a sizzling fastball and an impressive array of secondary pitches that give him ace caliber potential. He will be without question the most anticipated arrival of 2013 as fans hope to see if Sandy Alderson’s first major trade yields immediate dividends.
Last, but certainly not least will be newly acquired catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud. Considered by many to be the best catching prospect in baseball, he was the premiere piece in the trade that sent RA Dickey to Toronto and for that reason alone, his contribution will be monitored by the masses. The ability to hit for both average and power, combined with above average defense behind the dish, d’Arnaud has the potential to sure up the catching position for a long time to come, making his late April call up much anticipated. The Mets will hope that his prowess behind the plate will solidify what was one of the organization’s biggest weaknesses headed into the offseason and his bat will provide a much needed boost to the line up.
The Captain
Call it what you will, but David Wright’s new eight year, $139 million contract will paint a bullseye on his back this season and beyond. Having not reached the post season since 2006, Wright now finds himself the sole remaining “superstar” from that now distant memory. Coming off of an all-star season that saw the Mets’ third baseman return to form for much of the year, Wright will need to strike early and often if he’s to convince much of the fan base of his worth. For the time being, he finds himself to be the solitary cornerstone of what figures to be a multi-year rebuild. Can the pieces be filled in around him while he’s still the productive member of the team the Mets are paying for? The race is one and the clock is officially ticking…
The Farewell Tour
When he signed his six year, $137.5 million contract before the 2008 season, Johan Santana was supposed to be the one who got the Mets over the proverbial hump. Instead, Santana’s tenure has evolved into a little more than a financial burden. With the obvious exception of his June 2012 no-hitter Santana has found few highlights in Flushing. Barring a set of unforeseen circumstances, this season will be Santana’s last in Queens. When he departs, the Mets will enjoy a level of financial freedom not seen since his arrival. Should he excel early on this season, expect his swan song to end with a July trade that will see the Mets pay the large majority of his remaining salary. There is no way around it, if you want to say your goodbyes I’d thoroughly recommend you find your way to Citi Field this spring, because one way or another, Santana’s time is limited.
——————————————————————————–
As will be the case for many teams throughout Major League Baseball, the 2013 Mets will experience a variety of beginnings..and ends this year. If you’ve waded through the collapses, the scandal and the underperformance, then you owe it to yourself to watch your team evolve this summer. The Mets may not find themselves in the playoff race, but they should finally answer several question that have been hanging in the balance for some time now. Will the youth movement provide the foundation for a playoff caliber team in the not so distant future? Can David Wright solidify himself as the premiere talent he’s being paid to be? Will this be the season the franchise finally moves forward? Only time can tell, but will you be there to see it?
Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83
About the Author: Rob Patterson
Ultimately, I owe nearly thirty years of Mets related torture to my mother, who is the reason I became a fan. I was too young to remember the 86 run, but hope to see one I'll be able to recall much sooner than later. I enjoy writing about the team and welcome your feedback on my posts. Oh..and I am not with 28!
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 24 | 18 | .571 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 20 | .535 | 1.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 23 | .465 | 4.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 24 | .400 | 7.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 32 | .256 | 13.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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Rob, good article.. You miss the sole and most important comment on this article as to why we should watch, and the reason is because WE ARE NY METS FANS. Other than that, i do agree and disagree with you on certain points.
The Kids… More than us fans SA is praying they pan out, because he’s brought nothing to NY that works. not his phylosophy, not his resume, not good players, nothing..
The Captain?? Really?? Again with this? SMH..
The Farewell Tour… Yes… Sad that the santana career with us was marked by injuries, but the man was a warrior for us and gave us some very good moments for us to be proud and thankful for.. I hope he does pitch well for us this season, the man was a class act and a great citizen for us, kudos to him.
Have to agree with you about Santana. if he was not damaged goods when we got him, he certainly had a lot of wear and tear on him that was about to catch up with his body. Kind of like buying a used car with 120K on it, that had been reliable, but was about ready to start breaking down on the new owner! But still, he gave 110% and was a warrior when he could get on the mound.
i also think if his ankle is healed (and that was the real issue last July, not his arm/shoulder), he could easily have a fine rebound year. Whether that means a full season of vintage pitching, or a trade at the deadline, remains to be seen.
‘Bad baseball may be better than no baseball’
This.
Don’t think we’re going anywhere this season but looking forward to seeing how Harvey fares in his first full season and the debuts of Wheeler and D’Arnaud – among other things.
agreed. I like baseball, root for the mets, and will be watching regardless of how the team ends up doing. Sure, I prefer the playoff run years, but I can’t control it, so try to work with what I get, and look for the silver lining (and they had a number of them last year too).
There’s been plenty of years where we had no prospects making their debut to look forward to. This season coming up, we’ve got at least 2. Should be fun.
That pretty much hits the nail on the head right there. How many seasons have there been where we knew we weren’t gonna be good AND had no prospects to look forward to. This year we know we’re probably not gonna be that good, but we have definitely two, possibly three legit prospect debuts to look forward to. I gotta say this is the most excited I’ve been for a Mets season since the offseason after ’06….well I guess you can count the offseason after ’07 when we got Johan.
See 1995….
Rico Brogna
Edgardo Alfonso
Bill Pulsipher
Jason Isringhausen
Paul Wilson in the Minors
People looked forward to that season too….Hyped the hell out of it….
69-75!
And they had guys like Bonilla, Saberhagen, Kent, Hundley and Franco to help them….
You’re raining on my parade, Metsie…..
We’ve already seen Harvey make his debut and for his 10 or so starts last season he was actually better than the hype. I’m looking forward to seeing if he can cut down on that pitch count and go deeper into games w/o sacrificing much in the way of the high K count.
The rest are just prospects, there’s no denying that.
The book on Wheeler is he projects to have a tad bit better stuff than Harvey. Crossing my fingers….
D’Arnaud? I don’t think we’re looking at the next Piazza at the plate but I’m hoping his bat is as solid as his defense projects to be.
LOL Well I DID give you Alfonso there! Just focus on that and pray I’m right about Tejada looking like him or hope d”arnaud can be that good too!
The difference between 1995 and now is after Generation K busted there were no other prospects behind them in case they did bust. Now we have a bunch of arms right behind Wheeler and Harvey if they don’t pan out. That’s why it’s important to build up depth in your system instead of banking on 1 or 2 prospects like we’ve been doing for the better part of 20 years. If Harvay and Wheeler are both as good as advertised then we have a bunch of trade chips to fill those holes over the next year or two or three.
Hopefully they don’t do a formal C on DW. I think in MLB a captain is silly, and in this case, i doubt he needs any more self-imposed pressure to carry the team!
But, not a ridiculous idea if they want to do it, and really a big non-event.
and for all the grief he gets from some (largely because of the potential that in 6 years he might not be having a great season for his declining salary, which I consider his “marketing bonus”), he is still the best player on the team, and he did finish 6th in 2012 MVP voting. So obviously the people that really pay attention think he is a top player!
Yeah I agree – captains in baseball are pretty pointless. I don’t care either way if they do it – its not a big deal. But I do hope they avoid the giant C on the jersey ha.
Same can be said about Christmas bonuses. Bad Christmas bonuses are better than no Christmas bonus.
People will watch for the same reason people (ghouls) slow down and stare at car accidents…or they are masochistic Mets fans who just love the pain. Gotta love it after all these years of bafoonary. Take your pick. They won’t watch if they expect to see outstanding baseball.
I root for everyone in a Mets uniform (hell I even rooted for Perez and Bay when they were here). Wright is with the Mets the next 8 years so people need to get over it. The team decided to extend it and that is that. Personally, I felt the Mets should have at least found out his trade value before extending him but that wasnt what they believed. At this point, I hope Wright earns every penny of that $138M over the next 8 years. Sadly, history has not proven that to be true with contracts like that but there is no harm in hoping.
As for some of the youth, it is an exciting time. Harvey, Wheeler, and TDA all come with much touting. It will be interesting to see if they can live up to it. Also, let us not forget Ike, Duda, and Kirk and their pursuit of legitimate major league careers. There are questions on all three. Will there be a breakout with any of them?
When a team is down nobody is going to want to watch the overmatched veterans get beat up over and over, In the early 80s the mets were perennial doormats with terrible players, mostly old retreads, The only reason to come was because they had two youngsters named Mookie and Hubie. The promise of strawberry gave us hope for the future.
Now for the present edition, most of the old junk has been removed and we are replacing them not just with prospects but with some of the most promising youth in the sport, Harvey returns giving us visions of Tom Seaver, Wheeler supposedly has even more electric stuff, I cant wait to see that. We have a great catching prospect to look forward to. you know what? The mets have never had a catching prospect like this, Was anybody really that excited about todd hundley? No, we have expectations of a player like buster posey,
Then we have the homegrown crop which I admit does not give nearly the expectations of the imports, but there is some potential there, The one who most intrigues me is Valdespin. It seems like most posters here have already relegated him to be a bench player and pinch hitter. I want to see him out there everyday in RF. If he cant cut it then thats that but he has all the tools, 2013 is going to be the last year that people will give this front office the time to evaluate the kids. By 2014 results will expected which will no longer be able to be ignored.
I’m actually excited for the coming season and will definitely be watching. I’m more concerned with the bullpen than the OF. The Giants went all the way with a marginal outfield; it was their pitching that carried them.
Sure I wish Dickey was still here. But the Mets had holes, little money to spend, and the only area the team really had any depth in was starting pitching. So it was a reasonable decision to trade Dickey to fill those holes.
And it’s not as if the other teams in the division are elite. Only the Nats appear to be a really strong team. The Braves merely subbed in Upton for Chipper, and their starting pitching may have questions (do they have an ace anymore?). The Phillies are rapidly aging and scare no one. And the Marlins are an absolute mess.
So despite the doom and gloom of some pessimist Mets fans, I am fairly optimistic about the coming season and the direction of the team, and I would bet the majority of Mets fans feel the same way.
So despite the doom and gloom of some pessimist Mets fans, I am fairly optimistic about the coming season and the direction of the team, and I would bet the majority of Mets fans feel the same way”
Wow.. another sandy lover.
I guess in relation to some of the chicken littles, you can describe me that way.
But, no, I am NOT a Sandy “lover.” There are many things he has done I don’t like. A lot of it in relation to the bullpen.
But he is far better than Omar, and has the team on the right track from the mess he inherited when he took the job.
But he is far better than Omar”
At exactly what he’s better??? Tell me what exactly he’s been better than omar at? Speaking to the media? Better at lying to the fanbase and mocking it? better at what exactly?
“and has the team on the right track from the mess he inherited when he took the job.”
Lmao, he sure has. All he’s done is clear payroll, please pay attention. had not been for dickey and beltran (Omar’s guys) there’d be no wheeler and d’arnaud, and please, just like the season, please be patient with them and let them reach the majors and play before proclaiming them HOF ok. Relax
Trades. Handling a farm system. Handling contracts.
No, clearing payroll is not all Sandy’s done. For the first time in a long time, the Mets have a strong base of young players including multiple elite prospects. And, yes, Sandy used some of the assets Omar acquired to achieve that. But as I’ve said in other threads, I believe Omar would not have been able to parlay some of the older assets the Mets had into elite prospects the way Sandy did. Omar’s idea of trade (and contract) negotiations was to blink first, and to accept quantity over quality.
And don’t point to the Santana trade. In that instance, Johan wrote his own ticket to wherever he wanted to go. He had all the leverage, and had the Twins over a barrel.
If Omar had been GM, likely some of the younger assets would have been traded by now in order to obtain older almost-washed-up assets. That’s his modus operandi.
No one is proclaiming d’Arnaud and Wheeler to be HOFers. But you evaluate trades in two phases: Initially and later on down the road, in 3-4 years when you have the benefit of hindsight.
Initially one can proclaim a trade to be good or bad. For example, it was the general consensus that the Upton trade to the Mariners (since nixed) was a poor one. The Mariners gave up too much, and Upton, while young with potential, was inconsistent. It’s also questionable how he would perform in a park that routinely squashes the careers of many hitters who aren’t roided up.
So just because a trade is new, it doesn’t mean you can’t proclaim it to be a very good one. In the case of Dickey, both sides made out well. Each side got something that fit their specific needs at the time very well.
“If Omar had been GM, likely some of the younger assets would have been traded by now in order to obtain older almost-washed-up assets. ”
Really?
like he did in 2010 ?
o wait…he didnt do that…he held onto tejada/ike/murphy/duda
u must be talking about ruben amaro
Really. Like he did most of the time from 2004 through 2010. That’s Omar’s instincts, his tendencies. The older the better!!! For the most part.
Omar went for the quick fix at the expense of the future. And Sandy is the one who’s had to deal with that resulting mess.
Hey Metro – how are you?
“Omar went for the quick fix at the expense of the future. And Sandy is the one who’s had to deal with that resulting mess.”
Omar had the team within one curveball of being in the world series two years after taking control of a team with a 71 – 91 record. Obviously Omar made mistakes and we lost a few draft picks in the process. But the team on the field was competitive. How competitive is the team they are putting on the field two years after Sandy took control?
The real mess that you refer to was caused by Wilpon’s relationship with Madoff. The ‘mess’ is a financial one. Wilpon, using Madoff’s formula of a steady 10% return on investment, back loaded every contract that came across his desk. When the bubble burst Wilpon and the team were in a tremendous amount of trouble. This was Fred’s doing – not Omar’s.
And, how can Sandy say he is building for the future by not offering Reyes a contract BEFORE he took the batting title? And what about second round pick Teddy Stankiewicz? The Mets tried to low ball him – and for a difference of $80 grand we lost him. This is a guy who was scouted heavily by the Mets and who the Mets said were delighted to be able to draft him. These actions and more leave a lot of us to believe that Sandy is full of it.
Yes, Sandy is going in an entirely different direction to Omar. And look where we stand now.
If there is an award for saving a team the most money, Sandy will win it. However, most of us would like to see the Mets relevant now.
agee, yeah, I know Omar had the team within a hair of the WS. But given that his payrolls were either tops or 2nd every year he was GM, I don’t think that is enough. Because he also left the farm system in a poor state and the payroll clogged with albatross contracts by the time he left.
How competitive can you expect Sandy to have made the Mets the last 2 years when he was the one who had to suffer those albatross contracts and was given only 10-15 million to spend each winter? IN comparison, Omar had roughly 40-50 million to spend each of his first 2 winters as Mets GM. So it’s really not fair to judge Sandy so far given the limited resources he had to work with.
Given all those albatross contracts and weak farm system, I would have to say that both Omar and Madoff are what left the Mets in a mess.for Sandy to clean up.
I’m not sure how fair it is to expect Sandy to have offered a contract to Reyes BEFORE having seen him play in 2011. Reyes hadn’t had exactly strong seasons before 2011, and he had been injured often, so what was Alderson supposed to base his offer on?
At any rate, I can understand why some Mets are pessimistic about Sandy, but give it a little more time, I think we can begin to see some very positive things this year, and it will only get better forward as the payrolls become more flexible.
Metro – I admire your optimism – and wish I could share it. I hope I’m pleasantly surprised by the team but I’ve been a Mets fan almost since their beginning and I’ve seen this happen before.
“…I would have to say that both Omar and Madoff are what left the Mets in a mess for Sandy to clean up.” What about placing the blame squarely on the one person who is most culpable – that is Fred Wilpon?
I know that Sandy was brought in to get the Mets financial house in order. And, while painful, he is doing what he is paid to do. I just wish he wouldn’t be so disingenuous about it.
He basically told Reyes before the 2011 season to prove that he was worth the investment. Jose kept up his part of the bargain and for winning the batting title he wasn’t even offered a contract (maybe a box of chocolates?).
It was Fred’s stupidity or greed or both that led to this trouble. Sure Omar did mortgage the future somewhat but that was the price he had to pay to keep the team in the number one market competitive – Sandy, in my opinion, is just slashing and burning.
agee, it goes without saying that Fred Wilpon and Katz are responsible for the Madoff mess,. By saying “Madoff” I wasn’t excluding them from that. I was just zeroing in on that part of the financial issues which I think are most critical.
I don’t find Sandy disingenuous. He wants to win but his hands have been tied behind his back. Those ties should come off next winter, so we’ll see if he can fulfill his promise.
And the Mets offered Reyes a contract worth about 100 million. It wasn’t a formal offer, but it was understood by Greenberg what the Mets were willing to pay. He only had to pick up the phone and say OK.
Here is the link about the 100 million dollar offer:
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/39497/jose-reyes-is-a-ballplayer
Omar took the fastest route to success but it was a near-sighted route with bad consequences. So he’s at fault too. Though, the Wilpons hired him and extended him so they bear that responsibility as well,
“Omar went for the quick fix at the expense of the future. ”
What a crock of crap!
Omar went for the quick fix so he could BUILD the minors without having to abuse it and start them!
You know all those guys you say are part of the CORE Sandy has been rebuilding despite the fact only TWO of them are actually the product of Sandy’s work?
Wheeler and d’Arnaud?
Everyone else is a product of Omar’s building WHILE he was still making playoffs at the MLB level with this Quick Fix you mention.
Too Bad Sandy doesn’t know how to do that as well as Omar did!
We might not have had to trade the best 5 players we had over the last two seasons just to get TWO Kids!
The idea that Omar went for the quick fix so he could build the minors is ludicrous and a piece of utter CRAP!
Omar’s idea of building the minors was giving up draft picks by signing free agents and not bothering to build a roster where he could get some of those picks back by offering players arbitration.
Most of that core Omar built is what kept the Mets under .500 the last two years. Big whoopty-doo!
WHILE he was still making playoffs at the MLB level with this Quick Fix you mention
STILL? What? Which team have you been watching for most of the last decade. The Mets made the playoffs just once under Omar. Despite the fact he had one of the top two payrolls in the NL every year. Despite the fact he had 40-50 million to spend each of his first two winters (while Sandy has had peanuts).
Too bad Omar wasn’t a much better trader, negotiator, and farm builder. Maybe Sandy wouldn’t have been so handcuffed the first last years if Omar had been.
“Omar’s idea of building the minors was giving up draft picks by signing free agents ”
Lets review the draft picks given up score so far…..
Omar 6 Picks to get Wagner, Alou, and K-Rod
Sandy 20 Picks for NOTHING
Yet you say Sandy is the one rebuilding the minors and Omar was the one wasting picks!
Yep thats about as Sane thinking as anything Manson could come up with right there!
Sandy did NOT give up any early draft picks by signing free agents, and especially without getting comp picks back in return. Moreover how much do you think Sandy has had to spend on free agents compared to Omar? Yes, that’s right, NOTHING.
Omar squandered opportunities to build up the minors by squandering his early round picks. And signing old geezers left and right he couldn’t get draft picks back for.
Anyone thinking Omar built up the farm system belongs in a padded room!
Lets review the draft picks given up score so far…..
Omar 6 Picks to get Wagner, Alou, and K-Rod
Sandy 20 Picks for NOTHING
Core members acquired:
Omar 6
Sandy 2
Take that to your funny farm that you obviously got put in for shouting “I’M SANE, I’M ONE OF YOU” like the guy in the movie the Big Red One!
What? Omar gave up 6 first or second round picks to sign free agents. Sandy has given up ZERO early round picks to acquire players.
Core members have nothing to do with it. Omar had a treasure chest to acquire those core players. Sandy has had pennies.
The point you are missing is that Omar left the farm system in a poor state because he lost those draft picks and never got them back by acquiring players who he could offer arbitration to.
Take that to your padded cell!
Play semantics all you want… with your childish EARLY references…
Sandy wasted 20 Draft picks PERIOD! Got NOTHING
Omar got something for the 6 he gave away!
By comparing apples to oranges here you are acting like Omar usually signed all of his picks.
2010 14 picks unsigned
2009 18 picks unsigned
2008 10 picks unsigned
2007 10 picks unsigned
2006 15 picks unsigned
2009 Mets.com has them not signing 3 of their top 5 picks.
Now it’s still possible that with 1,000′s of picks MLB.com might have missed a few but
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/team/draft.jsp?c_id=nym&year=2012
This is where I got the info from.
WTF are YOU talking about. This isn’t semantics. The topic was EARLY ROUND DRAFT PICKS GIVEN UP BY SIGNING FREE AGENTS. What about EARLY ROUND PICKS — which is where the best prospects are for those too dense to know — don’t you understand?
Now if you can’t follow a topic, then don’t butt in and try to change the topic with random thoughts.
It’s a waste of time.
And, because some people just can’t grasp concepts — Theo and Cashman are two GMs who were very good at signing free agents, losing early round picks, but then getting them back by offering arbitration. Those two have been excellent at it. That’s a big reason their farm systems didn’t degrade or stagnate the way Omar’s did.
TRS86 — this isn’t even about draft picks throughout an entire draft. (Some mindless nut just decided to turn it into that.) The original context was solely draft picks given up by signing free agents (hence, early round picks which are the most valuable ones) and then FAILING to get them back by offering players arbitration.
Omar couldn’t offer arbitration to many of his own players because most were pretty much worthless by the time they left the Mets or they retired. That’s what you get for signing so many aging injury-prone players.
The point is, if you embark on a strategy of signing free agents, then embark on a simultaneous one where you can get draft picks back via arbitration. Theo Epstein used to do it. Cashman does it all the time. He’s pretty good at it.
I know Metro and that’s why I said he was comparing Apples to Oranges and then acting like Omar’s oranges weren’t sour too.
Seriously, trs86, someone needs adderall here and it ain’t you or me.
No the subject was REBUILDING THE MINORS….
Catch up!
Nope It was specifically about early round draft picks lost by signing free agents. And early round draft picks gotten back by offering arb to you own players,
Take your adderall and follow the bouncing ball! Try!
I’m going to watch just to see if they bring back Mandeep and Sharvarish on SNY!
Some of the funniest (and admittedly racist) commercials on TV!
But how can you not love those two guys?
thanks for the article but…
Much of what is written sounds like it came from the Mets PR department. No offense.
And just to be clear – Sandy came in to lower payroll – basically gut the team. Sure he’ll pick up some prospects by giving up major league talent but ultimately, it’s the team on the field that matters and this team that he now owns – after being in charge for two years – is unacceptable.
Building for the future in the number one baseball market in the world is a bunch of malarkey. He is simply replacing Major League talent with a cheaper version.
A good GM would have been able to put a competitive team on the field and replace pieces when needed. Where is our outfield at? How about the bullpen?
Oh, be patient? Oh yeah – Madoff – right!
I actually wrote about this yesterday too!
http://bayareamets.blogspot.com/2013/01/2013-and-beyond-what-to-look-forward-to.html
I think there is a lot for Mets fans to look forward too. And while this season will likely be largely dissapointing, there are some positives.
Sure there will be some positives….
What most people are unhappy about is there should be much more than there is!
But some just seemed resigned to taking a Year or Two vacation from baseball in the name of saving the Wilpons some money….
Which is actually nuts. I never understand taking a year off from your baseball team just because they are bad or you disagree with the ownership.
The Ownership isn’t changing for a bit and you should not boycott the team you love..
They don’t consider it a boycott..They DO for some reason think this year is a waste of time and not worth trying to improve the team….
All because they think by doing so they can fix it more NEXT year which also makes no sense because if you couldn’t fix it this year you won’t be able to fix it next year either.
Just discover more things to fix!
You can follow the Mets on TV.
If Mets ownership doesn’t reinvest in the team ten fans shouldn’t feel obligated to financially support the team. And if this lack of financial support forces the Wilpons to sell – all the better.
We all support the Mets – but I think it’s wise to make a statement by not attending very expensive games at CitiField until the Wilpons put a contending team on the field.
If they are looking at 2015 until they contend then that’s when the fans should go back.
Otherwise – the seat that TV gives you is better than any seat in CitiField.
While I agree many will do that…It realy doesn’t do what your hoping because your just shifting the money from one company to another….
If you really want to get the point across you almost have to not watch at all either in person or TV if your hope is to get them to sell….
Sad to say even thats a long shot at being effective but it will hurt them in advertiser dollars which they get by selling packages that include stadium and TV all bundled together.
WB Mason as just one example.
The worse the team gets the easier it is to do…But people will watch instead of go not because they love what they will see but lets face facts we are junkies hooked on Baseball in the summer….
Thats why I say there is no effective boycott that could ever work…we just aren’t strong enough to maintain it the way it needs to be to have any affect whatsoever.
Hey Metsie,
The TV contract is done and dusted in advance I believe.
Not spending upwards of $300 dollars to take a family of four to a game will hit Freddie in the pocketbook. It also makes a statement not only to Mets fans but to the entire baseball world that the Mets are not relevant in the number one market in the world.
Hell, I live in Sydney so I won’t be going to any games for the time being and its easy for me to tell other fans not to go. But I find it hard for fans to spend hard earn money to watch the team after its been gutted by Sandy on orders from the Wilpons.
If they say to be patient and wait for 2015 then great – be patient – watch the games on TV and wait until they put something on the field worth watching.
However – if you can get cheap tickets on stubhub – eat before the game and take public transport – then go for it and have a great time!
2012 was the first year in 9 years that i did not attend a single met game.
I refuse to attend any more met games until the wilpons sell
The Rights fee is set and flat….But the next one will be based on ratings…So it’s a future affect…
But thats not the real money maker in fact it’s hardly even real money…
The thing that not watching on TV hurts is the Ad Sales….
Thats where the REAL money is.
Right now they bundle the Stadium ads with the SNY ads…
If no one goes and no one watches on TV they lose sponsors and THAT money is the kind of money that can force them to sell the team.
The TV rights is pretty much standardized based on ratings and in the case of SNY it never REALLY gets paid it’s just which book the money shows up in. The mets probably never see an actual check from it they just deduct it from the money that they pay to the network for those Advertising time they get to sell to thier sponsors.
Thank You Metsie, I think we are on the same page.
The thing is Tlagee and Just Da Damaja, is that while the Mets may not be profitable, other Wilon entities certainly are, and in my opinion the fact that banks are still willing to loan shows that they aren’t in the worst shape..(certainly not in good shape either)
Additionally, while the wilpons may not be the best owners, they certainly are not the worst. In Miami, we have Loria who has decided he will just get revenue sharing. Dosn’t matter if anyone shows up to the ballpark. And while if your sole reason is going to see a competitive team, you should save up and go to those games. But if the SOLE reason your not going is to get the Wilpon’s out of ownership, then I say that’s silly.
So while I respect your decision to not attend Citi Field, I respectively disagree because at the end of the day it won’t accomplish anything.
Fair enough – but as I said before, I live in Sydney Australia so I won’t be going to many Mets games either way.
I’m not saying that the Wilpons are the worst owners of all time. They are, however, bad owners now – particularly after the Madoff scandle and particularly owning a team in the number one baseball market in the world.
Truth is there isn’t a lot we fans can do to force the Wilpons to sell…Even a GOOD boycott can be overcome….
With their share of the National TV Money, Shared revenues they get from Away games, and the Sponsors who want to have all thier advertising in the stadium for the National Telecasts that the Mets will appear in (regardless if fans are watching or not) They really make enough that low attendance will only force them to put an even cheaper team on the field until the money comes back.
I mean the Padres (Sandy’s last stop) has a Payroll of 55 Mil. Between the 30Mil they get from the national TV cut and the cut of the Payroll tax they would get they could get by without having to sell at all…Just don’t resign anyone after Santana leaves and Trade Wright and they are well below that number.
No one will go and the only ones who will suffer are all the people who sell you hot dogs and a $14 Footlong thats supposed to be $5 and the guy who sells the beer to wash it all down.
And whats worse is the stadium will suffer as well, Not be maintained and the next thing you know it will be as big a $#!Thole as Shea was back in the 70′s
We would be much better off changing the mind of ownership than changing ownership itself.
Yeah but the mets are expected to be givers in that revenue pool, not takers. esp in a 10 million customer market. Other owners are going to start putting the squeeze on Bud. Esp considering he giftwrapped that ASG to Fred. All that revenue and u still cant put out a team that competes?
Notice that we bank on Santana’s 5.5 mil deferred salary + Santana’s 5 mil 2014 buyout…but never bank on the profits from an ASG going into 2013′s payroll…
I have to wonder what happens once Selig finally retires. The fact that he’s announced it twice now and didn’t step down speaks volumes, IMO. Just smacks of ‘unfinished’ business he’s probably got going and I’m not too sure it’s all on the up and up.
“I have to wonder what happens once Selig finally retires”
We get a real GM? LOL sorry I just couldn’t resist that one….
Has it ever occurred to anyone (I know it has to me) that Sandy is helping to build Seligula’s legacy as comissioner and to achieve the goal Seligula could never do by himself but was the MAIN REASON he was named commisioner?
To get a BIG MARKET TEAM to enact SPENDING CONTROL!
Seligula was named Comissioner because he was the candidate the small market teams wanted to get the things like Slot Guidelines, Unfair over spending by the rich teams under control and to try and get revenue sharing from the players and other big market franchises so they could cut thier costs and never have to take money out of thier own pocket to field a team!
And he got a lot of it done with the exception of getting Big Market teams from spending a third more than the average and four times more than the lowest spending team.
If Seligula had retired in 1994 his tenure as comissioner would have been a failure by those who put him there, considerng the reasons he was put there in the first place….
So it’s not all that unreasonable that he forced the Wilpons to put Sandy in charge of a team which lives in the biggest market and compete with the one team who has ignored ANY attempt to reel in thier payroll.
And as a result of the most recent CBA he just THIS YEAR managed to get the players to limit rookie money expenditures and toughen up the Luxury tax to the point where the Yankees are considering it now too.
And by this time next year the Mets (A NYC FRANCHISE!) could be one of the lowest spending teams in the league! Once Santana and Bay are done they are in the 60Mil range which would put them in the bottom ten of spenders.
Seligula will stick that feather in his cap, Call it Macaroni and then Retire claiming MISSION ACCOMPLISHED and oh By the way Here is Sandy the guy who invented managing a team on a shoestring….he is taking over, I’m going to Disneyland!
There has never been any doubt in my mind SA came here as part of the deal between Selig and the Wilpons.
He had already ‘been there, done that’. Had probably a cushy job at MLB. What would make him want to come here to take over what was going to be a headache for probably his entire contract? I have to think his first words to Bud where ‘what’s in it for me’. And you have to wonder just what that ‘it’ is. It certainly wasn’t the anticipation of taking a strong team and make it a dynasty….
I believe Selig’s deal with the Wilpons isn’t the only pie he’s got his fingers in. In the world of baseball, he’s a pretty powerful guy. You know what they say about power…..
The Mets already have their “real” GM. Jeffy. Sandy is just Selig’s hitman/fixer (just ask SRT about it),
I fully believe that Sandy is not here past his contract, and IMO will leave after the 2013 season. But no way the Mets go out and hire a big name, hi powered GM to have real power. Or even go get a young, radical, gunslinger type and turn him loose.
I already bet that JP was extended to be Jeffy’s right hand man (IOW, fall guy). Which most likely will make you yearn to have Sandy back.
giving the wilpons any money is like giving your crackhead friend some cash…you are just enabling him and making it take longer to fix
The thing that bites you he butt in this BOYCOTT theory is if they are forced to sell and they are thw worst selling ticket in town the possibility increases that whoever DOES buy it does so to move it someplace where the fans DO support the team and they don’t have to compete with a team like the Yankees!
The mets would still have to honor the 30 year lease. they are here til 2039 at least.
correction: 40 year lease
no chance in Hades, even if they had no lease to break. You really think someone is going to pay top $ for a premiere franchise in the biggest market, to turn around and move it to a much smaller market? Pay a billion to move to Sacramento or OKC?
Well if yur not making money then how large the market is really doesn’t matter does it…
Make a profit in a small market with NO COMPETITION is better than a large market that draws fewere than a small market team does isn’t it?
O.K. Joe, I get it.
I personally can’t wait for the season to start. There’s enough to make the season interesting, even if we’re not exactly slated for October baseball.
I’m looking forward to Harvey’s first full year, TAD and Wheeler’s debut, seeing Ike in his first full healthy season (crossing my fingers), the ASG at Citi – as well as some other things.
Heck, it’s too long between now and spring training, let alone the start of the season.
And BTW…whose bright idea was it to schedule both the Mets home opener and Yankees home opener on the same day? We’re playing the Padres, they’re playing the Red Sox. Guess who will get all the coverage…..
SELIGULA!
That was the perfect setup there SRT!
(I have to credit Raissman for inventing that but I’m using it from now on whenever I refer to him! Joe will geta chuckle from my using that!)
LOL….I figured Joe was ‘very politely’ trying to tell me something.
No need though. Even with all the negativity surrounding this team, I’m still looking forward to the season.
And don’t let anyone try to convince you otherwise regarding your looking forward there SRT….
Just cause I don’t doesn’t mean I should be telling anyone else what to do/think or not…
99.9% of all the negativity is in response to people who seem intent on telling us how BAD we are for thinking the way we do about a team who did virtually nothing to help itself all winter….
(not you I’m referring to)
Ha! Was wondering if you’d pick up on it.
I cant wait for Opening Day.This team will surprise many as we have a good infield,Catchers,& hopefully a OF with pop. Also a 5th starter. Murphy will hit 18-20 HRs this year & Duda will also hit a lot. They will be fun to watch because we are all Mets fans & want the team to succeed.
I have rooted for this team since 1973 and have no intention of stopping now, but the probability is that this year will be dreadful.
I am the eternal optimist when it comes to the Mets.
I have followed this team since 1969, seen the highs, 1969/1986 WS, and the low, trade and dissection of Mets when Seaver was traded, so I go into the season hoping for a better season than the year before and possible break out season from youngsters in system.
The only problem is that other than Wheeler, who else is on the horizon because their is no one coming through system that anyone can say will be an asset, how long do we wait for Reese Havens to finally click?
I am looking forward to pitchers and catchers reporting despite the strange looks from family members, they know I live and breath Mets all year long so looking forward to ST and maybe the emergence of a possible star or player that will help in 2013.
Either way, despite the lack of moves by SA, he nor the Wilpons will not deny my pleasure of watching as many games as possible plus purchasing MLB package despite the cost and possible bad play.
This is my team and I will watch despite ownership, SA, ESPN, and all the negative comments from those who wish to punish Wilpons by not going to games or buying product related to Mets; that is a personal issue for each individual to decide but this Met fan will try to attend as many ST games as possible, bonus for living in Florida, and will cheer David, Johan, Ike, Niese, Harvey, Gee and all the others.
Lets Go Mets in 2013!
hopefully lots of shots of Molly Beers in the stands – there’s that too.
Ditto.
Off Topic: This years Super Bowl Matchup will pit brother vs brother Head Coaches (John and Jim Harbaugh) for the 1st time in history.
Pretty cool.
The Ray Lewis Farewell Tour concludes in New Orleans, with him getting his 2nd ring. Can’t get any better than that.
I can’t get excited. I just can’t. Maybe in ’14.
3014 Mets are gonna take it all
And if they don’t it will all be Omar, Sandy, and the Wilpons fault!
“If we had only done _______ in the last 125 years this team would have won something since 1986! ”
LOL
I’m going to watch the Mets because it’s always fun to see Terry Collins’ facial expressions whenever Wright fails to run out an infield grounder, or Mike Baxter gets thrown out at second on a base-hit because he stood still at first base, or Frank Francisco walks the pitcher with the bases loaded to score the winning run, or a flyball goes over Lucas Duda’s head for a three run triple, of Kirk strikes out five times in one game and strands eleven baserunners in a 2-1 loss.
Terry Collins alone will make watching the Mets fun and exciting.
I also look forward to watching Bobby Ojeda on the post games of what will be a 95 loss season. That will be so much fun too.
The kicker will be when we hear this:
“After a season in which the Mets failed to meet our expectations of winning, the team has decided to part ways with Terry Collins and he will not be retained in any role with the Mets.”