“Valdespin knew that was coming. I don’t think it’s fair to say that since we didn’t hit one of the Pittsburgh hitters that he doesn’t have a friend. The notion that he was hung out to dry I think is a mistake. I’m not telling you he’s the most popular guy in the clubhouse, but I don’t think he was hung out to dry.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

There is a problem with the current Mets. It is a problem of morale and a malaise of camaraderie that is potentially far worse than I think management and maybe even the players realize (if they did they would do something about it). It is a problem that transcends talent and infringes on motivation, resolve, and cohesion.

When I was a kid in Queens, 98th street Corona to be exact, there were kids on the block that no one liked. We’d scrap and scuffle with them on a weekly basis it seemed like … but if anyone from outside the neighborhood came around to pick on them we’d chase them off every time … even though we didn’t like them much. Why? Because we didn’t want those outside kids thinking they could come around and bully us.

This is all about mindset, attitude, reputation.

Do the Mets wish to be the sort of team that may show up the opposition and when they get beaned they thank their adversaries for teaching them a lesson?

Or

Do the Mets want to be the sort of team that may occasionally showboat, but if you bean them there will be hell to pay?
With a plunking, you miss by a few inches and it’s a broken wrist. You miss by a foot and it’s a life threatening concussion. Is that really worth whatever slight a bat flip may have incurred? No. That’s why you have to go beaning for beaning, every time, benches warned, end of story. Your guy learns his lesson and you maintain your honor — win/win. Who is to say they won’t go after David Wright next time? It deflates the esteem and morale of the players who turn away. It makes your team look like a bunch of hateful cowardly pansies and it invites even more beanings.

Think of it this way, if you’re enemy is so divided they’re sacrificing members of their own, serving them up on a platter, do you take their platter and ask for seconds? Of course, attrition in your opposition is always a gateway to success.

Valdespin rubs some people the wrong way, he can come off as unusually arrogant, but he’s a kid who is still learning and I was struck by the look of surprise when he got hit. He really didn’t seem to understand why he got beaned. Afterwards, surprisingly, I disliked Valdespin a little less (I’ve actually always rooted for him — he was even on my fantasy team for a while), and disliked the rest of the team (starting with the Manager) a lot more.

There was a certain code growing up in Queens. You didn’t snitch, you didn’t turn your back on your friends (even if they weren’t really your friends – even if they just happened to be with you), you never sided with outsiders, and if someone from the outside did get to you, you got them back hard and fast. That was NY in the early 70′s, and it’s probably still the case in places like Corona, and Flushing, and Jackson Heights, and Bedford Stuyvesant and Bushwick and Flatbush and any number of other places that make up the Mets fan base.

What this team needs, more than anything, is Management that understands its fan base. What we need is more resolve, and less passive aggressive maneuvering. Fred and Jeff Wilpon appear to have taken a critical formative lesson from their initial success in 86 and they’ve run with it to a fault. They’ve insisted on drafting and signing high character players in an effort to head-off  the drug infused nightmare that resulted in the collapse of a would be dynasty.

Unfortunately it’s rare to find the sort of “high moral fiber” kid who is also tough enough to navigate the pits and hurdles and barbed wire and needles and pills and seedy motels of a minors to major league career. You need guys who have been through some adversity, who can handle it, who won’t run away and shrink, in spite of all their talent, at the first hint of trouble. In fact, the key to success in any number of endeavors may very well be adversity and how the participants deal with it.

Adversity breeds cohesion.

For any of you who may have had the opportunity to be part of a cadre of individuals who went through some sort of struggle together, whether it was bad boss, a playground altercation, or combat action, you know how it can unify you. There will always be “that time” you remember when you stood up for each other. You come out of it forever knowing you could count on those individuals, you may even call them from time to time even if they live in far away places now, there is always that bond.

On the other hand, if you’ve ever had the misfortune of being part of a group that turned tail and fled, leaving you high and dry … you knew never to trust them again. Groups like that never stay together, they never last, they never succeed.

I once read a quote from a scout that essentially said (paraphrasing), “in any given organization you probably have the pieces to put a championship team together, the trick is knowing how to put the right pieces in the right places.” I believe that. Yes you need a certain amount of talent but every organization has talent, what every organization doesn’t have is the means or wherewithal to maximize it by putting players in situations where they succeed, at the right times, with the right coaches and the right teammates.

In the end, that winning recipe is reflected in that unit that can overcome adversity and stay together without fracturing under pressure, that team that will stick up for one another and support each other and make each other better. They know that they may bicker and squabble and maybe even fight among themselves, but on the field they know they’ll have each others’ backs because they’ve been there before..

That’s what was lost this past Saturday afternoon at Citi field when the Mets watched one of their own get plunked without so much as a glare at the opposing pitcher from the Met dugout.

Collins spoke of lessons learned afterward.

That’s an awfully pricey lesson if that’s the case.

Updated by Joe D. at 2:30 PM

Just caught this on MetsBlog who seems to have just caught on to what has been a two day debate here:

It almost sounds like Collins put Valdespin in a situation he knew would end up with a hit-by-pitch, maybe in an effort to teach Valdespin a lesson, right? If that’s the case, is that why Valdespin threw a ‘tantrum,’ as fans and media have described it?

Unfortunately, we’ll never know if Collins sent Valdespin up to hit knowing he’d be beaned, in a game down nine runs. And, there is no way to know if his teammates were really indifferent, even though that’s what it looked like. I hope this isn’t the case. I really hope Collins didn’t risk getting a player injured, just so the youngster could learn a lesson. I also hope Terry’s players don’t go on to question his leadership because of it, even if the guys understand his reasoning. In other words, I really hope this just goes away…

Matt, first welcome to the party. Also, you may want to read my post entitled, “This Team Is Fractured”. It has even more insights in it that will help you realize what’s going on.

One thing though, your closing comment, “I really hope this goes away.”

Sitting on one’s hands and saying ten Hail Mary’s is not going to make this go away. It’s Terry Collins who should go away and I believe you know the reason why.

Aren’t you the one who always says, “hope is not a strategy”?

It would be great if we could wish this into the cornfield, but a fractured clubhouse is not just going to go away all by itself. This is not the first time we’ve seen Collins divide a major league clubhouse…

Do you really believe that Valdespin was showing up the Pirates and not Terry Collins when he hit that homer? Watch it again… What do you see…

Do you think Collins didn’t know that bat flip was intended for him and not the Pirates?

Weren’t you right there at the post game?

“I know he’s trying to make a statement because he hasn’t been in the lineup. I know he’s trying to make a statement to everybody what he can do. If he keeps hitting homers, he can stand at home plate all he wants, I guess. As long as they start coming up at the right time.”

Collins sent Valdespin up there to get his just desserts as one of our readers pointed out.

It’s not as unbelievable as it sounds, it’s human nature to want to get even.

Luckily he wasn’t seriously injured.

That said, Valdespin needs some reprimanding, some friendship, some understanding, and some baseball etiquette. That much is also clear.

Original Post May 13, 12:00 PM

They say that the cream always rises to the top. Except of course when you don’t use it and just let it sit around and spoil.

That’s what continues to happen with Jordany Valdespin.

In the latest chapter of the New York soap opera titled “El Dramático,” Valdespin was intentionally hit by a pitch by Pirates reliever Bryan Morris. This stemmed from Valdespin’s prolonged admiration of his 426-foot moonshot into the Pepsi Porch in the latter innings of Friday’s lopsided loss.

It isn’t troubling that Valdespin basked in his bomb on Friday or that he even got hit by a pitch Saturday. What’s troubling is the lack of support from his teammates and the coaching staff.

In the often glorified unwritten rules of baseball, it states that a team is informally granted permission to peg a player if he showboats after a home run. I get that. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but it’s something I’ve learned to accept as a baseball fan.

What bothers me is that no one is there to have his back when it happens. David Wright went on the record after Saturday’s loss and offered a somewhat head-scratching statement about the incident.

“You’ve got guys that support Valdespin, and guys obviously are trying to help him,” Wright said. ”I think toning down some of his flair might be appropriate.”

So what he said is that guys support him, but he should tone it down? I don’t see how publicly concurring with the over-the-top perception of Valdespin is showing support. Wright was dubbed as the team’s captain to begin the season, but I’ve seen little in the way of upholding that title. Sure, he’s produced on the field this season, but as long as Valdespin wears that orange and blue uniform, he deserves the support of every player on that roster. It’s a captain’s job to ensure that.

That leads me to Terry Collins’ management. If there was any speculation as to Collins’ disdain for the Mets’ productive bench player, it seemed to be dispelled Saturday night. With the Mets down 10-1 in the 7th inning, Collins forced Valdespin into the game to receive what he thought Valdespin had coming to him. Sure enough, Valdespin was drilled in the right forearm.

“They threw at him,” Collins said. “I knew they might. It’s part of the game.”

Collins’ rationale was that he didn’t want to burn two bench players by using Mike Baxter. So at the expense of wasting an additional bench player in a bigger blowout than the night before, he threw Valdespin into the fray. The brief moment was a microcosm of the prodigious disconnects between Valdespin and the Mets.

Valdespin went on to “throw a fit” in the dugout after the inning ended according to SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt, who was very boisterous about the incident over Twitter and showed his lack of support for the Mets utility man.

All the tweets to me saying the Mets need to protect Valdespin are lost. All he has to do is take the HBP, move to 1B, and move on (cont)..

— Kevin Burkhardt (@KBurkhardtSNY) May 11, 2013

Throwing a fit in the dugout just shows his lack of understanding of the game….

— Kevin Burkhardt (@KBurkhardtSNY) May 11, 2013

For the most part, I enjoy Burkhardt, but I think he’s the one who’s a little lost. I find it sort of unprofessional to go on the Internet and talk about a Major League baseball player’s lack of understanding. I mean, he did make it to the Major Leagues after all. I’d venture to say he has a pretty firm grasp on the game Kev-o, but thanks for your insight. It’ll be interesting to see Burkhardt’s postgame interview after Valdespin’s next walkoff.

Valdespin refused to address the media about the incident after the game.

If you don’t like the guy, trade him. If you can’t stand a guy for outwardly expressing his emotions on the field, tell him behind closed doors. Don’t make a mockery of him by having him walk the plank on national television and then telling the media he should tone it down. With teammates like that, who needs opponents?

I seem to recall a championship team in 1986 that had copious amounts of player tension. The Mets were also loathed for their frequent curtain calls and arrogant attitudes. That was their identity. Now their identity is the evident lack thereof.

The media circus that has surrounded this team is getting out of hand. I dislike having to spend the first half of the season contributing to this debacle. There are more disconcerting issues on this team.

Jonathon Niese’s consistent struggles are putting more pressure on Matt Harvey to perform. If Harvey doesn’t continue his unimaginable season, the fan base will alienate themselves further from the team. If Harvey does continue and the Mets don’t figure things out offensively, he could grow old of this team and be gone for good. I don’t know how many times you can expect a guy to throw nine innings of one-hit baseball without giving up a run and settle for a no decision. It’s those kinds of games that will make a guy lose interest.

Daniel Murphy is mired in a horrific 9-for-61 slump. He’s been a solid hitter for the Mets and they’re going to need his bat if they want things to get better.

Ike Davis has been so bad that he’s been seeing bench time. When he is playing, he still can’t get it together. Fellow MMO writer John Delcos expressed his feelings on the first baseman’s future:

“Davis’ slow start should definitely cause the Mets to resist the temptation of signing him to a multi-year extension. Davis is hitting a paltry .170 with a .270 on-base percentage. He already has 35 strikeouts with just 17 hits and 13 walks. He has four homers and eight RBI.”

I’ve gone on a little longer than I normally do. I haven’t been a Mets fan as long as many of you who go back to the sixties and seventies, but I can safely say this is the worst state I’ve ever seen this franchise in. What happened in that game ranks up there with Tom Glavine‘s meltdown in 2007 in the way it felt. A real punch in the gut.

It’s hard to tell where the Mets go from here. In all probability, this will be swept under the front office’s Persian rugs instead of being used as a way to band together. The only silver lining is a morbid one. Things can’t get any worse.

An enthusiastic high-five and an ecstatic dugout after Valdespin homers. (Gordon Donovan)

This is getting utterly ridiculous…

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Mets Manager Terry Collins said that he could see the Pirates retaliating against Jordany Valdespin for his admiration of his ninth-inning homer on Friday night, but added that he doesn’t think Pittsburgh would go after David Wright.

“I think every situation is different. I don’t think you retaliate on David Wright,” Collins said.

“You don’t take it out on David Wright. Now will they throw at Valdespin? I have no idea. Fifteen years ago the answer would have been yes. I can’t say that’s going to happen in today’s game. They won the game. I’m sure it’s over with. But, you know, a lot of teams have long memories.”

What is the matter with this guy? Is his brain going soft?

Why even raise the spectre of Wright being beaned in retaliation for Valdespin’s dramatics in the first place?

Still don’t think there’s some kind of agenda here? Every day they only add another log onto the bonfire…

Let’s get the fans to turn on Valdespin by projecting the image of fan favorite David Wright getting beaned because of him…

Great idea…

Of course we all remember how often Gary Carter got beaned when Darryl Strawberry and Lenny Dykstra would do the same thing. Remember all those life-threatening beanballs?

As I wrote in last night’s recap, Valdespin clouted a ninth-inning homer into the second deck in right center and then stared defiantly into the dugout, flipped his bat, and took a quick glance at his blast before trotting around the bases. Good for him…

“When you hit the ball, you got to enjoy your hit,” he said. “Every time I hit the ball, homer or something, I enjoy that. Every hit, I’m enjoying, my family’s enjoying, my friends enjoying.”

During the post-game last night, Collins sighed, grimaced and paused for 30 seconds when asked about Jordany’s home run.

“I know he’s trying to make a statement because he hasn’t been in the lineup. I know he’s trying to make a statement to everybody of what he can do. If he keeps homers, he can stand at home plate all he wants, I guess, as long as they keep coming at the right time.”

Regarding his flair, Collins added, “Do I like it? I don’t know if it really matters. I can’t change the game.”

We don’t need to change the game, because this has been going on for over a hundred years. But we do need to change the manager.

A year ago today the Mets were 18-13 and tied for the lead in the second wild card spot, but by the All Star break they found themselves a half game out of the wild card hunt at 46-40.  By the time August 1st rolled around the Mets were descending further out of the playoff picture at 8.5 games back and would eventually end the season at 14 games out of a Wild Card berth. If you looked at the team you felt they never had a chance to gain any wild card spot.  But the opportunity was there if they just played hard enough, or had the talent to compete.

The Mets with all their pitching and hitting woes will keep them from even considering making the playoffs, but you have to wonder what is going through the minds of the Wilpons. I mean they play in NY, so why wouldn’t they want to provide a good product on the field? Why wouldn’t they want to have a winning team?  Winning baseball fills the stands, excites the fans.  In the hunt for one wild card spot gives hope, but now with two spots to grab, it should force a team to do whatever they need to, to reach the goal. Why settle for just mediocre baseball, don’t the fans deserve better? It just doesn’t make sense to me.  If a playoff run is not in the plans for 2013, is it in the plans for 2014? Will better moves be made or are the owners still recovering from bad investments? We the fans hold our end of the bargain, we buy tickets to the games, we buy merchandise and all we ask for is a team that will compete for the playoffs, a team that is exciting to watch and will continue to get better not worse.

What is funny is that before I started writing for MMO, I saw the glass as half full.  I would watch the Mets from my home in Florida and never really understood why things weren’t happening for us. But with the great followers that our site has and the knowledge of our writers, it has shown me a different side to the one and only team I have rooted for my whole life. Was I that blind to the reality of Mets baseball, could only a month of following and writing for MMO truly show me a different side of the game or the business part of it. I couldn’t be that naïve could I?

We all want a winner, we want an organization that will do whatever it takes to put a great product on the field, to have a team that will compete with just about anyone.  In my earlier post “The Youth Movement has Fully Begun at Citi Field”, I felt good about watching the young studs call Citi Field their home, it felt like the right thing to do.  Start from the bottom up and build a championship team, but that just doesn’t seem to be what is happening here.  I mean, I am not giving up on my team, I have seen the good times and a lot of bad times, but in the end, I am a fan, I bleed Orange and Blue, I suffer through the rough seasons with the hopes that they will finally get it together, but with how Jordany Valdespin has been treated, with how the pitching staff has just been patched together and the talent on the field nothing near what a fan would want to see, it just boggles my mind how the Mets wouldn’t do all it needs to do to try and put a team together worthy of a playoff run.

Back in the 80’s the team that finished second, went home, there weren’t any extra games for them to try and get in the playoffs.  If you won 90 games and finished second, you received nothing and the season was considered a failure, but now with the two wild card spots, more opportunities are there so are they willing to do what it takes to try and make the playoffs. I am really not sure these days.

Spending the money doesn’t guarantee anything, as the 2012 Miami Marlins and so far the Toronto Blue Jays have shown, but making an effort to put a talented and winning team on the field does make a difference in the mindset of the fans. We want a winning team and I just feel that as fans we deserve one.

The legend of Mike Baxter continues to grow as he came through in the clutch for the Mets yet again on Thursday night, with his second walk-off hit in three games!

This was a low scoring affair for the Mets due to Dillon Gee dancing out of trouble in each of his first five innings on the mound tonight, without allowing a run through them. He started the sixth for the Mets and allowed two singles and hit a batter to load the bases before he was removed in favor of Brandon Lyon, who allowed a game-tying sacrifice fly.

The only run support the Mets were able to provide Gee while he was on the mound was a sacrifice fly via Marlon Byrd in the second. They would rally to score in the seventh, via a smoked RBI double by Ike Davis, but LaTroy Hawkins gave up a solo shot to Pedro Alvarez in the top of the eighth, which tied the game up…again.

But fear not, Mets fans, as Mike Baxter, heroic wings and all, drilled an RBI single off Pirates closer Jason Grilli to win the game in exciting fashion for the Mets.

Say what you want about Baxter, but when you think about all the work he has put in for us, he has definitely become a fan favorite.

Lets Go Mets!

The July 2012 promotion of the Mets’ second best pitching prospect was met with much fan fair.  Harvey promptly rose to the occasion in the eleven strike out win that was his debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  For an encore, he went on to post an ERA well under three in ten starts comprised of almost sixty innings pitched.  For certain it looked as though the Mets had another quality starter on their hands, but no one could have anticipated what Matt Harvey had in store for the Mets and their fans in 2013.

Entering last night, Harvey’s 2013 campaign featured a 4-0 start which saw him yield more than one earned run on only one occasion over six starts, in route to the National League Pitcher of the Month award for the month of April.  Coming off a full seven day’s rest, Harvey spent Monday night victimizing the White Sox lineup in route to nine scoreless innings of one hit ball with twelve strike outs and exactly zero walks.  This saw Matt drop his ERA to an impressively low 1.27 while assuming the league lead in strike outs with 58.

The stats are impressive enough, but they are easily trumped by the undeniable presence that Harvey brings with him to the bump every night.  Each start celebrated as “Happy Harvey Day” on various social media forums, the fans have fully accepted Matt as the absolute ace of this staff, no questions asked.

Harvey’s rise to what will soon be, if it isn’t already, super-stardom, will make it that much harder for those that come behind him, namely Wheeler.  Having been billed as possessing the best repertoire in the system, its hard to believe that Wheeler can match the ridiculous change-up and slicing slider that Harvey has used to carved through opponents thus far this season.  While the Mets will need Wheeler to be a productive member of the rotation in short order if they hope to stay in the hunt this summer, Matt Harvey has made most, if not all fans forget that someone other than he may be the savoir for the Mets pitching woes.

Recent history has seen pitchers as unproven as Mike Pelfrey toe the rubber as the team’s ace.  Those days, at least for the time being seem to be behind us.  Having been drafted by Omar Minaya in 2010, Harvey will be ineligible for free agency until the 2019 season at the earliest and now represents the youth movement envisioned by Mets general manager, Sandy Alderson.  The franchise will need others to rise through the ranks in order to realize Alderson’s vision, but regardless of whether those who will soon follow his path are able to do their part, Matt Harvey is here and the Mets have their ace.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83.

First and foremost, how do you define a superstar?  For the purposes of this post, I’m going to say that a superstar has to have been in the league long enough to be compensated like one.  This will provide a “track record” that we can use to see where Wright lies amongst his peers.  Does this leave out the Mike Trouts and Bryce Harpers of the world?  Yes, but its important to consider money because it is always an important dynamic in this argument.

With that said, if there is anything both Wright’s supports and his critics can agree on, its that Wright’s new contract compensates him like a superstar.  Despite making only $11 million dollars this season, he will average $17.5 million over the length of the deal.  So for the purposes of comparison, I will use this $17.5 million dollar figure so Wright goes up against players considered to be the best in the league.  IF Wright were to make $17.5 million dollars this season, he would find himself to be the twenty-third highest paid player in Major League Baseball.   As it turns out, there are eleven higher paid position players in the game under this scenario.  Therefore, for the purposes of this comparison, I will use those eleven players and the first eleven that fall below him.  Each of these players have been productive enough on a consistent basis to be amongst the highest paid position players in the league.  Does Wright belong in this group?

This is how they match up over the course of their careers in the major statistical categories:

Click to enlarge. All statistics obtained from www.baseball-reference.com. All statistics are averages over every 162 games played.

I chose these statistics because they are the most commonly known offensive categories for the average/traditional baseball fan.  I included batting average with runners in scoring position as a way to measure “clutchness”, which always seems to come up when discussing Wright.  So what have we learned…

Wright is actually above average when it comes to runs, hits, runs batted in, stolen bases, batting average, OPS, and finally, “clutchness”.  Consequently, he is slightly below average when it comes to power numbers and also averages a few additional strikeouts than his peers, neither of which should come as a surprise to anyone who watches Wright on a daily basis.  Which of these statistics you value most will go a long way in making your determination of whether or not Wright is in fact, a superstar.

I’ll allow you to make that determination for yourself.  What I do take away from all of this is that David Wright has earned his place amongst the highest paid players in the league.  He may never hit the epic home runs that some on this list do.  That alone may be enough for some of you to never deem Wright a superstar, and that’s okay.  However, there are other aspects of his game that help to fill his power void, which may lead others to the exact opposite conclusion.  What do you think?  How does he match up?  Is David Wright a superstar?

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83.

Disclaimer: I did not include defensive statistics in this comparison because each of these players play different positions, with several serving as a DH who don’t play defense at all.  Salaries were obtained from www.baseballplayersalaries.com/salaries.

Updated 12:15 PM

David Wright on Wednesday joined New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mets favorites in kicking off this year’s All-Star Game festivities at City Hall, with less than three months to go before the Midsummer Classic at Citi Field.

Wright was named Major League Baseball’s official spokesman for the T-Mobile All-Star FanFest, to be held at the Jacob K. Javits Center from July 12-16, while former Mets Edgardo Alfonzo, John Franco and Mookie Wilson were anointed All-Star ambassadors.

“All-Star FanFest is the world’s largest baseball fan event and is a great experience for the whole family,” Wright said in a statement. “Just like New York City, FanFest has something for everyone, and I am proud to be a part of the home team as we host this exciting event.”

As FanFest’s official spokesperson, Wright will help to generate public awareness for the event and make appearances in support of it. Alfonzo, Franco and Wilson, meanwhile, will take part in an array of All-Star events leading up to and throughout MLB All-Star Week.

Some attractions include:

• The Diamond - Located at the center of T-Mobile All-Star FanFest, this attraction features daily clinics and appearances by MLB players, managers and other experts. Past appearances have included George Brett, Tony Gwynn, Torii Hunter, Derek Jeter, Cal Ripken, Jr. and many other MLB greats
• Legends Autograph Program - Free autographs from Hall of Famers and MLB legends. Players such as Andre Dawson, Rollie Fingers, Ferguson Jenkins and Juan Marichal have previously signed for fans at T-Mobile All-Star FanFest
• National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum - Take a stroll through Baseball’s glorious past and experience the history of the national pastime with one of the largest collections of artifacts on loan from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown
• The Negro Leagues - A compelling visual journey back in time, the Negro Leagues attraction brings to life the heroic history of some of the game’s proudest and most talented players
• Hometown Heroes - Hometown Heroes showcases the New York Mets history, roots in the community and promise for the future
• World’s Largest Baseball - What better way to welcome families to the largest baseball fan event in the world than with the World’s Largest Baseball? The signature white leather, red-laced ball measures 12 feet in diameter and features the signatures of baseball greats such as Hank Aaron, Rod Carew, Derek Jeter, Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith and Ted Williams

The All-Star Game will return to Queens this summer for the first time since 1964, when the Mets hosted it during Shea Stadium’s inaugural season. New York City has played host to the Midsummer Classic eight times, most recently at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008.

Citi Field opened in 2009 after more than a decade of planning and construction; its completion coincided with the demolition of Shea Stadium, which the Mets called home for 45 seasons. Owner Fred Wilpon recently called the All-Star Game a chance to “show off the ballpark,” which was constructed to resemble old Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.

New York City has hosted the All-Star Game nine times, but this year’s game will be the first in Queens since 1964. New York last hosted the Midsummer Classic in 2008 at old Yankee Stadium.

Including the space in 54 luxury boxes, six clubs and restaurants, Citi Field can hold up to 41,922 fans at maximum capacity. Opened in 2009, the ballpark is within steps of the Citi Field-Willets Point stop on the New York City subway’s elevated No. 7 line.

If you’re the kind of baseball fan that still loves a good old-fashioned pitching duel like thrill of a Tom Seaver vs. Steve Carlton matchup, then tonight’s contest between the Washington Nationals and the New York Mets will be right up your alley.

As I said last week, every time Matt Harvey steps onto a mound it is must-see TV, but tonight’s contest comes with the added thrill of a marquee matchup as Stephen Strasburg squares off against Matt Harvey in what promises to be a pitchers duel like no other at Citi Field.

Strasburg, who is 1-2 with a 2.95 ERA and 15 strikeouts this season over 18.1 innings of work, may very well be the underdog in this contest – and no, that’s not the Met fan in me saying that.

His mound opponent, Mets phenom Matt Harvey, takes the hill with a 3-0 record and a 0.82 ERA while striking out 25 over 22.0 innings pitched this season. He is the clear favorite.

Both starters are former first-round picks. The Nationals selected Strasburg with their first overall pick in the 2009 Draft, while the Mets selected Harvey a year later with the seventh overall pick in the 2010 Draft.

Harvey, fresh off of being named the NL Player of the Week, has been nothing short of phenomenal this season so far this season. One of the most mind boggling statistics that pops out at you is that he’s allowed just six hits in his 22 innings of work. Let the enormity of that sink in.

In his last start against the Minnesota Twins, Harvey took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and got the first two outs before being tagged by a Justin Morneau home run. Whenever he takes the hill something special happens and on that night in particular, Harvey was electric.

Mets manager Terry Collins says Harvey will be armed and dangerous for tonight’s contest and gets amped up for moments like these.

“What we saw on the mound, his demeanor and everything else has changed. I know he’ll be ready, because he’s facing one of the best teams in the game.’’

“He loves the big stage, and that’s what he’s on,’’ Collins said yesterday. “He’s got a big challenge and if you look at some of the games he’s had to pitch, they have been against some pretty impressive guys, and he’s getting another one.’’

I’ve been waiting all week for tonight’s game.

I’ve had no problem calling Matt Harvey the best player to come out of the Mets draft since Dwight Gooden. Barring injuries, by the time his stellar career is over, Harvey may end up being the best Mets draft selection ever.

The Mets right-hander in no longer just a Mets sensation, he is now a baseball sensation and a national treasure.

All eyes will be watching baseball’s signature event tonight. Matt Harvey is now Prime Time  He really is The Real Deal.

Photo Credit: New York Times Archives

SCHADENFREUDE (shahd-n-froi-duh) def. Satisfaction or pleasure felt at another’s misfortune. From German SCHADEN “damage” and FREUDE “joy”

There is a type of this psychological phenomenon specific to fans of the New York Metropolitan baseball club that many of us are familiar with and that the more forthcoming (and possibly emotionally healthy) of us will admit to: MET FAN SCHADENFREUDE – that particular type of delight that comes from that special combination of a Mets’ victory coinciding with a Yankees’ loss.

I think of Bob Murphy and his “Happy Recap” and Howie Rose’s “Put it in the books!” and I think: classy, classic, celebratory words.

I hear John Sterling’s “The Yankees win! The-e-e-uh Yankees w-i-i-i-i-n!” and I think: elementary school playground taunt.

Is it me? Do I fall into that particular category of Mets fan that, as I have heard it put, counts it a “good day” if the Mets win and a “great day” if the Mets win AND the Yankees lose? Can I not have the good grace and gentility to wish bon chance to our beloved team’s crosstown rivals? Have I not evolved spiritually to the point where I can easily separate the fortunes or misfortunes of my favorite team from whatever fate befalls the crew from the Bronx? Perhaps not.

As devotees of the Orange and Blue, we have had to deal with the almost perpetual in-your-face superiority of the Pinstriped Pounders who occupy a space across the river from Queens and in the consciousness of the typical Gothamite baseball fan. And it’s not just us. The musical “Damn Yankees” was written from the perspective of a Washington Senators fan, yet another demographic that had to deal with the maddening, seemingly perennial success of the Bronx Bunch.

Are we jealous? Of course! But there is more to it than that. We don’t necessarily begrudge any fan his exultation when his team achieves the goal to which all teams aspire, but we look for a modicum of class to be inherent in the celebratory process. Is it not enough to claim the crown of “champion” without having to rub it in to those of us whose appointed avatars of athletic greatness fell short? Can we not be left to lick the wounds of our disappointment with some dignity? WILL YOU STOP WAVING THOSE DAMN PENNANTS AND JETER JERSEYS IN OUR FACES?!

As I write this, the Yankees are coming off series losses to the Red Sox and Detroit Tigers to open the season. The Tigers are now as the Yankees were then. They have a lineup replete with big time smashers that lead even casual observers to think that it is only a matter of time, in any given game, before they have had their way with whatever pitcher is charged with the daunting task of retiring them. And the Tigers did not merely defeat the Yanks those games, they seemed to be toying with them, letting them get a bit close, and then pulling farther ahead in a way that looked almost effortless.

If those were games involving the Mets, I’d be cringing and hoping for either a miracle or at least a mercifully quick resolution. But because the Yankees were the opponent, I watched with smug satisfaction as the primary object of my baseball envy got swatted about like badminton birdie. Would I care even half as much if it were the Angels or White Sox who were the recipients of this type of man-handling? Doubtful.

There is another type of Mets and Yankees fan I’ve heard of, though I am not entirely sure that they are not merely the stuff of legend: the so-called “New York baseball fan” who roots for both franchises, if not equally, then at least in part. Personally, I find this difficult to believe, because if one were at heart a Yankee fan, the flaunting of the tradition, the many, many championships, and the constant use of the word “dynasty” to describe the various historical eras of success would leave no room and no need for an “auxiliary” object of adoration. If one were a Mets fan at heart, it would be inconceivable to willingly allow them to share the spotlight with a team that appears to hog it way too much anyway.

If this season develops the way it appears to be headed, and the Yankees are pushed to the back of the line for post-season glory, I will make my best effort not to engage in unsportsmanlike schadenfreude at their fate. After all, I have nothing against the players or the organization, per se, and have genuine admiration for members of their current roster (e.g. Mariano, Jeter) for their grace and excellence. But as a Mets fan, I know too well the feeling of having to settle for whatever small satisfaction could be gleaned statistically or otherwise from yet another season out of the spotlight. Frankly, I’m tired of doing so and would just as soon not have to share whatever genuine glory may lay down the road. If this means that I need to evolve more as a person and a sports fan, so be it. I’m still doing it wearing a Mets hat.

METS LAUNCH ONLINE BANNER DAY CONTEST

COMPANION PROGRAM TO BANNER DAY PARADE AT CITI FIELD!

Winner Will Secure a Spot to Join Banner Day Finalists at Citi Field

Banner Day Tickets Start at $12 and Are Available at Mets.com and (718) 507-TIXX

The New York Mets today announced the launch of an online Banner Day contest where fans can submit their designs at Mets.com/bannerday for the chance to join the finalists at Banner Day at Citi Field on Saturday, May 11.

Fans can enter their banner designs online through April 29.  The Mets will select four designs for a fan vote.  The winner of the fan vote will receive tickets to and automatically be one of the four finalists on Banner Day.

Online banners must have a Mets theme and fit within the banner specifications on Mets.com.  Banners cannot have vulgar or abusive language nor contain commercial messages, non-Mets websites or Twitter handles. The Mets reserve the right not to display banners in the gallery.

Banner Day was a Mets tradition from 1963 to 1996 with fans of all ages parading on the field showing their homemade banners made from bed sheets that professed their love for the team.  Banner Day returned last year as part of the Mets’ 50^th Anniversary season.

Fans planning on participating in the pre-game, on-field parade on May 11, should follow these guidelines:

• Banner Day participants must have tickets to the game
• Participants must check in at the Bullpen Plaza on 126th Street at 37th Avenue
• Registration begins at 10:00 a.m.  Space is limited.
• Banners must be bigger than 22” by 28”
• Banners cannot have vulgar or abusive language
• Banners can be commercially produced, but can’t have commercial messages (Web sites or Twitter handles are not allowed)
• There is a maximum of four people per banner
• The Mets reserve the right to deny access to the field to any banner or person that is deemed inappropriate

The Mets will announce judges and prizes for Banner Day in the weeks ahead.

Tickets for Banner Day are on sale now at Mets.com and at (718) 507-TIXX.

I’ve been reading many pieces in the national and local press suggesting that 2013 stands to be an especially fallow year for the New York baseball fan. The reasoning behind this assertion is based almost entirely on two assumptions:

1. The Mets will continue to tread the path of mediocrity with little or no hope of securing a post-season berth.

2. The Yankees, with their roster gutted of talent by injuries and free agent defections and having entered the new Hal Steinbrenner era of suddenly tightened purse strings, will likely join the Flushing crew in the steerage section of this year’s cruise to October.

As a lifelong Met fan, I have had to deal with the reality of a Yankee-centric world view for what seems like ages. Yes, the Bronx outfit has the history, the pageantry, and the 27 championships that every Yankee fan loves to flog us with, but is it right to assume that if one club faces the possibility of a down year and the other is engaged in a rebuild that the fan expectation should be the same for both? I think not.

A comparison of the two teams’ rosters and short-term outlook reveals a startlingly different dynamic at work. The Yanks, having sworn to hold the line at a payroll of $189 million and carrying the albatross of A-Rod’s contract for years to come, find themselves with an aging, patchwork roster and a farm system that lacks sufficient talent at the higher levels to compensate. To a degree, this is a natural outcome of having competed so well for long. Looking to seize the opportunity to “win now” during their impressive run, the Yanks quite understandably swapped many of their better prospects for the pieces that are now characterized as over-priced and under-productive.

The Mets by contrast look to me to be a team ascendant. Yes, my faith in the Alderson plan has been tested at times, and my frustration at having so many articles on my favorite team take the form of cautionary tales in the financial section rather than headlines on the back pages is still fresh in my mind. Still, I think that there is every reason to be optimistic about the present for this team, as the backbone of the rotation looks to be taking shape in the season just ahead. The relative youth at core of the lineup, soon to be bolstered by what portends to be one of the better catching corps in the game gives me hope. And not the kind of hope that springs from a hollow wish for a miracle, but rather the kind that recognizes a strategy that has worked both recently and in the past. Essentially, a strategy that reflects the belief  that “pitching wins pennants.”

Given the relatively low levels of the Mets’ current payroll, should we not expect that money will be spent to strengthen the roster if the need and opportunity arise? Yes, we’re all skeptical of the Wilpons’ declarations of solvency and of Sandy Alderson’s purported “choice” to hold back expenditures on previous occasions, but as the current edition of the team continues to take shape, I believe that even a Johan-less rotation that features Niese, Harvey and Wheeler by mid-season will be one to be reckoned with. Management knows that fans will come out for a team that wins often enough, even if they do not necessarily figure to land in the playoffs that year. A COMPETITIVE team is what we all yearn for, at base, because that is what gives us a reason to believe. I see this year’s team as rating the decision to pull the trigger on a few possible moves if circumstances dictate it.

So please, do not lump the Mets in with the Yankees oh mighty sports press. The Citi Field squad may not boast the apparent thunder of the Braves or Nats, nor the free-spending ways of the Dodger brass, but they elicit some positive adjectives that sound like they come from an ad for a local natural foods store: “home grown,” and “organic.” The old-fashioned approach of building a team from within and letting its farm system form a base for fan loyalty has worked before and worked in Queens (let us not forget the success of the Frank Cashen regime).  Those who say that one cannot use a patient approach in New York have often found themselves with no choice once other strategies have failed. I think that the Mets’ position at this point must look positively enviable from a Yankee’s perspective.

We want to welcome Gerry to the MMO staff and most of you may remember him from his MMO Fan Shots. We’re glad to add him to our team and you can look forward to some more great pieces from him in the future.

In addition to his 2-for-4 performance during yesterday’s Opening Day routing of the San Diego Padres, Mets backstop John Buck debuted a snazzy new catcher’s mask that has people talking.

Each year, Buck has gotten a new catcher’s mask each year over the past few seasons and this one appears to be the best yet!

“Gerald with VooDoo Air is the one who designs my masks.  He does most of the masks for the NHL goalies as well.” Said Buck “I met him up in Toronto when I played there.  My inspiration for my masks is taken from the city I play for.”

Major League Baseball has imposed heavy restrictions on catcher’s mask deigns like Buck’s in recent years, however he is one of the select few remaining who have been grandfathered, so the incredible designs that honor his team’s cities are permitted.

I’m certainly a fan of Buck’s awesome mask designs, and apparently so is Justin Turner:

This is the coolest catchers mask I’ve ever seen! @johnbuck44 is gonna B looking sweet putting down the signals! #LGM twitter.com/redturn2/statu…

— Justin Turner (@redturn2) April 1, 2013

To learn more about these masks and the incredible airbrush designs, you can do so by checking out TOIgear or Voodooair.

Wheeler has firmly set his sights on a spot in the Mets starting rotation.

As Zack Wheeler heads to minor league camp and begins to focus on what he needs to do to ready himself for a potential major league debut later this season with the Mets, let’s consider some of what we did get to see and hear while he was in Mets camp.

Wheeler gave a concise self-assessment of his repertoire not too long ago during an interview with WFAN’s Mike Francesa:

“I like to come at you with a fastball, not afraid to come inside. I am aggressive, I got a sharp slider, good curveball that I can strike you out with, or get over early for a strike. Changeup is a work in progress.“

Most scouts, and those who have seen him, all agree that Wheeler’s number one issue is gaining a better command of his primary pitches while continuing to develop his secondary offerings, particularly his curveball and changeup.

There’s no questioning Wheeler’s confidence and determination and in that regard, he is like fellow teammate Matt Harvey. They both seem to share that bulldog mentality.

I thought I’d ask our MMO minor league guru, Mitch Petanick, to share some thoughts on Wheeler and provide us with some additional analysis.

Thoughts From Mitch

What can be said about Wheeler that hasn’t been said before? His fastball is dynamite. His two-seamer has wicked movement which moves in on the right-handed hitters hands, and away from left-handed hitters. Wheeler states that he likes to pitch inside, and if the two seam is used effectively on the inside half to righties, opposing hitters will be going through a ton of lumber. In the video shown below it gives a great view of Wheeler’s pitches from behind the plate, and you can really see the filthy movement on all of his pitches.

Wheeler’s curveball is also very sharp and considered a biting curveball. His changeup is still a work in progress, as he states in the quote, but the changeup is not an easy pitch to master. If he’s throwing a circle change, the grip on the ball is awkward for pitchers to get used to. The thumb, which is usually there as a guide, is now on the side of the ball, instead of under it. The pitcher basically makes the O.K. sign with their fingers, and then grip the ball with the middle and ring finger placed on the two seams of the baseball. It is then thrown like a fastball, and due to the grip, the baseball does not generate as much velocity as the fastball.

The Circle Changeup Grip

The batter perceives the pitch to be a fastball because the arm speed of the pitcher does not change, but the velocity of the ball drops by about 10 mph due to the grip. The pitcher releases the ball and lets the ball come out of the hand off the middle, ring, and pinky in a fashion that the ball rotates and creates a motion, from a right-handed pitcher like Wheeler is, that will move in and down on right-handed hitters. Grip a ball making an O.K. sign with your hand and throw it as hard as you can and you will see how hard the pitch is to control and master.

Wheeler’s changeup may still need some work, but it will be effective. Anytime you throw in the upper 90s, the speed drop off from throwing a changeup will be enough to confuse hitters and keep them off-balance, as long as he can throw it for strikes. Wheeler is all but ready to embark on what hopes to be a long and exciting career in a Mets uniform. The fans are patiently awaiting his arrival.

Last night and today, I finally got a chance to do some reading and checked out a few of my regular Mets haunts like Faith and Fear in Flushing, Studious Metsimus and of course MetsBlog.

I almost wish I never paid a trip to MetsBlog last night. What I read there turned my stomach more than those two bottles of lemon-flavored sludge they make me drink every time I have to get a CT-scan. In a post entitled, Matt Harvey is on a mission, Matt wrote the following about our exciting, young righthander:

My bet is Harvey never wins a Cy Young. However, once he learns to “command an inning,” and “pitch to contact,” he’ll string together several seasons of consistent, significant and meaningful results. 15 to 20 wins here, All Star appearance there, repeatedly falling short of the ultimate award, maybe never being his team’s “ace,” but always heralded by fans, recognized around the game and touted by his teammates.

First of all, let’s get something straight right off the bat… This wasn’t a hatchet piece on Matt Harvey and in fact it was quite the opposite. There was plenty of praise thrown Harvey’s way by Cerrone, so let’s get that out of the way so that I can move onto my problems with this quote.

Needless to say, after reading the entire post and particularly that segment of it, I couldn’t wait to leave Matt my own two cents and tell him exactly what I thought about his assertion that Matt Harvey will never win a Cy Young Award in his career.

So I pulled my laptop closer to me, gathered my thoughts together, and then I started looking for the “Leave A Comment” button. However, there was a slight problem…

The comment thread had been closed… That was disappointing to say the least. I don’t really know why the thread was closed after only a day and a half, but that’s not for me to say or speculate on. But I did find it curious and frustrating nonetheless as I had a lot I wanted to get off my chest and felt deprived of that opportunity.

I decided that I would go ahead and tell Matt what I had to say in a post on MMO first thing in the morning. Lucky for him I was a lot more calmer today than I was last night.

My first reaction to Matt’s post was that of complete puzzlement. I thought perhaps it was just another typo and that somehow a word was left out, or that it may have been an incomplete sentence. We’ve all see that before on MetsBlog, right?

But that wasn’t the case at all because there was Matt, defending his posture quite passionately, right there in the comment thread – the same thread I was precluded from replying on.

Those words, coming from Matt, kind of cut deeply into me… Because when I see Matt Harvey I finally see a pitching prospect that is going to deliver on all the hype and do all those great things the scouts and experts had predicted for him.

When Harvey came up in the middle of the 2012 season, he was every bit as good as what we’ve all been told – and then some. Those ten starts were not only good from a Mets’ fan’s point of view, but they were historically significant and his debut ranked up there with some of the greatest pitchers the game has ever seen. “A dominating debut like no other, for a Mets starting pitcher”. That’s what Ron Darling had to say about it.

Now, here we are, on the brink of a new season, with most of us having Matt Harvey earmarked as one of the very few reasons to get excited about the 2013 Mets, and then you read those words from Matt Cerrone and it all goes POOF…

Why?

Why say something like that and more importantly, why now?

Even if that’s what you believe in your heart of hearts, why would you utter such a thing or put it in writing and sign your name to it?

I wouldn’t have a problem with this if it had come from Keith Law, Rob Neyer or John Sickels, those guys are experts and they get paid handsomely to be critical and objective.

Matt says in one of the comments that he was simply writing his expectations and contrasting that to what is typically used to define a great career. It’s a perfectly plausible explanation, but the problem is that oftentimes Matt presents himself as an expert with inside information from the team and MLB sources as well.

But Matt has also said on many occasions, especially in instances like this one, that he is not an expert, so why make such a claim that he must have known would pierce the heart of many a Met fan?

Then something else struck me… What if Matt Harvey read that?

If MMO has all these players reading our site and writing us to say thank you, or re-tweeting our articles just about every week, then surely MetsBlog must be getting that kind of attention from them as well and most likely double the attention if not more…

I am always mindful of anything I write about our players and in fact I included it in our MMO Writing Standards that I share with every new writer on MMO. Here is a part of what I say:

Always make your points respectfully. Think about what you are going to write when you talk about the players, coaches and executives, many of whom read MMO daily. A professional doesn’t hurl insults in a post against people that are not allowed the opportunity to defend themselves. Temper your criticism with fairness.

As our site grew, I always believed our responsibility grew with it. I thought it was important that we understand each of our roles and how important it is to support the team and especially the players.

MetsBlog made Matt Cerrone the most powerful person in the Mets blogosphere. He underestimates the significance of that.

There are literally tens of thousands of Mets fans who hang on every single word he says… Literally.

Matt worked hard to get there and it wasn’t easy to get where he is, believe me, I know. However, he can no longer use the old standby, “I’m just a fan like you,” or “I’m just a blogger posting my opinions.”

That is so untrue…

Matt, you are not just a fan or just a blogger. You are a lot more than that, and for one thing you are paid well to do what you do – that makes you a professional. Writing about the Mets isn’t a hobby for you, it’s your career. That makes you more than just a blogger, and it certainly makes you more than just a fan.

You have to be mindful of everything you say. You have to forego expediency for accuracy. Tens of thousands of fans read your site everyday. That’s mind boggling when you think about it, but it shows why you have to bend over backwards to make sure you stay on point and project a positive message about the Mets.

Most Mets fans I know have high expectations for Matt Harvey – I think you deflated those expectations for thousands of your readers by saying you’d bet Matt Harvey will never win a Cy Young Award.

Maybe you’re right, maybe he won’t, but it wasn’t for you to tell us that.

I hope Harvey racks up multiple Cy Young Awards in his career just to prove you wrong, but mostly to show Mets fans that it’s still okay to dream big and aim high.

I’m not usually too keen on tipping my cap to players not wearing Mets uniforms, but this could not be overlooked.

In an incident that was sort of forgotten in the Mets doubleheader sweep of the Marlins two days ago, Marlins third baseman Greg Dobbs did something that transcends the sport.

In the ninth inning of the first, game Dobbs ripped a line drive into the first few rows along the first base line. The ball struck a child straight in the face.

The child was bleeding profusely and was hospitalized. The boy suffered a deep laceration, but there were no life threatening injuries.

Before being rushed to the hospital, the boy was showered with baseball souvenirs, including a jersey from Justin Turner and a game-used bat from Dobbs.

However, Dobbs caring for the boy’s well-being didn’t stop there.

Dobbs actually visited the hospital to check on the boy and talk with his parents. He gave the mom his number so she could give him updates throughout the night.

Dobbs also admittedly prayed for the boy’s health that night and wished him well.

Of course, hitting the ball into the stands is always a complete accident, and players hope that it avoids hitting anyone, especially children. But unfortunately, accidents do happen.

It was the way Dobbs handled this accident that showed there are more important things than baseball sometimes.

Good for you Dobbs and hopefully that boy winds up OK!

I feel compelled to pen something before the end of this year, although it is a year that we would all like to forget as Mets fans.  We have had almost nothing to brag about during the off-season as fans of the Metropolitans except that we have returning players that may help us before the All Star break and that is not even a guarantee, i.e. Johan Santana.  We did sign Ronny Paulino, no disrespect meant to Mr. Paulino.

When you look at the money spent on this team, they have guaranteed contracts of $121.67 million for the 2011 season so far and in comparison, our rivals to the south of us in Philadelphia have $138.178 million in committed money and have a stud lineup and pitching staff.  What went wrong?

Spending money in a haphazard way has done nothing to make our team better; we signed Jason Bay for a ballpark that requires speed and pitching.  We signed Luis Castillo, who on a good Sunday afternoon in August is playing on one leg, and I don’t even want to mention Ollie Perez.

Maybe it is time to trade some of the “cornerstones”.  I frankly would trade Wright and re-sign Reyes to a long term deal, you can always get a hard hitting third baseman, but a game changer like Reyes, in Citifield? Who’s better?

Just take a look at this link and you will see that we signed guys who are simply disjointed pieces and that there was probably no plan. The plan may have had something to do with appeasing a fan base, because the Yankees always appear to spend big.

In business when you have problems like this, you fire the CEO and start over, that is what is going on in Flushing and we have to give Sandy Alderson some time and we are all looking forward to the 2012 season.  Oh, I will watch the games this upcoming season, I always do, maybe some of the youngsters will help us through the season with hope for the future, but at this point it is all about the money and there is no more to spend.

I don’t know if the plight of the Mets has anything to do with Bernie Madoff, but it is sad that we as Mets fans support our team and the owners have decided to support an incompetent front office too long without a plan.  It would appear that the owners current  plan is to turn the team over to another steward, who I hope knows what he is doing.  We do have an All Star team in the front office for sure and we have spent more money on front office personnel than we have on our rotation and bullpen.

I look forward to the future; let’s hope that the front office has some great New Year’s resolutions, because the future is so bright you have to wear shades.  Remember when someone tells you it’s not about the money, it’s always about the money.

Let’s Go Mets.

Written and contributed by Dennis Savitsky.

So here goes.

I’m a big fan of the 8th inning sing-a -long.  But we need a new one that will rock CitiField and become a Mets tradition.

In 2006 we stood and laughed while the Curly Shuffle played on the big screen.  Very funny stuff.  The following year, 2007, Sweet Caroline, by Neil Diamond was the song of choice.  I have very fond memories of that song.  All summer, my 13 year old son and I were bonding over Mets baseball.  We would watch the big screen as the great Mets 2006 season was being retold.  The smiling, the dancing and the winning was making a night at Shea Stadium a special event and the place to be.  The best part was the nightly showing of Paul Lo Duca tagging out two LA Dodgers players in succession as the song’s words “we fill it up with only two” played.

Sweet Caroline could and would be only a one year wonder at Shea.  Too bad.  It’s been an 8th inning Red Sox Fenway Park tradition since 2002.  And copying their tradition was a no no.  While much of the 45,000+ Mets fans each night loved singing the song, those in the know, knew it couldn’t continue.  At least Mets management correctly reacted to fan pressure by pulling the song prior to the start of the 2008 season.

Before the 2008 season, a contest was held to choose the next song.   I’m a Believer sung by The Monkeys, and coincidentally composed by Neil Diamond, was the winner.  It didn’t have the same cachet.

It was all downhill in 2009 for both the 8th inning sing-a-long and the Mets play on the field.  Mets management chose  Meet the Mets.  This choice lacked originality and creativity.  It generated no excitement  and clearly was no help in motivating fans to root for an 8th inning comeback victory.

There are fans who are not in favor of even having an 8th inning sing-a-long.   They just want to watch baseball.  Please, there are at least three hours of baseball to watch.  The 8th inning, with the right song, is a time for fans to come together and rock CitiField.

I’d like you to listen to my number one choice for the 2010 8th inning sing-a-long, Forever Young by Rod Stewart.  Picture this song accompanied by video from 47 years of Mets history; from Stengel, to Seaver, to Gooden, to Piazza.  Fans will be roused out of their seats. The last line of Forever Young is “I’m right behind you win or lose”.  We certainly are when it comes to our Mets.

Please chime in with your own choice and a link to it so we can listen.  I’m know MMO readers will have strong opinions on this matter.  Maybe we can generate some excitement and present our top choice to the Mets marketing/promotion people.

Just remember to include the link to your song.  I’m sure there will be plenty of obnoxious comments.  As you know, I’m willing to take my share of abuse.

I love New York. No, really, I mean it – I looooove New York. Born in Flushing just minutes from Shea, it was inevitable that I would grow up to be a Mets fan. Dad was a die-hard fan; so was Mom. Both were originally Brooklyn Dodgers fans, growing up in Brooklyn. So it was no wonder why they rooted for the team that brought National League baseball back to New York. Taking the blue from the Dodgers and the orange from the Giants, the Mets have held the hearts of their fans since day one, even through their toughest seasons.

May 27, 1990

A young girl and her father spend an afternoon at Shea, rooting for their favorite baseball team.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. There I was, 13 years old, scanning the yearbook for the cutest player to be my favorite. (C’mon folks, I was THIRTEEN!!) And while I know that wasn’t the first time I had ever been to Shea, it was the first game I really remember being at. It was beach towel day, yet particularly cool for late May.

Now here I am, 17 years later and my goodness, what has happened??? I went from being an only child to having 25 brothers from other mothers (and they vary from year to year!) I really do feel sometimes that the Mets are my family. When they hurt, I hurt. When they celebrate, I celebrate. The passion that runs through my veins for them is like nothing else I have ever experienced. I can’t even put it into words. All I know is for those of you who bleed orange and blue, I breathe it. I smell it and I taste it too. (Victory, that is.) And hopefully soon enough I will witness a World Championship, because I was too young and not yet enthusiastic in ‘86.

When I am feeling down or had a bad day at work (like today), I look forward to coming home and unwinding with my Mets. (Too bad it’s an off day.) Granted, they make me want to pull my hair out too sometimes, but it’s all worth it. What I would do just to spend even five minutes with the team – what a blast!!

In closing, I’d like to know if we have heard any updates on LoDuca’s injury??

PS…Looking at Luis Castillo’s numbers, I must say, I’m not impressed. BUT, since the deadline is finally here and the Mets need more help than what may be available, I guess I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope for a strong remaining third of the season.

Contributed by MMO Reader Denise Winter