Without further adieu, I present to all of you the first look at the Mets Merized Online 2012 Mets Annual.

This 2012 Annual will feature the excellent work of over 15 of our writers and will provide Mets fans with a valuable resource to help you follow the team all season long. But hang on a second, because it’s so much more than that.

This Premiere Edition will be packed with over a dozen wonderful 1,000+ word narratives covering all 50 years of Amazin’ Mets Baseball. These are just a few:

• Engineering a Miracle by Peter Shapiro
• The Year 1 A.R. (After Reyes) by Sean Kenny
• Changing the Dynamic, One Catcher at a Time by Taryn “The Coop” Cooper
• The Good, The Bad and The Metsie by Ed Leyro (and Joey too, I think)
• End Game: All Bets Are On Francisco, Rauch and Ramirez by Jesse Elgarten
• Plus so much more!

The MMO 2012 Mets Annual will also include many great staples you would expect to find such as:

• Player Profiles, Projected Stats and Forecasts by our crack MMO Staff
• MMO’s Updated Top 20 Mets Prospects by Peter Shapiro
• A 2012 NL East Preview by Yours Truly
• Six Mets To Watch This Season by Jesse Elgarten
• 2012 Complete Team Review by John Delcos
• Future Mets: 2012 First Year Player Draft Possibilities by Nicholas Pugliese
• Are You Metsmerized? (Test Your Mets IQ) by Ed Leyro
• Exclusive Interviews, 2012 Mets Schedule & Promotions, Minor League Affiliates, More!

Of course, this issue would be nothing without our Special Tribute to Gary Carter by Rob Silverman. And let me now mention that part of the proceeds from every sale will go to the Gary Carter Foundation. The donation which we project will be made sometime before the All Star break, will go toward the Autism Project of Palm Beach County, Hospice of Palm Beach County, and Palm Beach Atlantic University Baseball. These very special organizations were all near and dear to Gary’s heart.

The On-Sale Date is scheduled for April 1, 2012, and that’s no joke! It will be available in several popular digital formats via Amazon, Barnes and Noble and the Apple iTunes Store. In addition to the $2.99 eBook format, print editions will also be made available at a yet to be determined price.

There are so many people I need to thank that worked tirelessly with me on this, and several others who made substantial behind the scenes contributions. But let me begin by thanking Michael G. Baron, SNY, and MetsBlog.com for providing the perfect photo for us to design our cover around. Of course, my partner and my best friend Kelly Horn gets a world of thanks for the amazing graphics you will find inside the issue as well as the eye-popping cover that completely wowed our partners at USA Today and our Publisher, Movable Type Management. Special Thanks also go to my Project Manager, Sean Kenny, and to Clayton Collier who first put the bug in my ear about finally going ahead with this endeavor, last September.

Anyway, I know you’re all going to love it, and I look forward to all of your most welcomed feedback.

Hmmm… I think I just wrote my own Foreword… Just kidding…

It’s easy to be skeptical after the debacle of 2009, and I know many of you probably want to throw rocks at me for being so negative, but I just don’t see any real improvement beyond adding Jason Bay to the roster.  Gary Matthews, Jr.?  Henry Blanco?  Kelvim Escobar?  Um, okay.  And a guy the Mets have coveted, Ben Sheets, just signed with Oakland.

To make matters worse, I saw the complete MLB schedule that was printed in yesterday’s USA Today.  Aside from three games against Washington in early April, the rest of the first month of the season features games against potential contenders–including games against every 2009 playoff team: Los Angeles, St. Louis, Colorado and Philly.  Of course, interleague play does the Mets no favors when they have to face the World Champion Yankees twice, but they also drew Detroit and Minnesota this time around, the two teams who battled it out for the AL Central title last season.  And one more thing….the second half of September has the Mets facing Atlanta, Florida, Philly and Milwaukee.

Can we take a rain check on this season?  The Wilpons, Minayas and baseball gods sure are not making it easy on us, are they?  Well, at least we can go check out the Dave Matthews Band right after the all-star break.

But here is where I’m having a hard time….I read a report in USA Today a few days ago about the winners and losers of the winter meetings.  The Mets were not considered to be a winner or a loser.  Think about that.  By being neither, the Mets have cemented themselves as being apathetic and non-committal to the whole hot stove process.  And if you are not intent on improving your team, you are destined to lose more games than you win.  It’s that simple.

And then this morning, I read this piece on Yahoo Sports about Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman, he of the 97 mph fastball.  Dude had a throwing session yesterday in which big league scouts were on hand and here are the teams they mentioned that sent a representative: Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, Nationals, Marlins, A’s and Orioles.  Of course, there were 15 teams represented in all, so there is no telling if the Mets did indeed send someone, but the writer didn’t mention them.  That’s either because the Mets did not care enough to send a scout, or because the writer did not care enough to mention the Mets.  Either way, it’s adding more fuel to the apathy fire.  Because really, why wouldn’t you go overpay like crazy for a guy like Chapman, who not only throws 97 mph, but is a LEFTY who could neutralize those big bats of the Phillies.

I think the version of the Mets you see now is what you’re going to get in April, plus maybe the return of Carlos Delgado.  And wow, what a heartwarming thought that is during the hot stove league season.

I know I’m not alone, because many of you are posting today about knowing what the outcome of each game will be before it happens, and spending your time and your money on something other than the Mets.  Sad, but it’s the truth.  Management keeps using injuries as the big excuse, but you just can’t do that for more than a week or two and start expecting that when the big bats come back, the team will suddenly start catching every ball and throwing to the right base and not running into outs. 

Well, I’m about to give you more proof that this season is virtually over.  Every Tuesday I read the USA Today MLB statistics, and yesterday I scanned them to find some more interesting tidbits.  Through Sunday, the Mets were second in the National League in batting with a .270 average.  Meanwhile, the Phillies were tenth with a .256 average.  However, the Mets have 50 homers and 334 RBI, while Philly has 110 homers and 393 RBI.  The Mets have hit into 77 double plays, tied with Houston for most in the NL, while the Phils have hit into 53.  You want more?  How about the Mets have committed 55 errors to Philly’s 32?  Are you following me?  The Phillies are a much, much more efficient team, and they come to play, when they face the Mets in particular.  I’m not going to beat a dead horse beyond this, but Jimmy Rollins is hitting .224 with 7 home runs and 33 RBI, but against the Mets he’s hitting .293 with 2 homers and 10 RBI. 

I haven’t even mentioned the pitching, but if Johan can’t give us a win here or there, who else do we have to count on?  Pelfrey follows a gem last week with a giant thud last night, Livan is pitching on borrowed time and everything else is a roller coaster ride.  The bullpen is not much better than last year. 
So go ahead, when the Dodgers go up 3-0 after an inning or two tonight, just change the channel. 

That’s what I’m going to do, if I even put the game on at all.