POLL: How many wins will the Mets have in the 2010 Season?

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How many wins will the Mets have in the 2010 season?

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Time Will Tell - There Were Some Positives

This is just unbelieveable. Next time you're at your job, listening to your boss complain about your lack of drive and how they want you to work overtime and on Saturday - Or when you wonder where the money's coming from to pay the next mortgage bill - or maybe trying to figure out how you're going to send your kids to college, watch this and think to yourself: how can this be?

Remember, this man is the manager of a Major League baseball team in the greatest city in the world! Yet college graduates remain unemployed in this economy.

Give Me the Under!

Baseball Prospectus has their latest predictions for the 2010 baseball season and it doesn't bode highly for fans of the New York Mets. Here's their projected take on the NL East:

Granted the "experts" usually have no idea about what they're talking about, but picking the Mets to finish BELOW the Nats? That's humiliating - unless of course the Nats have Bobby Valentine or someone waiting in the wings.

What's the Problem? This is the Problem!

Omar Minaya insists he's in charge of the moves the Met organization makes. Need we say any more?

According to the New York Daily News:

Omar Minaya tried to lay to rest scuttlebutt that he's not calling all the shots in the Mets' baseball operations department, saying on SNY's "Hot Stove" show Thursday night that he has "full autonomy."

"Yes, I do," Minaya told host Kevin Burkhardt. "I know there's been some talk about that, but I have full autonomy." He added, "We feel good about working together and we'll continue to work together (in the front office)." The general manager added that the Mets have not had financial restrictions this winter.

Meanwhile, the Mets continue to court John Smoltz and his former Atlanta teammate, Jeff Francoeur, has been recruiting the pitcher. Smoltz, who turns 43 in May, is considering waiting until midseason to pitch.

Also, the Mets have a one-year agreement in place for utility man Fernando Tatis to return, pending a physical.

John Smoltz???? ... Fernando Tatis??? ... The Gary Matthews trade? ... The inability to lure even the most average talented free agent has-beens to play for this team without overpaying?... Bidding against themselves for Jason Bay?... Are the Mets serious? No wonder Omar's in charge!

'Twas The Night Before Christmas ... belated

Hey All ... Been a while, and although Christmas has come and gone, I came across this while clearing out my eMails. It is a play off of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas ... and thought it would be enjoyed anyway ... thanks Louis ...

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas
and quiet in Flushing.
To renew season tickets
Met fans weren't rushing.

With new players a plenty,
the team's rivals slept sound.
But there's angst in Met Nation --
Omar's no where to be found!

Sure he signed Henry Blanco,
Cora's back in the fold.
But his focus should be on
those less washed up and old.

Forget John Lackey and Doc,
and Marquis' a no-go.
No more than a report,
linking the Mets to Pedro.

With several holes on offense
and no help on the farm,
I was about to lose heart,
when Omar landed an arm!

I dashed to my computer
when I heard the chatter.
Logged on to ESPN,
to see what was the matter.

And just what did the headline,
on the breaking news say?
"The Mets sign R.A. Dickey,"
and his 5.43 ERA.

Wake up, Mr. Minaya!
Before the good players are gone.
Or you'll get coal from St. Nick,
and the boot from Wilpon.

Happy holidays, thanks for reading this space, and as always... Ya gotta believe

Would You Sell Your Soul for $58 Dollars?

After last night's Yankee World Series championship, we can finally all put the 2009 baseball season to rest. It's really been a tough one for Mets fans. Bad enough all the injuries and incompetence: we even had to watch 2 of our most hated teams reach the pinnacle of the sport.

And I really thought I've seen it all, until last night when I watched one of the biggest Met fans I know place a wager at a Las Vegas casino for the Yankees to win the game.

Let that sink in for a moment: He didn't bet against the Yankees. He bet them to win - on a World Series clinching game at that! And while Met fans across the country were expressing their outrage over having to actually call Alex Rodriquez a "Champion", this Met fan - this HUGE Met fan who could recite to you batting averages and uniform numbers of every Met that's ever played for the team - sat there satisfied collecting his winning ticket for $58.

"I knew they were going to win, so why not make some money with it?" explained this Met traitor known prominently across the country as "JTA" (which in fact sounds eerily close to "Jeter").

And that's exactly how the dark side lures you in. One day, it's just one bet. But before you know it, you're wearing a Yankee hat and being photographed for newspaper mugshots after committing a crime. (why are all criminals shown in the news wearing Yankee paraphernalia? - You never see a drug dealer wearing a Met hat, do you?). Anyway, after a while you become completely immune to the drivel spewed by the likes of Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling on the radio as well as the Yankee shills you read on the newspaper and watch on TV. Finally you start to buy into the Yankee entitlement until you're then reduced to the common slime that walk the lonely streets late at night.

All from the seemingly innocent "I'm just rooting for them this game only" line of reasoning. Just like with Anakin Skywalker, the road to baseball hell begins with one single justification.

Real Met fans don't bet on the Yankees to win. Period! Ever! You can bet them to lose - that's a different story. But unfortunately for this one-time proud Met fan, the cost of his soul was a mere $58 dollars. How can he even look at himself in the mirror?

There's an Elephant in the Room

We're not supposed to talk about this. No one in the media is supposed to talk about this at all, even though it's unbelievably obvious. Everyone's talking about why the postseason has been so strange this year - games called on account of snow, 30 degree weather, pounding rain, inconsistent pitching, fielding gaffs, windstorms, incredulous bad plays from solid major league players... What could possibly be the reason for all this?!?

No one else will say it, so we'll say it: THE WORLD SERIES WAS NOT MEANT TO BE PLAYED IN NOVEMBER!!! THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS SHOULD NOT BE DETERMINED IN LATE OCTOBER!!! Everyone sees the elephant, yet no one mentions it.

Whether you like it or not, it's a fact: Weather becomes a factor from late October onward. It's just not right to see players playing important baseball games (games that decide major championships) playing with scarfs, earmuffs, wool face protectors, and 3 layers of clothing. This is baseball! To borrow a quote from Tom Hanks: "There's no shivering in baseball!" You shouldn't see the air when baseball players are breathing - leave that for football, where it belongs.

So what's the solution? It's simple: either shorten the regular season or (even more obvious) SCHEDULE MORE DOUBLEHEADERS! Remember doubleheaders? That's what used to happen when organizations and MLB in general really cared about their fans. If every team scheduled 3 doubleheaders, you could play an entire 162 game schedule, finish the regular season in late September, then play all rounds of playoffs and shockingly have a World Series Champion crowned on October 19th - today. Instead we're not even half-way through the League Championship Series and we have the whole World Series to "look forward to"... In even worse weather most likely.

Let's stop wondering why the baseball postseason gets less and less interesting every year (as it gets scheduled further and further into November). Winter weather and baseball don't mix. There!... I said it. That's the elephant. It's right in front of the entire media, but no one will mention it because it would be way too controversial to schedule doubleheaders because they effect the bottom line profits of a team. Shortening a season would be even worse for team owners since they'd lose all the revenues for the games that wouldn't be played.

And baseball wonders why it's no longer the "American Pastime". Nothing about the game is fan-friendly any more. The players know it, the announcers know it, the media knows it, the fans definitely know it... everyone's just afraid to come out and say it for fear of losing their cushy well-paying gigs.

Perhaps I'm just a disgruntled Met fan jealous of the teams playing in the postseason... Or perhaps I'm just a football fan waiting patiently for the baseball season to end - hopefully before Thanksgiving. Either way, when I watch a baseball game being decided because a player's hand is too cold to grip a ball in a game delayed by snow, I'm calling that a tainted victory indeed!