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Wise Moves at Shea

It’s not 2007.

This team isn’t as doomed as you think it is.

Putting aside the fans, the FAN and the media’s ultimatum about a 5-2 homestand aside, and actually look at how they’ve been playing. The offense is rolling. They’ve gotten more than 10 hits in five of the last six games. They’ve scored 12, 12, 1, 8, 4 and 6 runs in the last six games, which is very respectable. The bullpen has actually pitched pretty well (Sosa isn’t part of the bullpen btw), and the starters have been very good too (Figueroa isn’t a starter). If you could look at this season, or this stretch of games, or even this last game, without also looking at 2007, you’d realize things aren’t as dire as they seem.

The Mets have to beat up on bad teams was one of the teams today. Well let’s look at the bad teams, specifically the ones in the division, because that’s who they play the most. They are 5-2 against the Washington Nationals. Looks good. They are 2-1 against the Marlins. Limited sample, but the Marlins are playing well too. They are 2-3 against the Braves, which is the only team they’re under .500 against in the division, and it’s only one game, with only about 25% of the series. They are 4-2 against the Phillies, which is probably right where you’d want them to be. Overall that’s 13-8 against the division, where the games matter the most.

The Mets made Wise moves today (I know, bad pun) in keeping Smith with the team and not bowing down to options or guaranteed money. Sosa, who was pitching like Mota, was designated for assignment, as was Figueroa who at least has a shot at coming back if he goes to New Orleans. Likely Sosa, baring a Mota type steroid shot to the arm, will continue to suck in the minors or get claimed and suck for someone else. Claudio Vargas will pitch for the Mets tomorrow, and I’ll be in attendance. He did win 11 games last year, so hopefully he can find those wins here with the Mets this year. It’s tough, but you’d still like to see the Mets go 4-1 against these mediocre teams. If they don’t, winning three of four from the Braves afterwards would certainly make up for it.

Nothing is set in stone yet. You certainly don’t think the Rays will still be in first place with the best record in the American League (And the best record in the majors if the Diamondbacks lose tonight) at the end of the year do you?

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Booing New York

The Booing New Yorker

This post has been brought on by recent discussions about booing, and recent inaccurate statements by the media about how the Mets fan thinks, and how he boos, particularly of Santana on his first start at Shea.

I want to start by denouncing comparisons to places like Boston or St. Louis. These cities are often cited as good baseball/sports fans, as if somehow the way they choose to respond to their team’s form of entertainment is somehow better than anyone else’s. I’m pretty sure Red Sox fans boo, and their must be at least some Cardinal fans who boo, even if they’re just transplanted New Yorkers or something, but it’s irrelevant. In those towns the baseball teams are part of the culture, are part of the every day news cycle and the general small-talk conversations. “Did you see the Sox game last night?” Can almost always be met with conversation in Boston. In New York, there is so much diversity of culture and variety in choices of sports and entertainment that not everyone is into the same things. “Did you see the Mets game last night?” Can be met with anything from “I don’t watch sports”, to “No, I was watching hockey, the Devils looks good last night.”, to the more derisive “Mets suck! Did you see the Yankee game?”

If the Cardinals or Red Sox are bad, people still watch and root, if with less enthusiasm. In New York, the Mets are competing with the Yankees (because there are, and always will be, thousands of band wagon fans), the Rangers, Islanders, Devils, Knicks, Nets, Giants and Jets. There are dozens of news programs, sports writers, newspapers, columnists and bloggers out there trying to cover these teams and write stories. Often times those stories are negative ones, and many times when a team isn’t that good, less attention is paid to it and writers grasp at anything for a story, sometimes without getting all the facts. This leads to stories about players being booed, when the facts don’t support it. Sure there were some boos, take any group of 50 thousand people and you’re sure to get some ignorant losers, but even the audio clips I’ve heard seem to suggest more cheers than boos. I’ve heard accounts from three different parts of the stadium, and the worst account of it was ‘mostly cheers’. The media has made this into a huge deal, and probably made Santana more wary, and less liking, of the fans in general. It is the media that is painting a picture of us Mets fans as a bitter hateful group that is going to panic at every road bump this year. This is the case for some, but many of us are ready to forget and move on. As David Wright said after the Opening Day loss, last year is over and the losing streak was at one as far as we are concerned.

Not to say that booing can’t or shouldn’t happen. It will happen, and that’s fine, the players have to get over it, and the best way to do that is to not pretend they don’t deserve it. We want to cheer you, we want to scream and yell and shout your name, but you have to earn it.

I personally don’t think players should ever be booed while trying. You can boo Schoeneweis when he is announced. You can boo Delgado when he grounds into yet another double play with runners on, but while they’re pitching or batting they should be cheered. Nothing could be clearer that we’re rooting for you, but are displeased with your performance when you routinely fail us. We, most of us, aren’t booing you, but the job you are doing.