A New Beginning

Mets fans, the time has finally come.

Throw away your 2010 season program. Tear up your copy of the Wilpon/Madoff complaint. Set fire to your Perez and Castillo jerseys, if you haven’t already done so.

Then kick your feet up, pour yourself a big glass of blue and orange kool-aid, and get ready for a new season of Mets baseball. Because despite a tumultuous past few years and an offseason that has led to the Mets being constantly made fun of by Yankees fans, Phillies fans, the media, Manhattan Mini Storage, and that guy in your office who doesn’t even follow baseball, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited for the 2011 season.

Here are just a few:

A Major League lineup. Last season, the Mets opening day lineup featured the immortals Alex Cora, Luis Castillo, Mike Jacobs, Gary Matthews Jr., and Jeff Francoeur. No, I’m not referring to the AAA Mets. This season, with Reyes and Beltran back to go along with Pagan, Wright and Ike, and Bay hopefully healthy soon, the offense has a chance to be really good (Yes, I know that’s been said before).

Ollie and Luis are finally gone. Few Mets have been hated as much as these guys, and for good reason. For the first time in a while, we don’t have to worry about seeing Ollie walk the ballpark or Luis hopelessly limp to a ground ball three feet to his right, then complain about being benched. The 2011 Mets are almost entirely full of hardworking, likeable players, assuming of course that K-Rod has stopped punching old people.

The injuries bug has already come and gone. At this point every Mets fan knows to expect at least a couple of our stars to get injured every season. With Santana already out and Bay on the DL to start the season, the Law of Averages says that no other big players will be hurt later on. Unless of course the Law of Beltran overrides it.

The Phillies will choke. How do I know the Phillies will not win the World Series, despite already being penciled in for an NL penant? Their amazing rotation was featured on the SI cover, the kiss of death for any athlete (just ask the 2009 Mets). And if the SI jinx fails to deliver, we can bank on the fact that Werth is gone, Utley and Lidge are injured, and they were actually considering starting Luis Castillo.

You just never know. When expectations are high the Mets always come up short. So this year, when expectations are non-existent, why can’t the opposite come true? Hey, it worked for VCU.

Let's Go Mets.

Don't Mess with Terry Collins

Last week, a friend called me from the Mets-Marlins game to tell me he had witnessed something that he had never seen in four years of going to Mets Spring Training games. Between innings, Manager Terry Collins had trotted onto the field to talk to one of the umpires. But instead of the jovial chat that you would expect between a manager and umpire this time of the year, Collins appeared to be engaged in a heated argument, at least by early March standards.

That story got me thinking that Collins is exactly what the Mets need.

I’ll be honest. When Collins was first hired as Manager, I was extremely skeptical. First of all, I had never heard of him. Secondly, I was hoping Wally Backman would get the job, and I’m usually against the hiring of older, mostly unsuccessful retreads anyway. Then I heard about how Angels players had petitioned their front office to fire Collins in 1999, which made me hate the hire even more.

But after hearing that story and seeing the words “fiery” and “intense” in just about every article I’ve read about Collins, the man has grown on me. Even in Spring Training workouts he appears to be demanding maximum effort from his players. They may just be saying it, but several players have noted how excited Collins has made them for the upcoming season with his high energy and little-league style pep talks. He seems like the type of manager that will bench a player for not running hard, and order his pitcher to brush back a hitter who is leaning over the plate.

At the very least, Collins brings a personality and attitude to the Mets dugout that they have not had in years. The last three Mets managers were about as exciting as Twitter was before Charlie Sheen signed up. Art Howe was practically asleep in the dugout at all times, Willie Randolph tried to instill the Yankees’ corporate way, and Jerry Manuel laughed and philosophized more than he ever yelled any anybody.

Of course, whether or not Collins’ fiery personality actually leads to the Mets winning remains to be seen. After all, that same intensity supposedly led to his downfall in his previous positions. But I think Collins’ managerial style is needed by this Mets team, one that is mostly devoid of outspoken, type-A personalities. Wright is the ultimate choir boy, Reyes always seems care-free, Beltran rarely talks, Bay is just a good ole’ Canadian, and Santana (golf course allegations aside) does and says all the right things. Each of these players is dedicated to winning and being great, but aside from K-Rod, none of the Mets big name players would ever be described as “fiery”.

With Collins at the helm, I think the Mets will finally show that they have life again. There will be no more tolerance for the sloppy play, or awkwardly laughing off a loss at the post-game press conference. If the Mets fail this season, it will be because of a lack of talent instead of poor fundamentals or lackadaisical attitudes.

Maybe we'll even see a Mets throw up and in at Howard or Utley for once. You just never know with the fiery, intense Terry Collins leading the way.

The Wilponzis Are Making Us MAD-off!!

A lot of our site's readers have been waiting for us to address the Wilpons' involvement in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme, the resulting potential effects on the Mets organization, and what it's going to do this season and beyond.  We haven't spoken up yet because this site is about positivity with our favorite team and quite frankly there is not a lot of kool-aid potential on this subject.  That being said, I was thinking about it over the weekend and this site is about pouring you a cup to try and help us get through and enjoy Mets seasons on the field.  So it's time to voice this blog's dissatisfaction with our ownership and try and give you some hope on a bad situation in Queens.

The facts are out already though they leave uncertain conclusions:

• The Wilpons were social acquaintances of Bernie Madoff and his family.
• The Wilpons did business with Madoff over a long period of time investing deferred player payments, health insurance premiums, and other costs to make back a sum of money on Madoff's seemingly fool-proof and high-return investing techniques.
• The Wilpons recommended Madoff to close friends and acquaintences touting the success that they experienced with Bernie.
• The Wilpons are involved in a lawsuit started by Irving Picard, a trustee for victims of the Madoff scandal looking to recover money. 
• The Wilpons have said they are looking into potentially selling off as much as 25% of the Mets but would not give up controlling interest.
• The Mets have borrowed 25 million dollars from MLB to combat a short term liquidity problems

Beyond that, there are a lot of claims.  The Wilpons said they didn't know Madoff was committing a fraudulent act and  Picard says the Wilpons knew or should have known about the illegal nature of Madoff's investments.  The Mets say this issue will not affect anything on the field for the team while everyone talks about how the team will be sold, the payroll will be slashed for next season, and how the hopes of re-signing Jose Reyes (who will be a free agent at the end of this season) are slim to none.

At the end of the day, I don't know what's true, but I do know this - when you're in charge, you're responsible.  You're responsible for the decisions you make.  You're responsible for those you put in your organization to make decisions for you.  You're responsible for the good times, and you're responsible for the bad times.  Therefore, I'm going to agree with Irving Picard and say that the Wilpons should have known what was going on.

In baseball, we blame management all the time for bad decisions.  Why did this pitcher not get pulled before giving up the game tying home run?  Why would you sign this player to so much money and so many years with a history of inconsistency?  All of these questions have answers based in research and decision-making by the appropriate leader.  Well, when these people are wrong they pay the price. 

The Wilpons are ultimately responsible for all these decisions.  Why are we paying Ollie and Castillo so much money still?  Omar Minaya made a bad decision and he was hired by the Wilpons.  Why did Willie Randolph get fired in the middle of the night?  Omar and the Wilpons made a bad decision.  Why is the Mets' minor league system ranked 20th by Baseball America?  Bad scouting hired by bad management hired by the Wilpons.  Either these guys are bad with gut decisions or they are really bad at doing research properly.  Either way, they are responsible.

When it comes to their involvement with Madoff, the same applies.  Either these guys did not take the proper diligence researching what it was about Bernie that made him so magical with his returns or they thought wrongly with their gut.  Either way, this is their fault for not making the right decision.  I think all of it ties together - I mean, it's easy to see how someone who'd invest 15 mil per year in Oliver Perez without taking a closer look wouldn't look closer into an investment situation that seemed too good to be true.  These guys are just not good at this and it's time for them to go. 

As Mets fans, we've gone through a lot of rebuilding years.  This looks to be another one.  Looking at the success rate, it makes you wonder what the problem is.  You can look at the one constant here - the ownership.  So while it's not my place to talk about the legal matters of the Wilpon family and whether it be Donald Trump, Mark Cuban, Bobby V, or someone else coming in to own the team, I'll say my kool-aid I take away from this is that maybe the jinx will be gone soon.  Maybe it's the Wilpon's karma that made Timo not run out that hit in the World Series, made Beltran miss that curve ball, made Castillo miss that popup.  And maybe we'll have a real fresh start soon.  Either way, we'll keep hoping the Mets can put together a good campaign with all this going on in the background and we'll keep pouring that kool-aid.  Drink it up.

I'll Miss You, Ollie

Mets fans love to complain about their team. I know this because I am a Mets fan who loves to complain about my team. This is not a knock on us, because we have had plenty of reason to express our frustration since 1986. Whether it is overpaid underachievers, late season collapses, un-inspiring managers, giant outfield walls, or broke owners, there is always something to draw the ire of us Mets fans.

Over the past few years, nothing has caused more complaining among Mets fans than the trials and tribulations of Oliver Perez. We all feel like Ollie stole tricked us into believing in him with a great 2006 NLCS, then proceeded to steal $36 million from our own wallets. He pitches horribly, acts like he doesn't care, and seemingly refuses to try to improve.

I don't want Ollie to be anywhere near the Citi Field, let alone in their starting rotation or bullpen. For the past four years, I have read Mets news hoping to see that he was traded, released, retired, or abducted by aliens.

So why was I happy to see that he pitched well yesterday in what was widely believed to be his last chance? With Ollie's Mets career finally on its deathbed, I realized that I will actually miss him a little bit when he's gone. Not because I think he can contribute to the team in any way other than as a waterboy, but because his terribleness has been a consistent source of conversation for Mets fans. When things have gone badly for the Mets we have always been able to make Ollie the scapegoat, either to have a laugh or because it was really true. No money to sign free agents? Blame Ollie's contract. The rotation is weak? Too bad Ollie didn't live up to his potential. No chemistry in the clubhouse? Ollie must be infecting his teammates with his bad attitude. Through thick and thicker, we could count on #46 to blame.

Soon enough Ollie will probably be released, if Collins and Alderson have half a brain and any sympathy for Mets fans. I will rejoice and call it the best Mets-related news in years. But once the dust settles and Ollie is really gone there will be a void.

Sure, the Mets have countless other major problems. But none will cause us to complain as much and for as long as Ollie did. And for that I will miss him.

Expectations Kool Aid Style: Could it happen? Why not? In fact, Count on it!

It's so good to be back after the long winter without baseball.  Every year for the past few years, I talk myself into not putting high expectations on the boys in blue and orange.  Then something happens - I smell Spring break through the winter cold, put my winter coat in the closet, catch those Spring Training games on the radio randomly in the car or flipping through the channels on television, and next thing you know I'm telling myself that this is the year.

Well this off-season was a little different...sort of different.  First off, there was a huge regime change which had me pulling out my copy of Money Ball to see if these were actually names I was recognizing.  For the first time in a long time, we didn't sign any big time free agents as the team showed some restraint in making a move that could handicap us for seasons to come (no matter if it was just because there was no money to spend).  Then, the Phillies made moves early on in the off-season to give them potentially one of the best rotations of all time to add to their already dangerous team (NOTE: It's Spring Training and we're all working off the rust - you can expect much more negative things about the Phillies from this blog as the season begins.) Finally, no one else was talking up the Mets as a contender as in years past - not even the Mets.  There was nothing to raise my expectations irrationally.

Now here we are.  Spring is starting to creep in, I didn't wear my winter coat today, yesterday I heard Steve Sommers talking about "Meet the Debts,"  I've been checking Spring Training box scores, I pulled out an old copy of MLB: The Show as I wait for the new edition to be available, and I'm starting to feel the Kool Aid start flowing through my veins.  My expectations are growing and I'm trying to keep them in check, but in the words of Harry Doyle of Major League (I and II), "Look who we've got coming back!"

At the top of the list, you've got David Wright, Ike Davis, and Angel Pagan coming back to hopefully perform as well as they did last year if not better.  They helped us see that Citi Field is not as cavernous and impossible to hit home runs out of as we may have originally thought.  If the other guys in the lineup can do their part, it should help these guys even more and we could see big production.

Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Jason Bay seem like they are finally healthy to start a season and are ready to play to their potential.  Reyes and Beltran are in contract years and they have more motivation than usual to have good seasons to secure a nice contract for the future.  If these guys, especially Reyes, can get back to their form, people's eyes will open pretty quickly on what this team can be.  With Jason Bay, you have to hope that he has a 2nd year with the Mets like Beltran did in '06 and that he's over the pressures of playing in the big city and the big Citi for that matter.  Do I expect this to happen? Why shouldn't I?

Pitching is the big question mark it seems for this team.  We've got a number of new-comers, some young guys that will hopefully break out, and a superstar ace on the shelf with no real timetable for return.  KRod seems like he's got his head straight a bit.  All I hear is how great Chris Young is as a leader, a hard worker, and someone who's going to thrive in Citi Field as he did in Petco Park for a number of years.  Pelfrey has to take the next step and become a top pitcher in the NL like he did for part of last season.  Niese needs to take the step that Pelfrey took last year from young hopeful to someone we need to rely on.  RA Dickey needs to play like he did last season...period.  New guys in the pen will have to step up to fill the shoes of guys like Pedro Feliciano from last year.  Do I expect all these things to go right?  Could Pelf become an ace, KRod get back to shutdown closer, and could Johan be back before the all-star break?  Why not?

It's easy to have the reflex after so many seasons of let down to say, this team is going to be terrible.  We didn't do anything this offseason, the Phillies are so great and in our division, we don't have Santana, wah wah wah.  These are the people who want to start the season believing this so that when June rolls around and the Mets may be out of it already, they can just try to ignore baseball and look towards football season already.  Where is the fun in that though?

There is potential here. This team could perform very well.  There could be guys with no expectations that break out this season.  On March 2nd last year, did we even hear the name RA Dickey anywhere?  Who's to say Mejia and FMart won't actually be here.  We're so used to everything so bad happening we don't think the same thing can happen in the other direction.  My advice to you is take that wiff of Spring, put your winter coat away, and put some stock in this team.  Because if you don't, when June rolls around and we're doing great and Johan is about to come back, I'm going to tell you, "I told you so."

I mean, why wouldn't you believe me.  I'm the one that predicted successful seasons last year for Mike Jacobs and Gary Matthews Jr..  If I didn't, would we be in a different place now?  Of course not, so take a sip of the Kool Aid and get positive folks.  We've got a long season ahead.  Drink it up!