Mets Fans: It’s one thing to root for your team, but it’s quite another to put the blinders on not seeing what is plainly evident on and off the field…
There are Mets fans and then there are Mets Fans. The former follows the team through thick and thin hoping for the best. When they see with their own eyes an underperforming team, they look for answers to make it better. These Mets fans generally hit “like” when they read a story I’ve given thought to. Agree or disagree, they often offer alternatives to what I’ve proposed in their comments. This creates a worthwhile discussion.
It’s the other segment of Mets Fans I have a problem with. These are the so-called Diehard Mets Fans. Similar to the former group of Mets fans, they also follow the Mets and hope for the best. Where the two sects separate, though, is that this group puts the blinders on when the team is underperforming. They are not interested in constructive criticism that may or may not make the team better.
This often produces comments with no content like this one:
I’m a big boy and I’ve been doing this long enough to develop a thick skin. And by the way, there were many more comments on the “Mets Have No Choice But To Trade Syndergaard And Wheeler” article published yesterday which were even more “colorful”. (see follow-up report on the story below)
Mike is a member of the Real NY Mets Mets Fan Facebook Page. There is a slew of them. It’s my choice, of course, to post there. And maybe it’s my passion to convert these Mets Fans, but they sure do get angry when anything “negative” is posted about the Mets.
Negative is a funny word, though. Where would we be without the “negativity” that created the Civil Rights Movement? Or the Boston Tea Party, which was a blatant negative slap in the face to the British? You get the idea.
Historically, change occurs only when there is discontent.
It must be discontent that is well-founded and not frivolous whining. There is and has been for a number of years now, reasons for discontent to emerge in the Mets fan base. Mets fans don’t need to be reminded with the litany of examples, some of which are wounds still on the mend.
Open discussion about alternatives to improve the team, even from amateur General Managers like myself, should be a worthy endeavor for all Mets fans. Participation in the many Mets Facebook Groups is a vehicle to accelerate the discussion – albeit with thoughtful content at all times.
Now, because you are wondering – I know. Yes, I am a lifelong fan of the Yankees. I root for the Mets, though. And for some, that is hard to process. But if you follow Reflections On Baseball, you will see the Yankees also get the same treatment as the Mets when deserved.
Some might say, “What are you doing? You have a website and you’re risking alienating readers?
Well, you know what. Just like the pitcher who tosses it up there with the mindset of here it is – hit it if you can, at 71 and more than a half century of following baseball behind me, I’m committed to doing the same.
Update On The Trade Syndergaard/Wheeler Story
The last time the New York Mets were over .500 was May 2 when they were 16-15. Since then the team has lost four straight and five straight one time each. They also had a four-game winning streak that raised them back to 24-25. Today, the team sits 32-33 with 97 games left to play.
To finish with 90 wins, the Mets need to go 58-39, a full 19 games over .500 for the remainder of the season. I know, I know – the Miracle Mets of 1969 and 1986. Ya Gotta Believe and all that. Sure, it’s possible, but is it probable?
Vegas Insider put the Mets chances of winning the World Series at 45-1, and they have money on the line which I don’t. Count ’em – there sixteen teams with better odds.
Get real. Make the best of a bad situation. There’s’ no need (yet) to start a revolution.
I never said the Mets should trade Wheeler and Syndergaard. I said they have no choice but to trade them for prospects to reload a badly neglected farm system. I also never said they had to trade them now.
Ya Gotta Believe – okay. Have you looked at the Mets upcoming schedule after these two games with the Yankees? Next is St. Louis for four games – a tossup. But then, there’s Atlanta for three, the Cubs for four, the Phillies for four, and then the Braves again for three to close out the month.
Opportunity? You betcha. So what do you say we call it a draw until July 1? I’ll hope along with the diehard Mets fans.
But in the meantime, Brodie Van Wagenen, if he has the foresight to look ahead with his head above the sand, should be working the phones daily exploring offers for both pitchers. Fair enough?
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
