Monthly Archives: January 2004
The Mets and Their Fans: Building a Bridge of Hope Published at Yahoo! Sports and NYFansOnly.com
By Matthew M. Cerrone
You do not have to go far to hear Met fans moaning about their team and its inability to sign free-agent Vladimir Guerrero. Logon to any Mets message board, flip to a local New York talk radio station, or simply ask a fan on the street and you’ll find, for the most part, that Mets fans are confused, scorned and upset.
A few weeks ago, however, Mets general manager Jim Duquette was being treated as a hero by his team’s followers. He brought in fast, young, defense-minded ball players to adhere to the club’s new philosophy, which the fans generally supported. The fans’ confidence, that their team would be playing meaningful games in September of next season, was at an off-season high following the club’s singing of Mike Cameron and Kaz Matsui.
Guerrero, one of the games premier young players and who Met fans were led to believe could come to Shea, then signed with Anaheim. Consequently, the fans confidence plummeted, leaving behind, in the eyes of the fans, a Mets opening day lineup full of old, unproven and one-trick-pony players with an inexperienced general manager and a cheap owner.
Duquette and the team’s upper brass were forced to ask themselves: Will our fans ever be happy? In the few months since his promotion, Duquette has made tremendous strides in convincing his team’s principal owner, Fred Wilpon, that the Mets must win a war being played on a baseball field within the National League Eastern Division. A goal vastly different from the small, daily battle with the New York Yankees being played on the back pages of the New York newspapers.
Duquette, however, has not converted the team’s fans of this mindset. Until he does, his loyal but worn-down followers will continue to react with one eyebrow raised and half a smile, regardless of how energized he may be about his team’s future. What Duquette and the Mets executives fail to feel is that every day Met fans must face ridicule from Yankees fans in their homes, on the streets, at their offices and in their schools.
Every day, Met fans must deal with the humiliation incurred since the final out of the 2000 World Series; a day which saw the Yankees celebrating a World Championship, at the hands of the Mets, on the grass at Shea Stadium. This humiliation has been compounded by the unproven, yet heavily believed, correlation that spending equals winning.
Add to this the irrational, financial exuberance by which Yankees owner George Steinbrenner conducts his team’s business affairs – a style that, over the last eight seasons, has produced six World Series appearances and four rings for the Yankees’ faithful – and Met fans have no choice but to focus on winning the battle of the back page, or wishing for the ridiculously lopsided trade. For if their team could pull this form of acquisition off, they would at least have been able to fully smile and gloat for a day.
Though deep down inside they know it’s just an acquisition on paper. It guarantees absolutely nothing and grants them the one nugget of emotion that Yankees fans, and the Mets’ recent failures, rob them of daily: hope.
The Met fan feels hopeless when a player like Guerrero signs with the Angels. They feel hopeless when the Yankees blare “New York, New York” and celebrate another championship. What’s more, they feel hopeless when their cross-town rivals make key blockbuster trades, for Kevin Brown or Javier Vasquez, and grant huge long-term contracts to All-Stars like Jason Giambi or Gary Sheffield. This while Duquette and Wilpon put blind faith in the non-tender scrap pile.
Duquette, however, is working a bigger picture as opposed to winning now. He is working on putting together a complete team, bound tightly for years to come, that adheres to a philosophy. A plan that, when implemented, has always succeeded at Shea Stadium. The general manager believes that pitching and defense come first followed by a consistent, athletic offense and a well-built bench.
He sees bringing in the best available player at any given moment as a way to draft a fantasy baseball team, not a consistent winner in the Major Leagues. This is far from a novel idea. And while it is true that many professional baseball teams have historically won in spite of pitching and defense, the Mets restricted to playing at Shea have not.
Therefore, if the club is to put its eggs into any one basket, based on this system, it will be for that of a premiere pitcher, and not a right fielder, regardless of his Hall of Fame potential. The Met fan views this philosophy in action and may even understand the logic behind it, as indicated by their early confidence.
But to truly get them on board, Duquette, with the help of an alternative public relations team, must help build a bridge between his actions and the hope of his fans by accomplishing the following:
1) Preach that the Yankees are no more of a roadblock in the Mets success than the Detroit Tigers or the Minnesota Twins, reminding them that their focus must be on matching up with the team’s in the National League East and not a club in the opposite league.
2) He must rekindle within his supporters what it is to be a Met fan. Most Met fans can still feel the chills in their bones from Robin Ventura’s grand-slam single. They can still hear the joyous roar that followed the ball-called-strike thrown by John Franco at the end of the 1999 season.
These emotions and memories, whether the fans realize it, are the fuel that fires their fanship and not rings. Being a Met fan is about coming from behind to shock baseball, it’s about watching a team full of hard-working, fun overachievers attain a goal that most average folks never get a chance to do.
It is not about throwing tons of money at risky players in an effort to buy a championship or a headline. Duquette must remind his followers that these past, memorable, character-building moments happened because of their undying support. With that continued support he is confident that the team can eventually win the war against the National League East.
That goal, and not temporarily silencing an irrelevant Yankee fan, is what is most important. All a Mets fan truly wants right now is crystal clear hope.
This bridge will give them just that.
Charlie T writes
Comments Off
The News
The AP reports that Vladimir Guerrero and the Anaheim Angels have agreed on a contract worth five-year, $70 million in guaranteed money and terms.
MetsBlog.com’s Take
Winning the War, Not the Battle – A Letter to Mets GM Jim Duquette
Dear Mr. Duquette,
Thank you for not overbidding on Vladimir Guerrero, for sticking to your plan of building “a team” that can win for many years to come centered around pitching and defense, and for convincing your boss, Fred Wilpon, that your organization competes with the Braves, Marlins, Phillies and Expos on a baseball field in the National League East, and not on the back pages of the New York newspapers with the Yankees and George Steinbrenner.
The thing is, Mets fans are not only going to be disappointed today – they are also going to be outraged.
What you have to understand, however, is that your team’s fans have been brainwashed over the last half-decade. In an era of escalating players salaries and a gouging differential between small market and big market teams, coupled with the misfortune of being forced to listen to countless Yankees fans around every corner gloat about championships and laugh at the Mets failures, it is difficult to switch a Mets fans mentality that committing to a team philosophy, long-term goals and playing to a stadium’s strength should outweigh something as simple as throwing millions of dollars at one player who may or may not be 100 percent healthy. You understand that the bigger picture is most important. However, the latter is what the Yankees appear to do, and it has worked – so why can’t the Mets? This is what the Mets’ fans now think, as they are reminded of its validity by Yankees fans on a daily basis.
Because of this brainwashing by George Steinbrenner, the boom economy of the last decade and the general landscape of baseball, the Mets fan fails to understand that your job requires a task bigger than simply seeking the immediate adulation of a fan base. They fail to realize that, as opposed to instant and one-time adulation, you are trying to provide them with long-term, consistent happiness, in a way that has worked successfully for your team in the past, i.e. the late ’60′s, late 80′s, and late 90′s. You must convince them that you are fighting a war against the National League East, and not a daily battle with the Yankees’ fans. The Yankees are no more of a roadblock in your team’s success than the Detroit Tigers or the Minnesota Twins
Comments Off
The News
Mike Hale of the NY Post and Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record, suggests that the Mets, after losing out on Vladimir Guerrero, could turn their attention to signing free-agent starting pitcher Greg Maddux.
Peter Gammons of ESPN writes that the Mets have made the best off-season moves in baseball this winter – regardless of Guerrero.
MetsBlog.com’s Take
The thought of seeing Greg Maddux, and that arrogant, cry-baby look on his face, celebrating his 300th win on the mound at Shea in a Mets uniform actually makes me sick to my stomach. If the Mets signed Maddux, especially following the wrath they are suffering from not over-bidding on Guerrero, it would be the worst public relations move the team has made since trading Tom Seaver. Glavine was one thing. He was never cocky in the Braves dominance over the Mets, in fact, during their victories, he always praised the Mets for their competition and would speak highly of the organization regardless of the outcome. Maddux, and Chipper Jones for that matter, were never anything but humored, sarcastic and smarmy when speaking about the Mets inferiority to their “almighty” Braves.
Its one thing to model your franchise after a successful template like the Atlanta Braves, its another to try and re-create the exact, physical team.
As the great Frank Pacelli once said, “DON’T DO IT!!!”
MetsBlog.com will take the next day or so to investigate what the team’s legitimate options are in right field and starting pitcher, as well as try to gauge what the Mets plan may actually be.
Comments Off
The News
According to all three major New York newspapers, The Mets offered Vladimir Guerrero a three-year contract yesterday worth $30 million in guaranteed money.
The Daily News has learned that the deal also includes significant incentives, which Newsday puts at an additional $10 million. The New York Times claims the deal also includes a scenario that should Guerrero play a set number of games in 2006, he would earn a fourth year on merit in 2007.
“If that’s the case, it’s not going to get it done for them,” said a source close to Guerrero, citing pressure from the players union, to the Daily News.
Additionally, the Daily News believes Guerrero is set to wait on the Dodgers, whose ownership transition has delayed their offer. Guerrero is believed to be holding out for a National League city with a sizable Dominican population, which although New York can offer, so can Los Angeles.
A baseball official with knowledge of the Mets thinking said last night that team officials were “not very hopeful, but who knows?” the New York Times reports.
The New York times also suggests, while original reports suggested that Guerrero would decide on his new team by the weekend, the process could take well into next week at this point.
Speaking to the New York Times regarding Guerrero’s back, Expos GM Omar Minaya said, “It wasn’t a worry for us at all…His back was fine. Just look at his numbers, the way he plays.”
MetsBlog.com’s Take
After returning from his back injury last season, Guerrero posted numbers that would roughly average out in a full season as: .353 AVG – 40 HR – 120 RBI – 60 SO – 60 BB – 10 SB – .430 OBP. These are MVP caliber numbers, on par with his career averages, and would make the Mets instant, legit candidates to win the NL East.
However, the club’s policy is to not sign any player, even God with a Louisville Slugger, to a deal longer than three-years, because it is near impossible to insure a contract past this term. To avoid a situation like the team ended up in with Mo Vaughn, and granted, I understand we are talking about a 27-year-old superstar and not an over-the-hill, out of shape one dimensional hitter, the team plans to stick to their philosophy, and as a fan, I can accept that.
Building a championship team is a process, and is rarely, if ever, resolved in one giant free-agent signing – for evidence, ask Tom Hicks, owner of the Texas Rangers, how he feels about the Florida Marlins and the Anaheim Angels. Next year, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Beltran are also free agents. If the Mets fail to woo Guerrero now, as long as they make every attempt to secure one of these two outfielders next off-season, I, as a fan, would understand not going overboard on Guerrero now. However, I am of the mindset that when given an opportunity like the one presented with Guerrero, that a team must jump on it and not gamble that players like Ordonez and Beltran will be around a year from now. Guerrero is an amazing hitter – simply look at the strikeout to walk to home run ratio, it is astounding. Singing him, however, to a six-year deal, that cannot be insured, to hefty money that, knowing the Mets, will be back loaded, could put the team in a situation that may cripple them a few years from now; I would prefer to see the Mets stick to their game plan, continue building in the fashion that has led them to the sound team they have today, and grab great deals off the shelf as they are presented. Should Guerrero fit into those parameters, then sign him, if not, then don’t and continue to move forward with a set plan, which it appears Duquette and Wilpon will do.
Comments Off
The News
The Washington Post, ESPN.com and most all New York newspapers are reporting that the Mets would be willing to offer Vladimir Guerrero as much as $15 million a year through 2006.
Newsday gives more details on the Mets possible pursuit of Guerrero stating the team is unwilling to go further than three years for any player at this point, and that, as of today, the Mets have not yet made an offer to Guerrero.
The Baltimore Sun reported that Guerrero was originally asking for an eight-year deal worth $145 million. Baltimore’s current offer of five years, $65 million has yet to be accepted by Guerrero.
Mets GM Jim Duquette told Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News, “I think with a guy like Vladimir, we would have interest in a short-term type of deal
Comments Off
Raul F writes
Comments Off
The News
According to Newsday, Mets GM Jim Duquette will not be signing any of the upper-end free agents, including Sidney Ponson, even though he continues to acknowledge the team’s need for another starting pitcher and a solution in right field.
MetsBlog.com’s Take
Unless Jim Duquette has a blockbuster trade simmering behind the scenes, it appears the Mets off-season may officially be running out of gas and heading downhill for Spring Training 2004.
MetsBlog.com’s Mets Confidence Rating was updated today and showed a miniscule up-tick. Overall, the rating is up nearly 25% since the off-season began three-months ago, however, it is trending down since its high around the start of the Hot Stove season. For the most part, it appears Mets fans are simply cautious in their hopes for 2004, which is on par with how Jim Duquette has approached the off-season as well.
Due to the lack of breaking news, tomorrow we will answer a bevy of backed-up mailbag questions regarding Mets minor leaguers, right field and starting pitching options.
Comments Off
The News
The Mets have agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth $6.5 million with free-agent closer Braden Looper, according to the Star-Ledger.
MetsBlog.com’s Take
At 29-years-old, with a mid-90′s fastball and hard slider, Looper has tremendous potential to be a Grade A closer. However, while he has shown moments of dominance, particularly during last year’s World Series, it is hard to ignore his weak 70 percent success rate in games that he has closed, including six blown saves last season, which prompted former manager Jack McKeon to replace Looper mid-season with Ugueth Urbina.
Fortunately, with a two-year deal worth $3.25 million per season, Looper can be used as a closer while the Mets evaluate Royce Ring and Tyler Yates more closely. Should one of these youngsters emerge as the more powerful option, next season or mid-way through this season for that matter, paying Looper $3.25 million, the going rate for dominant setup men, would be acceptable.
Comments Off
The AP reports that Vladimir Guerrero and the Anaheim Angels have agreed on a contract worth five-year, $70 million in guaranteed money and terms.
Mike Hale of the NY Post and Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record, suggests that the Mets, after losing out on Vladimir Guerrero, could turn their attention to signing free-agent starting pitcher Greg Maddux.
Peter Gammons of ESPN writes that the Mets have made the best off-season moves in baseball this winter – regardless of Guerrero.
According to all three major New York newspapers, The Mets offered Vladimir Guerrero a three-year contract yesterday worth $30 million in guaranteed money.
The Daily News has learned that the deal also includes significant incentives, which Newsday puts at an additional $10 million. The New York Times claims the deal also includes a scenario that should Guerrero play a set number of games in 2006, he would earn a fourth year on merit in 2007.
“If that’s the case, it’s not going to get it done for them,” said a source close to Guerrero, citing pressure from the players union, to the Daily News.
Additionally, the Daily News believes Guerrero is set to wait on the Dodgers, whose ownership transition has delayed their offer. Guerrero is believed to be holding out for a National League city with a sizable Dominican population, which although New York can offer, so can Los Angeles.
A baseball official with knowledge of the Mets thinking said last night that team officials were “not very hopeful, but who knows?” the New York Times reports.
The New York times also suggests, while original reports suggested that Guerrero would decide on his new team by the weekend, the process could take well into next week at this point.
Speaking to the New York Times regarding Guerrero’s back, Expos GM Omar Minaya said, “It wasn’t a worry for us at all…His back was fine. Just look at his numbers, the way he plays.”
The Washington Post, ESPN.com and most all New York newspapers are reporting that the Mets would be willing to offer Vladimir Guerrero as much as $15 million a year through 2006.
Newsday gives more details on the Mets possible pursuit of Guerrero stating the team is unwilling to go further than three years for any player at this point, and that, as of today, the Mets have not yet made an offer to Guerrero.
The Baltimore Sun reported that Guerrero was originally asking for an eight-year deal worth $145 million. Baltimore’s current offer of five years, $65 million has yet to be accepted by Guerrero.
Mets GM Jim Duquette told Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News, “I think with a guy like Vladimir, we would have interest in a short-term type of deal
Raul F writes
The News
According to Newsday, Mets GM Jim Duquette will not be signing any of the upper-end free agents, including Sidney Ponson, even though he continues to acknowledge the team’s need for another starting pitcher and a solution in right field.
MetsBlog.com’s Take
Unless Jim Duquette has a blockbuster trade simmering behind the scenes, it appears the Mets off-season may officially be running out of gas and heading downhill for Spring Training 2004.
MetsBlog.com’s Mets Confidence Rating was updated today and showed a miniscule up-tick. Overall, the rating is up nearly 25% since the off-season began three-months ago, however, it is trending down since its high around the start of the Hot Stove season. For the most part, it appears Mets fans are simply cautious in their hopes for 2004, which is on par with how Jim Duquette has approached the off-season as well.
Due to the lack of breaking news, tomorrow we will answer a bevy of backed-up mailbag questions regarding Mets minor leaguers, right field and starting pitching options.The News
The Mets have agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth $6.5 million with free-agent closer Braden Looper, according to the Star-Ledger.
MetsBlog.com’s Take
At 29-years-old, with a mid-90′s fastball and hard slider, Looper has tremendous potential to be a Grade A closer. However, while he has shown moments of dominance, particularly during last year’s World Series, it is hard to ignore his weak 70 percent success rate in games that he has closed, including six blown saves last season, which prompted former manager Jack McKeon to replace Looper mid-season with Ugueth Urbina.
Fortunately, with a two-year deal worth $3.25 million per season, Looper can be used as a closer while the Mets evaluate Royce Ring and Tyler Yates more closely. Should one of these youngsters emerge as the more powerful option, next season or mid-way through this season for that matter, paying Looper $3.25 million, the going rate for dominant setup men, would be acceptable.
