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The following e-mail exchange occurred earlier today between two Mets fans, James Flippin and his father, John.
…james was kind enough to forward to me…
Mr. Flippin wrote…
“As I told Sue, who was also lamenting the recent performance of the mercurial Metropolitans, ‘It’s in their hands now.’ I (We) sometimes get so close to it that we almost feel like it’s up to us. It’s their team, their challenge, their careers, their test, their opportunity. But, you’re absolutely right. They get our frustration, our anger, our joy, our hopes…and our belief and trust…until the last out and we either win or lose. That’s it. That’s a fan. Let’s go Mets!”
His son, James, replied…
“As discouraged as I am lately, as difficult as it is to do, like Tug said, “Ya Gotta Believe!”
…i mean, seriously, i watch baseball to have fun…i watch baseball to experience emotions i typically don’t get to feel in my every-day, ordinary life…and giving up is not fun…so why bother to watch at all then…
…today, though, as usual, like so many other seasons before this, i am forced to look in to the blue-and-orange abyss that is being a fan and consider what to do…and, of course, my actions are never in doubt, since, for me, there is only one option, which is to surrender my doubts and fears to the team and simply scream, ‘Ya Gotta Believe.’…
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i want a world series. been too long. play lately is just unaccetbale. its OK to lose its not OK to look like you have no idea why you are on a baseball field. i could careless whos in this bullpen..just get outs. bet most of ya cant remember for then one name outta the STL bullpen last yr: wainwright and??? thought so
Can we start a petition to STOP the “Hoot” that is chanted in between “Lets Go Mets” chants at Shea???
It reminds me of when they used to play “Who let the dogs out”…. we are better than that!
Non-sequitur of the Day! ;)
Dude, they’ve been doing that since 86.
They most certainly have NOT….but who cares?
The mets are gonna be fine. They are gonna win the division. Ya gotta believe.
Tug said Ya’ Gotta believe when the team was trailing first place. Ya’ gotta believe applies more to the Phils.
LETS GO METS!!
LETS GO METS!!
LETS GO METS!!
LETS GO METS!!
LETS GO METS!!
LETS GO METS!!
LETS GO METS!!
LETS GO METS!!
LETS GO METS!!
LETS GO METS!!
LETS GO METS!!
as frustrated as we all in including myself (last night was as angry as I’ve been in a long time watching a baseball game), the fact of the matter is that at 7pm tonight we’re gonna tune in and take a deep breath and hope for the turnaround. I’m disappointed, I’m frustrated and apparently I like to suffer due to the Mets. But in the end, behind all the steam coming out of my ears, I still believe.
Let’s Go Mets!!
You still believe and that is what it is to be a Met fan.
That is the one thing that links the all of us. Behind all of the Willie bashing, the Mota bashing (rightfully so), the errors, the bitching and moaning that most of us are doing WE ALL STILL BELIEVE.
Which also might be why we bitch so much! ;)
That or expecting a talented team to play up to their potential.
You are never as bad as your worst day and you are never as good as your best day.
I am tired of people being down. Yes this team has sucked it up as of late but lets get behind this team. Lets root them to the finish there are a lot worse things in life then the Mets not making the playoffs.
NO DAY BUT TODAY
LETS GO METS! LETS GO METS! LETS GO METS!
Of course at the end of the day, it’s a game and simple entertainment and there are worse things in life. And I still root for them to win every day, no matter what. Still won’t stop me from raking them over the coals the next day when they don’t.
Being a Met fan is like being in a love hate marriage for 20+ years – when things are good it’s great, when things are bad it’s awful, but no matter what, you stick it out until death do you part.
Or maybe that’s just me….
Given the divorce rate nowadays… ;)
LOL….I guess I am old school….
Ditto.
wright/reyes you make an excellent point, i was actually sitting here today thinking about the bullpen and saying “who was in the cardinals bullpen last yr since they were WS champs” to try to compare and contrast…all i had was wainwright and looper….and we know loopers deal, and wainwright was lightning in a bottle for them….i mean there really is no reason to think heilman or feliciano cant just become lights out for the playoffs or even sosa….we just have to get there
That is a REALLY formal/flowery way of conversing by email with your son. “Lamenting the recent performance of the mercurial Metropolitans?” Who is he trying to impress?
Just sayin’.
haha, yeah my dad and I kinda tend to speak mad formal via email. somewhat of an ongoing joke
I was gonna say the same thing.
This couldn’t be any truer. There were fewer times that i was prouder to be a Met fan than last when we came back to Shea trailing 3-2 in the NLCS. Granted it didn’t work out the way we would have liked, we know that when the ‘going gets tough, the tough gets going’ and that this team will fight and claw all the way to the end. Seeing Mets fan all across New York and especially Shea Stadium unite and truly believe was an amazing scene, and I have no doubt that this year will be no different. It is time for this team to step and start believing, just like us fans do, and i truly have no doubt that this team will, lead by guys like Paul LoDuca, David Wright, Moises Alou and Carlos Beltran this team will fight and take care of what they need to do. Its time for everyone who wears a Mets logo on their uniform and especially on their heart to understand that, ‘Ya Gotta Believe.’
First no-hitter in Mets history tonight???
That is one of the few things that would suddenly make all the down feelings go away..at least until tomorrow night.
either that, or Mota pitching a 1-2-3 inning.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
God I wish I could find that movie clip to post
*Cough* *Cough* Japanese *Cough*
Forget it, he’s rolling…
Wow now I am mad. We go through this all the time on this blog. Watch an old movie for once in your life
Oh, wow… I thought he was just doing a butcher-job on the next line…
I wasn’t depressed about the Mets, but this… this is mortifying… ;)
That’s what happens when you post with a handle that imitates an original metsblog classic.
http://www.killerclips.com/clip.php?id=123&qid=1558
You made my day
Glad to be of service!
I was pretty mad last night, and I can’t say that I’m feeling all that much more positive today. All this warm and fuzzy believing is great, but I’m a pessimist by nature. Let’s be honest, even if this team makes the playoffs they aren’t going anywhere. I will watch each and every game and possibly attend a few hoping that I’m wrong, but expecting that i’m right.
I believe a few Cardinals fans felt that way in, oh, 2006. You have no idea. If the 10-2 stretch Mets show up in October, they could run the table. If the Cheesesteak Massacre Mets show up, they’ll get tossed in the first round.
The Mets have been maddeningly inconsistent this year. Neither you, nor I, nor the Mets it would seem know who’s showing up.
Have faith, have hope. 4 game winning streak now woud really give us a great hold on the division.
Ya Gotta Believe.
amen, matt.
this is FUN. enjoy it.
the mets need al pacino to go into the locker room and do his speech from any given sunday that will spark a 13-0 run guaranteed
What the hell r we supposed to do, you moron?!
Gotta love it…
We have to believe but it is getting very scary.. If we blow this division title it would be devastating….
Agreed. You think about how much you’ve invested as a fan (yes, I know the players invest more, but still) and the notion that after all this, we could actually be sitting at home like the Braves as the Phillies represent the NL East? Devastating.
But while we can feel like this, if that kind of attitude creeps into the clubhouse, it will become a self fulfilling prophecy. That’s why that “if we sip champagne, great, if not that’s life” like from Randolph was so disturbing to me.
Well, fans invest in the team. The players get paid regardless of what they do.
I’ll admit it. I was on here last night, typing in all CAPS to FIRE WILLIE!! I must have posted that ten times on that thread that had 500+ responses. I was mad. My wife didn’t want to talk to me. I was pouting. I was screaming at Sosa “THROW A F***ING STRIKE!!!!!” That 6th inning made me sick to my stomach. I’m over it now.
LETS GO METS!!
LETS GO METS!!
This team needs more than a speech, they need the Phillies breathing up their azzes, down by 1/2 game with 2 to go. Then they’ll probably wake up.
It’s a shame, but they just can’t seem to finish the job this year. I guess being in first place for two years straight made them complacent…and they’re all busy reserving some playoff tickets for their families.
if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather they be up by 1/2 a game with 2 to go.
Actually, I’d rather they by up by 5 with 2 to go
Fun?! I’ll take being up 6-1 in the ninth to the Yankees in the 7th game of the series with Wags on the mound as my idea of FUN!
What happened the last few days was absolute torture…
I’d prefer the 4th game of the World Series…with the Mets up 3-0… I don’t want to give the Skanks a game, even an imaginary one.
awesome speech,
I wanna feel as happy as I am when the Mets win and it gets that much closer, I was getting giddy looking at the magic # and the standings until last Friday…
We DO have the best team in the NL, PLAY LIKE IT!!
LETS GO METS!!!!!!
Remember how you felt when the Phils sweep 4 at Citizens? Total despair, the lead was gone, the Phils are going to catch us. Then came the hot streak. So we’re down again, now…
Let the next winning streak start tonight! Let’s go John Maine… Let’s Go Mets!
Here’s my post from after the last Phillie sweep. I believe the image is still applicable today.
http://upperreservedmetsfan.blogspot.com/2007/08/real-truth.html
I agree with what Loduca said about these losses – if they were 9-8, hard fought losses, I could accept. What is frustrating is this team has mysteriously degenerated into a team of Little Leaguers.
I think it will turn around, but it is frustrating as a fan to watch players under perform (yes, I know its got to be even harder on the players).
LETS GO METS!!!
I couldn’t take it anymore last night. I had to turn the TV off because i could not bear to watch it.
We need to turn this around tonight because losing in this way is torture!!
Tug McGraw was truly memorable, a great pitcher. Remember when he brought home the World Series?
Oh yeah. That was for the Phillies.
Ya gotta believe, the team from below can still come out above in the end!
i guess 1969 doesn’t count
Yup! Tugger won a ring with the Mets before he went to the Phillies. You can’t expect a Philly fan to know his history.
It took an ex-Met to help secure the first ring for a franchise steeped in 100 years of phutility.
Maine event tonight. The blister is not going to stop him from pitching a great game…He’ll pitch 6 and the bullpen will be lights out tonight.
Offense will be alive… and spread out… expect a big game from the home grown mets… reyes/wright!
9-2 final!!!
Ya Gotta Believe…
Lets go Mets…
maine—heilman—-wagner, thats the recipe for tonight, that will get us a win.
quit trying to put a smiling face on this. you starry-eyes optimists are lost. this is a day for PANIC!
IT’S ALL OVER PEOPLE, WE DON’T HAVE A PRAYER!
You’ve got lots of learnin’ to do, son…
i’m just f’n around. reverend lovejoy, y’know.
Sorry, I realized that after reading some of your other posts and was about to retract my statement, but you beat me to it!! ;)
Actually, the mets have 3 games in the loss column, which is still pretty significant with only 13 games to play (12 for the Phils).
Of course, a Mets win combined with a Phils loss tonight would go a long way to calming down the panic (of the fans at least, if not the team!).
Tonight really could be a huge swing. Push the lead to 3.5, and they can exhale and relax just a little bit.
Chop it to 1.5, and the noose is going to be feeling real tight on the choke collars!
But, as I said last week, all the Mets need to do is whatever the Phils do. Win or lose, just pace them.
I do think, however, that if the mets blow the division, they won’t get the WC either, unless the Phils do something incredible like go 11-1 to finish the season.
The problem with the Phils is, they could do it! They score runs, and are very streaky, and seem to be hitting a hot streak at the right time. better hope that the braves come through for us again!
Not sure if it’s the right time to be honest. They have won 5 in a row and there is still 12 to play. There just might be a little too much rope out there for this hot streak. I can envision it lasting a few more games before going into the tank at the end.
7 innings from Maine.
Or 6, and free Pilip Humber! And if Maine needs to come out early for any reason, he has to go to Humber tonight. Can’t bring Sele back, can he? On second thought, he will probably go with Mota with the bases loaded…
haha its times like this when i wish i were religious.
Why is it that Willie keeps Mota in for 2 innings? He is only good for 1 with no one on base….
do we have to start this on every thread. we know willie is terrible. the worst ever. we would have 120 wins w/o him.
mota hasn’t pitched 2 inning for awhile (not this month)
mota has pitched 2 innings 11 times this year. he has given up 0 runs 7 of those 11 appearances. 3.66 ERA: much better than the rest of his appearances.
that being said, release him omar.
hes actually fine as long as no ones on base, if he were a stick ball pitcher hed be cy young
I think Willie loves Mota for some strange reason….. Doesn’t make sense….
It seems that he might have the best pure “stuff” of anyone in the pen. He does have a great FB/Change mix, and when they are on, practically unhittable.
The problem is, his arm is attached to his head, so he tends to implode at the wrong times (OK, choke), and get rattled easy. Plus control issues (walks).
So basically he is good for 1-2 innings in a blow out, but the Mets have that role covered (Sele)
Your right, Mota has pure stuff and you are also right about his head issues. The thing is we are all aware of that but it seems that Willie is oblivious to it..
I know that he has limited options but recent history shows that Mota implodes in those situations.
Willie does have other arms and yes we would complain but the Mota issue is obvious. It happens all the time.
Pitchers make mistakes like everyone else but ya know what I rather see Willie put in another reliever and take the chance then someone who we know will not be able to get out of the inning…
Over? Did you say “over”? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
LETS GO METS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LETS GO METS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LETS GO METS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LETS GO METS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LETS GO METS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow! 2 references to the same Animal House qoute in the same thread!! That HAS to be a record!
someone else posted this on the other thread, but matthew cerrone, can you please address this in a post?:
From Mets.com:
Not given to extremes: This is the middle-of-the road reaction to the pennant race that Randolph spoke about before the game on Monday: “If we smell the roses and sip some champagne, so be it. If not, that’s life.”
A day earlier, one of the Mets said: “We play at the temperature of the manager. I know Willie cares a lot, but he’s not showing it much.”
If this isn’t a major eye opener, I really don’t know what is. I do not understand how people continue to defend this man like he is their godfather. This man’s approach to the game of baseball is offensive to me as a fan, it truly is. His ‘turn the page’, ‘go get em tomorrow’, ‘no big deal’ approach is currently becoming the death of this team. It is being taken too literally in that they players truly feel that the game they are playing is not that big of a deal, because the sun comes out tomorrow!! woohoo! just the kind of winner and leader I want leading my Mets baby!! Give me a break. I think these willie loving fans need to remove the blinders and “SMELL THE ROSES” as their leader and hero willie says, and see that this guy is complete GARBAGE. I am offended by anyone who continues to defend this guy. It is beyond defending at this point, it is insulting me as a fan.
You’re comments are insulting more so. He can be all roses to the media, and he knows if he’s not they’re going to rip him up, because that’s what they do He is what he is, and what he is likely the only Mets manager ever to win the division two years in a row. Who knows what he’s saying or insinuating behind closed doors?
UM… THIS IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT IS GOING ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS… RE-READ IT PERHAPS….
A day earlier, one of the Mets said: “We play at the temperature of the manager. I know Willie cares a lot, but he’s not showing it much.”
I am insulted that I care more about this team than the man getting paid millions of dollars to lead them to the world series. I really am.
There you have it, chalk up that attitude with bad decisions as a manager and we start losing ground in our division.
Lets hope the talent on this team can take over.
That was your BF coreynyc who put that in and you know it. As far as i can remember you being on here you have NEVER given the man credit…EVER. Now that you smell blood, you’re all over it.
Do i think he needs to take the fall if the mets dont make the playoffs? Yes, i do. But the season is NOT over yet.
and YOU and your boy actually said that you HOPE the mets dont make the playoffs at all?! and you “get it”?
What kind of effing mets fan are you?!?!
Nice call, Roach!
I’m just annoyed the his s/n is so similar to mine… :evil:
**tears** After a half hour car ride from RFK back to my apartment last night- lamenting about the METS, when my bf dropped me off, we did our standard “well, it’s still better to be a METS fan…and tomorrow is another game…let’s embrace the drama” routine. Since we just did it 12 hours before after Sunday’s shenanigans, it just seemed like a good thought process to have….that being said- I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO VENT AFTER AN OUTING LIKE THAT….but I always come to my senses and see the big picture- we live and die by the actions of professionals who are people too. Sooooo in half an hour, I’ll sneak in to my office bathroom, proudly put on my david wright jersey and my “Shea Stadium South” lapel pin….and go back for more. I’ll take the heckling (*YES, if you can believe it at RFK- like they won the world series or something last night)…and I’ll take the drama for another chance to see something amazin’ happen.
My kind of fan
For the record, I love the mets way too much for my own health. It is a borderline illness actually, in that no matter what I have to watch. 9th inning, down 8 last night, I was watching. I am not fairweather, and I was the first one outside my dorm room in 2000 with my piazza jersey while yankees fans were partying on my campus. I took the heat and smiled because I loved that team, they overachieved and played with a ton of heart to even make it as far as they did, and if Armando doesn’t blow game 1, I believe we woulda won. I can accept losing with heart and passion, but I can’t deal with it when our leader is basically saying its no big deal if we win or lose. It is just not acceptable. His moronic in game decisions aren’t acceptable either, but I understand he is a human being and makes mistakes (as painfully obvious as most of them are BEFORE they happen), but the look on his face, words he says, not defending his players etc is unraveling this team at the seams. It is torture to watch, because we know they can be so much better. A player comes out and says we play to the temperature of the manager, a temperature which is luke warm, and what could we possibly expect? Could we expect them to overachieve? No. His temperature should be FIRE right now, not room temperature. There is a world series with our names on it from last year, we should be wanting to kill anyone in our path to get it. Instead what we get is, eh, if it happens great, if not thats life. GARBAGE.
Lawrance out, D. Williams in. Willie loses one awful vet, but gets another in return. At least Williams can hit 84 on the gun.
Because BL pitched yesterday and Pelfrey goes Weds, they now have a void for Saturday if El Duque can’t go.
That email is good, Matt. That’s what I try to tell myself when I am eternally frustrated. Game 7 last year (Yes, I was there)…still lingers in my nightmares. But while we the fans are on this blog, posting, trying to have some outlet to voice our frustrations and pain, we need to realize…it’s not our battle, it’s theirs. These things are out of our control folks…we can’t manage for Willie (although most of us would do a better job, most likely), and we can’t catch for them, or hit and run for them, etc….We just have to put our faith in them and if indeed this is a sinking ship….we’ll sink with them, because we’re fans, and as Mets fans, it’s what we do best.
We get so involved, so attached, so drawn to the team of last year. We see BRIEF glimpses, and hope that it’s last year’s team coming back to us right before it’s crunch time…I mean, after all, they talent is there, isn’t it? But baseball is a weird sport. This is FAR from last year’s team. From one year to the next, you never know, that is why it is so important to seize playoff opportunities like this because you NEVER KNOW when the team is going to be back to the dance, especially since we, the Mets, historically do not have elongated playoff runs throughout an entire decade. Our successfull seasons tend to come in spurts. Who knew in 2000 that we would not STIFF the post season again for 6 years. But that’s baseball….and that’s life as a NY Mets fan.
LETS GO METS!!!!!!!!!
Lets start playing with some passion and energy again, come on we are playing the Nationals we can destroy this team and get some confidence back.
LETS GO METS!!!!!!!!
“To Err is Human. To Forgive is to be a Met Fan!” – banner from a 1962 Met fan.
True enough…but the difference in talent between the 62 Mets and the 07 Mets does tend to temper one’s willingness to forgive.
Plus, Casey had more baseball brains in his pinky finger than in Willie’s vacant cranium..