In report today at ESPN.com, Buster Olney writes…
“An official with knowledge of discussions between the Twins’ front office and Johan Santana told 1050 ESPN New York’s Andrew Marchand that when Santana gave the list of teams he was willing to waive his no-trade clause for, the Mets were on top of his list…Santana communicated to the Twins that if he had the option of any team he could go to, the Mets would be his first choice.”
On December 8, in a post to MetsBlog.com titled Buzz: Santana Wants to Be On the Mets, I wrote…
…having talked with a variety of people over the last few days, from what i can gather, santana prefers to be on the Mets, where he can a) be in New York City, and b) get out of the hitter-dominant American League…the Twins are well aware of this, and are willing to accommodate his request, while also trying to maximize the level of talent they get in return…
…for what it’s worth, among the other outstanding insight he brought to the table, ESPN 1050’s Andrew Marchand had been suggesting this on air over the last few weeks as well…
…and so, here’s the thing…
…yesterday, despite what i wrote roughly six weeks ago, along with these ‘more credible sources,’ WFAN’s Mike and Maddog repeatedly insinuated that santana would never want to play for the Mets, adding that he must be disappointed to be going to Queens…they actually reiterated this yesterday, in the moments after the trade was complete…
…it’s one thing to ignore the truth, or not even bother to learn it, it’s another thing to be ignorant and flat-out disrespectful…
…the most absurd part is that, today, you can bet Mike Francesa will come on air and act as though he knew the Mets would get santana all along…bet the farm on it, folks…
For what it’s worth, during a broadcast in early November, the show’s co-host, Chris Russo, said…
“Yankee fans hate me saying it, and so does St. Louis, but, [Boston] is the best baseball town in America…
(However), it’s not the best baseball town in America when the Red Sox aren’t in the mix, St. Louis and the Yankees are. I mean, New York is.”
…well, if that doesn’t speak volumes about how his radio show views the Mets, i’m not sure what does…
…seriously, why does the biggest talk-radio show in New York City feature a San Francisco Giants fan and a Yankees fan…wfan, it’s not 1945…it’s no wonder a majority of the city is loaded with anti-Mets talking points…of course, the Mets do not help themselves with the silly slogans and odd marketing choices, but if the team is as concerned with its identity as i know they are, they should seriously reconsider their relationship with WFAN when it expires after next season - or at least their relationship with the show’s drive-time hosts…
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I think WFAN is paying the Mets a nice amount of money for the rights to broadcast the games, and the Mets like having a 50,000 watt station doing the broadcasting. The Mets know about Fatso and the Village Idiot and I’m sure that Russo answers any Mets protest with “we’re just doing our job as radio hosts! Say something funny, Mike.”
Seriously, the Mets couldn’t care less about these two asswipes. My objection is to Bob Huessler. When is that shmuck going to grow a pair and give that cackling idiot the comeuppance he deserves?
Because if he did, he’d be fired.
M&MD are WFAN’s bread and butter, now that Imus is gone. When they say jump, the station says “how high”? And if an update guy like Huessler mouthed off to them and gave them the humbling they so richly deserved, you know he’d be on the unemployment line while the words were still hanging in the air.
No he wouldn’t.
Heussler has “other buns in the over” so to speak. He is actually a pretty good play-by-play guy, and has gigs that guys like Mike and Dog couldn’t get on their best days.
What I don’t understand is where all of the credibility that these two clowns seem to have comes from. I mean, they are never right. About anything. They are not entertaining. Ever. And the worst part about them is that they are their own biggest fans.
Mike’d Up is the worst sports show I have ever seen, and there is nothing more arrogant than those ridiculous sports commentaries that Mike makes the station air every now and again. Has he ever said anything in one of those things that everyone didn’t already know? They are both absolute clowns.
And you know how Chubby goes on and on about how close he and Bill Parcells are?
For the record, I have done work for the NJ Country Club that Parcells was a long standing member at before leaving for Dallas, and I can tell you first hand that they are not as close as he would lead you believe. I have seen them at the club on multiple occasions together, and while they are without doubt associated with one another they are in no way what I would consider “friends”. And I can also attest to the fact that nothing irks Mike more than to be amongst people who don’t know who he is. It drives the arrogant one bananas.
Anyways, I had a little bit of inside info I thought I’d share.
Mike and the Mad Dog are terrible frauds.
And I guess Mike isn’t as “in” with Omar Minaya and the Mets’ plans as he originally thought, huh?
It’s also bad radio if the news/update guy doesn’t play along with the hosts of a program. The whole idea for a support staff is to make the hosts look good and keep the focus on them. For Huessler to lambaste them for something they said (probably to get a rise out of Mets fans) would be grounds for firing simply because it would be unprofessoinal and embarrassing to the hosts, withiout whom some of these guys may not have the listners these guys can generate.
As much as I disagree with Mike and the Mad Dog, when it coems to putting on a well-paced and entertaining radio show while skillfully invoking emmotional responses from listeners, they put on a clinic.
Anyway, Mets fans should now be focusing on a replacement for Carlos Gomez. Angel Pagan will not do. They need to put together a trade for Reggie Abercrombie immediately. Maybe the Marlins will consider a straight-up trade for Bostick or Joe Smith. This guy is loaded with speed and power — a real threat off the bench!
I don’t know why. With all the other options out there (ESPN and Sirus/XM) M&MMD should be concerned.
I haven’t listened to them in about two years since I signed up with XM. Let me tell you that its such a pleasure to listen to guys like Rob Dibble, Kevin Kennedy, and the Ripkens…ture pros that know what they’re talking about.
Seriously, you can’t discount the strength of that signal. It is the only AM station that I can get clean and clear in lower CT. 1050 ESPN’s signal is extremely weak. M&tMD are annoying, sure, but I’d hate if the Mets moved to 1050 solely because their signal sucks.
1050’s signal sucks here on Staten Island as well.
You can listen to both stations on the internet, and can hear all Mets games on XM radio. Get used to it, because I’ve been hearing for years that when the Met’s 660 contract expires they’ll move to 1050, and the Yank will move to 660.
They black out the games online so you’ll buy the mlb.com radio package. You can only get game broadcasts on radio.
MLB.com Radio/TV. Welcome to the world of not living within WFAN’s reach.
Honestly, who cares.
I personally think that’s part of the fun/charm of being a Mets fan. I love arguing with ignorants because usually it comes down to the fact that
“I know my baseball team inside out, and quite frankly, I probably know more about your baseball team.”
In reality, off the top of my head there are only 3 other teams in US sports (Jets, ChiSox and LA CLippers) that understand the situation we’re in, and I’d like to believe we’re head and shoulders above those two organizations.
Maybe Manchester City fans can understand our pain/love.
or Athletico Madrid
manchester city…i gotta feel sorry for their fans…havent won a cup, league in decades compared to their cross town rivals Manchester United…we pretty much have one everything that you can win in the past two decades lol….Let’s Go Mets
Umm, we talk sports here, not……..soccer.
Um, gipper? Is it? Don’t be an imbecile. You show your ignorance when you make comments like that.
Along with Manchester City and Athletico Madrid you can add Espanyol which plays in the shadow of Barcalona in case you were wondering.
For the topic at hand……..M&MD are complete idiots – it will take years for most listeners; and evne longer for the corporate types to come around on that.
All types of corporate owned mainstream media is by and large worthless as a place to become informed, at a level intelligent people would be comfortable discussing.
Check out MIKEFRANCESA.COM
Excellent website devoted to breaking balls on Maddog and his big, fat, pompous co-host.
“hey should seriously reconsider their relationship with WFAN when it expires after next season – or at least their relationship with the show’s drive-time hosts…”
Wow. I have been thinking that for a long time now. I love listening to Mets games on the FAN, and I enjoy the commentary pre- and post- game.
But I will never tune into that station for anything else.
And if they want to keep such idiots talking during the day, perhaps it is time Mets fans voice their displeasure a bit louder.
Do any Met fans actually call into M&MD to tell them how full of sh*t they are?
Problem there is you’ll get cut off before you can voice your opinion !!
I hate those guys, these guys are typical stubborn old men who are set in their ways and opinions. I anyone calls and disagrees with them, they jump down the guys throat and don’t let him get a word in. Other hosts at least allow people to finish their initial statement and then allow for a retort.
If you call in, you’d be letting them know that you’re listening and that’s what they want. As long as their ratings are sky-high for the male 25-54 demographic (and they are), they’ll be on.
As Mike himself said a few weeks ago, “I don’t care if you hate me, as long as you listen.”
If you organize some kind of listener boycott of their show and let them know about it, you’ll get their attention a lot faster than just calling in to complain.
This is probably one of your best-ever posts, pulling together the past references and calling out fat-ass for misleading his listeners.
M&MD is the Fox News of NY sports and the Mets are the democrats in that analogy.
Mets fans should run these two idiots off the air – stop listening.
Or, WFAN is MSNBC and the Mets are the GOP. Just being bi-partisan.
Great post, Matt.
which was my point yesterday! this is the kind of post i always hope for when matt attacks mike and the maddog. this is spot on!
couldn’t have said it better myself
The only reason Diet Coke Mike defends the Mets every once in a while is because is wife is a met fans.
It would be wise to part ways with WFAN considering the constant bad publicity there drive time hosts give the mets.
Russo just has a hard time excepting the fact that his baseball team has done nothing but produce Roid Rage for the past decade. hes nothing but a hater thats all
I thnk the Dog sees humor in most of this Yankee-Met stuff… Besides, I always like his end-of-year Anti-Yankee Crack Committees
He’s a Giants fan, and that’s fine. I appreciate his passion for a horrid team. He’s also never afraid to call the organization out on several issues.
At least he isn’t a Yankee FrontRunner :)
yeah! they got served!
happy Johan Day everybody!
Hahaha I love it.
Yesterday after the trade I heard Mike and the Mad Dog talking repeatedly about how Santana did not want to leave the AL, how he loved it there and would be upset by this trade. Several hours later, I watch Peter Gammons on ESPN talk about how Santana wanted to go to the NL where he could face the pitcher and hit (which he loves to do).
These guys will literally say anything. 70% of what they say is not factually based – which would not be a problem if they did not present it as fact. If they had said, “I don’t think Santana wants to go to the NL” it’s one thing, but they insinuate that they have inside information that it is a fact that he didn’t want to go to the Mets, when anyone with any knowledge of the situation knows that the opposite was true.
When are the Mets going to switch over the 1050 for their broadcasts? It has become a much, much better radio station than the fan. They can bring Steve Sommers with them.
Couldn’t agree more. I love Steve. Honest guy and yes……::gasp::: a Mets fan!
Yeah, unless you are listening to the ultimate Met hater, Michael Kay.
I hate Michael Kay as much as anyone, but at least when he talks it’s either fact or his opinion. Not some weird combination of his opinion being fact, as in the case of Mike and the Mad Dog
1050 can’t be heard in Queens. The have no power behind the signal. If they add power I would support a move to 1050. I enjoy almost everyone else on FAN except those two idiots.
why doesn’t SNY get into the radio bit.
it cost money to get a new station up and running. to keep it running you need alot of advertising revenue theres no other way to make money in radio. you need shows that attract an audience…its a pain in the ass radio is dieing out its not financially viable…
If you actually listen to Mike & the “Mad Dog” you actually realize how little they actually know about sports. Their knowledge of things outside of the NY Yankees and some other NY teams is so limited, it is kind of unreal. Sometimes, really intelligent fans call up, and those two “hosts” just hang up on them if they disagree with what the fan is saying. That station kisses their you know whats, too. They have amazing ratings…from what I read, and a wide variety of listeners, because they’ve been around for years….but truth be told, these guys are clowns.
They hate the NY Mets, that much is obvious. They are employed, in part, by the YES network. They are incapable of being “down the middle”, and I stopped listening to them about 2 years ago.
They really lack sports knowledge and intelligence, and the fact that they make serious cheddar doing what they do should annoy many knowledgable sports fans around the Tri-State area.
All I realized is that you used “actually” three times in the same sentence. LOL
Actually, when I actually read that sentence, I actually found it to be quite jarring, actually.
Russo is a complete moron, the typical sheltered Connecticut guy who plays tennis and loves Bruce Springsteen because he thinks it makes him more manly and “cool.”
Francesa, I think, is pretty knowledgable about sports, but his ego has grown to the point where he thinks he can say anything he wants and everyone should believe him, because he said it. In the early days of MMD, before Mike got so wealthy and powerful at WFAN, he was a lot easier to listen to.
I used to watch alot of Mike & The Maddog but then I started watching bits and pieces of it and then they just got ridiculous from where they get their information from. Whether It’s from fans or they just make up things just to get callers to call in. I refuse to look at their station, I rather look at Mike & Mike in the morning. I wish Matt you would have a chance to go on their show and tear them a new one.
But they’d probably be rude, cut you off like many of their listeners when they don’t like what you have to say and insult you.
I don’t even have a problem with Mike Francesa. But Chris Russo ruins the entire show.
I have to confess when I lived in New York I used to think Mike and the Mad Dog was a great show. Over the last 5 years as the internet has been increasingly prominenet in reporting trade rumors and baseballinformation, and I have gotten more infor from blogs online, I am realizing more and more how biased and poor reporting and analysis there show provides. Now that I have lived in Chicago for the last 3 years or so I am glad I do not have to listen anymore…
Excellent point, and I agree. With the world of “blogging” & internet news, you realize how much enterprises like WFAN and even ESPN, to an extent, are slow with breaking news….and lackluster with their delivery.
yesterday espn was having so many issues in their delivery of the news…all their host where stuttering, peter gammons looked flustered. it seemed like the mets threw everything off for them
I heard the same M&MD quotes about ‘Santana’s disappointment’ last night and it infuriated me. Pure propaganda for ignorant sports fans. I’m so glad that you brought this up. Perhaps Johan will clear this up when he is interviewed. I would love to see some eggs on M&MD’s faces for a change.
They’ll claim he’s saying it because he has to. Those guys never admit their mistakes, too much pride there.
Or that he’s saying it because the Mets are giving him the money.
as Matt said yesterday before he thought better of it and altered his post, Mike would just be happy to eat the egg on his face.
I think the first comment hit on the best point: 50,000 watts. I live 60 miles NW of NYC and I can barely get 1050 during the day, at night it does not come in. I have received 660 signals in my car as far north as NH and as far south as VA. No other are station can deliver that range.
Plus, M & MD know their business (ratings) very well and they do employ the Howard Stern Show logic to things. More people who hate than love their work continue to listen to hear what they’ll say next, including myself. Yesterday about 30 seconds into their Santana trade incredulity I had to turn off the radio but as I always do I know I”ll go back.
Yeah, I listened to an entire Giants game on WFAN poolside on a cruise to Bermuda that left on a Saturday. Chrystal clear.
So true, I live in Milford, CT (same city as Matt, so he should know this) and the radio signal of 1050 ESPN comes in but it isn’t very good. Milford is 40 miles NE of NYC and the signal comes in and out.
I live in Northern Virginia and I can pick up AM 660.
Great post Cerrone, you could not be more on point with this, that’s why it’s so frustrating listening to the FAN, especially when Mike and the Mad Dog are on. If you don’t know what your talking about, just keep your mouth shut and if you spread mis-information don’t try to portray it to your audience as fact, like there both doing here. What’s even worse is that WFAN has spent about 10 minutes talking about the Santana trade this morning, I know it’s Super Bowl week and a NY team is in the big game, but come on now this trade is huge news. At least get a Mets beat writer on to discuss the deal or bring in Eddie Coleman. I don’t understand how the flagship station for the Mets could ignore them so much? What makes WFAN look even worse is that Max Kellerman over on 1050 ESPN led his morning show with the Santana story then followed it up with Buster Olney and Bill James interviews.
if you think they ignore the Mets imagine being the Devils
Point taken…The Devils are just filler’s. They get no respect. Hell, when they were on WABC-AM, they received respect…even during the playoffs. WFAN sux…The Mets nor the Devils deserve to be mistreated.
Anyone have any interest in starting a petition to get the Mets off the fan and onto 1050? I’m sure we could get thousands of fans to sign, and the Mets have gotta listen to something like that. Anyone know the deal with the contract?
No.
What about the “schmooze” and Evan/Joe, Boomer/ Carton, and Eddie Coleman, all huge Mets fans that have great insights and care about the team and their fans. I wouldn’t throw the baby (WFAN) out with the batwater (MMD). They’re the problem not the FAN itself.
When I’m camping in Maine or even up near the NY-CAnadian border, I can still pull in Mets games on the FAN. It’s such a treat to do so!! MMD are a disgrace, and increasingly worse and worse. They ride down the Mets and try to hide it. They don’t know much at all. I listen to them only as a form of perverse entertainment.
How about Matt taking a site poll on if we would like Mets Baseball Coverage off of WFAN because of Fat Boy and the Jack Dog. The he could present the results on SNY….
Let’s not get silly. We all love Howie and Eddie. Also, as others have said – that 50,000 Watt former NBC signal is great exposure for the Mets. You can get a WFAN signal up and down the east coast, not so for 1050.
As for M&MD, if Mets fans stopped listening to them, their ratings would dive and they’d be on the chopping block. Yet, given everyone’s distatste for them as expressed here…..they are the guys we love to hate. That just helps their ratings and keeps them around.
I can barely get 1050 in Queens
ugh, no. Matt makes one comment about WFAN and now you want them off?
Sheep.
Careful Cerrone, your words are powerful.
I recognize your screen name so I’m confident you didn’t discover this site yesterday and therefore you should know of the wide displeasure with M & MD that has existed among Met fans well before this morning. Matt is no shepherd and we are no sheep.
M & MD treat the Mets and their fans like 2nd class citizens on a good day, and like clowns and ignoramuses the rest ot the time. This is not a new phenomenom, merely a coalescing.
I understand the displeasure with M+MD my issue is the displeasure with the WFAN as a whole. I like the radio station i just don’t like those 2 hosts. To call for a new partnership or switch to 1050 is a horrible overreaction.
aha, thank you helping me better understand your point, and now that I do let me say I agree.
The Mets won’t listen if you get a million signatures on it, for one simple reason – money. As long as WFAN is a money-maker and is #1 in drive time in the most profitable demographic (males 25-54), advertisers want to get their products on the show. I suppose the Mets get a piece of the ad revenue from FAN as part of the broadcasting rights package. Why should the Mets give that up because the fans are thin-skinned?
The only solution to the Mets bashing on MMD is to simply shut your radios off or turn to another station. FAN is a business and only cares about ratings, not your feelings. MMD themselves say that once people stop listening, they’ll be gone.
Honestly, why do you care? Just turn on Sommers or Beningo big Mets fans and are on WFAN. Not for nothing, the way things have been going, most Mets fans hate the Mets. I loved them before they signed Santana and love them just as much today. The about face by Mets fans kill me…..same as the about face by Mike and the Dog.
agreed, just pick and chose who you listen to. if you listen to m&md thats one thing but anyone who thinks these guys are credible sources for information regarding the mets is just as stupid as they are. I know some people will defend them and say they have so much insight you, well how did they blow the biggest non-steroid offseason story of the year?
The problem is when this becomes a big news story they completely ignored it. They spoke all of 5 minutes then continued with their bullcrap guests. Really they couldn’t blow off Ian Eagle talking about Jason Kidd’s annual crying that he wants a trade for the Mets getting Johan. Michael Kay a Yankee announcer who is in Arizona like M&MD had Olney and Gammons on.
On top of that first question when he had Eli Manning on was What do you think of the Mets getting Johan?
Seriously, I LOVE that they did that. Sommers more then made up for it that night. Made me feel great, like someone kicked them in their nuts!
I hear you. For me, Kay is quite listenable when he’s not calling a Yankee game.
they’re idiots. its their thing.
it doesn’t mean that its not good radio….i listen because its just two guys sittin around shootin the breeze about sports…of course i don’t always agree with them, but all these mets fans who get all bent out of shape because they don’t like the mets need to seriously get over it. so what? if they were bashing the yankees every 2 seconds, you’d love them. Theres a reason why the show is so successful…its good radio with good guests and good interviews….mad dog takes his lumps for the giants being a joke…that right there is reason enough to listen for me, haha
if you don’t like them, you can turn the dial to ESPN radio where everybodys agenda seems to be to say the most outrageous thing possible to get their name out there.
Great post!!! I usually listen to Mike and Chris just because of a lack of better options and they sometimes entertain me. However, yesterday on my way home from work I was getting furious. Mike kept saying how he has been saying Santana would end up on the Mets (since when??????) Then mad dog kept saying how this fell into the Mets lap because the Yankees and Red Sox didn’t want him (yeah…I’m sure they didn’t want the best pitcher in baseball). ..and finally, they kept talking about how Santana was dissapointed to be in queens….UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
Guys, I could not agree more. I admit it took me some time to realize it maybe because I listened for so long, but yesterday after the Mets trade solidified their disregard for the team.
Mets get the best pitcher in baseball. I have an idea: Lets get Ian Eagle on to talk about the Jason Kidd and the Nets! What?!
Maybe it is time to rethink the relationship with WFAN. The FAN’s relationship with the YES Network makes me ill anyway. Take the game announcers with us, though. I enjoy Howie Rose and Ed Coleman.
Don’t worry, Howie and Eddie work for the Mets when they do the broadcasts of Met games. Eddie as the beat reporter for the Mets for FAN is a different story
[As someone refered to them yesterday] Mike and the Angry Puppy are so ignorant. He just couldn’t stand the fact that his precious Yankees might not get the best pitcher in the game. Do you know how many times I wanted to call up when they said he would be ‘disapointed’ to be in Queens then instead of w/ the Yankees? Get out of here. I try to ignore them the best I can. Joe and Evan are better anyway, lol.
Good Point…
Really with the exception of M&MD, the station is full of Mets fans….
Boomer
Craig Carton
Joe B
Evan Roberts….. All Mets Fans
And I look foward to hearing Ed Coleman talk about the Mets on Saturday Afternoons.
It’s just a shame that there are two ardent Mets haters on during drive time, they are often painful to listen to.
WFAN is the Mets station though. Why shouldn’t it be filled with Mets fans? The Yankees broadcast everything on 880.
I think marc malusis, he’s like really late night is a yankees fan. which is fine, he’s pretty balanced. and he’s one of my favs.
Nice! If you had a Hall Of Fame where you place great posts, this should be in it.
I don’t listen to Fatso and Fruit Loops when they are together. Individually, they are semi-tolerable, but even that can be a stretch.
Really, I have never seen two individuals so motivated to discredit a team like those imbeciles are. It’s absurd.
Mets should not leave WFAN! The reception area of WFAN is amazing. I lived in Syracuse and was able to listen to games, I now live in Dover, Delaware and listen to games and I vactioned in Maine and was able to listen to games. Also M&M is one show, Steve Sommers, Joe Beningo and now the morning guy are all Mets Fans. WFAN is really a Mets station, more of the callers are Mets fans than anything else.
matt you should strike a deal with the fan(wfan) and have your podcast aired . 1)you’ve been able to get great guests 2)your insights are much better than russo or mike 3)we could use another mets media version/style—- the only thing is your podcast/radio show would have to be at least weekly as opposed to bi-monthly right?—just a thought
be just like your sny partnership
I know I’m in the minority here, but I really think Mets fans bring it on ourselves…as does the franchise. Matt mentioned the slogans and jingles, but it goes deeper than that. Let’s face it, there’s a reason we’re the Mets guys. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Is it really that outrageous that the franchise across town, one of the oldest franchises in the game, the winningest in history, and authors of the most recent dynasty in baseball, would get more respect than the Mets? Let’s win a few championships before we get our undies in a bunch with the rodney dangerfield routine.
So, is anyone here going to call in to M&MD today and point them in the direction of this blog? I would love to hear they comments on this.
unfortunately because they’re in AZ for the Bowl they’re not taking calls. That to me is the only negative about the Santana trade, the timing which did not allow for even one day of blissed out Mets calls to an irritated pair of hosts.
We will all be ready to explode come Monday unless the Gmen win the Super Bowl then we may have to wait until Wednesday
Good point. I’ll happily wait until Wednesday.
I can’t get Mets games on the WFAN via streaming internet. I get the Nets and Devils though.
You can buy the MLB.com radio package which is quite good.
MLB has exclusive rights to internet broadcasting so FAN is not allowed to air the games you need to pay MLB but it is only about $15 for the entire season
Why do you people care if two of the stations’ many hosts are not mets fans?
do you want WFAN to turn into the YES network? met fluffing 24/7?
personally i enjoy hearing both angles…
be secure in your fanhood, people.
No, we just want some unbiased reporting, and Fat Mike and the Ass Face is the last place to get that…
Whoa easy Matt. I don’t like M+MD any more than you do but that shouldn’t be reason to indict WFAN as a whole.
Mets have a lot of history on that AM station and i for one would be very upset if i couldn’t hear Steve Somers handing off the game to the next play by play guy.
Maybe the Mets can send a message by refusing to grant M+MD interviews with Mets brass instead of “seriously reconsider their relationship with WFAN”.
You mean like Obama’s refusal to go on Fox News? I like it.
exactly… except different. If fox news were on the whole a credible objective news source except for 1host, Bill O’Reily for example, and Obama agreed to speak to anyone but O’Reily… something like that.
Not to burst your self-inflicted bubbles, but Obama has been on Fox several times, including this week. As has Hillary. Just not on O’Reilly.
I cant but somebody please call. Matt…you should call and point out to FATSO and the FRUITLOOP (old Imus slogans for those two knucleheads) the errors of their ways….btw ask Mike if he Still “Got Melky”.
drop mike and the mad dog and get ferrel give him a show on tv at least hes real hes like the sports version of howard stern
Shake it Up
Boomer and Carton and Joe and Evan and Smooze are pro-Mets…
M&MD are not… Come on, they are broadcast on YES… And of course, Santana did not want to be a Met… Acknowledging that would maen that someone in MLB did not favor going to the mighty Yankees…
That is a great point Matt! Yesterday, while I was driving home from work, I heard John Hayman’s regular spot on the M&MD show. Russo actually said that “Santana must be dissappointed for having to go to Mets instead of the Red Sox or Yankees”. Russo first tried to use the arguement that since Santana knows the American League hitters, that he would want to stay in the AL. Also, he must have wanted to go to the Red Sox or Yankees because that is where the only good baseball is played. Hayman shot his arguements down, by saying that going to the National League will help a pitcher because of the weaker line ups and Hayman also mentioned that Santana had favored the Mets to the Yankees and Red Sox for a long time now. Sometimes there assine comments make my stomach turn. I have never understood how those idiots get such good ratings. Maybe its because there really isn’t anything else on at that time. Micheal Kay is another waste. 1050 should get Boomer and Carton and put them on during drive time. Anything is better that what’s on now.
Can’t everybody try to call in and call these losers out on this? Do they just hang up on you immediately? They’ve been wrong every step of the way.. I can’t call from work but I would love to hear that someone got through and told Tonz O’ Fun and Mouthful of Buffalo Balls to stick it!
Mike and the Mad Dog are no longer the best sports talk show in New York. That distinction now belongs to Boomer and Carton in the morning. They blow away those two idiots in the afternoon. Boomer and Carton have the same knowledge base and passion the two clowns have in the afternoon but without the nastiness and derogatory commentary that fills that show. Watch out Mike and Chris, if the ratings start to slip, FAN has replacements getting all warmed up in the morning.
wait…
theres someone out there who doesnt think boomer and carton is an absolute joke?
I agree it’s great to have Boomer & Carton in the morning instead of that old wind bag Imus and his political crap. Its a sports station not WABC. I’d take Boomer/Carton any day over M&MD.
Boomer and Carton are the shizzle. These are two real guys shooting the breeze messing around and talking sports. Mad Dog predicted the Packers would crush the Giants but doesn’t have the balls to place a wager. Carton doesn’t care thats what makes him so great
how dare you disrespect the genius of mike and the mad dog
accidently put this in the prior thread. meant to put it here…apologies for the double post:
Omar played this perfectly and took charge. Kudos to him for a job well done. Santana truely tips the scale towards Queens.
Depth Chart Check:
C: Schneider
1B: Delgado
2B: Castillo
SS: Reyes
3B: Wright
LF: Alou
CF: Beltran
RF: Church
Bench: Castro, Gotay, Easley, Valentin, Chavez, Marlon [AHern, Pagan]
Rotation: Santana, Pedro, Perez, Maine, El Duque [Pelfrey, Vargas]
Bullpen: Wagner, Heilman, Feliciano, Shoenweiss, Wise, Sosa [Sanchez, Collazo, Smith]
- Lineup is set and very strong. No Brainer.
- Bench is incredibly strong. Can’t say enough about this. A bench has become a consistent theme with an Omar organization. Any pine with Marlon and Endy sitting on it is one of the best in the league. Easley is a great right handed power bat, which is one thing this team lacks. Pagan is also a righthanded threat. And Gotay proved enough to us last year with AHern a defensive gem..
- But honestly, I am still somewhat concerned about the depth after # 5 in the rotation. I understand that is a spoiled mindset as not too many fans have the luxury of saying that about their team. But Omar does need to focus these next few weeks on getting some contingency vererans to hang out in New Orleans next year. We all know these 6 starters will not cover us for 162 games. The last few season proves that 15-20 starts will come from somewhere else (ala..Williams, Park, Lawrence, Soler). Who will that be? Not a major issue….but is a resulting gap from this must-do trade. It will be interesting to see who Omar invites to camp to be that reserve starter on the 2008 Shea-to-NO shuttle.
- I still don’t like the bullpen. It is our weakness. Wagner is a year older. Sosa lost all that house money he was playing with when last August rolled around. Matt Wise and an expectation of a healthy Duanar Sanchez is simply not going to cut it as additions to last year. IMO, Omar needs to get us one more reliever. Perhaps Chacon is the answer. But the question cannot be ignored. I would love a Chad Bradford-type who can come in a guarantee a ground ball.
I can’t believe it is late January and all I can point out are 2-3 minor-to-noticable gaps on this squad.
Good times, Gentlemen. Good times.
Wow, Matt, showing some cohones. Way to go big dawg! Give ‘em hell!
That’s “cojones”…..and I couldn’t agree with you more, Sam!
F FranSEHser! F Maddope Russo! F Michael Gay! F da Bronx, the Braves, and the Phiilies too! Thank you Omar! Let’s Go Mets!
Putting all this aside, what does Maddog mean that if you take the Red Sox out of the equation, Boston is no longer the best baseball town? Um, would that be because it wouldn’t then be a baseball town of any kind? Maybe? It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. (read).
The fact is, Russo is a blithering idiot, and Big Mike is a pompous ass, and combined their like some weird 1930’s animated farce, only people really listen to them.
yeah, that quote was PERFECT because it illustrates the utter nonsense spewing forth from the cohost. Say something funny Mike hahahahahahahaha
These two have in my opinion gotten very old in the last half dozen years. They sudden seem so far removed from the listeners and the average fan. It’s pathetic really that we can’t take what they say seriously. The rest of the station is okay though, Evan and Joe and Steve particularly.
I agree. They clearly have no idea of what’s going on in the blogosphere–and no matter what you think of it, that’s something that anyone working in any media has to be on top of.
Earlier this week, they talked about how they’d have Adam Sandler on the show, and Mad Dog seemed incredulous at how popular/successful he was.
More and more, they cater to an aging segment of the NY sports fan population. Radio is an “old” medium, demographically anyway.
they tried whatever they could to make this trade not as monumental as it was. dog was being ridiculous and deserves the idiot tag he constantly gets. that was a STUPID comment that he just would not stop making.
Weren’t you defending these two idiots yesterday?
did you even read any of my posts? i was saying these guys have a million things to be criticized for, so at least criticize them for something they ACTUALLY SAID.
I read your posts fine, but it still looked like a lot of M&MD ass kissing to me.
Whoever said WFAN ignores the Mets, Please, WFAN gives the Mets due most of the time, just like the Yankees.(BTW, who gives a rats ass about the Devils and Nets anyways?) Almost EVERYONE in that station is a Met fan and that’s a fact. Even fat ass has repeated that many times. My bone is with them though. I can’t stand them. They seemingly put down the Mets a lot of the time, and how dare they not discuss this trade further. Who gives a rats ass if it’s super bowl week. You got Mets fans everywhere excited about this trade and these assholes are talking football?? are you kidding me. I hope Met fans everywhere call these clowns and blast them till no end. They are a joke.
but if the team is as concerned with its identity as i know they are, they should seriously reconsider their relationship with WFAN when it expires after next season – or at least their relationship with the show’s drive-time hosts…
I cant express just how much sense this makes. Too bad the Mets wouldnt make such a stand.
How those two got jobs and are the highest rated radio “talents” in NY I will never know. By the way you also forgot Joe Beningo who insisted the Mets were a 75 win team and that there was no way Omar and the Mets were getting Santana…….
How does that crow taste?
Someone needs to record Mike and the Mad Dog shows for a long period of time, say 6 months or so.
Then, listen to the shows and create a recording of them either being completely wrong, or directly contradicting themselves in their opinions over that period of time.
The bottom line is we all know it exists, and that they are morons, but they will never, EVER admit they are wrong about ANYTHING until it is thrown in there faces on live radio by someone, somehow.
Problem is you need a recording studio and no job to spend the time, but I would love to see that happen.
first off congrats to matt and his due dillegence
secondly what do u expect from fatso & fruitloops they even took credit for us getting piazza. if u think of it those 2 are like that old warner brothers cartoon with the big bull dog spike and his small lap dog that would say “yeah spike your’e right spike santana not going to the mets spike!!!”
viva santana viva omar and viva the mets!!!
Francesa’s diet-Coke slurping fat-ass is probably the worst thing on radio… he’s ignorant and arrogant at the same time – not a good combination.
I still love Mad Dog, because he may be a Met-hater, but he hates the Yankees more than anything, and I can respect that.
And I’ll be said if the Mets go to a different station, because I love listening to Steve Somers, Joe Beningno, Evan Roberts, and even Boomer and his buddy in the morning sometimes (though I usually listen to Mike and Mike in the Morning at that time).
Mike and Mike are so repetitive and fairly corny
btw where’s fmm?
his silence is deafening !!
great post matt. i hate those guys. it’s a crime the way they blurt out total false info and continually disrespect the mets.
i’m glad to see the powerful metsblog call out these a-holes. makes more of a difference to see it on here, a more credible media now than messages board posts in the past calling for their heads.
i guess though without M&MD there would be no good.
while we’re at it, can i bitch about Ferrell on SNY? He’s a self proclaimed skank fan. get him off SNY. shake it uuuup!
Matt,
It has been wonderful watching this whole process unfold through your postings each day. You are are a shining testament to the powers of new media. That being said are you really so sensitive that you would take anything Mike and the Mad Dog (I would be mad too if I was an SF Giants fan) say to heart? Those guys get everything wrong and you should feel vindicated that you got it right. Francessa and Russo are pioneers and despite their flaws I still like listening to them just like I enjoy following your insight. Enjoy dreaming about Santana on opening day.
In Cerrone I trust!!! But not on this occasion. Like many people said the WFAN signal is just too strong to leave. And if they did, NOT to 1050 where the signal is as weak as a Jamie Moyer fastball.
Love your enthusiasm here Matt, and you’re on the money about how stupid Fatso and Pooch are. But there’s no way the Mets should leave WFAN as they expand their market, contend for a title and open up a new home.
As others have pointed out, the rest of the programming is not bad. Joe and Evan are decent. Carton and Boomer are fantastic. And the Schmooze is as good as it gets.
The 2 afternoon idiots got away with their biased opinions and lack of factual information for years. But now in the era of the internet and great sites like Metsblog, real fans know the difference.
In the end, it’s only those 2 bozos that look foolish when the exact opposite of everything they predict happens. The Mets can laugh from afar. Met fans can simply choose to ignore the show, or listen from time to time as I do, for pure comic relief.
Sort of like watching a court jester. You know it’s stupid. It still makes you laugh.
I agree Matt, after reading this blog all through December and January and listening to M&MD I couldn’t believe all the crap they were spouting all the time.
Mike kept implying that he was in contact with Omar and kept pushing the Twins were stuck on Reyes story even last week. I was wondering if he was just recycling old information or was deliberately putting out anti-Met information by implying the Mets had no chance etc. All the while you were publishing info about Santana wanting to be in Queens and the Yanks and Sox basically dropping off the radar.
Kudos to MetsBlog for being on top of this story!
I posted this yesterday, but almost immediately after the trade announcement Russo said something that made him look like a complete buffoon (moreso).
[paraphrases]
“I think the Twins made a bad decision here and did not get good value for Santana. The Red Sox and Yankees offers would have given them more talent. I don’t know much about the Mets prospects but I do know that the Twins should have gotten more”
If you are going to make a stupid statement, don’t preface it by essentially saying “the following statement has no facts backing it.” He doesn’t know much about the Mets prospects but somehow knows that they aren’t good? Open your eyes, Russo. The worst part isn’t the comments they make, its the fact that when you call up to dispute their comments, they treat you like a moron and hang up on you. Honestly, if I was running WFAN I’d at least ask them to have some backing to their bias. As it stands they hate the Mets for no reason.
I agree. It’s the Twins own fault they didn’t get more value anyway. If their GM had pulled the trigger during the winter meetings when the Yankees/Sox had more on the table he wouldn’t have been in the position he was at the end of Jan.
Matt is totally right. He’s been saying for weeks that Santana preferred the Mets … and subsequently others picked it up. It’s totally disingenuous of M&MD to suggest otherwise. They know the score. They just want to get in some digs.
Also, again, kudos to Matt Cerrone for being so ahead of the curve on this story. I remember a few posters coming on here weeks ago absolutely blasting Matt’s integrity for saying Santana preferred the Mets and not divulging his sources. I hope they have since apologized to Matt.
Well Fatso just said ‘The Twins will rue the day, they didn’t take Phillip Hughes, because he’s going to be a STAR’
I’m betting that their Hughes love affair will end in disappointment too. In the end I think the Yankees baling out was more of an economic move to bring down their payroll a bit. I know everyone likes to say the Yankees have unlimited $ but I’m betting Hanky-boy is looking to win with little less $ then daddy was.
LOL, listening to them right now for my own humor and they are giving the Mets no credit. Dog is saying the Twins did a terrible job with this trade. And both are saying that if the Mets screw this up, they will be the laughing stock of the league. Not once have they said “Great job by the Mets making this move.”
I’m sorry, but Matt, you sound like a whiner here. You really do. Who cares, just celebrate. They have the highest ratings in the business. Don’t lower yourself to whining.
Go Mets.
I somewhat agree with you because if you don’t want to listen to them just turn them off but it is the Mets flag ship station. So a lot of Mets tune in because they want to hear about the Mets getting Santana and when there are two guys bashing them for it is kind of annoying.
Whoops meant “Mets fans tune in”
I agree with that as much as the next guy. If you don’t like it, turn it off. But thats not the discussion here. Granted there are some people saying take them off the air. Most of the people here are simply giving examples of how they sound like arrogant buffoons up there in their refusal to give certain teams any credit.
But you don’t need to tune in to get Mets news. This is 2008, and there is a blogosphere out there tracking up to the minute sports developments. The fact that we are discussing these issues on this site is an example of how we don’t need FAN to get Mets news.
Didn’t read the entire comment.
I agree, you can turn it off, but WFAN is the Met’s station. I want to hear what people think of the deal. Instead I hear Chris and Mike saying that they know nothing about the Mets, BUT they do know that they stink.
I know you do have blogs and the internet but if Mets fans are driving home from work and they can’t log on the internet they still want to hear about Santana on the radio. But they can’t because Chris and Mike are bashing them.
^^^^ this is the valid point, nobody is going to go to a blog while driving home unless they want to crash.
I still vote with the OFF button on my radio dial. I rather hear nothing than hear these two biased idiots. If you are a Met fan, I don’t care what they have to say, you can’t be unhappy having Johan Santana on your team for the next few years with the little the Mets gave up. They can spin it anyway they can, but the bottom line is that he’s ours at the end of day, by luck, by hook or by crook. That is all that matters.
Narcy thanks for your teriffic post, very constructive.
M&MD have been disrespecting the Mets well before the Santana trade. So you can celebrate and still air greivances over that awful radio show.
Napes, Your lexicon on this thread is about as enthralling as watching turnips ferment. Conjecture and argument are the rubric and thread of all radio talk show products.
Perhaps, if you had the insight into making money, (which is clearly lacking here), you would absorb the reality that their ratings are number one “In the Country” because they piss off morons like you, who incidentally, turn ON their program and simultaneously blog HERE about their respective inferiorities.
I “LISTEN” to them everyday, and i “disagree” with them every day.
You might be in the dark here napes, as your contributions on this website allow me to glean that perhaps, and sadly, you have yet to achieve second grade level education.
That’s when they taught us about “listening”.
You just got served Bitch.
I think “firemetmanagement” is really Joe Benigno
I think firemetsmanagement retired after yesterday.
I’m down in the DC area so it really doesn’t matter to me, although I can get the FAN at night, but it would be cool if they got a dedicated radio feed, similar to SNY.
It’s sure cheaper than running a TV station, and radio propertys are not expensive these days.
Typical Mike and the Mad Dog conversation from last week….
Mike: Have you watched any college basketball? I have only seen maybe 1 or 2 games so far?
Russo: Nope, I can’t get into it, it is too early and there is so much of it. I have not watched a single game. But I will tell you something UNC is going to win the National Championship.
Mike: Yea they are great, haven’t seen them play yet this year but they are on their way to being crowned champion. Scary good is what they are.
Russo: You’re right mike. couldn’t agree more…Hey lets show how old we are and bore the young listeners while we talk about movies from the 1940’s or would you rather listen to my Gay Crush Bruce Springstein?
Mike: You know Joba Chamberlain can father my kids any day of the week? He is a god. He is to me what L Ron Hubbard is to Tom Cruise.
if you are not already doing so may I recommend you enter the field of comedy writing? Your parody & satire are dead on!
This post was awesome Djdef…
I happen to like their show. I hate it when they attack the Mets whilst showing their own ignorance on the team, but for what it’s worth (free entertainment) they can be pretty funny, and I enjoy the Mike and the Marquis game. Don’t let them get to you, they’re just pissy because neither of their teams got Santana, wah wah. Good luck with the baby pitchers, Skanks!
yup. i totally agree. dont let them get to you. its not worth it. they are entertaining. some of their analysis is actually very good. some of their analysis is terrible. but its not like there is sport radio out there that is much better than them. i mean come on its sport radio :)
My favorite Francesa moment came last October, when word came down that Joe Torre was flying down to Tampa with Brian Cashman to meet with Hank Steinbrenner. Francesa immediately stated that Torre was obviously going to ink a new Yankee deal, and went on to pontificate and rhapsodize how great it is to be a Yankee manager, with all the history, how the spirits of old Yankees were pulling Torre back, and so on.
And then later in the show, the news came that Torre had REJECTED the Yankee offer and that the Yankees were done with him.
The spin job that Francesa did after that was just amazing. He acted as if he hadn’t just beatified Torre and the Yankees ad nauseum. He acted like it never happened, and his ego is so big, he probably just pushed it out iof his mind.
Good comment, Matt.
Love the tenacity you’ve been showing of late. Always towing the middle line is boring and, frankly, not believebale. You taking a stand and explaining it logically and thoroughly only enhances your contributions. It’s ok if people disagree with you….that’s life.
This call-out to WFAN and your call-out to the Mets Organization within the past month or so ago was some of your best material to date. The fact that you were correct on both accounts helps. GREAT JOB!
I used to listen to the M&MD a lot. But the longer they are there, the more disinterested in their show I am. I actually like listening to radio jocks that DONT like the Mets. It is refreshing and educational to see things from someone else’s eyes. However, M&MD have gotten lazy in their researching and stagnant in their opinions. I learn nothing new except for their “facts” which are not really facts. I turned on WFAN to get news and heard them them say the Mets got Santana because the Yankees and RedSox were not as interested in Santana. This is just stupid. Of course, every team in baseball wanted Santana. However, the Mets wanted him the most so they were willing to trade the most prospects and pay him the money he demands. But isn’t that true with every trade in the history of sports? That the team that is willing to pay out the most gets the player?
I just served Napes a bowl of loud mouth soup a few posts up fellas. He blogs like he is a woman with a virginia ham under her arm, crying the blues cause she has no bread.
An excellent example of how M & MD have their collective fingers on the pulse beat of NY sports: right now they’re talking to a horse trainer.
LOL
seriously. Giants in the Super Bowl, santana to the Mets, and they’re talking to horse trainers.
M&MD, brought to you by LifeAlert and Geritol.
Let me be another to say great post Matt, but I would also hesitate to have the Mets leave the FAN. The signal strength is tremendous and being on an all sports station is great for them notwithstanding Large Marge and the Sad Dog.
But for all of you who seem to love to hate M&MD, they have said repeatedly even recently “we don’t care if you like us just listen.” Well, stop listening. Always the best way to show the station what you want.
I was just thinking the same thing – the Mets trade for Johan freakin Santana, and the Giants are in the Super Bow, yet they’re talking to Bob Baffert about horse racing!?!?!
Unreal….
I’m waiting for them to give us Ian Eagle again….
With the exception of the pre-game and post-game, there is no reason to listen to that station. The bottom line is that there is not one, save Boomer, that is a former player. I’m sure that none of them wee even former reporters with some background in sports. And yet they portray themselves as knowledgable people w/o playing a moment. Can you imagine Fat boy playing nything but the buffet? About his side kick who would cry at the first bit of contact.
People switch over to XM radio and listen to former players talking with past and current players. Every time I listen to Rob Dibble, Kevin Kennedy, Billy Ripken, Cal Ripken, Buck Martinez and the others becomes almost like Baseball 201. The respect they have for each team is great!! And yet they call it as it is without favoritism.
For the past two years I can honestly say I do not miss anything about WFAN (though I’ll listen to the pre/post games).
WFAN can drop off the face of the earth.
great post
Here in central CT, believe it or not, I have a hard time picking up WFAN….so I got XM because no other station is carrying the mets….man i’m glad I did…not just because of the baseball but the great sports talk channels (ESPN Radio, FOX Sports radio, XM Sports Nation and of course the MLB Home Plate channel). With the exception of Steve Somers and the Mets….WFAN blows.
The problem is who else is there to listen to on the radio in the afternoon? Michael Kay? I’d rather listen to five hours worth of nails scratching a chalkboard. Their whole schtick of hating NY teams does get old, but they’re definitely the lesser of two evils.
I have become so tired of Mike and the Mad Dog. I can’t listen to them anymore. Mad dog needs to move to SF. play tennis have fun, enjoy life and root for the baseball Giants. Mike has to get over himself. They are on everyday ENOUGH! we need some new blood in NY.
The Mets are not the second banana anymore. Remember this town was a National League town for years and it will never just be a Yankee town. GO METS!
The morning show on WFAN is the best show. Boomer and Carton!
Does anyone know what the Fat guy and the Angry mutt had to say about being wrong about the trade? As well a Santana WANTING to come here? I couldn`t listen today.
unfortunately santana still wishes he went to the yanks or sox, according to mutt dog…
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