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Readers,
This is an exciting day for MetsBlog, as well as a ground-breaking day in independent sports blogging, as I am proud to announce that GEICO has become the presenting sponsor of MetsBlog.com.
Thank you again for your encouragement over the last five years, and for your continued support as I work to keep growing and improving this site.
On a side note, I’m glad that the Trade Deadline is behind us, regardless of what did or didn’t happen, as we can all turn our attention to what is likely to be a wild-and-crazy pennant race.
By the way, there are only 54 games left in the 2008 season, so buckle up enjoy the ride and Lets Go Mets.
congrats Matt!
ps: if you have a choice in ads…I’d go lizard over caveman
second this.
Hey Geico! What happened to the original Caveman actors? They were so so much better than this current cast. You had something with the “Roast duck with the mango salsa” and the “not cool” commercials. Bring back the Jaded Caveman! This new campaign is terrible.
Jeez Matt.. way to make to make more deals then Omar this week!
Did Matt sell out? LOL/ J/K… Congrats.
Is corporate sponsorship not the definition of selling out?
Selling out is when you change your own personal opinion because you are invested (moniteraily) in other interests..
I don’t think really think Geico cares what Matt thinks about the Mets as long as his site gets the number of hits it does….
Avoiding controversy or controversial topics altogether is also a way of “selling out”. It may not be purpose of this site, but for argument’s sake, where’s the critical post about ticket price or seat license increases for next year? If Matt were truly “independent” or wasn’t reliant on his SNY partnership or the Geico ad revenue he wouldn’t have to justify what he does and does not choose to write about. It’s basically what’s called “transparency”. Blogs are and should be held to different standards than traditional or mainstream media because of how they’re able to question and criticize the establishment. There’s nothing wrong with making money (or even A LOT of money) from blogging, just respect your readers and establish some trust with them. Matt calling the metsblog “independent” doesn’t ring true and is a bit insulting.
The GEICO green and white banner would do better on a JetsBlog board.
I dont like the way it looks on this blog.
It hurts my eyes, and clashes with the blue and orange that I know and love.
Matt:
Will you be chaning your picture from the current pic to a picture of you as a Geico caveman?
Clearly, if you were going to have the blog sponsored, it should have been by Giuseppe Franco and Procede.
exactly!
Well, clearly Matt’s marketing skills have taken a hit since he has devoted his professional life to blogging. :)
he doesn’t own the company. he doesn’t own anything about it
I like Geico.
To be honest, I think GEICO FIELD or CAVEMAN FIELD would sounds better than CITI FIELD.
How about “The Cave”?
I like it! In fact, I think it is unfortunate that the name “Citi Field” does not lend itself to a nickname like “The Jake.”
I’ve been calling it “The Citi”. not perfect, and confusing, but I like it.
Blogging, is so easy a Caveman can do it….
I can see it now…
And the Pre-Game report presented by Geico
1. SS – Jose “Caveman” Reyes
2. LF – Endy “you could save 15% or more” Chavez
3. 3B – David “visit Geico.com” Wright
4. 1B – Carlos “we now cover motorcycles and ATVs” Delgado
5. CF – Carlos “the Gecko” Beltran
6. 2B – Damian “that was so” Easily
7. RF – Fernando “I’ve got good news” Tatis
8. C – That announcer guy from the Movies playing for Brian Schneider
9. P – Mike “I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico” Pelfrey
Funny post!
Hey Matt, show this one to your sponsors!
lmao!! good 1
Hahaha, awesome. Way to go, Matt, I hope you’re getting some scratch out of this deal.
While I trust that Matt will make decisions with the highest levels of integrity, corporate sponsorship does shape content.
Did you know that Geico pulled its adds from Comedy Central because a South Park episode made some stinging remarks about the religious right?
I like this blog because its the only place I can enjoy professional sports conversations without the advertisement. I realize that this trend is pervasive in sports and always has been, but that doesn’t mean that I can hope…
So the big question is where is the poll asking if we like a metsblog sponsored by Geico?
PS, anyone else have the problem with the runaway scroll on this site? If I start scrolling it just keep going until the bottom, or top if I’m going the other way. I use macbookpro/firefox 3.
Matt,
Congratulations! As somebody who remembers the days of readers donating to Matt to cover his cost (and as a former donor myself)….I feel like a proud uncle.
Way to go!!
do you get that money back now? lol
Congrats matt!!!!
Go out to dinner tonight Matt. Enjoy.
Congrats, and let’s go Mets with a sweep of houston this weekend. It’s so easy a caveman could do it. Sorry I couldn’t resist.
Please explain how this site is “independent” in light of the SNY “partnership,” and the otherwise SNY-centered focus of the site, i.e., SNY only advertisements etc… SNY is owned by the Mets. You are covering a team that is owned by the entity you are partners with. This, as I and many others see it, is not “independent.” Your readers still have never gotten an explanation as to why the Joe Smith YouTube clip was taken off the site. That is just one example of why many feel your use of the term “independent” is a bit of a stretch.
JoeC is 100% correct … but you can’t blame Cerrone for being a capitalist.
There is a great song by Gin Blossoms. What’s it called again? “Hey Jealousy”
Um, that song stinks.
I saw the Gin Blossoms once in college. They were terrible.
Oh, and thanks a lot for putting it in my head now for the rest of the day.
no problem dude. but it was the first song with the word “jealousy” that popped into mind.
that song always makes me laugh…at least the title cuz all fo the gin blossoms’ songs sound the same
That song stinks is right. I heard they couldn’t insure it because it sucked so bad.
Simple, as I have written before, I am the sole owner of MetsBlog.com with 100 percent editorial control, and my relationship with SNY as it pertains to MetsBlog is strictly a partnership dealing with non-editorial issues.
I am already a Geico customer, but if I start seeing any forced advertisements which interferes with getting to blogs that I want to read about, I am really going to become annoyed and I am pretty sure many on here will be as well. So hopefully this sponsorship will not have any impact to the fundamentatal structure of site as we have come to know it…
::rolls eyes::
DK, I really don’t think Matt’s gonna let that happen.
OH NO, ADS
this is something new and horrible, and it will destroy the internet
corporate sponsorship is cause for concern… of course it is … i don’t doubt matt’s intentions … but i bemoan having to be further inundated by adds.
Firefox with AdBlock Plus works wonders. I haven’t seen an ad for years.
just deal with it, because if there isnt sponsorship, then we end up paying for this….
Matt, don’t keep defending yourself to everyone. Those of us who pay attention understand the difference between the ads on the side and the content in the middle. Good for you for getting sponsorship, you work hard and deserve the rewards.
So if you were to criticize Geico, calling it a joke of an insurance company, or say that SNY has done a crappy job covering the Mets and other sports lately, they’d have absolutely nothing to say about it?
I’m not buying it.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have accepted the corporate sponsorship because this is your livelihood and it’s your business to do what you want with it, but at the same time, calling it independent is still a bit of stretch to me.
All the same, you’re doing a great job. Keep it up, and don’t think that a single one of us is ungrateful for your hard work and dedication.
Let’s Go Mets!
Matt’s point about being independent is that no one has direct control over the posts other than him. I wouldn’t tell you to go up to your boss and tell him he does a crappy job either, as that’s just plain stupid. This is a blog about the METS, not SNY. We write negatively about the players and coaches all the time (see the Willie era) and I haven’t seen censorship…
Yes, I can see Matt now dedicating an entire post criticizing Geico’s insurance rates…that’s gonna get more comments than all the Johan threads he put up this past winter….
I didn’t really address your point as I meant to.
“So if you were to criticize Geico, calling it a joke of an insurance company, or say that SNY has done a crappy job covering the Mets and other sports lately, they’d have absolutely nothing to say about it?”
Would they have something to say about it? Probably. Do they have any power to do anything directly about it? NO.
Sure they can pull their sponsorship, and that could be a consideration for Matt but he isn’t claiming to be free from outside influences. He said, “I am the sole owner of MetsBlog.com with 100 percent editorial control, and my relationship with SNY as it pertains to MetsBlog is strictly a partnership dealing with non-editorial issues.” If he felt they were squeezing him editorially, then he’d have some decisions to make.
Exactly.
I understand the confusion, but as a former editor of an independent publication, there’s really no difference here.
We ran a weekly newspaper which was wholly owned by a local couple. As the publishers, they had the say over content. Period.
Of course, we sold as many ads as we could. We were trying to pay the bills – to pay the printer, keep the lights on, feed my kid, etc.
Many, many times I (as editor) and other staff members (usually sales reps) fielded calls from disgruntled advertisers who didn’t like something I’d written. If they disliked it enough, they pulled their ads. Sure, it didn’t make the sales guys happy when that happened, but it’s part of the business.
This didn’t make us any less independent.
Would you suggest that a newspaper shouldn’t sell ads? I tend to doubt it. The same goes for MetsBlog, so far as I’m concerned. I would love it if there were no ads on the site, but Matt’s got a right to make a living, and I’ll keep reading as long as the content stays stellar.
So congratulations, Matt, on the next step.
Well said, plasto.
And I doubt there is anything Matt would say on this blog that would lose him his sponsorships. For one, why would he discuss Geico on a Mets blog? And I doubt he wouild say anything worse about the Mets than Keith has on the air.
As for SNY, we’ve already seen his negative comments about “Beer Money.” and how often SNY shows it, and he and SNY are both still here,
This is a pretty weak argument, considering that SNY/Mets’ unhappiness with your editorial leanings could obviously cost you the partnership and the money it brings you. Plus there is anything but a bright line between advertising and editorializing on this site, as you plug SNY programming, blogs, etc.
But whatever.
I don’t know about the rest of it but I know mlb has pretty strict rules about any kind of game footage. It’s possible they had Matt take in down, in which case, independent or not there’s not much he could have down.
I was going to say that Gina. Also, I think the clip from removed from YouTube so keeping up a dead link would be pretty stupid.
was* removed from YouTube…
Excuse my morning typing issues…
exactly
MLB takes down every video clip of tv broadcasts of games.
Who was the last presenting sponsor of MetsBlog.com? SNY?
Whats next? This poll about who should be starting at second brought to you by……PROCEED, and Giuseppe Franco?!!
That’s me! :-D
Ooh! They’ve got to get a Proceed campaign on the site featuring Giuseppe Franco. Make it happen!
excellent Matt….you deserve it
can you please ask them why they sent the fake Caveman to Shea?
Congrats Matt, you deserve it!
Well deserved!!! As a Geico customer I’m proud to know that I’m helping to pay for one of the best sites on the web! Congrats!
If you interview the caveman a la Kevin Berkhardt…I am out
/not really…but I will spend my days chastising you and hoping one day I can sell out to the corporate gods…come on Majorleaguejerk.com…make daddy rich!
I hope there are no ads with geckos crawling all over my browser.
Firefox + AdBlock Plus = No. Ads. Ever.
Expect Warren Buffet to come through and provide advice. Berkshire owns Geico, iptso facto owns you!
Does this mean you will no longer be doing any SNY segments? No more Matt and Ted?
Geico is sponsoring because they like his product. They don’t own him. Nothing is going to change.
In fact they don’t own anything about him. but they’re GEICO – they’re not putting their name on the line for a product that doesn’t work….
Haha I was just going to make the same post. LOL we’ve all seen way too much Giuseppe I guess
The only way to avoid Giuseppe is to stop watching the Mets completely, so I guess we’re all stuck!
It would really stink if Cerrone ditched me for the caveman, but I’m hoping he’s not willing to part with a prospect of my caliber for someone so old.
Incidentally, one of the things I realized at the deadline was that I’m now past prospect age, which is one of the most depressing realizations a baseball fan can have.
I know what you mean, Ted. All of a sudden, the majority of players are younger than me. I have to wonder when that happened!
No worries, though, Ted! I don’t think you need to worry about any sort of decline anytime soon. :)
yes, Matt must not spend his work time walking around the mall wearing a Geiko sandwich board dressed in a gecko costume….
Does this mean that you no longer have an affiliation with SNY?
Also, congrats! I’m sure this meant some $$$$ for you (and hopefully some of the other contributors). :)
Geico sponsors a lot of SNY related stuff, this shouldn’t impact his affiliation with SNY one bit. In fact, his affiliation is what probably netted him the sponsorship.
Are those clams? I love clams….
Congrats, Matt. Nice to see your hard work paying off.
Hey Matt…congrats buddy. Any joker on here yelling at you for “selling out” or being “owned by the Man” is just sad. You’ve worked your butt off for something you love all while providing incredible content to all of us. You deserve all the money and success coming to you.
Amen!
Congrats Matt!
Let’s just hope that this doesn’t lead to pop-ups and lizard crawls. This site is very reader friendly now which to me is a big positive (aside from the excellent content, of course). Please steer away from any attempts to add annoying ads.
Keep up the good work!!!!!!
Blogs: Its so easy a caveman can do it!
ROFL!
On one hand: Congrats Matt, you’ve struck gold. $$$ is never bad, especially doing something like writing about your favorite sports team all day on a blog.
On the other hand, this is no longer an independant fan’s blog like it once was. It is now corporate sponsored, corporate run, and it has officially sold-out to “The Man”. I miss the days where we felt like we, THE FANS, were as much a part of this blog as Matthew was. Now– that is not the case, as we’re mere peons that helped Matt cash in big time. Haha, ohh corporate america.
Is this sarcasm? If not, please let me know so I can appropriately mock your comment.
Please go into your office today and let your bosses know that you’re working for free. That’s, essentially, what folks like you expect Matt to do.
He’s grown a college project into a living. He provides a wonderful FREE service to his readers, but there’s always ALWAYS has to be someone that b-tches.
It’s not corporate run. At all.
Matt could you kindly enlighten us,. What does this mean? No more SNY segments? Contact with players, coaches?
By the nice banner ads for SNY down the right navigation, all of your questions about SNY leaving as a sponsor should be answered.
While I congratulate you, Matt, and the rest of the crew on this sponsorship, I must confess that, as an avid surfer of this site for about 2 years now, I feel a tinge of sadness that this site has grown (some might say matured) from its humble roots. I wouldn’t say it has “sold out” as some might venture to say, but it does feel a little weird to have a corporate sponsor so prominently identified and displayed.
That all being said, as long as the type of information, analysis and dialogue remains at the high level it has been (particularly so since this off-season on– the Santana coverage put this site on another level in my mind), I will be a loyal reader.
it should be noted that geico is also a big sponsor of sny.. there is no reason the two sponsorships should be mutually exclusive.
but it does feel a little weird to have a corporate sponsor so prominently identified and displayed.
Why? How does it effect you?
its nice to have a space not inundated with prominant advertisements. i love what matt does with that banner because its always something so dear to me, like views of shea. the geico gecko up there is sad. its just my opinion. its not my site, he can do whatever he wants with it, but he should just admit, this aint the small little blog anymore. i am REALLY glad he can support himself doing this though!
It doesn’t affect me at all. I just said it felt a little weird seeing it on the site this morning. I’ll get over it, and I think the message from all of the comments is clear– the content is king.
I somewhat agree…I’m not mad or irritated like some of the other people here, but it is certainly different then say 3 years ago when it was a small community on the site…
With that said, the content on this sight has come light years since the beginning…Not because Matt was lazy or whatever, but because through the SNY deal, he had access to so many more things, from being on conference calls, to going down to PSL…Keep up the great work.
Nice- congrats! I am a happy Geico customer and glad to see them on board.
Interesting. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a personal blog (political, sports, or otherwise) that’s accepted corporate sponsorship before.
Certainly interesting….
Hey Matt, when can I buy Metsblog stock!?
;)
After 14 posts to a topic, an automated 15th post will generate that will say:
This is the 15th post on this topic. Did you know that a 15 minute call to Geico could save you 15% or more on car insurance?
Congrats Matt, you deserve it!
Haha, looks like Geico doesn’t need to advertise on the site afterall. We’ll do the work for them!
If only they could actually save me money on car insurance…
Nice…
you guys need to relax with all the “Corporate Sponsorship” panic. It’s a damn sportsblog. He’s not a congressman. He also has a new family and this is his full time job. Don’t take out your personal frustrations on this site or matt. Be happy for the guy. He’s provided this site for free for 5 years as a privilege to us all. Just because you’re pissed about your salary or have some nebulous concept of what selling out to corporations actually means, doesn’t mean that you should get your mr met underoos all up in a bunch.
Can you buy Mr. Met underoos!?!?!?
Seriously. What a bunch of haters and complainers. (Not everyone)
right on ndk5
Its pretty simple economics…
the more daily hits the site gets the bigger the advertiser he will attract and the more he can charge for ads on the blog.
I could not agree more, ndk5. We should all be grateful for this service Matt provides, yet, he shares this excellent news with us, and some people cannot resist raining on his parade.
It’s like getting a 20% raise, and when you go home and tell your “significant other,” they respond by saying: “Not 25%? Did you get dental coverage? Any additional vacation time?”
Of course, given the childish nature of the complaints, perhaps I should make a different comparison. It’s like getting a grade of 99% on a test, and when you go home and tell your parents, they respond by saying: “What happened to the other 1%?”
Matt–I hope you do not let the few nay-sayers put a damper on your celebration. Congrats again–enjoy your good fortune and keep up the great work (that goes to your contributors, too)!
Very well said, ndk5!!
Who knew there were so many envious socialists amogst us Mets fans?
“No one shall be idle if I have to work; no one shall be rich if I am poor. Thus we see, again and again, that resentment lies behind all socialist ideas.” – von Mises
I can’t believe the amount of haters there are on this site. The guy needs to make a living, and trying to do that blogging is a risk. As long as this site’s been around people have been upset about the ads, people used to complain because there were ads for politicians popping up.
The real “ads” that matter on this site are the links on the left and right sidebars to all the other mets and baseball bloggers out there that do it as a labor of love. Matt does a great job of fostering community among all baseball blogs across the country.
that’s all well and good, and he should make as much money as he wants..
just dont tell me its independent. i mean that is just silly.
this isnt a news blog, its a fan blog affiliated with the mets network. so to call it independent is just plain wrong.
Why do people worry about stuff like this. Is it really that important whether he says it’s independent or not? Jeez.
Cuz people always need something to whine about, Mikey…
Yeah. Anyone who gets that bent out of shape by this should realize that by them logging onto the site and giving it hits, are responsible for it. So if it bothers anyone that much that metsblog has a corporate sponsor … stop supporting the site.
Otherwise … stop hatin’
Then you do not understand the word “independent,” ghobot. Matt, and about a trillion other people, have explained why the site is independent, and if you do not understand it, then you are just refusing to do so–presumably because you feel some sort of need to be negative.
Is the Caveman gonna be one of the contributing blogger now? ’cause I don’t think it’s that easy!
We already have Cavemen blogging on here. They are disguised as Phillies fans.
Zing!
Haha. The sad thing is it is true. They are lowlifes.
Any chance the Gecko will mention MetsBlog in one of his TV spots? How about Cerrone helping a real Geico customer tell their story?
HA HA! Awesome…I can see it…Matt using his hands to describe a person’s story.
Matt Congratulations on the sponsorship. Keep up the great work.
i swear if you put that caveman anywhere near this site, you are doing whatever this is very very very w rong. congrats on financial stability but please, no cavemen. or geckos.
and that independent label? ha, not at all. you are not independent and thats ok. be honest about it.
The content is posted independently. It’s Matt’s decision what content is posted. That’s why it’s independent. Sponsorships and independent editorial control are not mutually exclusive.
I understand why people would be saying things like, “oh there’s no way he’s independent he’s with SNY and Geico” – and the reason is simple: these people don’t know what they’re talking about. As is common with Mets fans, this hardly serves as a road block. In fact when a Mets fan doesn’t know what he/she is talking about they argue even louder and feverently. I think that’s a word. Anyway, stop hating on the guy because he’s making his money. This is New York now, c’mon! He just did it better than anyone else out there and he’s turned into a success. Matt I’m nothing but happy for you. You deserve this for living your dream and I’ll never hate on you. I know no matter what I’ll still be able to come on here and post what I want (aside from nonsensical, inappropriate/prejudiced B.S., which I don’t wanna see anyway) because Matt is operating the content of this site independent from any corporation. It’s really not hard to understand. But those who hate will find something to say, but I highly doubt it gets to Matt he can just laugh his head off in his basement because he’s getting hooked up by Geico.
Even though I personally cannot stand GEICO and feel that it’s one of the worst insurance companies out there when it comes to servicing their clients and paying claims, I’m happy for you Matt. Congrats! Keep up the good work and, as always, Let’s Go Mets!
I guess my concern would be that now if I want to say that “Endy Chavez’s hitting sucks more than GEICO’s rates for uninsured motorist coverage” will my comment be edited?
Just askin….
Tina is here, we’re getting back together!
lmao…
Would you give us a minute?
Does it make me any less of a caveman, just because I want to save some money?
30 seconds
It’s just a little loyalty would be nice.
Well…hello!
Don’t you hello me!
… Unless you’re gonna help me save 15% on car insurance!
nicely played!
whoah. is the gecko seriously gonna comment on this blog now.
For the people who have been here since the beginning, it is exciting to see how this blog has gotten so big. However, I am sure there are many who miss those days as well. Congrats Matt…I will continue to come here for my Mets info.
Agreed, it has been pretty cool to watch metsblog grow. I wonder if my original Metsblog t-shirt is worth has gone up in value, ha. Btw, I don’t see where he sells them anymore.
Indeed. I remember when this thing first got off the ground, there’d be about 10 comments per post. Game threads might have 40 posts. Now we get 500!
You mean back when Matt wasnt connected to anyone and didnt have any inside scoop on anything and it was all guesswork on his part?
I dont miss those days very often…
Congrats, Matt. I think most of the longtime readers are proud of all the good work you’ve done with this site through the years and all of the recent success you’ve enjoyed. Thanks for the effort and keep it up!
congratulations!!!
i feel like little metsblog is totally grown up now :’)
I think metsblog grew up when he signed on with SNY. Now he’s a high roller.
Does this mean the 15th comment of each post will be noted as sponsored by Geico????
Matt, congrats, lots of effort and you deserve to reap the benefits and rewards for that effort.
This site has always taken a fan view both good, bad and that is all you can ask. The people who slag this or any other blog are generally just annoyed that they did not start the site, get the connections and become close to the action.
Moreover, most of the whiners continue to come here and post, I wonder why. OH, because it is the best fan source information for Met baseball shocker.
Keep up the good work Matt etal,
Good point about those criticizing Matt still coming to post here. Obviously they don’t think it is so bad, after all.
GEICO could save you 15% or more on Car insurance!!
Cheers to That!!!
Good thing I got that insurance. What insurance is that Yogi? You know, it’s the one you need. If you don’t got it, then that’s why you need it. Aflac!
*That’s me, trying to get banned. :-)
[in duck voice]: “Hah??”
Matt, this is great news. I’m really happy for you, and I hope some of the additional capital you’ll gain here will be plowed back into the business. It’s pretty funny to read some of the replies on here, obviously a huge chunk of these guys have never been / will never be successful in business, but lucky for them they’ll still get the most up-to-date and insightful Mets reporting totally for free. Which is about the most they’d ever be able to afford anyway.
Your partnership with SNY, and this Geico sponsorship, really represents the future of this medium, as you know far better than I. Success stories like this can only lead to greater competition in the market, and, ultimately, more options for the consumer.
Cheers!
Seconded! Very well put.
Thirded.
Just amazing that the most popular, informative, and well-run blogs could recieve major sponsorship these days! …oh wait, no it isn’t amazing, it’s DESERVED!
Well done, Matt, the rest of the bloggers that post, and (not to honk our own horn, but) all of the commentors that fill the days with intelligent and fun discourse about our favorite team. Way to go, all of us.
You got me all wrong before. I think this is great for Matt, he’s living the dream, and making loot. Good for him, he does a tremendous job, is dedicated, and it’s well-deserved.
I was simply stating that this is not really an independant blog anymore. Which is fine, we still get great news, and actually get more inside info…I mean, like a reader said before, he turned a college project into a full-time cash making job. Nice work…
The content posted is independent. Matt has full autonomy to decide what is posted. Sure, if he wrote an op-ed on how much GEICO sucked, he’d likely lose the sponsorship. Still, he COULD post the op-ed, and no one could stop him. Again, sponsorships and editorial independence are not mutually exclusive.
“Sure, we COULD fix Main Street. We COULD put all our eggs in one basket…”
Main Street! Main Street!
Hey! I ain’t fer it, I’m agin’ it!
y’know, a small town with money’s like a mule with a spinning wheel…
(I could do this all day! best. episode. ever. one of them, anyway)
Heh heh….”mule.”
Congrats on the professional progress.
I just home no old posts emerge with Matt criticizing the Wilpons or anyone else for selling naming rights.
Hell with that, I think Matt should sell naming rights for the blog next.
Congratulations Matt! Awesome job turning little metsblog into one of the best sports blogs on the web. I salute you for all your hard work and dedication and for giving us something to do everyday at work. :)
…and to all you whiny, jealous, lazy commies that feel the need to criticize and blast Matt for trying to make a living, stop crying and waiting for a hand out. Get a job and work hard like he did and maybe you can have some success too. Jealousy will eat you alive.
Gasface sweats Cerrone.
Man, I haven’t heard the word “commie” used as an insult in about 15 years. How quaint.
I have Liberty Mutual, does Geico really save 15%?
Yankees just signed…wait for it…Victor Zambrano to a minor league contract.
potential saviors: zambrano and pavano
and a good start for pudge
So I clicked on the word “Geico” on the banner image expecting to be taken to Geico’s site. I really want to save 15% or more on my car insurance. Looks like Matt has to make the Metsblog banner an image map. :)
Congrats to Matt & Co. Great job. This site along with SNY (SNY being a notch below this site IMO) are quite an upgrade from the old days. Mets fans would wait all week for a half hour of Mets Hot Stove coverage on Saturday mornings, only to watch Fran Healy interview Benedict Tim McCarver about his Cardinal days.
I wanna put the Phillies in the wall. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have lunch with them, but if I see them, they’re in the wall.
Took me a minute to get that one, but very cute! :)
In case anyone wants to get rid of advertisements on this site (and any other site), download Ad-Block Plus for Mozilla Firefox. It’s an add-on that makes all ads (pop-up, banner, regular picture ads) disappear. And you can customize it to allow some sites to show ads if you want. Just a public service announcement.
THANK YOU! I’ve been extolling the virtues of Firefox and ABP on lots of different blogs for quite some time.
No offense Regis, but can that little gecko do our pregame in that funny accent now?
And the Pre-Game report presented by Geico
1. SS – Jose “Caveman” Reyes
2. LF – Endy “you could save 15% or more” Chavez
3. 3B – David “visit Geico.com” Wright
4. 1B – Carlos “we now cover motorcycles and ATVs” Delgado
5. CF – Carlos “the Gecko” Beltran
6. 2B – Damian “that was so” Easily
7. RF – Fernando “I’ve got good news” Tatis
8. C – That announcer guy from the Movies playing for Brian Schneider
9. P – Mike “I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico” Pelfrey
good job. Scary part about that is they really saturate the market in advertisements and I still have no desire to be insured by them.
Matt, is this like selling the naming rights to a stadium? Are you getting an extra 20 mill / year for this? Can we afford an Ace starting blogger or clean up blogger now?
BREAKING NEWS:
According to Peter Abraham, the Yankees have signed 33 year-old righty Victor Zambrano to a minor league deal. Zambrano posted a 9.45 ERA in 40 Triple A innings this year.
~via mlbtraderumors dot com
Zambrano pitches his first no hitter in a Yankees Uniform. You heard it hear first ladies and gentlemen.
who is this guy and why do i care? ;-)
I was at the game when he blew his elbow out. What a shame.
The good news about this is that there is at least a chance of a Kazmir/Zambrano pitching matchup at some point in the near future.
If that happens at Yankee stadium, I’ll pay many dollars for tix.
Yankees should hire Rick Peterson to help Zambrano’s game
I bet he can fix whatever’s wrong with Zambrano in 10 minutes!
He should be able to fix him in 10…. years
I don’t know about that Nate…I think Victor Zambrano just might be beyond fixing! But it would seem appropriate for Zambrano to finally get things in order when he is in his 40s and no longer has the talent to make it work. :)
Sweet,
Im still waiting for the day i log on and on the left of the Metsblog Sign ill see Guisepe Franco, and on the right i see the Geico Caveman….That will be monumental..
You got a point there. I wonder if Guisepe Franco would have paid more. Flooding the SNY network can’t be cheap, so I would imagine he’d pay nicely for a spot on Metsblog.
Its not Guisseppi, remember: ‘he doesnt own anything about it’
I’m also glad the trade deadline has past. I was having trouble sleeping.
Now let’s hope that Church comes back to stay and that Tatis can keep up the good playing for the rest of the year.
Let’s Go Mets!
In similar news, The Nats released Paul LoDuca last nite… looks like Paulie Walnuts’ career may be coming to an end. Never good when one of the worst teams in baseball releases you.
Eh, I think he may end up with the Long Island Ducks.
That would be sadly appropriate.
There are a bunch of teams, including his former employer, the Marlins, looking for catching help. Now that these teams would only have to pay him a prorated share of the minimum salary, it seems likely that some team will take him.
CHA CHING!
Can we get an image of the caveman with a mets hat. That would (Sorry for the interuption, but with the 15th word of this post I just wanted to reming you the 15 min can save you 15% or more on your auto insurance) be really cool
It’s not just cars, Justin. GEICO can help you save on insurance for virtualyl anything you’re risk averse enough to bother insuring!!
Somewhere, the Aflac duck is shedding a tear at this news.
He should be shedding a tear at those faux-Yogi-isms in that latest commercial. They’re freaking terrible.
Hi. I’m Guissepe Franco. I’m here to tell you about a blog that works. I don’t own Metsblog. Hey, I don’t own anything about it. Stop wasting time with other blogs that take up your time for no reason. Stop lying to yourself that your blogging is bad. Hey, I’m Giuseppe Franco. I’m not putting my name on the line for a blog that doesn’t work.
LOL that’s funny
I’d think Matt would want you to check the blog more than ONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (every ninety days)
Lol. Who the hell is Giuseppe Franco to be worried about putting his name on the line for anything? “I’m Giuseppe Franco! I’m not known by anybody, anywhere, at anytime – I’m pathetic and the thought of someday cracking the D-List gives me the chills. That doesn’t matter. I’m not putting my name on the line for a product that doesn’t work, actually I’ll put my name on any damn thing that pays real currency. Go Mets”
I have wondered that same thing, Boscov. I wonder if we’d know of him if we lived in Beverly Hills?
My wife loves that skinny little toad….congrats Matt !!!! Hopefully, this is a bellweather for better things to come this Fall.
I’m a gecko!
No, we don’g have a sister company, GirlCo.
Congrats Matt, I really enjoy this blog.
Keep up the great work
As a GEICO customer, I am extremely excited about this new partnership.
Well, not really, but it does give me a chance to request that GEICO spring for lamination of their ID cards.
Hahah, really. Is it too much to ask? Mine is always getting torn up, so I have to print a new one off the internet and let it sit folded up in the glove box.
How do you think they afford to save you 15% No lamenation!! (and no customer service)
mlbtraderumors reports that Livan will likely be DFAd today w/ Liriano returning…
He’d be a nice pickup in case there are further issues with Maine
Maybe we can sign him to a portion of his brother’s contract. Like a two for one deal.
maybe they could work together, like a relay team…
get their fastball up to 85 mph maybe
Congrats, Matt. Best baseball blog out there.
Unlike some others, I don’t have a problem with this or adds. I can choose to either look at them or not look at them. Pop ups, well that’s different issue. Good thing those can be easily blocked….
I can’t believe the complaints I’ve been reading, especially since this is a free site. Makes me wonder if some just have to have something to complain about….
I really don’t get complaining about ads too much, especially when there are a little something called extensions *COUGH*ADBLOCK PLUS*COUGH* you can use on Firefox where you never have to look at any ads.
Yeah, I saw that earlier on the post. I use Firefox so I’ll check it out.
Thanks!
That’s exactly what it is. For some, they just have to be negative or cynical, or they don’t know what to do with themselves.
My one complaint about this site is how long it sometimes takes for the comments to pop up, if they do at all (for example I wrote a fairly lengthy comment congratulating Matt on his success, and nothing). That being said, that is not Matt’s fault, that is the fault of the “bad apples” who come here and post comments that require monitoring. Other than that, I can’t think of anything to complain about.
In case this comments make it, and my other one doesn’t: congrats, Matt!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Yea Matt
sign the caveman to platoon in the outfield, it could be our ultimate reclamation project
2 quick things:
1. Good for Matt. He’s always tried to run this blog as a professional sports journalistic venture, rarely saying anything controversial, and avoiding being critical of a lot of the awful mainstream sports journalism that’s out there. That’s why SNY could attach their names to the blog, and that’s why corporate sponsorship won’t change anything.
2. My God man, I’ve never seen any blog actually go out and get a sole corporate sponsor. As far as I know this is the first. Ads are one thing…having GEICO on the title bar is another. It’s pretty ridiculous, btw.
Since this is a Mets blog, wouldn’t Goya or Tio Sancho have been a better sponsor?
Har har.
So what happened you got a big sponsorship, and stopped posting? Must be in some big corporate meeting or something.
j/k, lets get some news going!
You know there are going to be more refrences to car insurance commercials and joked about lizards and caveman than there will be stuff relative to baseball…
But I’m sure its no worse than The Franc Dog Guiseppe!
That’s great…. can the Gecko play outfield?
I thought Gecko worked on Wall Street.
I got it!!
1. Reyes ss
2. Gecko 2b the best slap hitter in the land!
3. Wright 3b
4. Caveman Lf raw power! Defense an issue
5. Beltran Cf
6. Delgado 1b
7. Schneider/ Castro C
8. Guiseppe Franco RF He is so good at defense he can catch the ball with his hair!!! But he looks like a cosmotologist when he bats
9. Pitcher
Good for you, Matt.
Being that we do sports and not car insurance blog it’s not a conflict of interest.
Congrats, but do you have to have that big gecko at the top? I want Shea Stadium.
well, I absolutely DESPISE corporate sponsorship, but I don’t blame Matt one bit for taking advantage of it. I hope he held out for a good amount of money at least!
Personally, I think it’s a waste of money on the corporations part. Geico sponsoring Metsblog doesn’t make me any more or less likely to buy their insurance: the only thing that does that is having better rates than the competition. Similarly, I’m not gonna switch to Citi Bank because they named the stadium after it, or drink Miller Lite instead of Bud Light b/c I like Miller park more than Busch Stadium. But who knows, maybe these things do influence some people…
Ah, but I’m sure there will be links as well.
Does anyone else feel that Matt is a bit more snide and crude with his comments/posts? It’s as if now that he is “in the know” that he kind of talking down to us. As a reader of this site for over 3 years, I still come here for the content, but I do not like how the tone has changed recently. Just putting it out there.
Sometimes I think he’s too nice to some of the more ignorant posters, but that’s just me.
Discounts?
Congrats Matt,
Keep the great work!
Congrats! You’ve officially jumped the shark!
Thanks all, this thread has made me forget all about the Mets terrible bullpen blowing the series in Miami.
I have mixed feelings. About 2 months ago I actually did switch my car insurance to Geico, but I only saved 11%.
Firefox/Greasemonkey users that would like to keep your souls: I just added a little something on Userscripts.
Good Job Matt!!!!! Sponsors are great for websites!!!!
Hey Matt…look at you!
Congratulations…
Congrats Matt! Quick question: I like Geico, but, wouldn’t it have been better to get sponsorship with METLIFE?
congrats matt!
keep up the great work
While I trust that Matt will make decisions with the highest levels of integrity, corporate sponsorship does shape content.
Did you know that Geico pulled its adds from Comedy Central because a South Park episode made some stinging remarks about the religious right?
I like this blog because its the only place I can enjoy professional sports conversations without the advertisement. I realize that this trend is pervasive in sports and always has been, but that doesn’t mean that I can hope…
So the big question is where is the poll asking if we like a metsblog sponsored by Geico?
PS, anyone else have the problem with the runaway scroll on this site? If I start scrolling it just keep going until the bottom, or top if I’m going the other way. I use macbookpro/firefox 3.
I’ll take the comments on this topic a bit more seriously the minute the whiners say they are willing to write Matt a check for the service he has been providing them for free for all these years…until then….
Does anyone remember the original Geico commercials?
They went like : “I am a Gecko not to be confused with Geico which can save you hundreds on car insurance, so stop calling ME!”
It also had the gecko talk about toast. I liked those the best along with the Lorne Wallace ones.
While I hope the content stays good, corporate sponsorship is a scary event. I understand that its basically a business but corporations sponsor websites to make money. I hope this does not effect the content of the website because if it does have an effect I will definately find a new Mets blog to get my information on. After all there are about a million Mets websites! lol
By the way, totally agree with the Metlife content. Wouldn’t it have been great if MetLife had bought the rights to name the new stadium? Then it would have been MetLife Stadium which we could just shorten to the Met! LOL
Good luck finding another Mets blog or website that even comes close to what we get here from Matt & crew. I hardly even go to Mets.com anymore thanks to this site. I don’t think it will matter anyway, as I don’t think this sponsorship will negatively affect the content on the site at all.
Hey everyone, I’ve got good news!!!
I just saved A BUNCH of money on my Car Insurance by switching to Geico!!!
Geico is terrible.
First, congratulations to Matt, I’m sure this’ll raise the $$ value of your enterprise. Yet second, GEICO is still a company with which, by definition, you pay money to gamble over your own fate. I hope it doesn’t interfere with objectivity, especially after the SNY pro-Mets bite out of the pie.
So where did you plant your website? Last time I checked, a thing had to be alive in order for someone to “grow” it. Hope it doesn’t grow to such a degree that it takes over the whole web.
My rant.
“independent sports blogging”
Everyone knows this site is owned (and cencored) by the Mets.
Oops, guess they won’t let me post anymore.