(Sorry about this one, I am working using a system where I can post via phone and this was up all day as if I wrote three paragraphs and stopped. Â The full version didn’t take….give this one another shot).
I’m really wondering about the Mets brand this morning (something that has been talked about in the blogoverse recently.)
It doesn’t exist.
In the mid 80’s there was a swagger. I think Keith Hernandez personifies it. If you throw another fastball I will punch you. Â There was a swagger. Â It was very New York.
These days most of us feel the brand should be pitching and defense. Â To do that you need pitchers.
The brand has become choking, injuries and perceived incompetence.
I hate to bring up certain other teams, but that team has one mission: Win the World Series. Â Not “meaningful games”..win the World Series. Â To do that, they understand you need pitching.
Let’s assume Omar is right and the core is back and healthy. Â That core was 4 players, down to three and already down to two. Â Say they get to October. Â Then what? Â It’s a long time between Santana starts.
I don’t want to pretend all summer that the Mets are in a wild card race.
Win. The. World. Series.
There is no bugdet. Â There is no plan. Â There is no brand.
You are so right.
The Mets brand stands for a gag order. Choking.
Front-office fumbles.
Injuries and bumbling.
Dodger Stadium East.
Bernie Madoff’s highest profile victim.
The Mets.
It’s not the loveable losers of Casey’s era.
It’s not the Amazins of Gil Hodges.
It’s not the “You Gotta Believe” of F.E. McGraw.
It’s not even “Catch the Rising Stars” on Channel 9.
I don’t even know what it is … though the Mets are aggressively trying to sell tickets on TV and radio as I write this.
Your reply was better than my article. Yep, each generation had a theme. Right now if there is one it is filled with pejoratives.
At least 28 teams view making the playoffs as a worthwhile accomplishment, so I don’t see why we have to adopt the Yankee fan mentality.
I think the Mets should have an even more modest goal in 2010 – play decent baseball, finish with a winning record and show some signs of improvement.
Maybe the Mets’ braintrust had concerns about the health of their core players and decided that this free agent class was not worth gambling on for that reason. Maybe there was a plan, and they just didn’t want to share that with us.
Let’s forget the pipe dream of “championship caliber” baseball in 2010. At least the Mets have managed to hang onto their prospects and they haven’t saddled themselves with any more Oliver Perez & Luis Castillo-level contracts.
Let’s try to enjoy what we have instead of being frustrated by what we wish we had.
I think the mentality should be to win. No it doesn’t always work out. I think the ’01 Yankees had a great year. However the mindset should be to win, not profit off two extra gates in the NLDS
Hey how about those ’99 Mets? Who cares.
You know who had a great year in 2009? The Marlins. They made more money than anyone!
As a baseball fan in the UK, I didn’t need a particularly strong reason to support a baseball team. Though the Mets are now my team, I maintain five other teams, one in each division, that I ‘root’ for. If I ever move to the States, I’ll probably cultivate a local loyalty to whatever team is closest.
So why the Mets? Seinfeld helped, as did the magical tales of Game 6 and the Buckner ball. The fact that the Mets are still chasing that elusive no-hitter, and their perceived underdog status when held against the Yankees (especially in the UK, where the Yankees’ brand is the only one that can be seen on the street). That’s the sort of thing that makes the Mets brand, and that’s the stuff that should be celebrated in Citi Field (and not diluted by a lack of continuity in uniforms etc.) For example, I’d love to see a ‘no-no-hitter’ counter in Citi, marking how many games it’s been. It might be a mark of failure, but it’s *our* mark of failure! Anyone can have good pitching – it’s takes a particular kind of skill to dodge throwing a no-hitter for nearly fifty years.
Thomas when did you become a fan? The Seinfeld effect fascinates me!
Thomas, a no no-no counter, that is brilliant. I wish I had thought of it, what better to mark the futility of the franchise.
Hey Chief, I doubt the Mets would do that, but any chance we can get one of those widget things on the site to count it up? As you mention in the post, there is NO PLAN, NO DIRECTION. Oops, check that…the plan is how can we catch lightning in a bottle? At this point in time, there are reports of the team “being close” to re-signing Tatis. Really Omar??? Are you kidding? I know you really aren’t but hey, it can’t hurt to ask. With any luck, you will close to signing Tatis, like the you were Molina & others this off season. There has to be someone else…anyone else, and if there isn’t then just let Murphy play and see if he can develop as a hitter, lord knows this team can use as many grinders as it can get. Saw this evening that there was one of those new fangled baseball stats where Jarrod Washburn actually was the best in baseball at…if your plan is to start Niese as the fifth (2-3-or 4, on this team they are interchangable), then fine, but if Fernando Nieve is the first choice, please…sign Washburn…
Finally, if Smoltz wants to be a starter, let it go, because he can’t.
The blog post and 5W30’s reply didn’t leave much to be added.
While the no-hitter counter is a brilliant idea, I’d prefer one counting the days until the aforementioned brain trust is overhauled.