Times on Los Mets

The Times touched the third rail of Mets blogging so I’m going to lean over and stare.

Imagine if I one day decided to write the below:

If Minaya is reassigned, replaced or dismissed, it could also signal the end of the Los Mets era he started six years ago.

“We don’t know what will happen, but if he leaves, it could be a big change,” said Pedro Feliciano, a relief pitcher from Puerto Rico who was with the Mets before Minaya took over as general manager. “Ever since he took over, this has been Los Mets. He got a lot of Latin guys through free agency and trades, and people were really into it.”

My article would not go over well and I might even be called racist.  If I called WFAN and said the exact same thing I’d be hung up on in five seconds.

The Times breaks down the “Los Mets” thing well.

It discusses the 2004 player acquisitions who were good players to acquire.

The article discussed the breakdown of the roster over the years.

But equally as fair are the opinions that some members of the fanbase have and had.

All I can do is speak for my personal feelings:

That first year, yeah I did kind of feel like the Mets were marketing differently, and it wasn’t toward me.    It felt the way others might if I rolled out the 2011 Mets and dressed them up with green uniforms a few times, made Murphy the first baseman, and let me tell you Mike O’Connor did a heckuva job at Buffalo in 2010 (5-2 2.67 out of the bullpen).   He’ll be a big part of this team next year.

Denis Leary is going to call season ticket holders to see if they want to renew, and Dropkick Murphys has agreed to play the national anthem on Opening Day.  Let me turn it over to our new sponsor, Guiness.

Maybe those are all good moves and might even make marketing sense…maybe some of you would think I was trying to Irish up the team.

Similarly in the Valentine days I felt the Mets were going out of their way to outsmart everyone by signing Japanese players.  Long time readers remember that I’m not a fan of Shinjo nor “the Japanese Greg Maddux” who we were told was Greg Maddux on the cheap.  Well except for the wins and those Cy Youngs.  Instead of getting the real deal I felt like the organization wanted Japanese players.   It’s a lot harder to write ニューヨークメッツ than “Los Mets” so maybe it didn’t catch on.   Maybe the McMets will.

Do I think Omar had a master plan to “Los” up the place?  Nope.  I think he acquired some players and got a little enthusiastic about it and he annoyed some people, myself included.

I think the vast majority of Mets fans (again me included) want the best 25 guys out there.

How you package it is another story.

Not McMets, Los Mets, ニューヨークメッツ or any other kind of Mets.

New York Mets.

I’m a kid from Queens.  This is my team.

I’m glad the Times wrote about it.

via Braves 6, Mets 4 – Omar Minaya’s Fate Could Affect Mets’ Ties to Latin Culture – NYTimes.com.