The Mets Police

I gotta admit I’m feeling some envy this morning. Oh I’m happy for
the Yankees (I’m a New Yorker) but I kept staring at the TV last night
wondering why this never happens to us.

You kids won’t believe it but the Mets actually owned this town
twice. Once around ’69 – take a look at some late 60’s attendance
figures in the Bronx and remind yourselves you all gav up on the team
until George showed up – and again in the late 80’s when the Mets had
a gritty team (with just one Hall of Famer, right?) and the Yankees
couldn’t get out of their own way.

This current Flushing regime has beaten me down and changed me. I was
always a big proponent of the home grown team. Now I look at Mark
Teixeira and wonder why we can’t bring in a guy like that. Why are we
always bringing in a 40 year old stopgap or trying to get by with a
Shinjo or “the Japanese Greg Maddux.”. Let’s get some real gamers in
here. Where is this generation’s Ray Knight? Keith Hernandez? Bobby
Ojeda? Or to use a Yankee example, where’s our Paul O’Neil. Where is
the trade that brings a hall of famer to push it over the top like we
did that one time 23 seasons ago.

Today I read on Metsblog that the Mets aren’t interested in John
Lackey. Well, why not? Why wasn’t Manny Ramirez in left in 2009?
Watching that game last night I saw the Yankees started the winningest
pitcher of the 21st century (look it up). All-stars all around him.
They only position they were “getting by” was in right field and that
guy hit 29 home runs.

What advantages do the Yankees have that the Mets don’t? New
ballpark? Their own cable network?

I look at what I see and it seems either the Mets ownership isn’t as
smart as they think they are, or they are content to give the
impression of trying to win without going all-in. Trick the fans and
hope to get lucky.

I find myself working with Mets fans who listen to my stories of old
as if I’m making up that 1986 happened. All they know is wild-card
tiebreaker play-ins, a Subway Series loss, an increasingly meaningless
2006, and some collapses.

When does the extended good run come to Flushing? Never?

This is when I get the comments where people will say that they don’t
want to be the Yankees. That’s fine. I don’t want to be the 2009 Mets.
I don’t want meaningful games in September, I want them in November
several times in the 2010’s. It has been nearly 50 years now and we
have 2 rings. Let’s make it 5 before the next decade is out. Spend
the money.

Sent from my iPhone

I’ve never seen one of these in the wild, probably because the Mets never play in cold weather (well, except for April).

Mets Police recommendation:  if the Mets ever make the playoffs again, buy one.

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The great Phil Mushnick asks:

Before 33-year-old Giants Stadium is abandoned this January, then destroyed, and tens of thousands of longtime Jets and Giants ticket-holders are lost to PSL extortions, representatives of the teams and the NFL should provide an official answer as to why.

I’ll add on that they didn’t build a dome.   Talk about completely unnecessary stadiums….like the one in the Bronx.  There was no need for it, but like the “new” stadium (1976) it will feel like home to Yankees fans now – the “new” stadium opened with 4 pennants in 5 years, and the death of the captain.   Having a World Series in Year One will make the new place feel legit, even though I think it was unnecessary.

Main Mets Police page
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send ideas/guest columns to shannon at metspolice.com

Mets Blog reminds us Note: Anniversary of the Buckner Ball.

It’s a good recap and reminds you just how close the Mets were to not winning in 1986.  Buckner makes that out and we head to another inning and who knows what happens.  It’s romantic to think Buckner steps on first and the Sox win but the game was already tied.

I often say “if only we had blogs then…” but I would have loved ripping the Mets over the “Congratulations Red Sox” story.  That really did happen, I had friends who were at the game tell me about it the next day.   I wonder if there’s a photo of it somewhere.

Here’s a recap from Boston written in 2004.

My friend Jim the Yankees fan was going to call me to torture me once the Mets made the final out.   I was dreading the call and waiting for the phone to ring.  At school on Monday he told me he had my entire number dialed except the last digit and that my phone would have rang one second after the Mets loss.

In the middle of the night I woke up laughing at the thought that Jerry Manuel should start wearing #3 like how Girardi chose #27.  Come on Jerry, do it.