The Mets Police

OK so he didn’t use those words exactly. Here is what Ron Santo said yesterday after not being selected by the Veterans Committee:

”It’s a travesty,” Santo said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. ”When I saw nobody got in again, I go, ‘Whoa, this is wrong.’ They can’t keep going the way they’re going. They’ve got to put a [different] committee out there. It’ll be eight years now that they’ve voted and not let anybody in.”

So according to Mr. Santo, the Veterans Committee should always be putting people in. Quantity over quality.

Does Santo realized who makes up the current committee? It’s all the living Hall of Famers! So he just insulted the very group that he wants to belong to!

Hey Ron, nowhere does it say that the Hall of Fame has to put anyone in if they don’t think they were qualified. And clearly the BBWAA and the current Hall of Fame members do not think you are qualified.

www.metspolice.com

As K-Rod gets ready to join the losing tradition in Flushing, there are a few things both he and Mets fans need to know about each other:

To K-Rod:

1.  Lose the nickname. The nickname K-Rod will bring you nothing but grief.

First of all there’s not a single K in your name, so it’s plain dopey to begin with.

Second, it makes me think of A-Rod, and in this town that’s a really bad thing. If you suck people will compare him to the bad A-Rod. You’ll hear about how much money “this guy” makes and you’ll hear cracks about “at least A-Rod bangs Madonna.”. If you’re good you’ll get compared to the A-Rod that wins MVPs (and 2009 is an odd numbered year).  You won’t be able to live up to that.  Nobody will care about 63 saves.

Third, it makes me think of Dr. K. Dwight Gooden.    I lived through 1985 when Gooden was the best ever for one year. Unless you plans on striking out the side on 9 pitches every time, Mr. Rodriguez you would do well to find another name.
When you have your press conference (and hold up your shiny new white-with-pinstripes-no-black Mets uniform) let everyone know that “K-Rod” was a creation of the media or your ex-teammates but you prefer to be called Francisco.

2.  You are going to get booed.  You can bank on it.  You might even get booed that first day at Corporate Taxpayer Bailout Field.   (Reminder to everyone not to use the sponsor name.)   As soon as you walk one guy or give up one bloop single it will start.   Bring a thick skin or don’t come.

3.  You will have the spotlight for exactly one day.  The second the Mets sign you, the Yankees will throw another bazillion dollars at Sabathia so they can regain the back page.   The Yankees like the back page.   If you come to Flushing you are coming to the little brothers.  You’re coming to the Clippers.   You’re coming to the Jets.   You’re coming to, well, the Angels – get used to being overshadowed when times are good and attacked when things are bad.

To Mets Fans:

4.  Shut up.   Omar went out and got the best guy. The Mets needed a closer, Omar went out and got the guy with the saves record.  The guy Omar got isn’t 40 years old (for once), he’s in his prime. What else do you want Omar to do?  There should be no self-righteous blogging from metspolice.com if this one doesn’t work out.

5.  He is going to make lots of money.   He’s going to make more money in one inning than you will all year. When you can strike guys out the Mets will give money to you. Until then let it go and don’t worry about it. The Mets have plenty of federal bailout taxpayer money to spend.

6.   This one is really really important for Mets fans to understand.   He puts guys on. Last year he put on 1.29 guys per inning.   Those are John Franco like stats.    He’s not going to strike out the side every time.  Expect a few guys on-base. Be ready for it and don’t start booing on April 13th just because you’re cold at the bad-decision-by-the-Mets nighttime home opener.

To Omar Minaya:

7.  Omar you’re not done. The bullpen still sucks. Go see if Wood or Hoffman would care to pitch the 8th.  You still need two corner outfielders, a second baseman, a catcher, and oh yeah three-fifths of a rotation.   You still have federal bailout money left, go spend it.

www.metspolice.com

The Veteran’s Committee made their selection yesterday.
They selected a guy named Joe who

• Was an All-Star 2B
• A former MVP
• A manager of several teams
• Once wore a Yankee uniform

The problem was his last name was not Torre.

As I said yesterday, there was no valid reason for the Veterans Committee – either the pre-1943 group or the post-1942 group – to select anyone. The Hall of Fame has been watered down so many times by various committees over the years. Joe Gordon furthers that decline.

However, if there is anyone whose selection yesterday would not have brought down the quality inside the halls of Cooperstown it is Joe Torre. Torre was a borderline candidate as a player. Factor in his managerial career and his total contribution to the game merits him a plaque.

Him….not Gordon.

www.metspolice.com

The Hall of Fame Veteran’s Committee announces the results of their latest voting today. Popular sentiment would have this new incarnation of the committee select Ron Santo and Gil Hodges for enshrinement.

As a Brooklyn native it’s almost sacrilege for me to say this, but I really hope Hodges (or any of the rest) do not get in.

Over the years the Veteran’s Committee has consistently watered down the Hall of Fame, sometimes to ridiculous extremes.

Hodges and Santo (and Allen, Kaat, etc.) were all very good players. And each of them had a chance to be elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA for 15 years. They all had up to 15 chances to get in – and none of then got in. The best Hodges ever did was 63.4% in his final year; Santo didn’t even do that well, breaking 40% only once (also in his last year).

A Hall of Famer should not need over 15 chances to be enshrined.

www.metspolice.com