Yesterday I hopped over to Mid-Town Manhattan (where miraculously  there was no snow on the ground when I left about four inches of the white stuff on my walkway in Staten Island) to attend a meeting of the Casey Stengel Chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR). It was there that I met up with Dana Brand who was one of the guest speakers at the event.

As I greeted Dana I asked him “So are you ready for pitchers and catchers” ? He gave me that look you give the dentist when he says “would you like Novocain or gas”?  Dana was not the only Mets fan in attendance that had that same queasy feeling bout the 2010 Mets season.

I never thought it could happen but the Wilpon’s have now displaced the Dolan’s of MSG as the worst owners of a NYC franchise.  I thought I despised Jeffey Skill Sets more than most but after talking to the Mets fans yesterday, I see I have competition.

By this time in the winter, as a baseball fan ,Super Bowl Sunday signals the home stretch of winter and knowing that spring training is around the corner. Usually for Mets fans we start to think of April and opening day, and opening day is usually cold. But we never cared about the cold. We wore Mets sweatshirts under our Mets jackets and figured our Mets gloves and the knit Mets hat we got last season on Fan Apprecitaion Day would shied us from the elements. We were just happy to have a ticket and a seat to root for our favorite baseball team. But from what I’ve read and heard from Mets fans this winter,  I have a feeling opening day at $iti Field will not be a hot ticket, in fact I figure the longer you hold out the better your chance to get a prime seat for below cost.

Where and when did this all go wrong? I’m starting to think the demolition of Shea Stadium will become our Curse of the Bambino, or Billy Goat.

When a team opens a new ballpark, the fan base is usually fired up about the new home and the great amenities so you’d think as Mets fans we’d be happy about all there is at $iti Field. But the more I talk to Mets fans and the more I think about it, maybe we should have stayed at Shea. Shea was a pitchers park and no one screamed to pull in it’s fences. But after one season at $tit, the cry is, “the outfield fence is too high” “the ball doesn’t carry” “the fences need to come in” what we’re really saying is “this place sucks, we want our Shea Stadium back”. Face it Mets fans we hate change and we hate $iti Field.

Now I ‘d say it’s mostly us old timey Mets fans that hate change and I know I’m of that crowd, it surprises me that I’m like that with the Mets as I embrace progress with everything else in my world. I guess I need one small part of the old world to stay with me. I still want pinstripe unis with no name on the back and blue caps with and orange NY. I want organ music instead of ear splitting pop shit, and this from a guy who still listens to Black Sabbath albums with the volume on 10 but at a baseball game I want to here the Mexican Hat dance played on a Thomas organ. I don’t want to be told to “Clap my hands” I’m not a idiot I know when to clap and when to cheer and when to say “AH SHIT!!”. I want my teams National League heritage to be displayed and educate fans of where we came from how our lineage evolved from the days of John McGraw and Mel Ott and Carl Hubble to Bobby Thomson and Willie Mays along with Zack Wheat and Joe Medwick and Dolph Camli and Jackie Ribinson and Duke Synder. NYC was always an NL town until now that the Wilpon’s let that distinction slip away and for that they should be ashamed of themselves.

Jeff Wilpon has not only surpassed Jim Dolan as the most spoil son of a rich man in NY sports but he is close to reaching M. Donald Grant status as a franchise killer. But we shouldn’t put the blame all on young Jeffey, I put  90% of the fiasco that is now the NY Mets on Fred Wilpon. Freddy has the power to tell sonny boy, “I’m sorry but you are in way over your head here my boy, it’s time for me to find a real baseball man to run this franchise and bring it back to respectability and to being a championship baseball team”. If Fred Wilpon does not step up and do what is right for the NY Mets franchise, he will become as hated here as much as Walter O’Malley. The only difference is Mets fans might be wishing he move himself and team someplace else.

I took to the keyboard late today because after the morning chores, I sat down to watch Rangers in 60 on MSG. Yes that’s right I watched the Ranger-Bruins exhibition game from last night and after months of hardship watching the Mets it was good to watch young strong hockey players bust their ass to make a team where the coach is on the lunatic fringe and will only play the guys who give a shit and perform no matter their salary or experience. The exact opposite of how the Mets are managed you might say.

I would have ventured over to 33 st and 8 Ave last night to view the Blueshirts in person but I chose to go to Amazin Tuesday at Two Boots last night and I’m so happy I did. Our Master of Ceremonies Greg Prince did a fine job as usual as did the guest speakers, John Coppinger, Jon Springer , and Jeff Pearlman who told some terrific stories especially on his writing The Bad Guys Won and more tales from the John Rocker Files.

As each of the speakers got up to give their dissertation the TV screens around Two Boots were showing the Mets-Braves game from The Ted. For all our screaming and yelling about the suckyness of our Mets each person in the good size crowd had an eye and two ears on the speakers and one eye on the game, We can say we don’t care but we’re full of shit. We care, oh boy do we care!!!!!!

By the way someday I want Daniel Murphy to meet me and thank me for having his back.

Pedro Feliciano wants a multi-year deal from the Mets. This is the equivalent of your house burning down to the ground and when trying to figure out how to rebuild it your main concern is what type of door knobs to buy. Pedro, on the list of things to do your contract is not any where near the discussion phase.

Although his walk rate and his all round zaniness would concern me, if the Cubs were to take Oliver Perez and say Eddie Kunz for Carlos Zambrano, the Mets would have to make that deal. Zambrano may be nuts but he is effective when he healthy and motivated and coming to NY and tag teamed with fellow Venezuelan Johan Santana might just bring out the best in El Loco.