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Our Long Disgraceful Season Is Over


I have been a Mets fan since I was a kid. There are a couple of factors that I have expressed that made me a fan of this schizophrenic organization. One was an anti-Cub bias, another was a
fan of a player who became a Met. I'm not even sure at this point. We have been ass-ugly through the years (as opposed to Cubs who have simply been mediocre). We have at certain points been amazingly good, too. I have enjoyed 4 World Series ('69, '73, '86, and '00), but for the most part we have endured last place or close to last place finishes. The past 3 years have just about broke my spirit. Ahead by 7 games in September and losing out in '07 (worst choke in baseball history).


CHOKE '07

"No team holding a seven game lead with only 17 games to play ever failed to win their division. The Mets chose to change that by firmly grasping their collective throats and squeezing. They would go on a tear and proceed to lose 12 of those last 17 games."


CHOKE '08

"NEW YORK -- As Carlos Beltran prepared to exit the clubhouse at Shea Stadium late yesterday afternoon, he spotted Pedro Martinez. The two embraced and Beltran sunk his head into Martinez's shoulder, tears welling in his eyes.
The end of the Mets' season was full of emotional vignettes as players struggled to explain the biggest question surrounding this team: How could this have happened a second year in a row? Once again, just as they did a year ago, the Mets missed out on a playoff berth on the final day of their regular season."


COLLAPSE OF '09

"Projected by at least one national publication to win the World Series, the Mets instead finished in fourth place in the National League East, with their worst record since 2003. Injuries decimated the club, with Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes not playing after May, and Carlos Beltran, John Maine and Oliver Perez missing significant chunks of the season.
The Mets had the league's highest payroll at roughly $140 million, and they clear $30 million off the books this off season. Still, with diminished enthusiasm inevitably leading to lower ticket sales this winter, the payroll is projected to decrease, leaving front-office officials with a challenge in retooling the roster."


WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR 2010


1. New stadium Citi Field has been a bonanza for pitchers, but a dark hole for hitters. Bring in the fences or move home plate so hitting becomes more of a factor. This will help the offense and encourage batters to sign with us.


2. Redo organization. There is a systemic stink with the Mets. Clean house and get back to basics. Instructors, trainers and scouts must be top-notch. Rob others teams' personnel with great contracts and throw out what isn't working.


3. Find good 1st baseman, left fielder, and catcher, and a pitching staff to complement ace Johan.
We need a very good #2, a good #3, a fair #4 and maybe a promising rookie #5.

4. Go with hungry youth. No more over-the-hill overpaid mega stores. Look at the Rays, Marlins, Twins, Dodgers, and Rockies for templates for signing key free agents and trading for younger players.

5. Gut farm and re-stock.

6. Get rid of Omar Minaya (GM) and Jerry Manuel (Mgr). They have had their chance and failed.

7. Scrap Mr. Met. This is a major league baseball team. Scrap the mascot. Put a great product on the field and forget the fuzzy-wuzzy crap. You don't see any hairy bear with funny eyes and a long tongue roaming the tops of dugouts and stands trying to get fans excited in Wrigley Field. You don't see it at Yankee Stadium. You don't see it at Fenway or Busch Stadium. What's that? You do? Oh, sorry, yeah I guess you do at Fenway and Busch Stadium. Well, anyway, Mr. Met comes across as a hydrocephalic escapee from the Willard Asylum for the Insane.

8. Trade Reyes. Headcase and injury prone.

9. Re-name Citi Field. Citi is one of the banking bad guys that were instrumental in the housing collapse and economic turmoil that began in October 2008. To hell with their money to buy naming rights that correlates to TARP money bailouts which is actually OUR money. Ideas: Robinson Field (after Jackie, the first black major league baseball player, who happened to have played for the Brooklyn Dodgers) or Flushing Field, which would serve as both a noun and an adjective for our team.

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