After a baseball lifetime of being around them at Shea Stadium, Citi Field and Port St. Lucie, here is what Mets fans want.
They want their ball club to stop being a punchline.They don’t want the Mets constantly compared to the Yankees.
They want consistent winning.
They want World Championships for Mets fans who are younger than 34 years old.
They want to keep the top young talent they draft like outfielder Jarred Kelenic, who was sent away to the Mariners in a trade that doomed the Brodie Van Wagenen Era the moment it was made.
They want their ballpark, Citi Field, to honor their team, immediately, and not be a shrine to the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Tom Seaver statue can’t come fast enough.
They want to be free and clear of the Wilpons, which has happened, but this is important too, they want to be done with the Wilpons from a mental standpoint as well. That has yet to happen. That will take time and spending money and winning games.
They want to be able to sign big-name free agents and key pieces as well but they don’t want it to be just buying a championship, they are too invested in young players who come up through the system. That is half the fun of being a fan.
They don’t want to waste anymore Cy Young years from Jacob deGrom, two have already been sent down the drain.
They want to build such a productive farm system that they can go out and trade for a Mookie Betts-like talent in a once in a generation deal, then sign that star to a forever contract.
They want Mets baseball to be fun again.
Most of all they want Mets pride back.
All that is a lot to ask but as far as first impressions go, new owner Steve Cohen essentially addressed each and every one of those wants, needs and dreams in his initial press Mets conference Tuesday.
Before we get to Cohen, though, let’s look at Sandy Alderson, who has returned to run the show for Cohen. Interesting that Cohen’s $14 billion is based in his business Point72 and that Alderson at 72 years of age has a new lease on his baseball life as Cohen’s baseball man. Symmetry.
I came away from that Zoom press conference thinking: You know who Alderson reminded me of after his 45-minutes of talking?
Sandy was Ebenezer Scrooge … on Christmas morning. He was positively giddy.
It was plain to see that Alderson had baseball life pumped back into his veins. He was ecstatic, humorous and ready to roll. That told me more about Steve Cohen than anything else.
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I'm turned off by anyone who thinks they can write about what "Mets fans" want as if we were all the same person, unified in thought, and in total agreement with the writer.
ReplyDeleteSome of the stuff I agree with, some I don't -- at all.
It's a lazy trope that doesn't make a lot of sense.
I'm a Mets fan and you are not speaking for me.
Jimmy
Jimmy - your comments are always welcome.
ReplyDeletePlease tell what are some of the things you would like as Mets Fan?
I guess I must be the generic Mets fan; this article pretty much sums it up for me.
ReplyDeleteMy only comment is I hope he is not referring to Francisco Lindor with his 'ability to make a once in a generation deal. I would qualify that statement with the additional "to meet a critcal hole or need".
John, regarding your comment/question:
ReplyDeleteI think I've been fairly active and open in the comment about MY thoughts on the Mets.
I want them to compete, to try to win, which is one of the reasons why I found Brodie so refreshing after a lost decade (the second worst in Mets history?).
Why I commented here was that I think it's totally presumptuous and borderline idiotic for any writer to assume they speak for "Mets fans" and what we want. Anyone who has spent time reading comments and swapping ideas on Mets blogs has to realize that "we" will never be a monolithic entity, thinking in lockstep. I honestly think a lot of people are ill-informed or . . . well, nevermind.
Two things in the piece that instantly annoyed me:
1) I don't mind trading prospects. Especially in today's world, where everyone over-values all prospects, it is arguably the new market inefficiency.
2) I'm always annoyed the Yankee fixation that so many Mets fans have, the ugly-stepsister syndrome, overflowing of whine made from sour grapes. Steinbrenner came in and understood the NY market, understood how to build a brand and a business. It's why it was so frustrating to watch the Wilpons squander the opportunity of running a sports franchise in the biggest market in America.
Jimmy
Thanks Jimmy. Lots of good points as always.
ReplyDeleteOn the prospects, it is not just trading them but trading and acquiring the right ones. The Frank Cashen/Joe Mac team had the knack to sell high and bring back the right ones for a number of years. They traded Stanley Jefferson and Shawn Abner who I both thought were going to be good - they did not pan out. They picked up Ron Darling and Sid Fernandez who were centerpieces of their rotation for years.
I think Brodie gave away way to many prospects for nothing - Jordan Humphreys for Billy Hamilton who they could have picked up as a minor league free agent the year the winter before. Trading 100 MPH pitcher Neraldo Catalina for Wilmer Font who was released after about a month. Maybe they will never turn out, but they were clearly bad trades.
It is funny how beat writers pick up a narrative and they all run with it. "The New Mets Culture", "Mets fans are happy".