Pages

3/24/22

Tom Brennan - It's Been a Fun Run - Thank You All


Pastor Darryl and a certain amateur writer you may know - two powerful lefties LOL


All of us old time Mets fans remember the greats and not-so-greats.

Willie Mays?  Tom Seaver?  Mickey Mantle?  Ron Swoboda?  Jesse Orosco?  

The Straw Man-turned-powerful-evangelist....and...

So, so many more.

ALL gave us wonderful moments, memorable moments.

Writing for Macks Mets for nearly a decade has been memorable for me.  In writing, I tried to find solutions, even if at times for problems no one else cared much about.  I tried to bring insight, bring levity, bring a young kid's "fan point of view", and joy to all of you who chose to read the articles, and better yet, to those who commented on them.

My favorite part of Macks Mets was interacting with Gus and Bill and Gary and Hobie and Viper and Alex and Eddie and so many others.  After all, you all probably know more about the Mets and baseball than I do.  And you also almost undoubtedly went to, and watched, a lot more Mets games and SNY highlights than I have in recent years.

And of course, I enjoyed the interactions amongst our own writers.

We certainly didn't always see eye to eye.  

And we each wrote in our own inimitable styles:

Mack and Reese being the site's two foundational and prolific writers, both of whose bodies of work I have greatly appreciated, and many other outstanding writers along the way like Remember 1969, Paul Articulates, the one and only David Rubin (the world's biggest Tom Seaver fan), Ernest Dove, Chris Soto, Ray Savage, John, and many others. 

I always enjoyed writing about guppies, subs and scrubs, the foolish Wilpons, Mets Killers, Sugar, Megill, the fragile Fab Five, how players just somehow got worse when they joined the Mets and better when they left, the ridiculous hitter-unfriendly environs, how the Mets couldn't score much at home but no one cared enough to truly fix it - and of course, Jeff McNeil and Tim Tebow.  And so many others.

I advocated for expanded rosters, more minor league pay, sensible rules in baseball, avoidance of budget-crushing long term contracts to short term players, etc.  I moaned often about the lack of home-grown Mets' offensive Hall of Famers and the Mets' paltry club offensive records (thank you, Pete Alonso, for busting the skimpy 41 HRs in a season team record by a resounding 12 long balls).

I'd write articles about what I felt prospects needed to correct, like I really knew, in hopes I could help in some minor way to fix a few of them so they could achieve their dream.  I wrote of guys who were AAA pitchers but for some unknown reason didn't want the big leagues quite badly enough to try out the knuckleball, which only made RA Dickey a multimillionaire and Cy Young winner.

Recently, I think the combination of the pandemic, players and owners who are a little too fussy for their expensive britches, and my own getting older and wanting to make up for some lost time doing other things than write about baseball suddenly caught up to me - I woke up one recent day and just felt like I'd written enough about baseball for the time being.  I am an extremely fast writer, but even so, it took a lot of time over the years that sometimes left me wondering what else I should be doing with my time left on this fine (and sometimes troubled) planet.

Maybe spend more quiet time with the Lover of My Soul, and perhaps focus more on getting back to performing at church events again.  

I regret not a second of the opportunity I have had to share some of it with you.  

Maybe if the site continues on, you'll hear back from me on some of your posts.  

God bless you, folks.  You've blessed me, and I hope I've blessed you.

And thanks, most of all, to Mack, who gave me the opportunity to see that I could write "stuff".  "What do I write about, Mack?"  "Whatever you want - as long as it is Mets." 

All health and happiness to you all.  A wise man once said, "Count it all joy."  

It's been a joy.

In the "new say never" category, though, I can never say (while the site remains open) that I won't ever drop another article out there.  But right now, as I told Shohei Ohtani, this is "sayonara."



21 comments:

  1. Thank you Tom!

    Your articles have been interesting, thought provoking, and often verbalized just what Mets fans were thinking. We can always count on several good pieces to read every week - most people don't realize how hard that is to do. I do, and it makes me appreciate your writing all the more.

    I'll miss those early articles, so maybe it's worth one more plea - would you stay if Steve Cohen promises to move the fences in at Citi Field?
    Seriously, thanks so much for all you have written. Enjoy your time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tom

    What do I say?

    You have been a trusted and loyal friend and I can't see how this site will go forward without you

    Take care Tom and enjoy both your family and your God.

    John. aka Mack

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was going to say that Tom has been an anchor but that's something that sinks. What I meant was that he was a steadfast presence that held us in place when we were often drifting off in various unchartered directions. If we pass the hat can we collect enough to buy him a sufficient quantity of adult beverages that he will forget the desire for sanity and instead return here?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tom
    My goodness this is like saying goodbye to a good best friend who I communicated with via your writings for the past 10 years.

    Your work was magnificent, entertaining, insightful and passionate. We shared a common love for a team that left us with a bond.
    I valued and respected you thoughts and opinions.
    I am saddened to hear about your departure and wish you the best in everything you do…
    Hope we celebrate a championship to crown your year
    Take care Tom

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sorry to see you go, Tom. I always enjoyed reading your take kon things. Hope things go great for you

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tom,

    I guess this goes under the heading of "All good things must come to an end".

    Thank you for your writing. I always enjoyed, even if I didn't always agree with, all your articles.

    And thank you for your support along the way as I have elbowed my way into the the Mets blogging world.

    You will be missed. I hope you will continue to comment as prolifically as you always have for whatever content we can provide.

    Best wishes in your future endeavors!

    Regards,

    aka Remember1969

    ReplyDelete
  7. Though we've never met, I feel as though I've known you well for years via your contributions here. I will miss reading your articles here. As fellow Suffolk County residents, hopefully we will see each other in "real life", and maybe attend games together at Citt or in Brooklyn.

    As Bob Dylan wrote, "goodbye is too good a word, so I'll just say 'fare thee well'".

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Tom,

    So sorry to see you go...Best of luck in all your future endeavors.

    I always enjoyed your take on any of the articles published on this site. That's probably because you were the only one who agreed with me most of the time. Thank you for bringing me into the fold.

    Your absence will be sorely missed.

    Best wishes,
    JoeP

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you all so much for the kind words. Yes, I will continue to comment. I don't expect to disappear.

    If I feel there is a burning issue, I may even do an article, but it would be few and far between.

    You guys have been great - a thoroughly fun and enjoyable experience (except when I used to try to do daily minor league updates on my train rides to the city several years ago on my tablet - now THAT was tough - but it gave me a real minors focus!)

    To those writers that remain, my suggestion for being more prolific in terms of articles is this: If you get an idea about the Mets, and think it could be an article, do it, even if short - I did some 10 minute articles over the years, and many that were 30 minutes or less The articles don't need to be War and Peace - they just need to foster discussion from readers.


    ReplyDelete
  10. We will all miss you greatly and wish you a great life ahead as you will be remembered fondly.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Tom - your common sense & practicality, your intelligence & kindness, have always been appreciated in your writing and in the way you comport yourself. It has been a pleasure and an honor to contribute to this site alongside you & to get to know you a bit over these years. As Mets fans we have all spent too many years as pin cushions, and even with a great new owner in place sometimes the best away is to walk away if only for a brief period of time or longer. You’ve been a stalwart here & we all must thank you sincerely for that, and also hope that the season will be so exciting that you won’t be able to help yourself and will come back and write the occasional piece. And who knows - maybe they will move those fences one day soon at Citifield & we will call it “The Tom Brennan Initiative!” Be well, enjoy your time, and spend it well as it is the one thing unfortunately we do not have an endless supply of- and thank you, Tom “Terrific” ( couldn’t comment without getting a Seaverism in there!!)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Tom;
    April fool day is a week away. Wish you would not pull our legs like that. Personally, I have always enjoyed your insights. You will be sorely missed. Hopefully, some of us leftover writers can step up. I'll be in Cooperstown for the HOF ceremony. If you are in the area then maybe we can get together.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Tom,

    It has been a pleasure to have exchanged comments and ideas throughout the years with you. Even though that we never met personally, I always wanted to one day walk up to you and say "Hi Tom, I'm Viper" and buy you a drink. (more like a couple). I am truly going to miss those exchanges.

    But like it happens to most of us, we get older and other things start to take priority in our lives. Personally, I am a lot more in tune with nature these days.

    All the best in your future and maybe we can still have those drinks one day.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Best of luck, and enjoy your time.

    ReplyDelete
  15. As my mariner friends would say...

    "Fair winds and following seas."

    ReplyDelete
  16. You were very good at this. Lots of Mets fans enjoyed your writing. We will miss you.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love and appreciate you all - with special honor and acknowledgment to my years-long co-anchors of renown, Mack and Reese. You guys are truly the best. I wrote for the fun of it - AND for the readers.

    Who knew when I first tried it that I'd pull a Forrest Gump - I started writing - and I just kept on running.

    My only regret is Lieutenant Dan never left a comment. LOL.

    God bless you all. You guys are the best.

    ReplyDelete
  18. God bless you Tom, and thank you isn't enough for the dedication and commitment to having an original article every single day. As someone who had to write one article a month and sometimes I felt like my topics dried up, I tip my hat to you for cranking them out everyday; every day an original article that was researched and well presented. All this had to take time, and I fully understand where you are coming from. All good things come to an end and it’s time to expend this energy on something else.

    I truly hope you can stay a commenter, even though it may hurt a little to feel the sideline isn’t your place but rather being on the field, or so to speak. That feeling will pass and the peace of knowing you made a decision from your heart will be a comfort. You can still love the site and your favorite team without having a responsibility that takes your focus from other aspects of your life.

    Best regards, and we all thank you for the vibrant and colorful articles that we enjoyed every day and always seemed to learn something each time.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Gus, much appreciated, and your comments were always thought provoking and most enjoyable. I never pretended to know it all, and you often provided a wise counterpoint. Appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mr. Brennan,
    A fellow Tom, I just want to thank you for all your efforts and enrichments. All the best to you and yours.

    TP

    ReplyDelete
  21. TP, thanks. Always enjoyed your commentary. Even though "retired", I did do an article for tomorrow AM. It was a subject that had me saying, "go ahead, write one more."

    ReplyDelete