With the holidays coming to a close, the annual tradition of evaluating our lives and resolving to make them better has begun. Of course, I am referring to New Year’s resolutions. While on a personal level, this can be an important step, we never seem to make a resolution as sports fans. Why wouldn’t we strive to improve our fanhood? In the New York Mets, we have a team that has more potential talent in the minors than actual proven talent in the majors. As fans, we have been clamoring for years for this team to get better. While it has taken time, and will take some more time as well, the future is better than the present. With this in mind, here are three resolutions that we, as Mets fans, should be making to our team and ourselves for 2013.
3. Be Supportive – For years, we have heard fans scream about the Wilpons and voice their displeasure for the product provided on the field. Many of those fans have claimed that they are or will boycott games. Why? Does that help the players currently on the roster? I never understood this perspective. Sure, it is a little less money in the Mets’ pockets, but it’s more like cutting off our own nose just to spite our face. We want the team to spend. We want them to be successful. That takes money. The less they make, they less they spend.
While it’s true that season ticket sales numbers are mainly predictable early in the season when the team knows how many are sold, the individual ticket sales still have an impact on the team. The most important impact that I can think of is to that of the players. How do you think David Wright feels when he looks out and sees a whopping 13,000+ in the stands? Or Johan Santana taking the mound to a roaring crowd of 15,000+ on a weekend start? Makes you wonder how they do well at their job at all.
And I don’t buy into the argument that they get paid well and the money is motivation enough. If that was true, Alex Rodriguez would be a 15 time World Series MVP. The crowd matters. Momentum and positive energy matters. Show up to Citi Field. Make some noise. Be supportive of those players that DID sign with the Mets. They’ll show more heart when the fans do.
2. Be Optimistic – A few years ago, the Mets were a laughing stock of not just all of baseball, but all of sports. It wasn’t too long ago: the Madoff scandal, the Omar Minaya debacles (plural because there are so many to choose from) and no talent in the system at all. In just a few short years, Sandy Alderson has changed all of that. While the tangible product has not shown immediate success, there are many reasons to be positive going forward. One, they have not overspent on the free agent market for talent. Two, they have drafted wisely. Three, they have traded their aging stars at the pinnacle of their trade value for higher value than anticipated in return. As a result of these, they are younger and smarter as an organization.
This is all due to Sandy Alderson. While it was not a popular choice to let MLB Commissioner Bud Selig hand pick our new GM, it has been a breath of fresh air. He is no nonsense and knows how to build a winner long-term. First, at this present time, we no longer have Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, Jason Bay, Francisco Rodriguez or Jose Reyes (just to name a few) and all of their enormous contracts. While we miss the talent (sometimes), we all can admit that they are better off now without these deals weighing them down.
Next, did anyone think the Mets would get Brandon Nimmo and Michael Fulmer in the draft? Both will be sure MLB talent in the next few years. For every Nimmo and Fulmer, however, there are a dozen others the Mets have drafted that have just as good of a chance to make it to the show. They may not make it as All Stars or five-tool studs, but they are just as important to a team succeeding. I am talking about role players, bullpen pitchers, etc. How many teams have had major success without these types? None. They are a necessity and that is what you truly use to build your team.
Finally, Did anyone really think the San Francisco Giants would trade their highest pitching chip for Carlos Beltran? At the time, no one did. Alderson did. And he didn’t stop until he got Zack Wheeler to pair with Matt Harvey for the future. Did anyone think he could trade R.A. Dickey (at his highest point) with Josh Thole and get not one, but two major prospects, a solid middle tier prospect and an MLB catcher in return? After seeing the Beltran deal, we should have, but I am sure no one saw that coming either.
The point is, the Mets are now in a position where they recognize the talent they have and lock it up (see David Wright or Jon Neise) or deal it for younger talent when they feel the time is just right. They have not been in this position for a very, very long time. It’s all due to the plan that Sandy Alderson and his team have set forth. It will pay dividends. Which brings me to my final resolution.
1. Be Patient – It’s easy to cheer for a winning team that spends $200 Million every year. It’s a far different level of true fandom to cheer for a team like the Mets. They are more like the common person. They have made mistake after mistake after mistake but they still keep fighting. They still keep trying. Sometimes they learn from their mistakes, sometimes they have to repeat them. Lately, they have learned. It’s not easy to see a team that has more talent waiting to be groomed than what is actually groomed. It’s even more difficult to see that team and not get upset over the current product.
However, when deciphering the Mets, we have to see the bigger picture. We have to realize that they are building something that can last for years. This is how Atlanta did it in the 90’s. This is how the A’s did it in the late 80’s. They built long-term by trading away talent and grooming youth properly with precise timing. To do so, it takes a very patient management and an even more patient fan base. The Mets are almost there. They are just a year or so away from seeing the majority of their top-tier talent making their MLB debuts. If you thought Matt Harvey debuting was terrific, imagine going through that another half a dozen times or so within the next two years.
That is the reality of the Mets these days. There is hope. Hope doesn’t always come instantaneously. In fact, it never does. Anything that is worth it takes time. Let’s just resolve to sit back and enjoy the growth this season with high hopes in anticipation for enjoying the future of this team. Success is coming!! Happy New Year readers!!
… what can I say? I think you covered it all. We have definitely taken one step back on the path forward, but it was a measured step back. I think that’s significant.
The pieces are coming into place. We can be a team that goes from around 69-72 wins to around 98 wins in just two years. We can be the Nationals. We just can’t be there this year.
I agree that people should be supportive of the Mets. One thing that we should all do is try to seperate “The Mets” from “The Wilpons”. When i go to games, i don’t think that my money is going to help the Wilpons keep the Mets, i’m thinking about supporting and rooting for my favorite team. Venting at the owners is for a different time and place.
I think you’re totally right about the crowds acting as motivation too. If you’re an established player who already got his big payday and the team has (supposedly) nothing to play for and if there’s no crowd on hand, they probably have very little reason to play hard.
Be Suppotive.
Be Optimistic.
Be Patient.
Wow, Frank. You’re asking for a lot!
To all the writers and readers of Mets360——Have a Happy New Year !
How does one voice their displeasure in New York? Usually its with their wallets. Second you can be supportive of the Mets and still send THE MESSAGE to the Wilpons. Watching the games on television and choosing not to go to Citifield doesn’t make you any less a fan of the team. Jose Reyes did not have an ENORMOUS contract and came from the farm system. It’s not fair to group him with the free agent signings of Omar Minaya. Jose was never offered a new contract so why didn’t Sandy just trade him and get something in return? Every General Manager has his good and bad trades. At the very least Omar changed the attitude of free agents wanting to come here when he signed Pedro Martinez. Finally the one thing we all have in common here is that we only want one thing and that is for the Mets to be successful. They don’t have to win 100 games to do that. So patience will be the New Year’s resolution I will strive to keep.
Pete, thank you for chiming in with your thought. The reason I included Reyes to that list of enormous contracts is because had we poured money into him, like EVERY Mets fan wanted, we would be seeing a very different financial situation than we are in now. We have more flexibility and potential for flexibility in the next few years as opposed to being tied into three or four large contracts like in the Steve Phillips or Omar Minaya eras.
Also, in case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance, you haven’t (sorry, had a Major League moment there, the Wilpons hear the fans at the games more noticeably than from in front of our televisions. Just a thought. Thank you again and Happy New Year!! Let’s go Mets go!!!
Frank it is great to be optimistic but your grouping of Reyes with the other guys is ridiculous. Are we never suppose to retain our best players when their paydays come? Would we not have more flexibility w/o david wrights bloated deal?? why the difference. Reyes wanted to be here just as much as Wright and would be if he had received a market offer just as Wright did. And if David needs to have all these fans to soothe him in the park paying for overpriced tickets to see subpar baseball then we made a big mistake signing him. We all want the Mets to be good but lets not anoint our current management group as saviors yet. They have shown little aptitude in acquiring cheap major league talent with almost all acquisitions being busts. In fact other than tearing down any remaining value to acquire “potential ” players for the future , we have seen very little. We are already missed in their first draft, passing up Jose Fernandez to get Nimmo who has shown very little so far.
lets go Mets but lets also not be Wilpon stooges. Asking people to buy tickets to watch this declining team as these guys raise prices every year is insulting.
I agree very much with your article Frank. Anything worth having is worth working for. The work we fans have to do now is be supportive, optimistic, and patient. Well written my friend.
Thank you very much Brian. It’s a work in progress. Also, thank you for the Calvin and Hobbes pic. They are my favorite comic!! You rock!! Happy New Year my friend.
I like the positive approach, and continue to try and be optimistic for the long term.
Happy New Year to the crew at Mets360…and to the Mets!
LGM!
Chris
Also give credit to the scouts and the person who drafted Reuben Tejada and Ike Davis which gave the Mets the flexibility to allow Reyes and Delgado to move on.
Wonderful piece, Frank. Welcome aboard!
Look Ive been a diehard Mets fan now for over 40 years the way I look at it is ,Yes us fans should always support the team.. But here’s the thing let ownership at least make a little effort to get the fans back in the seats, I will always love the Mets not bad for a kid who grow up in the Bronx !!
Very well said..and I agree 100%..Thank you for the wonderful article
You must be related to the wilpons, do I want to go back to games YES!! my 1st game was at the Polo Grounds so I hope you know I am a loyal fan, but I refuse to give them any of my money, what happened to the share money that they got any go back into the team for players NO!! I will be fan for life because they are my team but I am not a wilpon supporter they can’t sell the team fast enough I do feel sorry for the guys because the owners stink and people don’t want to come out, if they cared about us they would go get Mike Bourne so we could start to believe again, and by the way for now I go to more cyclones games so I am optimistic and follow all the minor league teams because THIS IS MY TEAM!
Hey Ike,
I fell your pain. I believe that there are a whole lot of us who remain loyal to the team while despising the ownership.
The Wilpons, abetted by Bud, are guilty of betraying the Mets fans. I’d like to believe that all sports fans deserve
owners who are passionate and have the financial ability to field competitive teams.
I’d like to believe that all sports fans deserve to see games (and food and apparrel) that aren’t ridiculously priced like they are right now.
Thank you, good common sense . A true Mets fans want to see players we see grow up, not bought
I agree with most of what you said, except for putting people in seats. They just gave away the biggest draw they had in years. Where’s the logic in that? And for what? We’ll just have wait and see what comes from the two terrific prospects we got in return. My prediction NOTHING will come of them.