The Mets, The Wilpons, NY Fans
By Jazzmattaz
About the Wilpons: The Wilpons or "Coupons" got alot of heat because it was believed that players like Al Leiter and John Franco would run back to them and tell them everything about the team. Fred seemed to forget his team plays in a big market. The fans will come out if the team is playing well. After the 2000 season they should have signed AROD. I know the stories about what he wanted and all that other stuff. Who knows how AROD would have reacted to playing with the Mets. I know all about all his struggles with the Yankees. Mets fans wanted Vladimer Guerrero. They didn't get him. When nobody — even the Braves — was offering Glavine 4 years, Fred did. We all can't wait to get his contract off the books. Fred and his son don't know anything about baseball. They should not have any input on major baseball decisions.
I might be one of the only Mets fans who still loves Bobby Valentine. Bobby had his faults. But that team won for him every year except his last one. The Wilpons let the players dictate the firing of Valentine. That's not to say it was his time to go. But I don't think Wilpon made that decision. Now the new Mets network has made getting the best available players a priority. Fred knows he needs stars to make this go.
Omar Minaya was the right choice for the main reason he knew what was going on in the organization. He was only gone for a couple of years. I like Omar. His pitches to Pedro and Beltran both came with lots of green behind them. But he still had to convince Pedro to even consider signing with a team that lost 90 games.
I like Willie as a manager. I know the Mets don't have alot of great arms in the pen but I would like him to use the bullpen better. This is not the Bronx. We don't have a shutdown closer in his prime like Rivera.
The Mets are fine and going in the right direction. I have faith in Omar and Willie leading this team to great things in the future.
About the NY Area Baseball Fans:
It's an interesting question because the mood changes daily. New York is a front-running town. The Yankees have owned the town since 1995. However a good percentage are not "real" Yankee fans. They are front-runners. When they were 11-19 that bandwagon got real light. I started to hear more and more people saying I'm a New York fan. I like both teams. I started to see less and less Yankee gear around town. Even the real Yankee fans were starting to doubt their team. Are we too old? What's going on? Forget thet fact that Steinbrenner decided to play roto baseball with his own team. Then after beating up on the A's and Mariners for 2 weeks the chests starting popping out. We're back.
Mets fans were strutting more as well. A better approach would have been to just take the high road and just be happy and excited about the way the team is playing. I myself am cautiously optimistic. Truth is, at times us Mets fans get baited by the Yankee fans to start the whole who-is-better conversation. The tide is definitely turning. The Mets are getting better and they are still a pretty young team. The Yanks are aging and show no signs of getting younger.
