Monday, December 18, 2017

Conflicted

The Winter Meetings have come and gone and as the new year approaches, Mets fans have been louder than the actual team. The lack of communication and commitment to a competitive payroll has lead some fans in the direction of a boycott.

Part of me really wants to boycott. That part of me wanted a new Mets t-shirt for Hanukkah but only asked for a Red Sox hat because I've already started moving toward a boycott. That part of me is ready to yell and scream and make sure everybody knows I won't give the organization a cent until the Wilpons either commit to spending enough to field a competitive team or sell the team to someone else who will.

But a big part of me loves baseball and the Mets. I love Brandon Nimmo. I love Michael Conforto. I love Jerry Blevins and Travis d'Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki. I love most of the misfits who put on a Mets uniform. I want to watch them and cheer for them and support them.

I also just spent most of three years without baseball and I don't know if I can lose it again. Baseball is an important escape for me. I can't afford to see Broadway shows all the time and my favorite artists aren't always on tour but for half the year I can watch the Mets on TV.

I know boycotts aren't supposed to be easy but there's so much other crap in the world that I don't know if I can justify taking the one accessible escape out of my life.

I obviously want the Mets to win. I want to root for a good team. If I watch games next season, it won't be because I approve of the ownership or entire organization. I'll watch because the players don't deserve to be abandoned by their fans. I'll watch because I'd be more miserable with no baseball than with bad baseball.

I won't judge anyone for not watching and hopefully nobody will judge me for watching.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

What's The Point?

Baseball is supposed to be an escape. Most things in the world suck right now but baseball is supposed to be there to provide a level of happiness and relief from the mess.

Right now though, the Mets are just another source of frustration in my life. The Winter Meetings have barely begun and Sandy Alderson has already made it more than clear the team has no intention of improving in any way. Forget being in the mix for a big bat or starting pitcher because relief pitchers are too expensive for the Mets. Oh and don't get your hopes up about trade acquisitions because the Mets have no prospects to offer.

THE METS TRADED EVERY PLAYER WORTH A DAMN OVER THE SUMMER AND HAVE NEITHER PROSPECTS NOR PAYROLL FLEXIBILITY TO SHOW FOR IT.

The GM all but admitted that they were too broke to even entertain the idea of Giancarlo Stanton. The GM insulted angel of angels Brandon Nimmo in his sarcastic comment about the team's inaction on the reigning NL MVP. Brandon Nimmo somehow manages to find happiness while playing for the bargain bin baseball team from Queens. Brandon Nimmo's endless enthusiasm is just about the only reason I still care about this team. He was just Santa Claus at the team's holiday part for goodness sake. Brandon Nimmo would do anything for this team and he does not deserve to be the punchline of Sandy Alderson's jokes.

I could spend hours writing about Brandon Nimmo and how the world needs more Brandon Nimmos (and maybe eventually I will). But at the moment I am too angry for that kind of positivity.

I am angry at Sandy Alderson for throwing a talented young player under the bus. I am angry at Sandy Alderson for trading half the team last season for a bucket of baseballs. I am even angrier at the Wilpons for giving the Mets a shoestring budget in the biggest market in the league.

I don't know how the Wilpons are allowed to own this team. I don't know how MLB is okay with a team in New York City only being competitive once in a blue moon when everything lines up perfectly. I don't know how Mets fans are supposed to keep investing time and money in this organization.

The current state of the Mets is unacceptable.