Since when did the Mets become such a despised baseball team?

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 23, 2008 3:20 PM EST Comment 37 comments

Today, ESPN's Bob Klapisch writes on why everyone else in the league will dislike the New York Mets even more so due to the addition of super celebratory reliever, Francisco Rodriguez. See link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove08/columns/story?columnist=klapisch_bob&id=3778394

To be quite honest, I always thought that the New York Yankees were the most hated team in baseball due to their free wheeling ways when it came to spending their money. Buying up some of the most talented names in baseball and as a result, winning a number of championships and at a minimum, being a contender for the playoffs I always assumed that the Mets were second fiddle in New York and if there was any team to be hated, it was those "Damn Yankees".

I do understand that there is a current and passionate dislike between the "Phitin' Fudgesicles" and the Mets. And back in the 90's there was a real animosity between us and the Braves. But since when did we become such a despised baseball team around the league? I've watched a number of Mets games live and on t.v. since 1997 and I don't remember a lot of arrogant behavior. Sure, we had a little episode with a fella by the name of Lastings, but come on.

In closing, I've had it up to here with this notion that; 'Celebrating on the field in baseball is poor manners.' Pardon me? In what sport do players NOT celebrate? Klapisch says that Jose Reyes high fives teammates outside the dugout. So what! Derek Jeter is always manning his post at the top of the dugout every time someone jacks a home run. I don't see the big deal.

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it's a New York thing

It comes with the territory of being a team with big bucks from the big city. Don’t worry too much about it. Nobody bothers to hate teams like the Reds.

And yes, the Yankees are generally more hated than the Mets, or any other team in baseball.

Vote change: DePodesta/Acta in 2009!!!

by Greenpoint Ian on Dec 23, 2008 4:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Speaking of big bucks

In order to keep up w/the ~~Jones’~~ Yankees, in light of today’s signing of Teixeira, how would you (or anyone else opining) feel about acquiring Manny? The Yankees have once again raised in this poker game that is free agency. Should we “see” that raise w/a Manny bet? Can the Mets play in this high stakes game?

SS – Reyes
2B – Murphy / Castillo (platooning)
3B – Wright
LF – M. Ramirez
CF – Beltran
1B – Delgado
RF – Church
C – Schneider / Cancel / Castro (platooning)
P – …

Any takers?

" When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? " - John Meynard Keynes

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 23, 2008 5:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I feel the same way about Manny that I did all along

I’d take him for two years at a large salary (the $25M number that has been mentioned seems excessive but that’s the cost of doing business I suppose), or maybe three, but if he wants four years he can get it elsewhere.

In any case there are other free agent bats that could still improve the Mets’ lineup but cost less than Manny and leave more money available for the rotation, other relievers, a 2B or a C, etc.

by JoshNY on Dec 23, 2008 5:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I feel ya

I think w/the signing of “TEX”, the rest of the free agents are gonna start getting signed. Looking forward to seeing what the next step is for Minaya & Co.

" When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? " - John Meynard Keynes

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 23, 2008 5:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

To hell with what the Yankees are doing

We really shouldn’t worry about getting into an arms race with the Yankees. We get Santana and Frankie Rodriguez, they sign CC and Burnett. They sign Texiera, we sign Manny (hypothetically). Who cares? Forget about battling for the back pages, and let’s just put the better team on the field.

Besides, I’d rather get Adam Dunn. It’s not the sexy, headline-getting signing, but it’s what we should do.

by BobbyV_Incognito on Dec 23, 2008 6:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

LOL!

Bobby V, you’re sexy!

" When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? " - John Meynard Keynes

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 23, 2008 7:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

plus

we’ve got dwright and jose. theres nothing they can do to match that.

by robcast23 on Dec 27, 2008 11:07 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

yikes

"K-Rod’s celebrating profile will be layered atop Jose Reyes’ customized high-fiving after scoring an important run in a big game — outside the dugout. Such gloating, which has been part of the Mets’ legacy since the ’80s, has been steadily irritating opponents for the past four years.

But unlike the 1986 club, as arrogant as it was successful, the latter-day Mets have collapsed in the past two Septembers — choked, just as Hamels says. They’ve yet to win a pennant since the miniature renaissance began in 2006, despite an influx of marquee talent and the ballooning of the payroll over $130 million. "

Just seems like a lot of baseball-chiche-BS.

To go on and say things like the Marlins were “were paying the Mets back for their showboating sins” – ew. That’s just bad.

Who's world is it? It's yours.

by BlackOps on Dec 23, 2008 5:16 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I’m an avid Red Sox fan, but I definitely don’t hate the Mets….I don’t even have a dog in the race seeing as you are in the NL. My best friend is the biggest Mets fan so I’ve gotten to where I find myself interested in what the Mets are doing as well as watching a few games here and there.

Honestly though, I’m really hoping that you guys sign Manny and we get D-Lowe. I wouldn’t see this offseason as a bust for us then. Good luck in the season though!!

Hopefully it’s Mets vs. Red Sox in ’09!!!!!!

by Brad West on Dec 23, 2008 7:16 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

And the whole Yankees/Teixeira thing...

I hope he breaks his finger signing the contract and their new stadium falls in.

by Brad West on Dec 23, 2008 7:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I love this

Ooooooooooo nooooo! The other teams don’t like us?

That’s awesome. I love it. I’m glad the Marlins try harder against us. I love that Phillies and Yanks fans hate our players. The Yanks are a bunch of stiffs and they always have been since Torre took the helm. That’s not a bad thing (championships = good), but as a Mets fan, I want my team to be as different from that as possible. I liked Willie when he was with us, but he wasn’t a great fit for the personality of this team. Jerry is a good fit. How do I know? Because Michael Kay can’t stand the guy. I remember driving home one day and listening on the radio listening to Kay berate Manuel saying how inappropriate the use of the word “gangster” was. “An adult man should not be using that word.” I laughed out loud. I love having a manager who is actually in touch with hip-hop culture. Why? Because the Yankees would NEVER EVER EVER hire Manuel. They wouldn’t touch him with a 40-foot pole. Valentine was the same way. Think he could have gotten away with his duggout disguise trick with the Yankees? NO WAY. They would say its an insult to the game and fire him. I loved Milledge high fiving the fans. I love the duggout high-five/dance routines. I will love K-rod acting like a complete douche on the mound after saving a 6-3 game in May over the Nationals. I love the freaking Mets.

One more thing: Rivera is a hipocrite. He shares a locker room with Joba.

BTW I love Joba. I hope he steps out of line (ie: pumps his fist too hard after striking someone out) so they trade him to us.

by apy5000 on Dec 24, 2008 11:57 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

+1

agreed. i hope people hate us. makes it even better when we stomp them.

by robcast23 on Dec 24, 2008 12:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Interesting take on things.

" When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? " - John Meynard Keynes

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 24, 2008 6:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He Hate Me

Competitors thrive on being hated. Hopefully our guys we’ll do the same. For somebody who still competed until his tragic accident, Klapisch sure writes a lot of overly sensitive BS.

There have been core’s in our past (80’s) and many others throughout baseball who took a few years to get a championship. Hopefully that’s our 2009 Mets.

by whynot on Dec 25, 2008 11:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

by SQUAD on Dec 29, 2008 2:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Since they've been acting like a NY team

1. singing Beltran
2. signing Pedro
3. trading for Delgado
4. signing Wagner
5. trading for Johan Santana
6. signing K-Rod
7. trading for Putz

Any team that spends a lot of money is going to be hated.

by acerimusdux on Dec 24, 2008 12:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'm a Titans fan

and I’ll stomp on this terrible towel all day long

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on Dec 24, 2008 2:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I have no idea what that has to do with this thread

…But yes, I like that as well.

" When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? " - John Meynard Keynes

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 24, 2008 6:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Edit

“liked”

" When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? " - John Meynard Keynes

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 24, 2008 6:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

For anyone interested. (Not enough for a fan post)

The MLB Network starts their programming on Jan. 1st. Here is a link for the Jan. schedule.

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/network/schedule/

" When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? " - John Meynard Keynes

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 24, 2008 10:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Dear Lou:

You just don’t get it. Collectively, Mets fans only compare to Yanks fans. Here’s why:

You spend money like the Yanks then don’t understand how that avarice links you; you call for other teams’ players to be plunked then can’t see why that attitude is abominable; you denigrate winners — specifically the WFC Phils — with petty excuses (Mets beat them in the head-to-head, lousy umping, lucky breaks) then expect a civil response.

But most of all, the team has no heart, no character. They show up. That’s it. A paycheck every two weeks is their happily accepted reward. That you can’t see that is the answer to your question.

by Phils Rock on Dec 31, 2008 9:52 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Mainly I denigrate the Phils

because Jimmy Rollins is a giant asshole, and because Philly sports fans, collectively, are an unpleasant group of people who boo everyone from Santa Claus to Mike Schmidt.

And when Mets players show character (e.g. Reyes) they get criticized for being immature or some shit. Apparently the Derek Jeter Triple Fist Pump™ is the only acceptable way to show heart and character. Anything involving dancing or elaborate handshakes is clearly forbidden.

by JoshNY on Dec 31, 2008 11:46 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'd say

that Jimmy Rollins is an unpleasant, cocky person, and that Philly sports fans are assholes.

Who's world is it? It's yours.

by BlackOps on Dec 31, 2008 3:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

"Spend like the Yankees"

http://blog.sportscolumn.com/story/2008/4/1/231932/3450/mlb/2008_MLB_Payrolls

2008 MLB Payrolls:
1) Yankees – $209,081,579
3) Mets – $138,293,378
13) Phillies – $98,269,881

We’re a lot closer to spending like the Phillies than we are to the Yankees. That’s a silly comparison – NOBODY spends like the Yankees. It would be more accurate to say we spend like the Tigers (2nd) or Red Sox (4th), which is true. And ::gasp:: we call for players to be plunked, which makes us different from your fan base how, exactly? We don’t denigrate winners – we denigrate the Phillies, and if you think your fans would do any different if the roles were reversed, you have your head very far up your butt. We’re no different than you, or Red Sox fans, or Yankees fans, or any other northeast fans (I’ve never lived in the midwest of west coast, so I can’t tell you if they’re the same way).

And our team doesn’t play with heart? Tell that to Johan Santana. No, the fact is, we didn’t have a bullpen. It had nothing to do with “heart,” it has everything to do with talent. Our 25 man roster wasn’t as talented as your 25 man roster the past 2 seasons, mostly b/c our bullpen was far worse than yours. Unless, of course, you think that the Phillies just received a heart transplant in 2007, after 6 straight years of “choking” down the stretch? If that’s an easier explanation for you than “we added Ryan Howard and Chase Utley and Cole Hamels and Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge” then so be it.

by cjmulrain on Dec 31, 2008 11:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Phils Rock, just suck my cock.

Immature? Yes! Warranted? Yes!

Hey $hit for brains, did you bother to read the post? This isn’t about why Mets FANS are despised, it’s about why the METS TEAM is despised. If you’re trying to correlate one with the other, don’t bother. It’s no wonder that both the venues (The Vet and The Linc) had a jail cell / holding facility for Eagles fans. Degenerates like you permeate Philadelphia with an unrivaled stench.

No heart, no character? Just heart and character enough to whoop your ass last year! And yes I will state that your WFC (Worlds Fattest Cunts), the Phils, lost overall head to head against us, and I’ll have no problem doing so. Lousy umping, lucky breaks? Stop making excuses.

You honestly feel so good about a team that won the WS by making it to the playoffs because our team blew it in the final month? That makes you feel good? Your team found its way into the playoffs because we lost it, you didn’t win it. You’re telling me that if your closer, Brad Lidge would have been put on the DL, the Phillies still would have contended? Highly fucking unlikely! Your team “back doored” its way into the playoffs.

Carry on my wayward son, there’ll be peace when you are ~~done~~…GONE!

"...We ain't no legend, ain't no cause; We're just livin for today...For those about to rock, we salute you..."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 31, 2008 12:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Lou, you just proved my point.

by Phils Rock on Dec 31, 2008 12:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Dude, I'm a fan, not a player!

The thread isn’t about FANS, it’s about the people who play on the team. Are you illiterate as well as hard headed?

"...We ain't no legend, ain't no cause; We're just livin for today...For those about to rock, we salute you..."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 31, 2008 1:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

thats a stupid question

its common knowledge that nobody from philthadelphia can read. but hey, if you ever need a car windshield kicked in…

by robcast23 on Dec 31, 2008 3:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

:-) for you my friend

"...We ain't no legend, ain't no cause; We're just livin for today...For those about to rock, we salute you..."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 31, 2008 3:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sweet, sweet Lou:

Don’t fall into an assumptive fallacy. Just because I’m a hard-headed Phils phan doesn’t mean my point’s invalid.

Remember about two years ago when Jimmy proclaimed that the Phils were the team to beat? After the NY press ("Sillie Phillie") jumped all over him, the team also took up the diatribe against him. Subsequent plagiarism by Beltran and KRod emphasizes the direct correlation between what the NY Mets fans want and how the team is perfectly willing to comply. Your insistence that there’s a difference shows just how myopic you and other Metsies – fans, press and players – can be.

The most obnoxious characteristic of Mets fans is their complete and total inability to acknowledge the quality and achievement of opposing teams – especially the Phillies. Your we’re-better-than-you-cuz-we-beat-you-head-to-head argument above illustrates that. When David Wright echoes this (see the link below) just after the Series, it invalidates your claim that there’s no connection. BTW, you confute your argument for the ’07 season with this reasoning – why can’t any of you see that?

Whenever a Mets player says "now that we have [Santana, KRod, Mo, Fill In Your Favorite Savior du Jour], we’re gonna win the East," he’s repeating the old tired whine the fans give when they say if only our [bullpen, starting pitching, on-field play, Insert Your Favorite Inadequacy] didn’t suck, we’d win it all." The same goes for your remark about Wagner above. I mean, boo hoo. Talk about hypocrisy: you fans blather on about the hypotheticals and if-onlys, the team regurgitates it, then you say the team isn’t the fans, the fans ain’t the team. I don’t know if you’re playing attention or not, but baseball isn’t played hypothetically.

As for the lack of heart, the abject absence of character: look how the team treated Willie last year. Every one of them turned their back on him. The Mets front office fingered him for the losses so, rather than taking a little responsibility (which would have required backbones), they let Willie take the fall. An absolute textbook example of zero fortitude.

Now before you and your kindred go and call me all sorts of names, remember: my phandom [jerkiness, illiteracy, Inject Your Favorite Phils Phan Insult] does not invalidate my argument in any way. Logic is logic.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/11/01/2008-11-01_phillies_give_david_wright_mets_a_new_wo.html

by Phils Rock on Jan 1, 2009 12:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

"zzzzz..."

I'm a baseball fan. What did you expect?

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jan 1, 2009 12:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I accept your concession.

by Phils Rock on Jan 1, 2009 1:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

HA!

its one thing to come over here and post about the mets if you know what you’re talking about.

i suggest you go back to the phillies site. you know the cotton candy pink one, where they talk about that laughably effeminate young pitcher and the slicked back future pedophile second baseman that won’t shut about keeping his hands soft with vaseline rub.

by robcast23 on Jan 1, 2009 7:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

His type is indicative of everything that’s wrong with the “Fag-adelphia” fan base.

I'm a baseball fan. What did you expect?

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jan 1, 2009 8:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Are we sinking this low here?

Even I find this comment to be a bit beyond the pale.

'Oh yes, I know all about that duty-of-a-citizen stuff. It doesn't go. There are exceptions to every rule, and this was one of them. When a man risks his liberty to come and root at a ball-game, you've got to hand it to him. He isn't a crook. He's a fan.'

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Jan 1, 2009 11:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

See what Phillies fans bring out in me?

Just can’t stand ’em.

*Officially my last post on this particular topic/thread. I’ve just had enough.

I'm a baseball fan. What did you expect?

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jan 2, 2009 3:39 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Heaven forbid someone moderately celebrating doing something good…what monsters!!!
Now I’m all for acting like you belong, but sports are an emotional thing…and if it is a genuine emotional response then I would encourage a player to do that rather than having a bunch of emotionless, mercenary for hire players.

by Ohpityme on Jan 3, 2009 7:36 AM EST reply actions 0 recs