FEELING PROUD OF YOUR TEAM

On Friday morning, I was boarding the train.  I happened to see my buddy getting out of his car and he was dressed, head to toe in Mets gear.  Worn out hat… ratty shirt, you know, his comfy clothes. Clearly he was off from work and going to the bagel shop.  He had a skip in his step. That’s because he’s a die hard Mets fan and has been for years.  He’s proud of what his team has accomplished so far.  The Mets are in the World Series.  I got all fuzzy inside as I watch him walk into the shop and as the train pulled away… I started to write this. I remember when Yankee fans had that feeling. Thinking about how excited his is about the Mets gives me chills.  That’s true fandom.  It’s stuff like that that makes you, if you’re a baseball fan, step back and see the big picture.  Fans come in all shapes and sizes… and yes, there are Mets fans that for decades have been embarrassed by their team and management and lousy decision making.  Now, these same Mets fans… the die-hards, are proud.  They are proud that a club that no one really thought about actually has done something incredible.  For them… it’s about damn time. I stated in THE METS ARE IN & JOE MADDON ISN'T A ROCKSTAR the following:

"I'm happy for the die hard Mets fans . I am not happy for the bandwagon fans who have no allegiance to anything but winners and will sell their mother down the river if it means being with a champion.  If you were a Yankee fan and you flipped because you got impatient... go away, you are no longer welcome on my side of the street.  But again... to the die hard Mets fans, this is great for you guys!"

That’s a fact.  Bandwagon fans kill me, and I see them a mile away.  Their Mets hat right out of the bag… they’re wearing uniform tops like Flores and deGrom.  Let me tell you something, my friends… My real friends that happen to be die-hard Mets fans wear Hernandez… Kranepool… Seaver… Orosco.  They are true Mets fans.  I’m not taking anything away from Wilmer Flores, David Wright or Jacob deGrom, they are great players having a good run. But in the grand scope of Mets fans and baseball… I appreciate the die-hards.  That’s because the die-hards have been waiting for a while.  Again, they're proud… they deserve alittle happiness.

I made a statement the other day suggesting I wanted to Cubs to win it all.  It’s not unusual or absurd.  As a baseball and Yankee fan, I felt the Cubs fans needed a smile… it had nothing to do with the Mets, but Mets fans took exception when I wrote WHY I DON'T FEEL THE NEW YORK METS tweeting me…

Like we care. #lgm RT @BleednYankeeBlu: Bleeding Yankee Blue: WHY I DON'T FEEL THE NEW YORK #METS http://t.co/OhPLzx8V72

— Shea Hey (@sheahey56) October 18, 2015

@BleednYankeeBlu No one cares here. #LGM #Mets

— TheKevinLarkin (@TheKevinLarkin) October 18, 2015

If they didn't care, they should have ignored it
.

Sure, they have a point, no one cares about my opinion.  But they took it personally and they shouldn’t have.  It’s an opinion, nothing more and they need to relax!   No one cares about great baseball and fan allegiance more than I, but it’s those damn bandwagon fans that couldn’t name the 1986 lineup or even know what uniform number David Wright is that kill me.  They water down what the true Mets fans are feeling.  That’s basically what I’ve been suggesting all along.

So, here’s to the Mets fans, the die-hards, the guys and gals that have been struggling through the Bobby Bonilla years. The ones who had to dig out their Darryl Strawberry shirt from the closet and re-break in their old Mets cap.  Be proud of your club. They did good for you and I got your back.  In the end, the Mets in the World Series is good for baseball.  It’s a wonderful story. It is good for New York too. But don’t give away the key to New York yet… the Yanks have always been the kings of New York.  OK… if the Mets win… we can lend them New York… but just for 2015.

Good luck to all those true Mets fans.

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KERSHAW SNAPS THAT POST SEASON SLUMP

For Clayton Kershaw it was almost deja vu, all over again. The three-time Cy Young award winner and MVP who had lost five straight starts in the postseason made it to the seventh inning up 3-1 in a must-win game to save the Dodgers season. And then Yoenis Cespedes lead off the inning with a single.

Mets fans went crazy. Hearts and stomachs began to seize all over LA. Was this going to happen again? Was Kershaw doomed to implode in the seventh inning in the postseason for all of history?

But Kershaw collected himself. He retired Travis d’Arnaud, Lucas Duda, and Wilmer Flores to get out of the inning. Kershaw had finally ended his postseason curse. The Dodgers held on to win and will now play Game 5 at home with Zach Grienke on the mound against Jacob deGrom on Thursday for the chance to advance to the NLCS against the Cubs.

I’m glad to see Kershaw finally get past his postseason demons. He’s a fierce competitor—and even though he has said he was not dwelling on his last October start where he got shelled by the Cardinals, you know that he is eager to prove to baseball fans that he is not a serial choker in the postseason. I thought he pitched a hell of a Game 1 and was victim of the Dodgers non-existent run support, but hopefully this will end the narrative of Kershaw being a postseason flop.

I truly believe Thursday’s game is a toss up. Greinke has been nearly unhitable this year and most likely we’ll see another great pitching duel with deGrom. I think it will ultimately come down to the bullpen where I believe the Mets have the advantage. 

--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist &
Los Angeles Dodger fan
Twitter:  @heylexyg




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THE WILMER FLORES DEBACLE

What happened last night to Mets player Wilmer Flores should never happen.  In fact, there are procedures in place so it doesn't happen.  The Mets were trying to hammer out a deal, I get that, but if a player is involved in a deal, that player is pulled for 2 main reasons;  They don't want to player about to be traded get hurt and jeopardize the trade, and secondly, emotionally, they want you at your best.  The Mets proved to many of us last night that they are not a well oiled machine and have no regard for the players they employ, as well as their manager, who apparently was left out of their decision.  Sad.

Baseball moves fast and furious. In a trade that would have sent Carlos Gomez to Queens and Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores to Milwaukee... well... there was a problem.  Flores was on the field even though at that moment, he'd been traded.

Now the trade never happened.  Apparently there was alot of chatter about Zack Wheeler and 'concerns' over him after Tommy John Surgery.  That was quickly dismissed.  It turned out the real issue was Carlos Gomez.  The Mets were concerned about his hip:

Sources: #Mets backed out of trade due to concern over hip issue with #Brewers’ Gomez.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2015

Now Scott Boras tried to squash it saying that Gomez has never had a hip issue and said: "Carlos Gomez has never seen a hip doctor and has never had a hip issue in his playing career. Anyone who suggests that is inaccurate and baldly misrepresenting the truth of the player’s condition..."  What's the truth? I don't know, it's a mess, and that leads to speculation...

Did the Mets make it up because the whole trade went down so badly on social media and on their broadcast? I mean, think about this; In the post game, Terry Collins claimed he didn't even know Flores was traded.  The Mets look unorganized and unprofessional at that point. So maybe when the world saw Flores in tears on the field, Mets brass realized they messed up big time and pulled out, claiming the Gomez hip was bad.  Or, maybe Gomez DOES have a bum hip.  Whatever the case, emotions ran deep last night.

Honestly, the scene of Flores crying on the field was heartbreaking. Of course, my big question is why was he left on the field if he was traded? I'd like to give the Mets the benefit of the doubt here, and say that maybe the trade wasn't as near completion as many are reporting it to have been. At the time, the basics of the trade seemed to have been laid out hours before the game started.  Maybe they weren't expecting it to go through. Really tough to say.

Whatever the case... the deals dead and Flores lives another day with the Mets, an organization he'd been with since he was 16 years old.   That being said, shame on the Mets... they blew this one, leaving Flores to be on display, analyzed, and perhaps ridiculed.

It was pretty crappy on the Mets part, I have to say.  If I'm Flores... I now want out of Queens... it's about respect.

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 
Twitter: @e_morales1804

  


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