41 Responses to Mets Fans Part of the Early Woes

1. Dana Brand
   April 15th, 2011 at 8:57 am

   Mike, I think this is a bit harsh, and I think you know that (I think you’re being rhetorical). It takes a while for fans to settle into their emotional zone for the season and as you point out, it’s been a rough few years. In spite of all the talk about a transition year, people were feeling very hopeful at the start of this season. They have to work out the transition, if this is in fact going to be another below .500 year. Although there are always jerks at the ballpark and elsewhere, I do think that there is still some hopefulness and generosity and I think that things would turn around very quickly if they went on a streak. I know that that’s hard to imagine at the moment, but remember that last year we started out 4-8 and there was a lot of negativity, and then they started playing well and it was springtime in Flushing. I think we’re dealing with traumatized people who are still eager to love the Mets and are wondering when it is going to be possible again.
   One more thing. If you ever call Shea a toilet again, I’m going to come and get you.

2. matthew
   April 15th, 2011 at 8:59 am

   I agree. The fans are rotten. This is supposed to be fun. It’s baseball. Good times all summer. It’s entertainment. If you aren’t having fun don’t watch of find a new team.
   Personally, I am loving the fact baseball is back and we got a whole new season to watch.

3. matthew
   April 15th, 2011 at 9:00 am

   And shea was a toilet. I can’t see why anyone would be unhappy at Citi.

4. 86mets
   April 15th, 2011 at 9:20 am

   Mike, I can sort of see where you’re coming from, but I think the assessment is still a bit too harsh. Some fans have gone to the extreme on talk radio and internet blogs. But I think they represent the minority and not the majority. To lump the entire fan base into one generalized category isn’t appropriate. For the average Mets fan who has aired complaints about the team early on, I think they are justified.

   First of all, they were told that they would be competitive, maybe not contenders, but competitive. Second of all, the new manager promised the game would be played right and the fundamentals would be stressed. Well, except for perhaps the 1st 4 games of 2011, neither of those things has happened. While they have been somewhat competitive in grabbing leads in games they seem to fall apart and cough up the lead in many of the past 7 games. Due in LARGE part to poor fundamentals, mental lapses, poor execution, and even worse pitching.

   This is NOT a re-built team with 7 or 8 rookies dotting the roster (currently only 2, Emaus and Beato are on the 25 man roster). This is a veteran Major League team. They have the talent, ability, and experience to play better than 4-9, including a putrid 1-6 at home. There is enough veteran presence on this team (Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Pagan, Pelfrey, Dickey, Young, Capuano, Rodriguez, Byrdak, Bucholz, Isringhausen) that the mental mistakes and blunders should be minimized, but haven’t been.

   Therefore, the average complaint so far I think is valid and well justified. What? Should it be OK for Mike Pelfrey to keep pitching like he’s afraid of the strike zone? Or for veteran outfielders who should be acclimated to their own park to pull up short on flyballs because they’re unsure of where the wall is? No. This team keeps committing blunders that should only be seen on the Bad News Bears. These guys are better than that and I think Mets fans have a right to express their displeasure in that. So why are they the worst fans in the game? Why not say the same about Boston fans and their bellyaching after the poor start the Red Sox have gotten off to? Please. Most Mets fans deserve better than that.

5. Nik
   April 15th, 2011 at 9:59 am

   Matt, I think it’s too harsh too. The reporters you were talking with are the very same people who’ve been throwing logs on the fire the last few years. In any group, the vocal minority is often the most emotional and easily swayed and the team and reporters have don’t nothing but incite them.

   They read articles on how much the team stinks before going to the park, pay $20 for parking, then look at Sandy Koufax and Pee Wee Reese jerseys in the Dodger rotunda and finally settle in to start drinking and stare at the constantly maligned outfield configurations.

   If you smack a monkey on the head, the monkey will act like a monkey.

   I think there’s resentment that the Wilpons have not done the little things to show good will (like removing the Dodger stuff) and it’s making everyone angry.

   I’m almost always pro player and have NEVER bood anyone at a game… even Perez. Even Sisk. Nobody. That said, even I’m annoyed at the little things because I feel like they know what bothers people and couldn’t care less.

6. Nik
   April 15th, 2011 at 10:02 am

   “the team and reporters have DONE nothing but incite them.” …typos

7. Seth
   April 15th, 2011 at 10:10 am

   Please Mike, tell us exactly how we should behave, in detail, so we can stop annoying you.

   There were indeed some jerks there yesterday, but in my section at least there seemed to be a direct correlation to alcohol.

   During the near-comeback at the end of game one, there was immense positivity and noise coming from a relatively small crowd. Beyond that, we were all witness to some rare feats of ineptitude. Jaw-dropping stuff, in bunches.

   How do the Cardinal fans react in these situations? I would honestly like to know. Have they really had a stretch like we’ve had these past five years to test them? I know the team across town hasn’t, at least not in a long time.

   For the record, I’m not a booer.

   If anything, Mets fans are pathologically loyal.

8. Mike.BTB
   April 15th, 2011 at 10:15 am

   I was disgusted when the crowd booed Johan Santana on Opening Day a few short years ago. I sat religiously at Ol’ Shea through 1977-1983 and I don’t think I booed once, except for a select player; but never the team. What is going on with today’s crowds is indeed getting embarrassing. But I think this post was a bit too much. You are not wrong. You’re right actually. But this was just a bit much. Even in their success, the Mets achieved it with folly. The rest of the happenings regarding the club are just logs on the fire. I don’t blame the fans because the play still looks the same on the field and the off-field news is just more logs on the fire. But fans, yes, are getting completely out of control with all the booing. But it’s not just a 2011 phenomenon.

9. Stu B
   April 15th, 2011 at 11:06 am

   History shows that the team must perform well on the field before the fans will show up and cheer. However, I remember well that during the team’s longest period of sustained success, when it finished first or second every year from 1984 to 1990, there was constant bellyaching when they weren’t in first place about how they should trade this guy or that guy and fire Davey Johnson. I used to argue with people at Shea about how good it was to have a team that contended every year, but that wasn’t good enough for some folks! But I suspect it’s like that with fans of other teams as well – basically, people are never completely happy.

   As a side note, I find it mildly amusing, and perhaps a sign of the times, that this story partly stems from one member of the media interviewing others.

10. Barbara R.
    April 15th, 2011 at 1:10 pm

    Mike If anything you sound more disgruntled than anyone I have heard at the games. As Seth stated Mets fans are pathologically loyal. Relatives that are Yankee fans have mentioned this aspect of the Mets for years. This is our team and we can say what we want with out having you chastise us about it. (I can boo if I want. I did boo Doug Sisk) Cheers have to be earned. If any kind of halfway decent team is put on the field the crowds will reappear meanwhile the loyal crew continues to go no matter what. In some of our worse seasons people still went which contradicts you somewhat. As Dana said there are alcoholic jerks out there and they always seem to be the ones with leather lungs. But the loudest do not represent everyone. For me this entire season is one big lets see what happens. Everyone gets a pass from me this year and I continue to go to games and listen and watch in hopes that MY team repays my loyalty with a decent and entertaining year that will lead to better things in the future.

11. Barbara R.
    April 15th, 2011 at 1:19 pm

    Follow-up:Six stadiums see worst crowds ever this April. Yes the Mets were included in this USA Today Article but so were the following teams:
    Braves, Twins, Mariners, Indians, Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs, Astros, Diamondbacks and Yankess. The Mets were not even the team with the lowest game attendance so far this season. One of these teams has drawn less than 10k to four of 6 home games.

12. Super Bob
    April 15th, 2011 at 1:22 pm

    Mike I hope you get aids and cancer at the same time.

13. gpaq
    April 15th, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    Mike,

    you’ve got to be joking! despite all the negativity surrounding this franchise, mets attendance has been at least 2.5M the past 5 years despite the team underperforming, with a $140M payroll, on the DL, in a new stadium where a decent seat (no obstructions) is $60 playing in the shadow of the Yankees. This is NYC, not the midwest. Teams are held accountable in this city.

    I think this fan base has been very loyal to this “franchise” that has produced a tremendous amount of embarrassment from poor play, poor management & poor ownership.

    About Citifield, don’t kill Mets fans for disliking a stadium that is an homage to another team. We wanted a Mets stadium, not an homage to Ebbets Field & the Dodgers. The only reason there is any Mets stuff there including the Hall of Fame is because we demanded it. Shea was a dump, but at least it was the Mets Stadium.

14. Rob K
    April 15th, 2011 at 1:32 pm

    Please give me a break. What has this team done to earn any applause? I guess Im suppose to pay my hard earned money to go to a ballgame where routine plays cannot even be made. “Play ball the right way?” Please. That was the motto right? How about our relief pitchers get someone out? How about out outfielders catching a routine pop up? How about Wright or Reyed getting a big hit during the “comeback” in the first game of the doubleheader? How about we turn a double play to get out of the inning? How about our pitchers give us a freakin quality start? How about someone pitch in to Tulo and get him of the plate. Dont chastise me on being a poor fan. How about earning the appluase and cheers from the fan. This team plays like garbage and I am suppose to just go “Hey its a great day at the ballpark” Our team plays in one of the greatest baseball cities in the U.S. and has a payroll that is up there among the top teams in baseball and all us fans get is this embarassment of a team. I think fans are sick of our team being a laughing stock and the butt of everyone elses jokes. So dont go telling me I have no right to boo or I am a bad fan. I watch every freaking game on Tv or on the radio or in the ballpark. I invest a lot of my own personal time and emotion into this team. I guess I owe you an apology for voicing my displeasure. I guess I should sit down and shut up and only cheer even when my team plays like a bunch of little leaguers. Please, this post is pathetic.

15. Super Bob
    April 15th, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    Mike Silva isn’t even a real journalist. Burn in hell you piece of crap

16. Ryan
    April 15th, 2011 at 1:52 pm

    When the NY sports media sell more papers and drive up web traffic and/or ratings by telling fans how much their favorite teams are screwing them over, they shouldn’t be surprised when the fans stop showing up.

17. LLC
    April 15th, 2011 at 1:55 pm

    Mike, this is New York. Fans expect their teams to win. When the Knicks, Giants, or Yanks are not playing well the fans let you know it. There’s a reason they payout such huge contracts and that’s to win. If the product on the field is less than subpar we’re going to let you know it. No one wants to go to Cit Field, pay 100 bucks for a decent ticket, $8.50 for a beer, only to watch their team get embarrassed. You paid to get tortured. What kind of deal is that? We pay to watch them win. I’m sick of tired of hearing Yanks fan tell me they are sorry for me since I’m a Mets fan. This isn’t Kansas City, this is New York. If you don’t win no one’s going to watch and if the players can’t handle it then this isn’t the right place for them. A-Rod went from great ball player to Hollywood A List cause the Yanks win. On top of that, these guys are making millions, people lost their jobs, and can’t even afford to come to the stadium, so if they get a chance to they want to get their money’s worth. Mets fans are getting a bad deal right now. Don’t expect us to be happy about it.

18. seanoh
    April 15th, 2011 at 2:06 pm

    I was at Mets Cubs in 2007 at theeee third to last game at Shea stadium. Somewhere near the end and definitely in the last week. I also heckle when necessary. I won’t boo as soon as I show up to the stadium, but if I pay twenty bucks to watch a team play sloppy baseball for eight innings, you can be damn sure the outfielders will be hearing me in the ninth.

19. Mike
    April 15th, 2011 at 2:15 pm

    I think “have been through a lot the last four years” is the understatement of the year. I agree that Mets ownership has tried. The Citi Field experience is pretty much the only good thing about the Mets right now. I was also there Wednesday night and I think fans were actually enjoying the ballpark itself as they usually do, even in borderline bad weather.

    But I think asking any fan base to go through what Mets fans have gone through the last 4 years–and I mean the real loyal fans who live and die with this team each year–and not become completely filled with bile is asking too much. It hasn’t just been the losing, it’s been all the off-the-field embarrassments that have made the Mets a laughingstock.

    And I disagree that fans got the wrong impression from Alderson on what this season was supposed to be about. In my mind, he failed to manage expectations. He said he expected the Mets to finish somewhere between where they finished last year and a championship. I went in expecting the Mets to play around .500 ball, to get outclassed a fair amount of the time but not to beat themselves too much. It’s been so much worse than that.

    They say you can never come flat out and tell everyone you’re rebuilding in NY, but I think that’s exactly what you HAVE to do. That is the only way to take the heat off.

20. Lou
    April 15th, 2011 at 2:18 pm

    RIGHT ON MIKE!!! I couldn’t agree more. These “fans” are acting like spoiled children. I got an idea, you know you could actually watch the games at home on your TV, ever thought of that? You think because you’re paying a lot of money, you’re entitled to something? This is NEW YORK, everything costs a second mortgage to buy. You have plenty of choices, and no one is forcing you to attend games, so stop whining.

    And to those who ask “how should we behave?”….how about start by cheering for your team for once? Or maybe not screaming and yelling out every five seconds like a moron? Or maybe, just maybe, you DON’T BOO YOUR OWN PLAYERS? And don’t tell me you don’t boo, just the fact that you’re bringing it up tells me that its all you do. If you can’t behave and act like an adult….than STAY HOME.

21. RS
    April 15th, 2011 at 2:21 pm

    You know what I find interesting? Mike’s post riled up a good amount of people for and against…

    And yet, when the other Mike, Fat Mike, does the same thing over the airwaves, this Mike has a problem with it.

    Interesting isn’t it? Welcome to the big time little Mike.

    Maybe next time you can get your facts straight with attendance, then at least one Mike will get it right.

22. Rob K
    April 15th, 2011 at 2:29 pm

    If I pay to go to a game I AM entitled to either boo or cheer. This is America my friend. I have a right to voice my opinion. Whether you agree with it or not. And the stupidty of you comment “how about cheering for your team for once?” Let me address that. Tell me exactly what there was to cheer about yesteday when the Mets were botching plays all over the field. Those were plays that the team I played on in high school could make regularly. Dont get me wrong I will cheer when cheering is warranted. And if the Mets make an error I usually wont boo. It baseball and errors are part of the game. But when there is one after the other after the other it warrants booing. And the team shows no spine and lets Tulo single handedly destroy our pitching staff without so much as a little chin music is ridiculous. These are grown men making millions, if they cant deal with people who pay to see them play boo when they play like garbage then m sorry. You could pay me half of what Murphymakes and boo me all day long. What happened to manning up a little. Do the boos make the poor rich baseball players sad? Cry me a river. Play like a big leaguer and we will stop.

23. Super Bob
    April 15th, 2011 at 2:40 pm

    Lou is a stupid moron

24. baseball1010
    April 15th, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    Super Bob you’re exactly the type Mike is refrencing. You hide behind a keyboard, which is cowardly. Rob K they would’t pay you half of anythig because you can’t play at that level. Mike Silva good for you. Live and die with your team, but to call them junk and garbage is a waste of everyones time. Give us the stats as to what needs improved. Not only will the contributor learn something, but we will also get actual facts not name calling. Actual fans watch these guys play because they are incrediably talented. They make it look easy maybe that’s why so many are so critical.

25. Super Bob
    April 15th, 2011 at 3:38 pm

    your mother hides behind a keyboard

26. Vince
    April 15th, 2011 at 4:04 pm

    To blame the fans is beyond harsh. The fans were there cheering and all that during the 3-1 start but it comes down to the mental farts that keep happening. The team needs to be completely sold (which won’t happen). A brand new fresh start from the very top because everything else has changed over the years from player to managers to GM’s and nothing is changing. Not that changing the ownership can make grown men and professionals catch the ball but it’s getting beyond bad. The fans cannot be blamed for the crap mistakes we keep seeing. Noone expected them to be great, we just expected them to be tight and competitive and when you lose 3 games in 24 hours you cannot by any means blame fans for those or any other losses.
    The ownership needs to be sent a message- the ballpark needs to be EMPTY for every single game until they sell it off or give people a reason to go and spend the kind of money that it takes to sit there. They’re maybe only worth watching on TV right now. I have faith in Sandy long term but until he has more to work with in terms of money and hopefully a new ownership, people need to stay away.
    By the way- it doesn’t help to hear the GM say he would be dissapointed with 85 wins this year and back himself into a corner when then they go out a week later and lose 3 in a 24 hour period.

27. John
    April 15th, 2011 at 4:14 pm

    I think this is really a complex issue. The cost has become obscene for a family to go to a baseball game. Players and owners continue to get paid fortunes and fans are being asked to pay a large portion of their incomes to go to the ballpark. It is no longer a casual expense, where win or lose you can have a good time. Now it is an investment not only emotionally as it has been for decades but also financially . Fans no longer look at a team like the 62 Mets and laugh about it. Now they see these guys, both owners and players, “stealing” their money. At these prices losing is no longer looked on as an option.
    Add to that the owners have been accused of being complicit in one of the most notorious Ponzi schemes in history, it is understandable the venom that is being exhibited.
    I for one have stopped going to the ballpark long ago because of the prices even though I probably can afford it. I don’t think the entertainment value is proportional to the cost.
    So I don’t necessarily feel the pain that the fans who have financially supported the team over the last few years. I just turn the TV off.
    I guess what I don’t understand is why those 25,000 who are there each day don’t just keep their money and then there would be no need to boo.

28. Josh
    April 15th, 2011 at 4:36 pm

    This is hands down, one of the worst articles I’ve ever read. I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty as to why this article is nonsensical; I just want to remind you that when I go to a game I expect the players to play well. I pay for a service and when I’m not happy with the service, I voice my opinion. It takes a lot to get me angry; if the bare minimum service was provided, I wouldn’t be happy but I would keep myself in order….needless to say, when it comes to the Mets, I boo (without alcohol).

    A few questions for Mike and those who agree with his (ridiculous) opinion:

    1) What do you suggest we do? When Jerry Hairston pulls up to watch the ball innocently land on the warning track, what was your reaction and what would you like the “boo”ers to do?
    2) If you bought orchestra seats to a Broadway show and all the actors ran around with ugly and smelly clothing, screaming and flailing their arms in the air, how would you react? Applaud or ask for your money back?
    3) If you went to an expensive steakhouse and you got spoiled meat or found a rat droppings on your plate, what would you do? Eat it or return it?

29. Mike DeAsshole
    April 15th, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    You’re a horrible writer. Your opinions are not factually based and they are worthless. How anyone of your mediocre writing ability thinks people want to read this tripe voluntarily is beyond my capacity for reason.

    Please just kill yourself, it’ll be less embarrassing than continuing this charade of a writing career.

    Mike

30. Derek
    April 15th, 2011 at 6:47 pm

    Mike Silva’s article makes some good points. I agree the fans should not get on players unless there is a perceptible lack of effort. Athletes want to win and they don’t want to make mistakes. BUT Please stop perpetrating the fraud that is the Cardinals’s fans. They are not the best. They are the same. I lived there for 20 years and they had empty stadiums in the early nineties (Joe Torre years) and they have streaks where the stadium is empty now. And believe it or not I have heard them boo and complain and this year act like the world is crumbling because of Pujols’s slump or the team’s weak start. They are no different. Losing breeds boos and empty seats I don’t care where you go. The differences and the reasons you cannot compare the two are many. St. Louis is a small wanna-be city with only three major teams and only one of them consistently good or in consistently in contention the Cardinals. They have only one major Newspaper and few radio analysts. New York metro area is the largest city in America and at any one time you can root for the Yankees, Mets, Nets, Knicks, Giants, Jets, Rangers, Devils, Islanders, Red Bull New York, etc. and too many minor league options to name. Then you have the many radio stations like WFAN and all the newspaper and tv media. NY has an entire army of journalists to over-analyze every pitch or managerial decision. In St. Louis if you say something overly critical, Tony LaRussa puts you in the doghouse and you get no story. But the fact that we have another baseball team in town and a great one in the Yankees makes the Met fan reaction more harsh. The Cards fans don’t have these issues. They pay like a 1/4 less for tickets and concessions and they do more with what they have. I could get a Cards field level ticket on Stubhub for like 60 bucks tops and Mets tickets normally cost like 200-300 for the same seats. The Cards fans don’t have to pay 200-300 dollars for a game to see a loss. The Met fan sees what is going on over in the Bronx and expects a big market team to perform like their fellow big market teams. I just think it has more to do with Wilpons situation and the boos want be quelled until a total overhaul of ownership is made, if ever. the fans reaction is more a denouncement of the Wilpon years 2007 to present then anything else. New Yorkers live big and expect big time, not nickel and dime. Ultimately I can find you any Cards fan that is as crappy a fan as the boo birds at Citi and I can find you any Mets fan as loyal as the Cards fan myth. Things are just magnified in the bright lights of NY and not scrutinized in the cowtown that is St. Louis.

31. John H
    April 15th, 2011 at 7:21 pm

    Much to early to give up. Many Met fans (younger especially) entered season “instinctively antagonistic”. I’ve been a Met fan since 1975. The standings mean nothing till mid June, about.

32. Stu B
    April 15th, 2011 at 7:56 pm

    “your mother hides behind a keyboard”

    Now THAT was an intelligent, thoughtful response!

33. SellFreddySell
    April 15th, 2011 at 11:26 pm

    Are you Fred Wilpon?

    You do realize most of the anger from the fan base is a result from having the worst and most morally corrupt owner in baseball?

34. John H
    April 16th, 2011 at 1:01 am

    Keep Goldman Sachs away. Evil Incarnate.

35. Stu B
    April 16th, 2011 at 1:04 am

    What does Goldman Sachs have to do with it?

36. John H
    April 16th, 2011 at 2:10 am

    G.S. rumored to be interested in Met ownership.

37. Josh K
    April 16th, 2011 at 2:55 am

    Maybe you should point the finger where it should be… at ownership. They feed lies to the fans about everything from player illnesses and injuries to lowering ticket prices. Everyone in this city knows if you win games, people will show up.

    Greed has alienated Mets fans. They razed Shea and raised ticket prices well over 50%, looking for the “corporate” fan base. They cheated Doubleday out of his half of the team, and now this curse is upon us.

    Bottom line is, greed is everywhere with all owners, but when you put a winning product on the field, fans overlook prices.

38. Stu B
    April 16th, 2011 at 7:09 am

    “G.S. rumored to be interested in Met ownership.”

    That’s a very respected and well-managed firm. How could they do any worse than the Wilpons?

39. Mike Silva
    April 16th, 2011 at 1:55 pm

    RS what did I say about attendance that was wrong?

    As for the Francesa dig – I don’t need to contrive debate to provide content – I actually put the time in

40. Benny
    April 17th, 2011 at 12:59 am

    Mike:

    As you stated before 2011 will be a transition year for the Mets. I understand the premise of the article you wrote about how fans should behave. OK but from what I have seen so far, (I have the MLB package here in Philly) the Mets players performance has been disappointing to say the least. If you watched the second game like I did on Thursday you found the players making fundamental errors. (i.e. the 6 run inning where they botched the double play.) How can you not boo? My father and I had Sunday ticket packages for about 11 years, but this is the first time I do not think I will go to Citi Field. Last year I spent around $1200 for a Sunday package which had two tickets to each game. I can tell you I have received several emails from the Mets ticket staff asking that I purchase their tickets, but for the prices that have been quoted, the answer is no. For example this coming Sunday’s game two tickets from the Mets website (I know Stub hub is cheaper but I am trying to prove a point) for the cheapest seats would cost $51. Throw in $19 parking and $16 in tolls and $10 in gas and I am looking at close to a $100 to watch a 4-11 team for two tickets. Absolutely not. Until the talent plays up to their salaries (Wright and Reyes) I will not spend any money on tickets for this team. That sir is the only option I have as a consumer

41. Mike Silva
    April 17th, 2011 at 9:32 am

    Benny

    I think your response is exactly the right way to go about it. Don’t like the team? Don’t show up. I am not critcizing the fans for staying home, the economics of what you just stated is a big reasons to stay away. What I don’t understand is the hatred towards the product, not the booing.

    If ownership decided to keep the status quo I would get this a lot more. Fans asked for change, got it, and were told this might be a transition year, yet they still aren’t happy. Wright and Reyes really aren’t the problem. The fact the starting pitchers are averaging less than 5 innings per game is a big part of it.

    I still think this team is better than their record. Remember, the ’97 Bobby Valentine edition started 3-9 and they made it a fun summer. Not saying things are rosey, but to hear the venom and negativity on talk radio, internet, and the ballpark is not going to help.

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