I realize, in what has been a legitimate Winter of Discontent for both Yankees and Mets fans, my writing has been, for the most part, absent from NYBD presentations.

The reason is my recent pursuit, that of Director of Media Relations for the Trenton Steel, a new Indoor Football team which will begin play in March, based in the Sun National Bank Center.  So far, it’s been a lot of fun.

Another joy is that my football work will not take away from my love of baseball.  I will write a Monday evening piece for NYBD on a weekly basis and appear on Mike Silva’s various radio shows upon request.

So, let’s take a look at our Winter of Discontent. I still will attend Yankees spring training – from March 16-22 – and hopefully Spring will feature less of all this worry.

For a Mets fan, there is reason to wonder. Given what has been reported, that the trustee in the Madoff case is seeking $1 billion from Mets ownership, let’s hope iconic former New York Governor Mario Cuomo can mediate the matter.

I’m counting on Mr. Cuomo because I want to hear about the Mets and baseball. Sure Terry Collins and his bunch may have a rough go of it here or there, but matters aren’t quite as dark as they might seem.

The Twitterverse is alive with many tweeps demanding the immediate release of Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo. I understand the frustration because Perez was a silly signing and I really can’t see the Mets getting anything for him.  Unless he turns over a new leaf in spring training (doubtful), eat the contract.

As for Castillo, he was always a solid player before he came to the Mets, but it just hasn’t worked out for him with either the team or fans. He still has trade value and that move should be exercised in spring training.

On the bright side, Ike Davis is a developing star, Brad Emaus may surprise at second base, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran could be healthy and Dillon Gee and one of the guys like Chris Young or Chris Capuano could pitch well enough to solidify the rotation.

And let’s see what Wally Backman does at Double-A Binghamton. The talent level there is solid, and Backman’s players at Brooklyn went at it hard for him.

As far as Yankees fans are concerned, the failure to sign Cliff Lee set off a tweeps explosion asking the Yankees to trade Jesus Montero and other jewels of the farm system for Felix Hernandez or any other available ace.

With Andy Pettitte’s retirement, the cries got worse. Sign Kevin Millwood or a like pitcher.

The key here is patience. The Yankees need a fill-in like Freddy Garcia for a few months. Then one of the kids, with David Phelps and Hector Noesi leading the way, will be ready. There is so much good pitching in the system that, at minimum, it will produce at least three solid starters over the next three years.

Besides, if the Yankees get that desperate, they can get another pitcher without trading Montero.

It’s warming up a bit. Pitchers and catchers are reporting. I’ve had enough of this Winter of Discontent.

Jed spent 35 years in the newspaper business working as both a writer and editor, in both sports and news under tight deadline pressure. As both sports editor at the Indiana (Pa.) Gazette and a copy editor/columnist at The Times of Trenton, he made daily decisions on overall coverage and designed and produced thousands of pages and special sections. Since accepting a buyout from The Times, he has concentrated on broadening his writing and editing horizons to the medical, academic and business fields. Anyone is welcome to Google Jed to see the different places in print, on the Web and in front of the camera his professional expertise has spread to.

Jed Weisberger

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Tags: Andy Pettitte, Binghamton Mets, Brad Emaus, Chris Capuano, Chris Young, Cliff Lee, David Phelps, Dillon Gee, Felix Hernandez, Freddy Garcia, Hector Noesi, Jesus Montero, Kevin Millwood, Luis Castillo, Mario Cuomo, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oliver Perez, Terry Collins, Trenton Steel, Wally Backman