But here we are, in August, 2010, and not only have the Mets become irrelevant once again, but the fans AND the media continue to talk about the past, and harp on the past as well.Like duh! See everbody?! It's not that the Mets suck, it's their attitudes!! It's not that the other teams SCORES MORE RUNS THAN US MOST OF THE TIME. Let's just fix those attitudes.
It’s not either the media’s or the fans’ fault, as the Mets themselves have not given anyone a reason to forget about what has happened – to the contrary, we continue to get beaten up by the losing, and the distractions, and the bad attitudes – all of which seem to stem from Beltran’s strikeout almost four years ago and serve as constant reminders of what this organization has been through and put us through over recent years.
The simple fact is this – it’s up to the Mets, and ONLY the Mets to make the past the past. Right now, the past is very much a part of the present, ranging from their productivity on the field, to their collective attitudes in the front office, dugout and clubhouse. The only cure for that is to not rely on history and to not rely on hope for success, because those two elements are haunting them and killing them at this very hour, as McCarron clearly points out.
The Mets have to find a way to re-discover what made this franchise so promising in 2005 and 2006, and bring in the necessary people to restore that promise – whether it’s a manager, General Manager, coach or player, or all of those combined. And even if they do that, I don’t think it stops there – it’s a change in team building philosophy from the depths of the minor leagues all the way to Citi Field, developing a plan for success, and applying that plan to each and every employee they hire into the organization, and ultimately just put the pedal to the metal and win.
Until the Mets acknowledge this problem and stick those two parts together, the past will always be attached to the present.
Then, we have to discover whatever it was that made us successful in 2005 and 2006, and just DO IT AGAIN. Why didn't we think of that? Why didn't the Mets just repeat the formula of those successful seasons? We must be SO DUMB. To think, all this time, the Mets brass had no interest in putting those parts together, and instead chose to be stupid and suck!
...
Sarcasm aside, is this for real? I don't know whether I should just ignore it or feel insulted that - of all the really good, insightful research and writing that there is online - this is the stuff which is considered content on the most widely read baseball blog in the universe.
According to their counter, Metsblog had EIGHTY THOUSAND VISITORS YESTERDAY. Eighty thousand. To put it in perspective, that's the approximate attendance of 2.5 actual real life Mets games. The influence that Metsblog wields among the fanbase is enormous.
Do you think it's a coincidence that Mets fans over the last five years have become a caricature of themselves? That everyone, both baseball fans and otherwise, see the Mets as a snake-bitten, whiny, neurotic, dysfunctional, second-rate organization? The content of the official sanctioned home of the Mets would indicate as much.
Listen, I think everyone has as much right as anyone else to write, to be read, to get feedback, and to contribute to an interesting discussion on the team that we all collectively enjoy to watch play baseball. But the above linked article is just ... the opinion of one dude. It amounts to nothing more than speculation from a source with exactly as much credibility as any nice guy you might meet in a bar or who might call into WFAN at 3 in the morning.
With sites out there like Amazin Avenue, Metstradamus, Hot Foot, and otherwise, all churning out excellent insightful content day after day -- why is the above article the one which gets posted in a place of such influence?
And what is that impact of it as far as local and national media -- is it that far out to think it might even affect the team directly? Remember, one link to an article about the Mets payroll scenario for 2011 seems to have resulted in an avalanche of articles in the last few days about the future.
What responsibility does Metsblog have, knowing the breadth of its readership, to ensure that its own content doesn't make matters worse? Should it report the news in an unbiased fashion like a media outlet? Should it function as a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNY and perhaps paint a rosier picture? Does it as an entity owe anything to anyone at all?
---------------
UPDATE: August 16th, 1:20PM:
Based on some reader response, I just want to be clear here: I don't hate Metsblog. I actually like Metsblog. I think it's a great source of information, I think Matt works very hard on it, and I think they do a great service by linking to things that people might not otherwise see. I think they do a good job and that Matt in particular does his best to educate himself as he goes along.
With that said, I stand by what I wrote above. Metsblog is great, but it occupies a very interesting and unique niche -- it's a very widely read blog. Is it as influential as I think it is? Does it have a responsibility to report fairly and accurately as opposed to with an angle? Does it have a responsibility to provide quality content rather than speculation?
By all accounts, Michael Baron is a good guy. I love his pictures. I know he's a fan. I just find myself wondering whether content like the above-linked post belongs in such a prominent place in media.
6 comments:
Cerrone and Baron have been posting things like that for years. Have you ever stopped to think that the site got to be so popular and influential because the fanbase thinks similarly? Contrary to your apparent belief that Mets fans are sheep waiting to be told what to think from above, the Metsblog readership often vociferously disagrees with Cerrone and Baron's opinions. There is also a huge overlap between Metsblog and other Mets blogs readerships. Perhaps had you or those other blogs been a little more saavy, they could have gotten the same reader base that Metsblog now enjoys.
Finally, in my opinion Patrick Flood's blog is the best Mets blog out there, bar none.
Cerrone is no rocket scientist, to be sure, but Baron is a complete fool. Maybe he should Lobby Player Development, he would fit right in with Omar and co.
AGREED!
Long overdue. Good job.
Sorry but your post sounds like you're a whiny little girly man...
@ Anonymous #1: I have no aspiration to become Metsblog. I am lucky if I get to write something once or twice a week here.
@ Anonymous #2 and #3: Thanks!
@ Dangerous Dreamer: What, you wanna fight about it?!!??!!? Haha just kidding... but yes, knowing how easily things get twisted out of context, I try to be overly caerful in any instance where I'm calling out or discussing a person or blog.
You know all of those callers who you hear on WFAN and you make fun of because they are irrational or just dumb? It seems like 75% of Metsblog has become those callers. The fan commentary, for the most part, is ignorant. There's never any log in the conversations. A lot of that comes from the folks who run the blog. They make posts like your example. I understand that they have the right to post their opinion. But most of the people who comment seem to take anything posted by Cerrone as gospel. And that is sad.
Post a Comment