The New York Mets of Flushing

Why in the world did I decide to start a Mets baseball blog in the middle of the winter? There's not a shred of anything to write about.

At least I'm not an Angels fan. These poor souls out in Orange County, CA have to suffer through daily reports about a lawsuit over the name of the team. I don't know about you, but they'll always be the "California Angels" to me. But back in 1996, in some cockamamie deal with Mickey Mouse, they changed their name to Anaheim Angels. How cool was that for residents of Anaheim? The only thing anyone knows about your city is that there's an amusement park there, and suddenly you have your own Major League Baseball Team. The folks in Jackson, New Jersey never got that lucky.

So everything's all fine and dandy, and the team even manages to win their first World Championship in 2002. Then, last year, in what must have been a real kick in the knees to their fans in Anaheim, the new owner orders the word 'Anaheim' off any and all promotional materials. He wants to glom on to the Los Angeles name, and start calling the team Los Angeles Angels. But the team is still contractually obligated to have Anaheim in the name of the team, so since last season they've been The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Way to give back to your fans, buddy.

So, what's worse? The football Giants and Jets leave New York, for New Jersey of all places, but keep New York as their team's city of record. This is kind of a kick in the face to Jerseyites - your state is good enough to play our games in, but we're too embarrassed to publicly acknowledge it.

Like I said, I'm still pulling for a Marlins relocation - They can be the Florida Marlins of Charlotte, and I'll be able to see the Mets at least 8 or 9 times a year.

Marlins On The Move

Last season I was hoping that Carlos Delgado would get hurt, and have to rehab in Greensboro, where I could throw eggs at him. This season I hope he hits 50 homeruns. What a difference a year makes, huh?

This week the Marlins made it known that they were doing everything they could to stay in south Florida, as they discuss potential new stadium sites in the area northwest of downtown Miami. previously they announced they were investigating moving to Las Vegas when their Floridian obligations are complete.

Since their inception in 1993, the Marlins haven't been able to draw any kind of fan support. They claim if they could only build a new stadium, everything would be different. Look, I haven't been to Pro Player Stadium/Dolphins Satdium, and I am sure it has to stink playing baseball in a football stadium, but if two World Championships in six years doesn't get an area charged for baseball, I seriously doubt that a glitzy ballpark and eight dollar hotdogs will.

The Marlins should just forget Florida and also forget Vegas, and just move to Charlotte so I could get my major league fix whenever I wanted. If North Carolina can support a hockey team, they surely could support a baseball team. There are plenty of Braves fans around here, waiting to be converted!

Go West, Old Man

I breathed a big sigh of relief last night, after learning that Mike Piazza has signed a one year deal with the San Diego Padres. I was still holding out a tiny glimmer of hope that he would decide to come back to the Mets and back up Paul LoDuca, but my biggest fear was that The Evil Empire was going to sign him. It really would have killed me to see him playing for the Yankees. Piazza has been the face of the Mets for the past 8 years, and it just would have been wrong to see him donning the pinstripes. It also would have been tough to see him play for the Phillies, as the Mets would have to play against him about 18 times next season, since they are in the same division.

Most fans were hoping that he would sign with an American League West team, where we could root for him from afar but never have to root against him, but this is almost better. If he has a good year, it will will stick it to the Dodgers, who traded him away 8 years ago, and either way Mets fans will get another chance to say goodbye when the Padres visit Shea in August.

Coincidentally, I actually am going to be able to visit San Diego a few times this year, and the Padres are in town the same time I am, June 23-27! I'm going to have score myself a ticket. I'd love to be able to root for Mike to hit one out of Petco Park.

Boring!

This is the worst time of year to be a baseball fan. The Red Sox replaced traitor Johnny Damon yesterday with a guy with comparable stats and a much better name, Coco Crisp. Outside of that, there's not much news out there. Oh, unless you count speculation that in 2007 the Devil Rays are changing their name to "Tarpons," or just to "Rays." My guess is that the focus groups will pick the safe bet, "Rays."

The Daily News was an amusing read this morning, for only one reason. Comparing Mike Lupica's column with guest columnist Charles Farrell's.

Here's an exerpt from Mike's:

Nobody is suggesting that a conversation about racism is necessarily racist, whether it is on the radio or in a bar. But Mets fans who actually worry about this, who worry that Minaya, a Dominican raised a few blocks from Shea Stadium, a splendid New York success story, is loading up on Latin players because he is Latin himself, need to take a look at themselves. Because what they are talking about is racial quotas. They are talking about that.

And here's Charles's:

Bravo to you (Bob Raissman, Minaya Talk is Cheap, Jan. 25) for taking your very sharp scribe's pen and jabbing it squarely in the eyes of the bigots - yes bigots - who are accusing Mets GM Omar Minaya of Latin bias because of the Hispanic players he is bringing to the team. Sometimes you think it is 2006 and then something happens that puts you in a time warp back to 1956.

Can we just get on with the season already?

By the way, I was on the anti-WBC bandwagon for awhile, feeling that it should be played in November, not March. I agreed with the critics who felt interrupting spring training for an exhibition where key players could get injured was a bad idea.

Then I found out that the WBC Tournament is eight games long. Eight. And that's only the two teams that make it to the Finals. Teams eliminated in the first round will have played just three games. I think the players can handle that. And as a fan, gee, which is better, watching All-Stars play to win the WBC or watching the B-squad of the Nationals play the B-squad of the Braves on TBS?