40-40

This usually comes with prestige...this usually comes with champagne bottles....

Not that I've ever been, but apparently it is an elite club in the Flatiron District owned by Hova, Jay-Z, Shawn, whatever you want to call him today...

It's also an "elite" club that only 4 players belong to in baseball, though all but one have been accused or proven of taking steroids.

But all of that is irrelevant, because the image of 40 and 40 together is the only thing those have in common with THIS.

Through 80 games, the Mets have been their entire history all at once. You can either take solace in the fact you've seen this before and know it could get better, it could add resilience, it could be 1973...or better.

Then there is the 1978 in you, the 2009, the 2012...

It's almost as if the Wilpons don't give two shits because, well, we've seen this before. This actually PUSHES our brand, keeps that hope alive, that Ya Gotta Believe that is the core of this franchise and its fanbase.

But I guarantee there will be a coup d'etat the likes of which you could never imagine if you keep going on this way, Mr. Wilpon and Jr.

Figure out a plan that doesn't just involve you in a holding pattern, while you more and more have to let go of these prized prospects because you can't afford them over the long haul...

Something's gotta give, you guys. HOW can you even STAND this? I mean, I will say, Mr. Wilpon, that you did seem more like a fan in that controversial New Yorker article, and I appreciated that. BUT HOW, as a fan, one that has roots in one of the greatest fanbases of all time, can you keep this up just so you don't have to say, "Passing it down to my son isn't going to work"?

And why, as a businessman, haven't you cashed out? All of your problems would be solved, THEN some. You got swindled, it sucks, but now you have a chance to make something close to $2 billion, if not more. The Dodgers sold for $2.15 billion after being valued at less, and apparently, because of your SNY stake, you are valued at $2.05 billion. And that was in 2013.

What's wrong with you?! CASH OUT! LET SOMEONE DO A BETTER JOB! HOW CAN YOU EVALUATE YOUR PERFORMANCE OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS AS APPROPRIATE?! BUT SOMEONE'S STILL GONNA GIVE YOU A $2 BILLION DOLLAR BONUS?! DO IT!

It doesn't matter what happens in the next 82 games. Until this franchise is run differently from the top down, no matter how good the farm system continues to be, they will be hampered by The Wilpon family.

You are holding us hostage. Release us from the abyss.

.............................................

HAPPY 4TH EVERYBODY!!

LET'S. GO. 'MERICA.

LET'S. GO. METS.

A Time to Put a Smile on Your Face

While I haven't been posting, the Mets have gone ahead and lost a series to the Good Brew Crew, won a series to the Bad Dad Crew, and now dropped another series to the Great Red Crew, continuing to keep that RISP number at a loser's level. With myself, my aunt, uncle, cousin and lil sis on hand for Father's Day at a rather full, actually, Citi Field, I was happy to see Curtis provide a spark at the top of that lineup with an awesome Pepsi Porch leadoff home run. I have been settling into the family of Mets fans that is Two Boots that the poor sight of the Mets in San Louis has not generally been in mine. Though I did not work Monday Night, I do not have cable, nor plan to anytime soon on my budget, so my sight generally does not take in the Mets live, rather listening to Howie and Josh describe the sight that's in their eyes.

Photo Credit: Bluenatic

It's clear, however, that we all need to just smile. Unless we take some serious political protest stance in some fashion or another, which would be interesting to see but I'll tell ya right now that I won't be the leader of the revolution, this team will most likely fail to be properly managed all the way from the top down. The Wilpons do not know how to run a ballclub, let alone know what it means to run the New York Metropolitan National League Baseball Club. I have very little faith, no matter what happens- no matter whether they have a winning season over the next couple of years- that the Mets can have sustained success with the Wilpons at the helm.

So, when I think about what I want to write on this blog at this particular moment, all I can think of is playing the song below, because every time I listen to it, it puts a huge smile on my face. Don't read into any of the lyrics, though I'm sure many of you may do so. That was not my intention, no matter how poignant it may seem at this particular Metsian intersection. I just want to smile, and tonight, when I got home from Two Boots and settled down, the song came on, and I just smiled. So, screw it, man. Let's just listen to Bob Marley.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. For more from myself and others on the Mets, head over to Rising Apple. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

Hittin' the Road from Upstate as our "Team is Broke."

I'm sorry, but isn't this the same news we found out when the Wilpons found out that $700 million they thought they had they actually didn't? Why is this breaking news? Because the idea they can't get a deal done with their two most popular players (one who became one in 6 less years than the other) is hanging in the balance.

This "news" hits as I help ready my dad to transfer his life to Denver, where my sis lives. He has just been approved for disability retirement, and Veterans Disability Retirement. For at least till next summer, my dad will help out with his grandkids, enjoying life in a nice town they call the Mile High City as we pay him back for his service to us and his country. To get there, we opt to drive. First, we will take a journey down the east coast and in, to Alabaster, AL, to visit the youngest of the three sis's on my dad's side. She has a newborn boy, not mention two other nephews (yeah, yeah. I'm Uncle Sam.) FROM THERE, we will drive to Denver in either 24 hours, or 12 and 12. Will be quite the adventure.

Meanwhile, here at the upstate house, my Wifi is not working. I am typing this for the first time on my new iPhone, on the Blogger App. I'm pretty sure the Courier New Screenplay-type font I want is not being used. I'm pretty Effin' pissed off (this is what our Twitter brethren would call #FirstWorldProblems.)

Anyway, as I venture out into the Wild American Yonder (with working wifi) I have a screenplay to write, a couple screenplays to revise, and some Mets stuff to write about, including the 2nd part of my April Denver trip. It is only fitting that the 2nd chapter of the Mile High journey get posted as I hit the road for that Colorado town. (Because of my no wifi I cannot link Mile High Mr. Met Pt. 1 to you. If you have not read it, it can be found in the links to your right. If you have read it, read it again, please.)

I also implore help from you all. I mentioned this on Twitter some days ago, but I now mention it to the Met fans who read these posts. I would like to interview Met fans this offseason and into next year on their Fandom on camera. Every aspect of it. I appreciate those who retweeted this request (I know them as @Sharklady2, @petemc1969, and @jimbojoker38) and those who have already agreed to the request (like Greg Prince and all his NY Baseball Giant buddies.) Anyone who would like to help me explore the human sports psyche via your Met fandom, please contact me, and let your friends know as well. I will do my best to reach out to many of you, but please, reach out to me first.

That's it for tonight. Thanks for tunin' in. (Aw, man. I can't put the song I wanted to put in the post from the Pandora that is playing on my iPhone as I type this on my iPhone. #FirstWorldProblems suck.)

(If this IS the font I want, I apologize to the makers of this app. Otherwise, get to work.)

HAPPY VETERANS DAY.

LET'S. GO. METS.

The Wilpons Settle and Pelf Keeps Tumbling Downhill

It’s been a long day and I am finally able to sit down and write about the Mets news of the last 24 hours. The most important information has been that the Wilpons and Irving Picard settled their differences for a puny $162 Million. I cannot even begin to understand the intricacies of this case, but this is apparently a huge win for the Wilpons based on what most people in the know have said. Adam Rubin of ESPN New York lays it out pretty solidly, and if you understand legal jargon here is the Court-issued settlement agreement. I have been torn on my opinion of this case and of the Wilpons for a while now. I was firmly against them before they fired Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel, but at that end-of-an-era press conference I thought they were earnest in taking responsibility for their role in letting the snowball keep accumulating more flakes. Clearly, their financial maladies are not good for the Mets, and I seesaw between whether they should sell for the good of the collective or whether we should all give them a chance to bounce back. The Mets are their property, and if they can go through all this and come out on the other side stronger than ever with their ball club asset intact, more power to them. But alas, the debate of whether a team is a private venture or a public service has existed since sports became a business interest.

I am happy, however, (and to be cliché about it since it's all anyone has said today, but it's true) I'm glad to get the focus back to baseball.

Hey! Guess what? Pelf sucks. He gave up eight runs on eight hits with four walks and four strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings in the Mets 5-9 loss to the Astros. The excuse from Pelf himself and Terry Collins was that he ramped up his velocity. The game was  not televised, but Michael Baron of Metsblog said here that Pelf once again looked "awful."

Yes, I know Pelf had a bad spring in 2010 before having a very good first half, but nothing he has done over the last year or so has instilled confidence in me that he can be a successful pitcher for our New York Mets. I look forward to the day Matt Harvey or Jeurys Familia replace him in the rotation.

I would love for him to have quality in his durability. Clearly, I would LOVE IT. And it isn't my fault I'm pessimistic in regards to Pelfrey. It's his Blaa-ness and his Blaa-ness alone.

But he got an RBI groundout in the 2nd!!

Ugh. Mike Pelfrey.