This Mets fan has stayed mum for too long...

I've stayed mum for too long. I have long neglected this platform that could potentially reach millions, and so it's time I start using it for the greater good.

It was mentioned in passing and in jest today that perhaps the New York Mets -- my New York Mets -- should be contracted from Major League Baseball. As a long-suffering Mets fan, I can see that this kind of thinking emanates from one of two places: 1) A NY Mets fan who just wants to end the pain and misery; or 2) Fans of other teams merely having fun at our expense.

Either way, I guess the point of fact is this: Yes, the Mets have fallen on hard times. Yes, they set a new world record for injuries begotten by inept medical care. Yes, Madoff took all of the Wilpons' money, and even though they still want ours, they don't want to spend a dime. Yes, Omar Minaya turned one of the best things to happen to the team -- firing Tony Bernazard -- into a meteoric PR disaster. Yes, they lack fundamentals in every phase of the game. Yes, they can't beat the San Diego Padres, the Arizona Diamondbacks, or even the Newark Bears at this point..........

But with all that said, is contraction the answer? No.

Despite all of the misery, despite this wasted season, despite two straight epic September collapses, despite Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS and despite all of the years and years of heartache and suffering since the 1986 championship season, I know in my heart of hearts that the New York Mets will one day come out of this soon-to-be-23-year drought, and they will get back to what made them so Amazin' to begin with.

I dream of a scrappy team that takes no prisoners on the field, managed by a man with the intellect and heart of a Japanese warrior. I see a freer, wiser man than he was before, still clever but without all the needless ploys, liberated from plastic glasses and mustache disguises as this franchise rises to meet their true destiny as World Champions once more.

This team, and this man, will overcome all of the arrogant Senseis and juiced-up Johnny Lawrences of the world, and they will take back this New York Town that they once owned, albeit for a fleeting moment, albeit soon-to-be-23-years ago.

So when you say contract the Mets, I say Mets, it's time to do the right thing and bring in the man we know is waiting, just waiting to come back home. It's not time to contract, it's time to sign the contract that will make all of this a distant memory.

It is a Flushing rallying cry that is worth the redux, and that cry is, "BOBBY V! BOBBY V! BOBBY V!"

I'll see you all again on Valentine's Day!

--CB40

Get To Know Your Musers: CB40

Who are your favorite teams college and pro?
Mets, Jets, Knicks, Islanders <-- A combined 23 years without a championship and counting!

Who is your one favorite sports team above all others and why?
The New York Metropolitans. I have been a baseball fan far longer than any other sport was even on my radar, and the Mets have had a special place in my heart since I could barely walk. I was old enough to enjoy the championship run in 1986, and even today, the words, "It gets by Buckner, the Mets win!" bring back a rush of excitement and joy like no other, reminding me what it was like to be 7 years-old and just relishing every moment.

People say baseball is one of those sports that is passed down from generation to generation, and that's another reason why the Mets are my favorite team. Being able to go to the ball-park with my family when I was a kid was so much fun, and even better are the times we get to go together now. The bond created through baseball fandom is truly special, as is the connection formed from wishing the Yankees nothing but pain and misery from now until the end of time. I am half-kidding, but not really :-)

Who are the five women on your Celebrity Exemption list?
Maria Kanellis, WWE Diva
Angelina Love, TNA Knockout Champion, part of the regime known as The Beautiful People
Stacy Keibler, former WCW Nitro Girl/WWE Diva/Dancing With The Stars contestant
Alyson Hannigan, of American Pie, Buffy, and How I Met Your Mother fame
And yes, Kelly Clarkson, which gives all my fellow musers the thrill of a lifetime

Honorable Mention: Rachel Nichols, ESPN :-)

What's the worst thing you ever said to a woman?
The worst thing I ever said, not really sure. I used to be shy so perhaps the worst thing I did was not say something to an attainable girl I had feelings for. How's that for brute honesty?

What is your favorite sports moment?Most heartbreaking?
My favorite sports moment, as mentioned before, was the Bill Buckner error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. In 23 years, nothing has really topped that kind of elation.

My most heartbreaking sports moment is easily Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, Mets vs. Cardinals, which I witnessed in person at a jam-packed Shea Stadium. Endy Chavez makes the most amazing catch in Mets (if not all of baseball) history, only for the offense and bullpen to blow it all later on in the game. The actual moment that crushed me was Yadier Molina's game-winning home run against Aaron Heilman, though Carlos Beltran's backwards K to end it all is a close second.

What team would you purposely wish harm upon because you hate them beyond all rational thinking?
You know, this may surprise some people, but I never forgave the Washington Capitals -- specifically Dale Hunter -- for cheap-shotting Pierre Turgeon after Turgeon scored a huge goal for the Islanders in the 1993 NHL Playoffs. This completely messed up the Islanders for the rest of the Playoffs, despite beating the Penguins in the following series, and I just never quite got over that. So F Dale Hunter, F the Caps, and F Ovechkin.

What is your favorite movie quote?
Sentimental: "Dad, you want to have a catch?" -Field of Dreams

Comical: "Look! It's Enrico Pallazzo!" -The Naked Gun, which features the best baseball scene from a non-sports movie EVER, so it deserves some kind of recognition

If Sports Musing Readers take away just one piece of knowledge from you, what do you want that to be?
Honestly, I am going to go serious on this one, as this particular quote really did and still does resonate with me: "Don't give up, don't ever give up." Jim Valvano

Reflections on Citi Field

Below is a great review of Citi Field by another muser. As we get this blog started we're still signing folks up. If you like this review, encourage the self proclaimed "Luddite" to sign up.

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OK I got to see Citi Field last night, and my impressions are below. Overall I give the stadium very high marks. They did a fabulous job. These comments are purely about the stadium -- I'll leave out the debates over economics and the necessity of a new stadium for another time:

-- The Jackie Robinson Rotunda is excellent, and I don't see it as a problem or overdone at all. As Mike said, he broke the color barrier in NY. It makes sense for the Mets to honor him since he was on one of the NL teams the Mets replaced. Outside of the rotunda there's nothing else overwhelmingly Robinson. No griping necessary about this, IMHO.

-- There is loads of space. And you really can still feel like you're involved when you go to get food, beer, etc. They're even playing it on the radio in the bathroom (useful when the beer and burgers need a little time to finish making their way through your system).

-- Aesthetically its gorgeous, especially from the outside. I really liked getting off the subway and looking at a beautiful brick facade (with many Mets pictures lining the outside, for anyone worried about nothing celebrating the Mets), flower beds, benches and open space. Beats the crap out of knowing you have to traverse thin walkways around concrete walls to get to a gate that always seem far away. Although I found myself sentimentally pining in the original direction I used to walk.-- I love the bricks laid out with messages from fans.

-- They did lie about obstructed views. There are many. Not a big deal, just annoying that they touted how there were no obstructed views.

-- Beer is really f'ing expensive. $7.50 domestic beers. Ouch!

-- Lots of space, and plenty of room to hang out before and during the game (clearly more conducive to drinking, which of course is why they charge $7.50 a beer).

-- Plenty of food choices, unlike the limited selections of Shea.

-- MUCH easier to walk up a few flights of stairs (I was in the upper deck) than to go up the old Shea ramps.-- Entrances all around and they seem more well-managed.

-- Weird not seeing the subway out in right like you used to; makes it tough to tell when lots of people are coming late or when the seats are clearing during a lousy game (as if any of that matters).

-- Not sure whey they don't have a K-corner scoreboard, unless I just missed it.

-- Gonna be tough to hit home runs, but outfielders will have their hands full when balls ricochet around.

-- When you get to the upper decks there really isn't the incredible legroom they spoke about, but you do have a cup holder for your beer.

That's about it. Glad I got to see the first ever Mets win at CITI Field. Let's Go Mets!

Top 10 Overrated Mets Prospects

via a yet registered fellow muser....

in no particular order the top 10 most overrated Mets Prospects:

alex escobar
floyd youmans
billy beane
shawn abner
gregg jeffries
lastings milledge
alex ochoa
ed yarnall
ed hearn
matt peterson

additions? subtractions?