Pass The Buck

We have all heard the saying that the "Buck Stops Here." Some president built a campaign around that slogan and it was pretty successful. It meant that HE would be taking ownership for the problems the country would be faced with. Not blaming crooked businessmen or insulting his employees.

What we as fans sometimes forget is that the Buck... starts here...

Fred Wilpon pays for the players salaries, the operations costs for the stadiums and training facilities. He even pays the bills for SNY. He does all of this with the knowledge that the buck will be passed and as it does... it should make friends.

The Wilpons pay for the team and all the costs that surround them. They pay for advertising and promotion of players who... they apparently don't even like. Who pays them?

• Television: Proceeds from sales of commercials during Met games is profitable. It's even more profitable when you own the network the game is televised on. When another network broadcasts a Met game... guess what, the Wilpons make money there too.
• Merchandise: Those Reyes jerseys that will soon be hitting the discount rack as well as those Beltran bobble heads and David Wright posters all make the Wilpons money.
• Stadium: Let's talk about that stadium...

The Mets must be in trouble... right? The stadium looks barren with so few people attending the games. Let us say you did go to that game. How much money did you pay for your beer and those nachos and the souvenir sundae for your kid? The team makes money whether or not the team has fans in the seats. SURE, the more people come to the games, the better, but the Wilpons money comes FIRST from television, SECOND from merchandising and THIRD from people actually going to games.

So... the Wilpons can complain all they want about the team's struggles and the players being "over-payed". The buck might start with them, but they aren't running a charity. The buck ends with them and I'm willing to bet that with all the struggles, the Mets are not the reason the Wilpon's are tight for cash.

SAVE REYES

Let Fred and Jeffy know that you love the team and the players DESPITE them and not BECAUSE of them. Join the SAVE REYES campaign and help save the final scraps of dignity for the franchise. Don't do it for me... do it to spite Mike Francessa.

Warning... Food Porn

One thing no fan of baseball will deny about the Met's stadium is the great variety and taste of food choices available. Now... we won't get into a competition between Citi Field and say... Camden Yards but... we will get into an internal competition between the contenders AT Citi Field.

Fifth Place: Tacos

Now... call me biased because I'm not a fan of tacos in general, but I want something slightly easier to eat when in the confines of a stadium. Plus, when you factor in: Sour Cream, Guacamole, Salsa and other sauces you are eating a soupy mess and ruining your favorite jersey.

Fourth Place: Knishes

If the Wilpons really wanted to appeal to the Jewish community they'd offer Kosher Chinese food. Wait... maybe that's already in the works. Anywho... I have a friend who is a big fan of this starchy snack so I'll talk about it. It beats the taco in terms of stadium fare as it's got great portability. It loses handily in taste as... well... it hasn't got any. Sure you can dip it in mustard or ketchup but for my money give me fries. When is Citi Field gonna open a place that serves chopped liver and gefilte fish?

Third Place: Pulled Pork

Finally... something I actually like eating. My issue with the version at Citi Field is not the mess factor but the taste. I like my pulled pork saucy and there's... not so much. It is good, but hardly worthy of a second glance. If you want good pulled pork, go to Virgil's in time square.

Second Place: Italian Heroes

Not subs, not grinders and certainly never hoagies. This is as American as... well... half the stuff we claim to be American. Riddle me this though, if you were to be watching the game at home... what would you like to be eating. My guess is that more than one person will raise their hand for an Italian Hero.

First Place: Shack Attack

When cows are chopped up to bits and turned into ground chuck. They dream of being turned into a shack burger. You say, "So what? My stadium serves burgers." No, my friend, your stadium serves meat sandwiches that look like burgers. A shack burger IS what your BASIC burger is meant to be. Sure... we all have our tastes. Bleu Cheese, Barbecue with Fried Onions or my favorite Peking Duck Burger, (Burger Deluxe on Rte 23 North) but if we are being purists... we all know that a burger is meat + cheese + bun + lettuce and tomato and the pure carnal joy of chewing.

If you get the chance, check out the not stadium locations of Shake Shack. YES... you will need to wait in line. YES... the line does wrap half way around Madison Square Park. Just do it. Okay? Pick me up a "Great White Way" while your at it.

Hole-y Baseball Bats Batman!

Is there a hole in David Wright's swing, or has he felt to much pressure to generate the teams offense all on his own? Whatever the reason, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that David Wright has developed a habit of swinging and missing. This has led to lower walks and extended streaks of bad hitting. This in turn leads people to question whether David is the super-star the Mets need or if they should look to trade him for young talent and start over.

Look at the progression:

2006: .311 / 26 HR / 116 RBI / 66 BBs / 113 Ks
2007: .325 / 30 HR / 107 RBI / 94 BBs / 115 Ks
2008: .302 / 33 HR / 124 RBI / 94 BBs / 118 Ks
2009: .307 / 10 HR / 72 RBI / 74 BBs / 140 Ks
2010: .283 / 29 HR / 103 RBI / 69 BBs / 161 Ks

So what happened to Wright after his most powerful season? The short answer is: Citi Field. David Wright struggled to figure out the new stadium and began to "Press" on the road. Regardless of how true that is, I think that there are a number of other elements that contributed to the struggles.

I'm All Alone: Beltran caught the injury bug in 2009 and carried right through into 2010 with limited at-bats. It would appear that David Wright is not a one-man band and needs some support around him. Thar means that a healthy Beltran, resurgent Bay and a developing Davis should all contribute to Wright having an up year.

Catch The Streak: Back in 2007, David Wright had 1 month where he hit less than .290, in 2008 he slumped from May to June but not terribly, in 2009 he hit an absurdly bad .223 for a month and in 2010 he suffered 3 months where he hit below .260. He simply cannot get that lost for THAT long. I think that Jerry Manuel and Willie Randolf did not do enough to get David turned around quicker during his slumps.

Play The Count: David Wright is GREAT at hitting when a pitcher is behind. The same is not true when a pitcher gets ahead. The difference is... David used to excel at hitting when the tides were even. He hit only .177 when the count was 2-2 but if he could draw that full count his average would sky-rocket to .300+. In the past 3 years that has not been true. David needs to re-establish his comfort level at full count and use that comfort to bring his OPS back into the Super-Star echelon we expect from him.

In short, does David have a hole in his swing? Yes. Can this be fixed? God I hope so.

This is Phlavio Phega and, if it relates to the Mets, I have an opinion.