Love is in the Air

On the one hand... pitchers and catchers arrive tomorrow and baseball season for the Mets begins. On the other hand... I love my wife and she's not the world's biggest baseball fan. You just have to understand: I've been dating the Mets for a long time. I have to have priorities.

In the beginning: I became a Met fan because my father was a Mets fan. He became a Met fan because George Steinbrenner took a dump on one of his childhood heroes, Yogi Berra. The truth is, I wasn't really a Met fan... or a baseball fan until a certain guy came to NY.


The Love: Mike Piazza ended the Bonilla hangover from the 80s and made the Mets a watchable organization again. The Mets weren't perfect, but they were lovable. Mike Piazza had his AWFUL V05 commercials. Edgardo Alfonso didn't try to hit the ball until he had a full count. John Olerud wore that batting helmet in the field. Robin Ventura provided half-time shows. Even the manager would put on a disguise from time to time. It was sports love.

Lover's Quarrel: The Mets are not an easy club to love. They are dysfunctional, the owners are a joke, they haven't exactly won anything for me and the cross town rival Yankees are probably the easiest team in sports to root for. I mean... do the Mets care about me half as much as I care about them?

Loving the Mets: To love the Mets you must be patient, you must be able to take a joke, you must have a desire to see the little guy (even if he's not the little) win for a change and most importantly... you must have a slight disconnect from reality. If you can manage that... repeat after me.

I (Your Name) do solemnly swear to root for the Mets, in good times and bad, In sickness and in health, until the owners sell the team across the country and purchase the Dodgers... Those jerks.

MAZEL TOV!

Later This Week:

Despite critics, the Mets farm looks like they'll be good (at hitting): I will look at the Mets AAA, AA, A+ and A league rosters and evaluate the talent there in.

What happens to Jose? Does he get traded? Does he come back?

A look at 2012 and beyond: What lies ahead for the fiscally responsible Sandy Alderson and the Mets?

Who Will Ike Davis Become?: Is Ike Davis Adam LaRoche with better defense, Olerud without the helmet, Keith Hernandez without the mustache, or something entirely new?

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