Which Subway Squawker Will Jinx the Mets Tonight?

The good news for me today is that our long national nightmare is over; the Yankees finally won a game. Yippee! And the good news for Squawker Jon is that his Mets are still undefeated, after a walkoff win last night. However, the bad news will be starting for the Mets soon enough tonight, since Squawker Jon and I will be in the house! And you will be shocked to hear how we got the tickets.

Yes, I signed up for that Club Mets thing --for $19.95, you can get the MLB audio for your computer for the entire season, as well as two free tickets to a game in the Nationals series, and other discounts and whatnot. Of course, this would happen to be the series where the Mets are selling $2.50 tickets, so it's not quite as sweet a deal as it seemed to be a few months ago. But it's still a pretty good deal -- the audio alone is worth $19.99, more than the Club Mets membership! (The Yankees' type of membership for this -- Yankees Universe -- isn't even anywhere near as good a deal, by the way -- if you want free tickets, you have to sign up for the $295 membership. Yikes!)

So anyhow, Squawker Jon and I will be at the game tonight, and the question is, which one of us will jinx the team. It would seem like I would be the jinx, since I am the Yankee fan in enemy territory. But then again, we are talking about Squawker Jon here, the man who killed Mike Pelfrey's career after he purchased a Pelfrey t-shirt!

But what if the Mets (gulp) win tonight, and the Yankees lose in their own game? Jon will hurt himself doing the Snoopy Dance all the way back home! Good grief, as Charlie Brown would say!

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Look who's 3-0 and look who's 0-3

Squawker Lisa, there's still plenty of room if you want to climb aboard the Met bandwagon. See what a closer looks like when he's 3-for-3 in saves. See a veteran pitcher coming back from a serious injury pitch five shutout innings on Opening Day instead of jumping on a trampoline. See a young starter who shows up in camp in shape, isn't nervous about pitching in New York, and instead of going on the DL, takes a no-hitter into the seventh.

I'm going to enjoy the Mets' success as much as I can now because it isn't likely to last. Maybe it's not a coincidence that they swept the Braves, who are coming off a historic collapse. The Red Sox are also 0-3 and there are lots of theories that it could be a hangover (no clubhouse pun intended) from last year, so it could be the same thing with the Braves.

One of the best pieces of news for the Mets might have been that Jon Niese's no-hit bid was broken up in the seventh inning. Terry Collins said emphatically after the game that he would have have pulled Niese after 115 pitches, no-hitter or not.

But the Mets are desperate for good publicity. They've been accused of pushing players to play through injuries. If Niese had been pulled, the Mets' great start would have been drowned in boos. Instead of celebrating Niese's strong performance and new contract, the fans would come away feeling cheated.

Last year, the Mets found a way to spoil what should have been a franchise triumph - the team's first batting title - when Jose Reyes abruptly came out of his last game in the first inning. I didn't have a problem with Reyes making an early exit, but the whole situation could have been handled better.

Imagine if Niese had thrown 130 pitches and the Braves broke up the no-hitter in the eighth or ninth. Now it's the clueless Mets risking the health of a pitcher they just signed to a five-year deal.
 
So things are actually looking pretty good for the Mets at the moment.

At least until Mike Pelfrey pitches tonight.

What's the Worst Thing About Friday's Opening Day Debacle?

It is only one game, but geez, Squawker Jon and all the Yankee-haters of the world had to enjoy yesterday's Yankees loss. As my friend Joe, a Red Sox fan, put it to me on Facebook, "My joy in seeing Sabathia give up the grand slam was only exceeded by watching Mariano blow the save AND take the loss." And Squawker Jon may be on the disabled list from doing the Snoopy Dance!
Sheesh.

And what was up with Joe Girardi intentionally walking the immortal Sean Rodriguez to load the bases in order to have CC face Carlos Pena, who then hit that grand slam? Yikes. Sabathia seemed to be laboring in this game, that's for sure.

Oh, and so much for that five-man infield, eh? Raul Ibanez home run aside, it wasn't a good day for the Yanks. Not to mention having to hear the trash talk! Not a good day.

I heard Suzyn Waldman going on and on in the pre-game about the exciting Game 162 the Rays had to get into the playoffs last year. You'd hardly know, though, that it was against the Yankees!

* * *

Jon also asked when the Michael Pineda era was going to begin. Smartypants.

An aside -- there has been nothing that has happened since the Pineda/Montero trade that has made me any less queasy over it, from Pineda showing up to spring training overweight, to the lack of speed on his fastball, to the tendinitis. He seems like a nice enough guy, but I still think the Yanks should have not made the deal.

And to be blunt, after Brian Cashman's little scandal, suffice it to say that I have even less faith in Cashman's judgment than I did before. And it's not the infidelity itself, it's the fact that it apparently took him literally years to realize that Louise Neathway was a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Not to mention how he wrote that bunny-boiler a letter of  recommendation on Yankees letterhead. How appalling, as is him reportedly having her sit in the same section as the Yankee wives.  What was he thinking?

On a brighter note, looking forward to the rest of the season. And Jon, you can chortle now, but at least my team will be playing meaningful games past Opening Day!


What do you think? Tell us about it!

Opening Day: The more things change...

It was great to see Johan Santana's successful return from a serious injury, combining with the revamped bullpen to shut out the Braves on Opening Day. But the Mets can't get through a day without several reminders of their numerous problems.

With two on and two out in the fifth inning, the Mets had their first scoring opportunity. It was time to pinch hit for Santana, who was going to come out anyway. So the Mets sent up...

Mike Baxter.
 
The Mets' unwillingness to spend the little it takes to have a major-league bench might be the most frustrating thing about their financial issues. If you don't have productive stars, you can't win. If you don't have depth, you can't compete.

Do the Mets expect to not have any injuries? That idea went out the window in the seventh, when Andres Torres pulled up lame while chasing Tyler Pastornicky's triple.  Now I have to learn how to spell Nieuwenhuis.

This franchise desperately needs to restore its credibility. But it doesn't help to trumpet sellling out Citi Field on Opening Day with the largest crowd in the ballpark's history, not when every story about the game mentions the patches of empty seats, which were clearly visible on TV.

Even the much-maligned Mets medical staff offered its own bit of self-promotion, touting Santana's successful surgery and recovery.  Yes, it's great to see Santana back out there, even if he may never be the Santana of old. But Santana had reduced velocity and barely made it through the fifth inning. It may not yet be time to start celebrating.

At least, however, the Mets are over .500, tied for first and have a better record than the Yankees. So I'm going to enjoy it while I can.  

Opening Day: 2012 Mets more like 1978 squad than 1984

It's impossible to sell the current Mets squad as a contender, so some are attempting to draw comparisons to 1984, when a team that had won 68 games the year before and had not been good for years suddenly won 90 games. But the 1984 Mets already had Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry and were adding a rookie named Dwight Gooden.

The 2012 Mets have three players who have had multiple All-Star appearances - David Wright, Johan Santana and Jason Bay. If all three of these players have seasons representative of what they've done in the past, and a lot of other things go right, the Mets can win 90 games.

But everyone knows that's not going to happen. Even team apologists have given up hoping the new fences will help the hopeless Bay and are muttering about platooning, though there's currently nobody to platoon him with.

While Santana's comeback is probably the most positive thing about the 2012 Mets, the most optimistic projections fall well short of his former status as perennial Cy Young candidate.

David Wright does have a good chance to return to his former glory, and if he does, what's a potential scenario?

He gets traded.

When the Mets finally return to contention,they are going to look drastically different than they do now. While Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada and Jon Niese could all be part of a future contender, with the possible exception of Davis, all figure to be complementary pieces more than part of an All-Star core.

At this point, I'd settle for comparison to 1983, when that 68-win squad did finish the season with a lineup that included Hernandez, Strawberry, Mookie Wilson, Hubie Brooks and George Foster.

But in the short run, the 2012 Mets figure to be more like the 1978 version, when the team that got rid of Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman the year before tried to make do with what was left.

Jose Reyes is no Tom Seaver, but he might be just as irreplaceable. And the Mets also start a season without Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez, who were both with the team last year into July. With all these players, the Mets were one game over .500 at the All-Star break, only to go 31-40 in the second half.

It was almost like rubbing it in when ESPN's kickoff of the 2012 season (at least on American soil) featured Reyes and Beltran performing for their new teams, the Marlins and Cardinals.

Let's hope it's not too long before the Mets are again worth featuring on ESPN.

But in the meantime, I expect 72 wins this year and a last-place finish, but at least some hope for the future with positive showings from Davis, Niese and Duda and a late-season appearance by Matt Harvey.

As for the Yankees, 92 wins and the playoffs. Robinson Cano competes for MVP while A-Rod continues his decline. Brian Cashman blames Seattle for overusing Michael Pineda.

Squawker Lisa has at least one Met prediction I'm willing to print - the team announces on Opening Day that they are retiring Gary Carter's number. Let's hope so.

Imagine if Mets had Yankee-style injuries

A pitcher pitches an inning with a broken elbow. Another pitcher suffers a gruesome injury jumping on a trampoline. A third pitcher, traded for the team's top prospect, goes on the DL. Sounds like the Mets. But it's the Yankees.

The Mets have a well-deserved reputation for screwing up medical matters, but the Yankees have had their own woes lately.  The difference is that nobody is saying "Same old Yankees." Not yet, anyway.

On  Saturday, Cesar Cabral, who was on track to win a job in the Yankees bullpen, pitched an inning with a broken elbow. Now he's on the 60-day DL.

In 2009, Jon Niese appeared to injure his hamstring making a play at first. The crack Met medical team decided to let him try a practice pitch. I still cringe at the sight of Niese crumpling to the ground, now with a completely torn hamstring. 

If Cabral had been a Met, we probably would have had photoshopped pictures of the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail on the mound in a Met uniform while Met trainers agree with him that the loss of his arms and legs is "just a flesh wound."

After missing most of last season, former Met phenom Ike Davis has seen his comeback complicated by something called Valley Fever. The general reaction? Only the Mets could have a player come down with a disease most people have never heard of.

After missing most of last season, former Yankee phenom Joba Chamberlain has seen his comeback complicated by an injury caused by jumping on a trampoline. The general reaction? What a good dad!

When the Mets traded top prospect Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano, they were accused of negligence in failing to realize that Zambrano had a damaged arm.

When the Yankees traded top prospect Jesus Montero for Michael Pineda, manager Joe Girardi described it as "great news" when an MRI showed only shoulder tendinitis.

When reporters noted that Phil Hughes was also diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis last year, and he missed three months and finished the season with a 5.79 ERA, here was Girardi's response:

"They both got tendinitis, but I wouldn't necessarily say they're similar [injuries]," Girardi said. "There's a lot of parts to that shoulder."

Girardi's rationalizing about Pineda's injury reminds me of how some people said that Johan Santana would make it back faster than Chien-Ming Wang and others who had the same injury because all injuries are different.

Of course, all injuries are different. Pineda might miss much less time than Hughes.

Or he might miss more time.

It's way too early to judge the Pineda-Montero trade. And unlike the Kazmir debacle, this trade looked like a good deal for the New York team, or at least a fair deal, depending on how upset one was to see Montero go.
 
But it's fair to say that the trade could look better as of now. And it's fair to say that Mets are no longer alone when it comes to medical misadventures.

Message to Joba Chamberlain: Time to grow up

Joba Chamberlain is his own worst enemy. Not only did he never really apologize Tuesday for his recklessness in jumping on a trampoline when recovering from Tommy John surgery, when he explained how he messed up his ankle, he refused to even admit that he really had an open dislocation in the first place. (Brian Cashman had to do damage control later, explaining the exact nature of the injury.)
 
Talk about denial not being just a river in Egypt. Joba denied he felt much pain. He denied that he would miss much time from this injury; insisting he would be back in 2012. He even denied that this was much of a setback from his recovery from Tommy John surgery, saying:

"It's going to give me more time to rehab," he said. "It's going to allow me to continue my shoulder strengthening and everything that goes along with that. It will put me past that year mark of June. It will be stronger for that and I think that's a positive."

There must be a pony in there somewhere, Joba!

Let's review. A 250+ pound professional ballplayer, who is paid for what his body can do, and who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, thought it was a good idea to jump on a trampoline. Then, he still won't even acknowledge that it was a bad decision, trying to put a positive spin on it. Good grief.

And call me hardhearted, but I'm not buying him pulling the dad card here, when he explained the "biggest thing" he took away from this: 

“This game is very important to me. It allows me to do a lot of things, but my son is my pride and joy. The biggest thing is to don’t be so hard on yourself and realize what you were doing; you were trying to be a great dad."

Yeah, because that's the biggest problem with Joba Chamberlain; that he's just too hard on himself. Now I'm worried he's going to get another injury -- hurting his arm again from patting himself on the back so hard!

And sorry, but I guess I missed  how recklessly risking your career and your future earning powers makes you "a great dad." As my friend Sully Baseball put it, "Do you know what a REALLY good father would do? Not put at risk a career that could not only take care of his kids financially but their grandkids as well."

Joba also said, "I’m never going to look at anything I do with my son as reckless.” Not even when he had to sign a waiver warning him of paralysis, death, and all sorts of injuries that could ensue when going to this trampoline facility. Using Joba's logic, that skateboarder who fell with his kid at a skateboarding park is a candidate for Father of the Year!

He also called the incident "another thing in the book of Joba." Is that book written in crayon?

When asked what he learned from this debacle, Joba said this:

"Never question being a father," Chamberlain said. ""I felt like I let my team down, to be perfectly honest with you, and that's the most frustrating part. But when I looked back and realized what was going on, I will never question being a father."

Oh, great. Thanks in no small part to the Bob Klapisches of the world, who have been pushing this "he was just being a good dad" nonsense, Joba really believes this stuff.

But maybe it's time for Mr. Chamberlain to start questioning things -- starting with his terrible decision-making, and continuing with his lack of conditioning and commitment to the game.
 .
And it's time for Joba to grow up already. Is he really trying to tell us there was nothing that he could have done with his son in Tampa, Florida, one of the great vacation spots in this country, that didn't involve risking his career and health. Really?

Joba  also said:

“It’s still frustrating because I feel that I let [the team] down,’’ he said, “but that’s the biggest thing that I got. It’s just another hill that I’ve had to climb, and we’ll get over it and we’ll get going and be better for it.’’

Except he's the one who put the hill there. Not anybody else. He really is his own worst enemy.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

The curious case of Joba Chamberlain and the trampoline

Squawker Jon called me yesterday to tell me the news of Joba Chamberlain suffering an open dislocation on an ankle due to jumping on a trampoline. This was the second Friday in a row with shocking news -- last week, of course, was Andy Pettitte's return. But this week's news, of course, is really awful.

First of all, I hope Chamberlain makes a full recovery -- it sounds like a horrible, gruesome injury, and he reportedly lost a lot of blood. And what a terrible thing for his young son to see. Ankle injuries are serious stuff -- it's taken nearly two years for Kendrys Morales to recover from busting up his ankle. Joba's got a long haul ahead of him, that's for sure.

That being said, I know I will get some grief for this, but I have to wonder what the heck he was thinking here. Any time you engage in a physical activity, it's a risk, especially when you are a professional ballplayer who is paid based on being able to perform physical tasks, which is why the Yanks ban so much off-season physical activities, including pickup basketball, as Aaron Boone learned. (If I ran the Yankees, I would ban players from doing anything more strenuous in their free time than tiddlywinks and Monopoly, but that's me!)

Anyhow, given that Joba is recovering from Tommy John surgery, you would think that he would think, if nothing else, that if he were to stumble on the trampoline, that he could mess up his arm again. In addition, according to Daily News columnist Bill Madden, Joba had been "explicitly told by the Yankee trainers not to engage in any sort of physical activity that would potentially put his arm in harm’s way."

And trampolines are more dangerous than you might think. Did you know that a lot of homeowners' insurance companies will not cover you if you have a trampoline? They are that dangerous. As the Bleeding Yankee Blue blog pointed out, a lot of people -- over one hundred thousand in 2006 -- get hurt jumping on trampolines. And, as I discovered today, a few people have even died from using trampolines.

In addition, I did some research on Tampa play centers that have trampolines. We do not know as of yet which place Chamberlain went to with his son, but I found information on two big trampoline centers in Tampa --AirHeads Trampoline Arena and Boing! Jump Center. And at both places, you have to sign waivers detailing all the risks you potentially face at their facilities. Here is just some of what the two-page AirHeads waiver says:

All participants acknowledge that participation in ATA trampoline games or activities entails known and unanticipated risks that could result in physical or emotional injury, paralysis, death, or damage to myself, my child, to property or to third parties.  I understand that such risks simply cannot be eliminated without jeopardizing the essential qualities of the activity. The risks include, but are not limited to: Slipping and falling, collision with fixed objects or people, injuries that include: sprains, fractures, scrapes, bruises, cuts, dislocations, pinched fingers, and serious injuries to the head, back or neck; the negligence of other participants, myself, or my child; my own or my child’s physical condition; physical contact with others; and failure to warn of an inherent risk.  

The Boing! waiver says, in part, that:

Such risks could result in, but not be limited to, damage and/or injury to myself, to property, and/or to third parties and/or entities, including, but not limited to: loss of property, loss of balance, fatigue, dizziness, paralysis, quadriplegia, death, and/or physical and/or emotional injuries, including, but not limited to, sprains, strains, contusions, abrasions, fractures, scrapes, bumps, bruises, cuts, lacerations, soft tissue damage, dislocations, pinched fingers and/or nerves, and/or serious, crippling and/or disabling injuries to the face, arms, hands, legs, feet, head, back, shoulders, spine, spinal cord, neck, internal body parts and/or any other body parts.

So, if Joba went to either of these places or to another other trampoline facility, chances are extremely likely that he would have had to sign such a waiver. Why didn't it occur to him, when signing a waiver saying about how you could potentially die or become a quadriplegic from jumping on a trampoline, that perhaps it wasn't the greatest idea in the world to do so?

I have heard people defend Chamberlain for going to a play center, suggesting that he was just being a good dad with his son. Yet he could have just let his son jump on the trampoline, or picked a less dangerous activity to do with his son for that day instead. You can think I'm too judgmental if you want, but I can't get past why an injury-ridden ballplayer recovering from surgery would think that jumping on a trampoline would be a wise decision. This isn't like getting injured by riding the Dumbo kiddie ride at Walt Disney World, after all.

So, I hope Joba fully recovers from the ankle dislocation. But I also hope that he starts taking things more seriously. As much as I think the Derek Jeter worship in this town is over the top, I do appreciate that Derek has always taken care of himself and stayed out of situations that could jeopardize his health and his career. It might do Joba some good to think to himself once in a while, "What would Derek Jeter do?"

What do you think about Joba Chamberlain? Tell us about it!

Subway Squawkers debate: Is Tim Tebow good or bad for the New York Jets?

Squawker Lisa, one of my teams has embarrassed themselves yet again. Did Woody Johnson feel left out with the Wilpons battling James Dolan to see who's the worst owner in town? Trading for Tim Tebow is a move meant more for publicity than for improving the team. The Jets need help at receiver, safety, linebacker and offensive line more than they need someone who can run the wildcat a few plays a game. A fourth-round pick may not seem like much, but yesterday the Eagles traded a fourth-rounder for former Pro Bowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans. But why fill one of your actual needs when you can trade for a quarterback just days after giving Mark Sanchez an extension and signing Drew Stanton to be backup?

The notion that Tebow can help in the locker room is ludicrous. If a backup quarterback has any clout in the locker room, that says more about the starting QB. Instead, the locker room will be further fractured as factions form around Sanchez and Tebow. Within a year, one of them will no longer be a Jet.

I hope the holdup over the salary clause in the contract kills the deal, but whether or not it does, what does it say about Mike Tannenbaum, who rose to power as a capologist, that he missed it?

The Jets have traded for a quarterback who had dramatic success in getting his team to the playoffs and won a game there, but is generally considered to be subpar. They already have a quarterback who got his team to the playoffs twice and won four games there, but is generally considered to be subpar.

After the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2008, the Jets responded by trading for Brett Favre. By the end of the year, their coach was fired and Favre was gone. After the Giants won their most recent Super Bowl, the publicity-hungry Jets have traded for Tebow. Let's see who's still standing in the Jets' circus at the end of the year.

* * *

Squawker Lisa responds to Squawker Jon's tirade:  First of all, before I unleash a tirade of my own, I would like to say that I was the one to point out to Jon yesterday that the Jets were interested in Tebow. Not only did he pooh-pooh it, he nay-sayed that it could be true. Then, when we were on the phone today, he heard the news that Tebow would be a Jet, and told me. I screamed into the phone, I was so excited. Jon just screamed. I think he looked like this picture.


So Jon, while I am practicing my Tebowing moves to get ready for the fall, I must take issue with you comparing Tim Tebow to Brett Favre, especially since Favre's tenure with the Jets is most remembered by him sending out a photo of his junk to female Jets staffers. Blech. I don't think we have to worry about Tebow doing such a thing.

Second, as a great man recently wrote, "The team with the guts to trade for Tebow and start him at QB will get a steal. He's a force of competitive nature. #FreeTebow" Okay, it wasn't really a great man, it was Skip Bayless, but we both think Tebow is awesome!

Third, could the Jets locker room be any worse? Let me remind you of how one of your team captains, Santonio Holmes, quit on his team last year, and how your team's own players were questioning the quarterback. And you're worried Tebow could make things worse? That's like somebody on "Hoarders" with a houseful of adult diapers stinking up the joint griping about a stray gum wrapper lying around!

Holmes was called a "cancer" in the clubhouse. Tebow is like sunshine and lollipops and unicorns and double rainbows.  How could you not like him? Are you against fluffy kittens, too?

Sure, this move probably has more than a little to do with publicity, and what is wrong with that? It's a Steinbrenner-esque move. It reminds me a little of George Steinbrenner bringing in Goose Gossage after Sparky Lyle won the Cy Young Award except that neither player isn't really that good. Work with me here, okay?

And let me remind you, since John Elway seems to have forgotten, that if it weren't for Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos would not have made the playoffs last season, and Peyton Manning would be going to the 49ers. Tebow does have some kind of magic to him!

How long before the call starts for people to call for Tebow to be the starting quarterback -- I say it will take as long as Sanchez's first game! Come to think of it, do you want to chip in on buying a pro-Tebow billboard?

Finally, as my man Vince Young had to say today, this could be good for the Sanchize. “I know it’s tough for him with a guy like Tim Tebow coming to be a part of your team and taking a bit of your fame as a leader,” said Young. “But at the same time, it’s a good thing as well. He can help out the running game. He can push you to play even better for your team.” You see? It will all work out!

* * *

Squawker Jon's rebuttal to Lisa: 

Tebow was a feel-good story for a few weeks when he kept winning in dramatic fashion. Remember when Aaron Small kept winning for the Yankees in 2005? Another feel-good story enhanced by the player's deeply religious beliefs. There was talk of making a movie about Small. But the magic wore off the following season.

Sure, Tebow has a longer record of winning, with two national championships in college. But quarterbacks winning college championships don't necessarily turn into pro successes. You should know this as a Vince Young fan.


(By the way, I was surprised to see you quoting VY for leadership advice. What other words of wisdom did he have - "if Tebow takes over as quarterback and they won't let you back in the game, just throw your equipment in the stands"?)

In fact, the Jets already have a backup quarterback who won a national title, Greg McElroy of Alabama. And the year McElroy won, 2009, the quarterback he beat in the SEC championship game was none other than Tim Tebow.

As for clubhouse chemistry, Holmes was disgruntled when Sanchez couldn't get him the ball. Imagine how he'll feel when Tebow is aiming the ball in his general direction.  

And how can you say I'm against unicorns? As someone patiently waiting for the Mets and Jets to produce championship teams, it's clear I believe in mythical creatures.

Now Met Fans Need to Be Willfully Blind

And here I thought the worst day of the offseason would be Jose Reyes signing with the Marlins. Instead, the Wilpons and Saul Katz reached a $162 million settlement with Madoff trustee Irving Picard in which Mets ownership will not have to make any payments for three years, by which time the $162 million could be much less or completely gone, depending on the results of Picard's clawback suits.

This is the worst day for a Picard since Captain Jean-Luc was taken by the Borg.

Much like Bobby Bonilla's contract, the days of reckoning for the Wilpons and Katz get pushed back a few years, enough time for the Wilpons and Katz to figure out what to do about the team's hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

Attendance and TV ratings are likely to continue to fall as the team sinks into last place. And payroll will fall even more, since the team won't have enough revenue. Even though it will be ownership's fault for not putting forth a good product, the fans will be blamed for not providing the revenue anyway.

In today's settlement, the trustee dropped the charge that the Wilpons and Katz were "willfully blind" to Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Willful blindness is a legal term that refers to the acts of a person who intentionally fails to be informed about matters that would make the person liable.

Met fans are now being asked to be willfully blind to the team's lack of hope. We are supposed to ignore the facts and believe that the current team is competitive. That the organization will have the resources to build a winner.

In fact, we are supposed to believe that the resources have always been there, since the Wilpons have consistently denied that the Madoff scandal had any effect on the team's finances. From ESPN: Katz said outside the courthouse that the Mets were on secure financial footing. "Always was," he said.

A team that just cut its payroll by an MLB record $50 million was, and continues to be, on secure financial footing.

Mets 2012: The Magic Is Back - as long as you're willfully blind.