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Not Everyone Gets A Sticker |
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Written by Mark Healey
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Thursday, 17 April 2008 |
 “The fans expect us to go out there and win ... this year, they’re
impatient with what happened last year and they want to see results
right away. When that doesn’t happen, they express their concern.” -
David Wright, New York Times, April 15th.
All of that mean, negative and hurtful booing at Shea Stadium has
really hurt the New York Mets. Especially during the last two games.
That's sarcasm, by the way.
Lots of folks, both media and fans alike, have expressed concerns that all of the booing over the first few games of the year will have a negative impact on the club. The team won't play well, and ultimately, the "bad" fans will cause the Mets to miss the playoffs because they are not feeling good about themselves.
That feeling surely has some validity ... in Candyland, perhaps.
Dodger Hall of Fame manager -- and favorite target of Mets fans at Shea Stadium -- Tommy Lasorda said used to tell his players, "If you start worrying about the people in the stands, before too long you're up in the stands with them."
There have been hundreds of players that have been booed unmercilessly in their first year in New York, most notably Mike Piazza and Tino Martinez. Each was able to sway the boo-birds enough to become beloved of the Gotham fanbase. Others have not. Like Kaz Matsui, Ed Whitson, Doug Sisk, Steve Sax, Roberto Alomar and any other player that’s ever been booed in this town, the question isn’t whether or not to boo; it’s whether said player can take the heat.
Telling the fans not to boo is a recipe for twice the booing anyway. They see the marvelous Citi Field rising in the outfield of Shea Stadium -- a place many feel that is being built to keep them out -- and are watching a roster of players that is mostly unchanged from the ones that failed to play up to expectations in 2007. Plus, for most of the season, only a few players (like the aformentioned Wright) have been playing up to their potential.
In a story for the New York Times recently, several Mets players talked with writer Joshua Robinson about their reaction to the boos. Wright seemed to be the only guy in the room who actually understands the fans' frustrations. Others are angry. Left-hander Scott Schoeneweiss, who was signed to a three-year, $10.5 million deal during the 2007 season, and then responded with an injury-marred 0-2 mark in 70 appearances with a 5.03 earned run average.
On Opening Day, the last ever at Shea Stadium, he was booed. And in every game in which he's appeared since this season, he's been booed. Deserved? Perhaps not. Controllable? Maybe.
“I don’t really want to care about the fans anymore,” he said. “If they want to boo, let them boo. I’m not going to take them out to dinner.”
Exactly. Everyone knows this. But let's not forget one thing, Alex Rodriguez has won two MVPs while playing here and he gets booed a helluva lot more than Scott Schoeneweiss. It's simple, really. Perform at a level that helps win games, and you will be cheered. Fail repeatedly, and you will be booed. A lot.
This is New York, not everyone gets a sticker.
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Of course, booing is a new invention for New York fans, right? Ask Duke Snider. The beloved Duke of Flatbush took his lumps, and yet still made it to the Hall of Fame.
"One time I had a bad day and the fans booed me and I popped off after the game that these are the worst fans in the game,” He told the legendary Maury Allen for HeroesofthePast.com. “That raised quite a fuss. Pee Wee (Reese) said I should stay home the next game. Instead I played, hit a homer and got cheered. That’s the way it always was in Brooklyn, they loved you or hated you.”
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Booing at high school baseball games is troubling and boorish. Perhaps it's inappropriate to do so at the big league level. Either way, it is going to happen. Just clear the mechanism, and everything will come out in the wash. If it doesn't, don't sign here. You won't get paid as much in Minnesota, but they'll still clap when you give up home runs to a guy that was managing a minor league ballclub last season.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 20 April 2008 )
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