In terms of media buzz, Mets own this town
When it comes to spring training, nothing is set in stone, cast in iron or written in blood. Or as the late, great Mets Hall-of-Fame voice Bob Murphy used to say: “That’s why they put erasers on pencils.”
Situations and circumstances change on a road through the long season. Yet who would’ve believed, even with the countdown to Opening Day still on, that the Mets have upstaged the return of Alex Rodriguez AND totally taken the media buzz away from the Yankees as well.
Right now the Mets are the more compelling TV property headed into the regular season — by far. Things have been turned upside down. With expectations raised, the Mets are walking the high wire without a safety net. That kind of act will have people watching to see if the wire snaps.
The Yankees? This is one of those rare times when the All Knowing ones don’t know what to expect. Until further notice, the Yankees are officially bland.
A-Rod has incredibly, and wisely, kept his foot out of his mouth. The other Yankee “stars” are the charismatic equivalents of vanilla beans, and the owner pretty much sticks to the script. Even the loose-lipped GM has put a clamp on it. This amounts to one huge pinstriped yawn. Flying under the radar ain’t all that bad, but in the Bronx it has never been the custom.
The Mets found a way to feed the beast, swallow back pages (The Daily News’ read: Same Old Mets), and suck most of the hot air out of Valley of the Stupid Gasbags. The “outrage” the Mets triggered by daring to name Bartolo Colon the Opening Day starter against the Nats in D.C. is our prime example. The reaction was comical.
While listening to all the helium exhaled over this matter, we could’ve sworn this game this one game Colon will pitch, is worth a 10-game lead in the standings. And poor, poor Matt Harvey. It was as if Sandy Alderson (or was it Terry Collins or Jeff Wilpon) decided the face of the franchise was told he was not pitching Game 7 of the World Series.
The brilliant discourse became so heated, some talkies, who traditionally kiss fan tuchis, turned the tables. Addressing Mets fans, ESPN-98.7’s Don LaGreca said: “You’re in love with your own sadness. You’re miserable people.”
All this is good — even misery. It showed how much passion and anxiety now surround the Mets. All the boring, predictable whining from the same drones about the team’s finances has been replaced by some real sizzle and creativity.
This is the kind of emotion, and interest, that bring eyeballs to telecasts. But these flashpoint controversies are transient. There needs to be a mini-series, so to speak, and the Mets have one. In a recent piece, Daily News baseball columnist John Harper wrote that the relationship between Alderson and Collins “could get testy” especially if the Mets get off to a slow start.
This is terrific news. Especially if you are on the TV side. Collins has mostly maintained his cool during his managerial tenure here. But the combination of a slow start, the reality he is managing for his job, and, as Harper reported, Alderson is keeping him out of the loop on some matters, could make the manager’s SportsNet New York postgame press conferences must-see TV.
Get it? Tune in to see Terry explode.
Ultimately, controversy and storylines finish second to consistent winning. That’s what drives the ratings to higher ground. When the two elements collide, the ratings go even higher. For the notso-big secret here is this: Despite those who actually believe everyone’s fandom is locked in, there is a large — very large — segment of eyeballs who hang out in the middle before gravitating toward a winning, compelling team.
These folks are all about frontrunning. They drive ticket sales and TV ratings. Since George Steinbrenner created the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, and the team went on its run, the Bombers have owned these fickle peepers. Yet considering the Yankees’ recent losing ways, and the Mets’ prolonged funk, these fans have retreated back to the middle.
Now they are just waiting to be seduced. And they are ripe for the taking.
So, all this hype and optimism about a Mets pitching staff featuring Harvey and Jacob deGrom might just register with the undecided. And when they hear all this lunacy over Harvey not getting that Opening Day start in D.C. it could make them even more curious.
Reports of the Alderson Collins relationship being dicey provide the kind of intrigue that might appeal to these fence-sitters. And there is still time for a lot more “situations” to develop. As things stand now the Mets — incredibly — are in the driver’s seat.
Unless A-Rod finally decides to flap his yap.