Sign him up
Fed- up Mets fan makes his point
The first day of the Mets’ seventh season at Citi Field seemed so different than nearly every day the park had seen before. The sun was shining, nearly every seat was filled and nearly every fan was filled with optimism.
Outside Citi Field, reminders of darker days still loomed large.
Mimicking the maneuver of the Jets fans who flew banners and put up billboards calling for the firing of former Jets general manager John Idzik, a group of Mets fans placed two billboards on Roosevelt Avenue outside the stadium, pleading with the team’s owners to sell the franchise.
One read: “FRED, JEFF & SAUL, Ya gotta leave,” playing off of Tug McGraw’s famous “Ya gotta believe” catchphrase from 1973. The other read: “Sell the Team.”
The billboards, scheduled to be removed on May 3, will garner plenty of attention over the next few weeks, placed alongside the No. 7 subway tracks and painted in the team’s orange and blue colors, standing 10 ½ feet by 22 ¾ feet.
Mets fan Gary Palumbo, 39, raised $ 6,700 on Kickstarter to pay for the signs, drawing attention to the Mets’ reluctance to maintain a payroll similar to other major market teams.
“They asked us to be patient through the [ Bernie] Madoff issue and to let them go through their rebuilding process, and then they said when the time was ready, they were going to reinvest back into the team and get it ready for competitiveness,” Palumbo said. “That was supposed to be last year, but with the [ Matt] Harvey injury, that kind of set everything back.
“And so once we went into this offseason and they signed [ Michael] Cuddyer and then did nothing else, that was really the tipping point for me. That demonstrated that the Wilpons are still not financially capable of doing what needs to be done for the longterm best of the team.”
Since Fred Wilpon became the sole controlling owner in 2002 — having become a coowner in 1986 and minority owner six years earlier— the Mets have only made the playoffs once, entering this year with six straight losing seasons. Jeff Wilpon, Fred’s son and the team’s chief operating officer, declined to discuss the signs on Monday, with manager Terry Collins unable to understand the logic in putting up the billboards.
“I think it’s a waste of time, but that’s just my own opinion,” Collins said. “You want to spend $ 6,000? Go feed the homeless.”
Many members of the frustrated fan base grew even more agitated on Monday, as lengthy security lines caused countless fans — part of the stadium’s largestever regularseason crowd — to miss the beginning of the home opener. Multiple fans reported waiting as long as half an hour to be let through the gates, due to enhanced security measures implemented by Major League Baseball.
A Mets official, aware of the situation, recommended fans show up earlier than they are accustomed to, given the new security measures will be in place all season.
Jenrry Mejia’s positive drug test may have surprised the Mets, but general manager Sandy Alderson doesn’t appear to have lost sleep over it.
Before the Mets beat the Phillies 20 in the Citi Field opener on Monday, Alderson said he was “disappointed and unhappy” when he received the news about his closer, who Saturday was suspended 80 games by MLB after testing positive for steroids.
“A big mistake [ by Mejia], but that is not going to slow us down,” Alderson said.
The GM said he received the news directly from Mejia and his agent.
“I think he knows [ Mejia] made a mistake and he’s paying a price,” Alderson said. “We’re paying a price andwe move ahead.”
Mejia, in statement, said he never knowingly used a banned performanceenhancing drug. Alderson had no comment when asked if Mejia’s assertion was believable.
Noah Syndergaard, whowas scheduled to make his first start of the season Monday night for Triple A Las Vegas, underwent an MRI exam on his right forearm near the end of spring training, according to Alderson.
“We don’t see any issue there on that,” Alderson said.
Syndergaard underwent an MRI exam on his elbow last season after complaining of soreness, but returned to the Las Vegas
rotation shortly afterward.
Bobby Parnell and Vic Black are both expected to begin rehab assignments for Class A St. Lucie in the next one or two days, according to Alderson. The Mets are hopeful both relievers will join the major league roster before the end of the month.
Jacob de Grom improved to 63 with a 1.56 ERA in his 11 career starts at Citi Field. The righthander has never allowed more than three runs in any of his home starts.
Monday marked the Mets’ 10th shutout in a home opener. Their last came on April 5, 2012, when they beat the Braves 10.
Overall, the Mets are 3420 in home openers. That includes a 43 mark in the Citi Field era.