Boo! 2010

[Guest Edgy DC]

Opening at home this season, with a fanbase increasingly confusing disgruntlement with empowerment, and an offseason where the consensus was that the Mets should have been more aggressive, the potential for boos (from a base that booed Carlos Beltran on opening day in 2006) is fierce.

If Reyes makes a the dance, it'll lead perhaps to a cascade of good will that might spread to some of his teammates.

So I'm trying to look ahead to opening day hatred, anticipate who will get it, the rationale, and send pre-emptive loving vibes out there.

Rod Barajas.
Why? Because, boo-hoo, we wanted someone better. Not sure who.
Why not? Because how meaningless is your life if you paid $120 to come out and boo Rod Barajas?
Chance of boos? 39%.

David Murphy. (OE: Daniel)
Why? Because he had the gall to play like a rookie and not get hurt when everybody else did. Plus, he's not the unblemished Ike Davis.
Why not? Gets the goodwill of the white, the young, the Irish. Some also may retain the hope of his strong 2008.
Chance of boos? 43%.

Luis Castillo.
Why? Because that drop, that drop, that drop!
Why not? It's getting a little old, isn't it?
Chance of boos? 89%.

Fernando Tatis.
Why? He wasn't as good in 2009, and his name kind of sounds like you can work "Fat" in there.
Why not? He won't be there forever. He's kind of got a Benny Agbayani mascot thing going.
Chance of boos? 28%.

Gary Matthews.
Why? Because his contract is a disaster. Even if it's somebody else's disaster, it offends our souls, doesn't it? Besides, we want a batter, not a wooden ladder.
Why not? Boobirds may forget that he's on the team until the moment he gets introduced. Plus, he certainly hit this spring.
Chance of boos? 34%.

Alex Cora?
Why? As an injured backup in 2009, he played like an injured backup.
Why not? If Reyes is on the field and helathy, there's no necessary reason to believe Cora is preparing to torpedo your hopes.
Chance of boos? 71%.

Oliver Perez.
Why? Fat, soft, overpaid Mexican mental case.
Why not? Because, I don't know, maybe you're a decent person with the ability to resist the mob mentality that is going to rain down on this guy.
Chance of boos? 96%.

John Maine.
Why? Was kind of good and now may never be good again.
Why not? Also got the young, white thing going. You've got to root for somebody to be good.
Chance of boos? 25%.

Mike Pelfrey.
Why? Big guy but not a bad-ass. First rounder, too.
Why not? He seems affable enough and, through all his struggles, hasn't yet done anything that can be interpreted as petulant.
Chance of boos? 24%.

It goes to show you what kind of season it was that there are no solid whipping boy candidates in the bullpen. Ends of games weren't meaningful enough in 2009 to get particuarly angry at the pen men.

Anyhow, here's hoping none of this goes down.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

They will boo Perez and Castillo, loudly, and some might boo Pelfrey. I think everyone else is off the hook.

I think fans might actually like Barajas, he is no Schneider.

[Ceetar]

Good Stuff. I disagree on Barajas, he's too new, I don't think people thought Thole was ready or Molina was worth it. We're comparing him to Schneider for a why not.

Castillo and Perez will get the brunt of it, no question. no question, no question.

I think some of it will be tempered to start with because

a. baseball's back!
b. It's supposed to be a nice day.
c. baseball's back!
d. Johan's on the mound.

What about Manuel? I think I may boo him myself..Only guy I'd consider it given opening day. (Warthen probably deserves some too, but I don't think people boo pitching coaches)

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Don't embarrass yourself or the rest of us by booing on opening day. Thanks.

[metirish]

Oliver Perez. Why? Fat, soft, overpaid Mexican mental case.

Hilarious

I agree with Dickshot and I'll add Manuel to that list.

Frankly Opening day is a day nobody not even fat overpaid Mexicans should get booed.

[metsmarathon]

Edgy DC wrote: David Murphy. Why? Because he had the gall to play like a rookie and not get hurt when everybody else did. Plus, he's not the unblemished Ike Davis. Why not? Gets the goodwill of the white, the young, the Irish. Some also may retain the hope of his strong 2008. Chance of boos? 43%.

i think david murphy should be quite safe from hearing the boos of met fans. unless he tunes in to baseball tonight as they're replaying daniel murphy's booing.

[MFS62]

Fun stuff, Edgy.
Does this mean you are thinking of officially naming a Carlos Delgado - they'll boo me no matter how good I am - roster spot?

Please don't.
I agree with JCL - the schmucks who are going to boo, will.
And they shouldn't.

Later

[ashie62]

Fat soft, overpaid Mental Case

I'm in stitches!

I picture the fans at Citifield as the frat members in "Animal House" when Flounder's picture is projected for a vote and is pelted with trash and beverages. And this team has many Flounders.

Castillo and Perez get serenaded. The remainder do after a 2 game losing streak.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Good stuff, indeed.

I'm with JCL on Barajas-- his one offensive saving grace is that he hits HRs*. One or two of them are bound to win a game or two. So even if he ends up being about as offensively valuable as or-- forbid-- worse than Schneider, he'll be thought of a lot more fondly (see also: Omir).

I'd up the likelihood on Pelf a bit-- the "clumsy/doofus" thing may trump "well-meaning" in the boo-balance, if the HR problems persist or his defensive infield continues to stick him with 5+ ERAs. I'd probably go as high as 40 percent there.

I feel terrible saying this, because it won't happen-- IT WON'T-- but if this were a Vegas book, they'd offer some longshot bet on David Wright, should the power not return. And because people in large groups tend to be sorta stupid, it might not be a terrible bet.

*Mostly because he hits more flyballs than a coach running outfield drills, but hey-- it's spring!

[Guest Edgy DC]

I swear I wrote Daniel there. But there it is... David. I've conflated our corner infielders.

Booo, me!

[Fman99]

I'd boo the Marlins. Not the Mets. But that's just how I roll.

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: I swear I wrote Daniel there. But there it is... David. I've conflated our corner infielders. Booo, me!

Boo you?
Of course not.
Some of us Mets fans are forgiving.
But you will be the subject of many signs on the next banner day.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think fans might actually like Barajas, he is no Schneider.

I think so, too, eventually. ("Hey, Mary Rose, listen. A Spanish guy who talks good!")

But there was a lot of not partitucarly specicific discontent this offseason about the way the Mets approached the catcher situation. A lot of history of irrationality in opening-day crowds.

[MFS62]

Were those opening day odds?
Then I guess that just means that each of them will have 161 more opportunities to turn those boos to cheers.

Later

[seawolf17]

Fuckin' hell, fellas. We talk about who's getting booed on Opening Fuckin' Day and we wonder why free agents don't want to sign here? Shit, if I'm Jason Bay, I ask my agent if he can still get Beirut on the phone.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well, I talk about it because I hate it and want it to go away.

And I don't really wonder why free agents don't want to sign here. I wonder why alleged fans are raising their children to hate.

[Benjamin Grimm]

There seems to be a lot of hate around. A crazy amount of hate. And it's not just confined to baseball, of course.

I wish it would go away. I hate it!

[metirish]

I'm making my Manuel as Hitler sign for opening day.

[bmfc1]

The #1 target for booing should be Hanley Ramirez. After that, JCL is right: don't boo on Opening Day. I would never boo a Met--it used piss me off when fans booed Doug Sisk since he's wearing a Met uniform, you want him to succeed.

[A Boy Named Seo]

metirish wrote: I'm making my Manuel as Hitler sign for opening day.

A Fernando Tat-tea Party.

[metirish]

You betcha sonny

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

The #1 target for booing should be Hanley Ramirez. After that, JCL is right: don't boo on Opening Day. I would never boo a Met--it used piss me off when fans booed Doug Sisk since he's wearing a Met uniform, you want him to succeed.

I don't think we're discussing which player(s) we'll be booing, ourselves.

I boo your finger-wagging. AND YER MOTHER'S!

[bmfc1]

I have no idea what your 2d sentence means. As for the first, my point was that no Met, not even Castillo, should be booed because they are wearing the Mets uni and if you feel the need to boo, boo that jerk Hanley.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Just funnin'. After all, advocating here that people show boo-restraint is like preaching to a choir of preachers... not to mention beside the thread's point*, no?

*Tongue-in-cheek oddsmaking on which wounded wildebeest the worst of the WFans will gang-shred.

[Ceetar]

I think players think of NY and booing and harsh fans all in one anyway. Bay obviously has a better idea of it, but I'm sure many think we're all hateful angry New Yorkers.

Doesn't stop random Twins closers from using our doctors for surgery though.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Anyone here have regular left-field seats?

A la Doc's K Corner and the Coneheads, I'm kinda rooting for fans to make left field-- complete with signs (and outfits?)-- "Bay-Rut."

[G-Fafif]

In reality, as opposed to perception, there wasn't all that much booing at Citi Field in 2009, not when compared to the final Shea years. I wouldn't expect a torrent of it for any individual players on Opening Day, though I wouldn't swear Ollie won't absorb the brunt of what disgruntlement there is though he has never been a big-time target. It's often the reliever who "always" coughs it up, and we don't have a reigning champ in this regard. Schoeneweis was that fellow at the '08 Opener.

[Benjamin Grimm]

There wasn't a whole lot of passion at Citi Field in 2009. Everyone was probably too numbed to boo.

[G-Fafif]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: There wasn't a whole lot of passion at Citi Field in 2009. Everyone was probably too numbed to boo.

Hostility vs. Apathy: Not the camps one wants to choose between.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

G-Fafif wrote: In reality, as opposed to perception, there wasn't all that much booing at Citi Field in 2009, not when compared to the final Shea years. I wouldn't expect a torrent of it for any individual players on Opening Day, though I wouldn't swear Ollie won't absorb the brunt of what disgruntlement there is though he has never been a big-time target. It's often the reliever who "always" coughs it up, and we don't have a reigning champ in this regard. Schoeneweis was that fellow at the '08 Opener.

Heilman, too, no?

I think I actually found myself "booing" (sarcastic yelling counts, right?) Delgado once that year, in April, when he didn't dive for a hard ground ball against the Braves. There may have been a malted beverage or three involved.