Hall Of Famer Gossage likes to hear himself talk

Reading this nice article about how Goose Gossage thinks Joba Chamberlain celebrated too much after striking out David Dellucci the other night, I encounter this line:

The Mets did a lot of that [celebrating] last year, and look how it came back to haunt them.

Is this really popular opinion now? The Mets lost because they celebrate too much? They celebrated for almost two full seasons and were successful, but that last month they lost because of celebrations? And the Pirates lose every year because their beautiful new ballpark is showing up older stadiums throughout the league.

Gossage also states "That's just not the Yankee way, what Joba did. Let everyone else do that stuff, but not a Yankee."

What is the Yankee way? Is it a street in the Bronx? Does every other team have a way? Is there a Royals way? How would one describe the Yankee way? Ed Valentine describes it in one word: winning. The 26 World Series and the hunt for more.

That's the Yankee way? The hunt for the World Series is something that is exclusive to the Yankees. Not quite. I guess it's reveling in past heroes while the current team flounders. Any other team who is struggling does not have a "way" based on previous success.

Is there another team who thinks that they are the best team on the planet because of their past players. Is the Athletic way winning because Fingers, Hunter, Henderson, and McGwire played there? Is the Cardinal way winning because they've had great players such as Musial, Gibson, and Brock?

I think any outsider would describe the Yankee way using the following words: obnoxious, pretentious, arrogant, conceited.

But the Yankees and their fans think its a good thing. They think they have this aura, this mystique, the "Yankee way." Does anyone want to break it to them that it's a joke? Their team is crumbling as we speak, and there isn't help in sight. They are on the way down while the Mets are on the way up, and the Yankees and their fans still feel superior because Babe Ruth played there 90 years ago.

This isn't the late 90s Yankees fans. You haven't won jack in 8 years and until you do let's put the Yankee way on a shelf for a while. And when you win a title go ahead and dust it off. Throw it around more than you do now. Rub it in as many faces as you can.

But whatever you do, don't celebrate. The less I hear from Goose Gossage the better.

Appalling fan behavior

And it's not even at Shea. Even more shocking, it's not even in Philadelphia. Nope, it's in good ol' Atlanta. Guy gets beat up because he roots for the opposing team. Apparently, even Pittsburgh Pirates fans aren't safe in Hotlanta.

I'm a fan writing this. Most of the people who will read this are fans as well. How many of us would dream of decking another fan for wearing the other teams gear? I'm all for some friendly heckling, but this is over the line. To quote Joey Tribbiani, this guy is so far over the line, he can't even see where the line is. The line is a dot to this guy.

Fan behavior seems to be at an all-time low early in this season. Phillies fans are cheering injuries and throwing Mets fans over the railings. Braves fans are knocking opposing fans' teeth out. In a completely unrelated sport, I was at the Bills-Bengals game when Chad Johnson got carted off the field on a stretcher, and some fans were cheering. We're booing our own players frequently at Shea.

The sad part is, some "fans" can't go to the game without getting completely hammered. I just want to know why. If you want a beer or two, fine by me. But why do people have to have to get completely hammered and ruin the game for others? If you can't enjoy a baseball game without getting drunk, why are you at the game in the first place?

I have two words for these people. Stay home. If you can't have a good time at the game without getting smashed, don't go to the game. Just stay home and drink all you want. That way you can enjoy what you like, and the fans of the game can enjoy what they like. So just stay home.

Stop giving the rest of us a bad name.

Throw-Ins

Everyone discusses the core of the Mets as being David Wright and Jose Reyes. Solid young nucleus who came up through our system. The Mets also have a couple of pitchers who we acquired, but still treat as guys who we developed. John Maine and Oliver Perez.

These guys will be just as important to us in the next 5-10 years, if we can keep them together. They're our guys, even though we didn't bring them up through our system. Ollie had some success early in his career, posting a 2.98 ERA in Pittsburgh in 2004. However, he was a disaster before the trade, and considered a throw-in. John Maine was also a throw-in, with the gem of that deal being Jorge Juilo.

My point is, even though we didn't bring these two up through our system, they're our guys. They made their names on our team, so we feel like we brought them up. Getting steals like this in trades are just as satisfying as promoting players through our system. They're not some high-priced guy who became a superstar on another team. Not a guy who we sold the farm for...

Not that there's anything wrong with that either. Johan is the best pitcher in the game, the kind of guy you sell the farm for. And sure am glad he's here, and would make that trade every time. However, now we need to restock our farm system.

What we need to do is continue to develop these guys, and the pitchers in our system. What we need to stop doing is trading guys like Brian Bannister for Ambriorix Burgos. I'm worried that at the deadline Omar will think we need a starter because of injuries. And who knows, maybe he'll make the right move and win a title in '08. But he needs to make trades like those with Baltimore and Pittsburgh where we get a "throw-in project" who we can build up.

So Omar, don't forget the throw-in when you make your next deal. One more young solid starter and we'll be set for a decade.