I’m not one who normally goes on the offensive after someone else reports, but Bob Raissman’s story that appeared late last night on the Daily News’ website really made my skin crawl.
He starts with the positives of the Mets’ current surge, including the winning streak, increased ratings on SNY and the massive potential moving forward of a top three that includes Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom (pitching tonight). But then he takes a quick swerve to the negative, citing WFAN callers as the sole source of the Mets’ fans pulse, which I find outrageous. Sure, Yoenis Cespedes has looked as advertised, and after a brief stint that included a three-double game, fans would love to get him locked up, and with their track record, the Wilpons don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. With the clause in his deal that says he must be released after the World Series, odds of him returning are slim, but we fans must live in the here and now, because, if not, we might miss something special.
He also talks about fans calling WFAN after Matt Harvey’s win against the Marlins, citing that they’d rather talk about his inevitable Benadict Arnold-like signing with the Yankees. My problem? The callers on WFAN do not signify the beliefs of even 10 percent of the fanbase. In any industry, a happy customer is a quiet customer. People don’t make phone calls when they’re happy. They watch the games, buy tickets and buy merchandise. The people who call are the complainers, and while some of the complaints have merit, others are completely baseless. But as John Sterling says, “That’s baseball Susan.”
But for Raissman to generalize fans in a bubble like that is not only irresponsible, it’s simply fishing. He’s going for the sexy headline rather than writing a story that actually has any merit. When things are going well, sometimes even reporters struggle to stir the pot, so I guess they make things up. Mets fans are happy Bobby. Citi Field has been rocking, and if we’re constant complainers, we hope to complain our way all the way to a championship.
Only time will tell.
