To steal a quote from Aaron Lewis of Staind, “it’s been a while.”

I’ve stayed clear of ranting about the Mets, quite honestly, because I can’t take early season games that seriously. Yes, I still watch every pitch of every inning, and it bothers me when they lose, but I’ve learned over the years that playing well in April or May means nothing. I mean seriously, does any intelligent baseball fan think that the Rockies, who breezed through the National League last fall will remain 7 games under .500?

If you don’t, then why on earth are so many Mets fans shopping for Maalox on a daily basis? Is it because we collapsed last year? Well, it’s time to get over it.

See the difference between athletes and fans is that the key to being a successful professional is a short memory. Do you think guys who struggle against a pitcher have a prayer of getting a hit if they say to themselves, “Man this guy has my number. Last season in the third at bat against him during a game in June he made me look silly.”

No. So why do fans say to themselves every time the Mets lose, “Here we go again.”

I have a theory. It’s because Mets fans have no clue how to handle expectations. We’ve had success over the last couple of years and it’s gone to our head. We’ve spent money, and have a solid lineup, but it doesn’t give us the Rite of Passage to think we should win every game. So when the team loses, or plays bad, or get announced on Opening Day for crying out loud in the case of poor Aaron Heilman, some fans (and some who don’t admit it) boo. Why? Because Mets fans are used to being jaded by teams that were supposed to be contenders.

I take you back to 1988. Man, was that team good - better than the 1986 team. You remember that team right? The team that shouldn’t have won, but got the biggest break in World Series history? I was at the game, and watched the entire upper deck head for the parking lot down 5-3 and thought to myself, “what’s wrong with these people?” It’s a question I’ve asked myself for the past 20 years.

In 1988 we ran into the juggernaut that was the LA Dodgers and that stupid Mickey Hatcher and a dominant Orel Hershiser. We, along with the Bash Brother, needle-injecting A’s, were the two best teams in baseball, by far. The Dodgers were better than us over those two weeks and won. Fast forward a few years to Saberhagen and Boo-nilla and Vincent Van Go Away of the early 90s and the Mo Vaughn/Robbie Alomar Era, and it’s no real secret that Mets fans are genetically programmed to expect disappointment. So the defense mechanism is to get angry about it. And why not right?

Wrong. It’s baseball people. Enough of the woah is me crap. I dealt with it for years with the Rangers, an organization so crippled by fear and loathing that it hamstrung itself every time the team made the playoffs. That was until Messier slayed the dragon. We’re not cursed. Let the Cubs or Phillies fans implode under fan scrutiny. Heck, the dynasty is wearing off in the Bronx and fans are getting edgy there too. I call it the “Curse of the Giambino.” This team is good, albeit a little aged, so we need allow them to heal from last year naturally, and good baseball will follow. Don’t make them feel like their playing on egg shells against the Reds. We need to start a streak at home. Those 90s and early 2000 teams? You know why we struggled immediately afterwords? Freddy Coupons knew if he overpaid and the team stunk, BOO!! YOU wouldn’t come to the ball park and support. He never had a Carl Pavano coupon.

The point here is not to coddle this high-priced group or to express your anger that they’re overpaid and you’re not. Don’t nit pick and say they’re not trying or the need to try harder and show BOO!! YOU some effort. Carlos Beltran has played the same way his whole life. Heilman has the same stuff and used to be effective and can be again. And Oliver Perez is, well, he’s exactly what we thought he is when we traded for him: mind-blowingly inconsistent.

The point is simply to urge fans to understand that even in a great year this team is going to lose 70 games and that every time they take the field they are playing against major league teams. There will be times when we win. There will be times when we look great like we did in Philly, and when we look not so great, like in Chicago. The Red Sox got it handed to them by the Rays. They were swept in Tampa and scored like, 4 runs in 3 games. It’s a long season. Don’t beat yourselves up in early May saying things like, “boy that game’s gonna cost us in September.” It’s not productive and really not on the minds of the guys that have 400 more at bats to worry about and over 1000 more outs to record. Come to grips that the Phillies are very good, and have had our number, but that can change in a New York minute.

Or when Johan takes the ball.

OLF Notes

As much as it’s hurts sometimes being a Met fan, I am thankful that I don’t have to listen their announcers. But boy Sterling and Waldman crack me up. And that said, I still have yet to find ONE person who likes Michael Kay. If you know one let me know, seriously, I’m looking for one.

During the Seattle series, I was subjected to this classic Waldman/Sterling banter that went something like this:

“Ya know Suzyn, I saw something the other day that really shocked me. Hideki Matsui is 0-8 career against Felix Hernandez. OH-FOR-EIGHT! I just couldn’t believe it…THAAAA 1-0…cut on and fouled back.”

“You’re right John. It’s hard to believe that someone with Matsui’s ability could be hitless against anyone.”

“THAA 1-1…outside, nope nipped the corner for a strike. Delayed call by the home plate umpire, he needs to work on that…..Ya Know Suzyn, I was just shocked when I read that.”

Yep, “shocked” that a guy of Matsui’s “ability” could go hitless in two games against a guy with probably the nastiest fastball/off speed combination in the AL over the span of three years.

THAAA 2-2….

Lastly, I have Sexon on my fantasy team. Boy do I wish “losing your damn mind” was a category.

Tommy Dee is a contributor to Hot Foot, a realistic Met fan and editor of SNY’s TheKnicksBlog.

Having returned from the trip, there were a few things that stuck out for me over my 5-day retreat to the conception of the baseball season last week. The first being I beieve John Maine is on the cusp of being a top-flight pitcher in this league. I still scratch my head over the deal Omar swung which brought Maine here from Baltimore. That said, 18 wins out of Maine is a realistic possibility. His change up and pin point accuracy with his fastball should continue to improve with confidence that gets better from start to start. It makes me feel even that much better that my Pujols for Maine and Justin Morneau deal in my fantasy league was on the front end.

Secondly, judging from his start against a relatively “A” Tigers lineup, Petey looked strong. We guess-timated that his fastball was popping the mitt around 88-89 and his off speed stuff was simply nasty- evident by his knee-buckling 3-2 curve ball to Cabrera.

Last and by far most important, is the revelation I had when I walked by a vendor named “John”selling “Tacos in a helmet” so of course I had to inquire. As I noted the other day, the Premio sausage and peppers were not up to par, since the grease caused the bun to dissolve like tissue paper in a rain storm, so I figured this lunch needed a clean getaway. I was right, it was clean and satisfying, like a dip in the Colorado River, just with horrid reflux. As my boy John cracked open the bag of nachos that would soon line the bottom of the helmet I appreciated the effort he took in his craft and told him so. I told him he should put a picture of Jimmy Rollins on the bag and beat the crap out of it all day long. After admiring the great craftsmanship of my new friend only one errand stood in my way before completing Spring Training baseball’s triple crown (I had my scorecard and lunch) - Beer me.

As I sat back and watch Petey throw 4 shutout, I said to myself “where in the world can you see professional baseball players at a bowling alley or shopping for toilet paper at Publix (sorry Billy Wagner), eat tacos out of a helmet and drink $5 beers, take a nap, wake up and play 9 holes?

Man, I love Spring Training.

Port St. Lucie, Fla. - So we were geared up driving to Tradition Field today knowing we’d be seeing Johan for the first time live in a Met uniform. As we got in the gates and paid our $5 for parking, we realized that we were in Florida: all the parking attendants had clearly been spending too much time in Magnum PI’s closet. Blue Hawaiian shirts and Met hats substituted for the Tigers lid, yup gotta love South Florida.

Anyway, a few notes from today’s game:

• Johan verses Pujols in the first inning was a real treat. The best pitcher and hitter in the NL going head to head in March. Give Pujols the hat tip for guessing right on a first pitch fastball leading to a double and an unearned run scored.

• Johan quickly learned his lesson and started mixing it up throwing change ups first, and honestly, that pitch is just ridiculous.

• Delgado starting to go to left hitting a ball hard followed by a HR in his following at-bat. Hopefully he continues to take the inside fastball and look to drive the ball the other way.

• After Jose Reyes hit a sinking line drive off Adam Wainwright, eerily similar to his out in the 9th in 2006, I had a flashback. Luckily, after thinking, “Tyree, Tyree,” I felt much better.

• As much as I was looking forward to seeing Johan, I was thinking all morning about destroying my first Premio sausage/peppers of the early season. Unfortunately, the bread was a little soggy and, you guessed it, I had a blowout. Can’t wait until they’re in midseason form.

• On a negative note, Omar may regret this 4-year Castillo signing. We’re thinking this may have Allan Houston written all over it as in a nice guy who will be in street clothes more than in uniform.

• Memo to Joe Smith: If you want to make this team, I’d advise not walking the lead off batter in a 10-3 game.

• Memo to Ricardo Rincon: Take up tennis.

And by the way, we sat in the stands yesterday at Roger Dean and watched a jaw dropping throw from Fernando Martinez. After tracking down a gapper, F-Mart winged the ball to second base on the fly- from the warning track.

This kid is special.

Heading back tomorrow to check out Petey.

March is no time to panic.

Well, who can blame Met fans for the constant state of worry that seems to ravage this team year in and year out? It resonates in the groans at Shea after Billy Wagner blows his second save of the season in July, or Carlos Beltran goes 0-4 with three men left on base in his first game home from a road trip that just saw him win NL Player of the Week. It’s the same feeling that WFAN’s Steve Somers feels has you “searching for the Kaopectate.”

You know what I’m talking about. Panic, overreaction, fearing the worst, the ridiculous factors to the ever-fragile psyche that is being a Met fan. I mean, are a few injuries here and there or a home run to a post HGH Juan Gonzalez really that big of a deal this time of year?

Certainly the collapse, or maybe even the Milledge trade, did little to ease the tension engrained in some fans, and frankly it’ll take more than the Johan trade to make this thing go away.

That said, we’ve seen this before. There are those of us who suffered year in and year out with the pre-1994 New York Rangers. Then enter Mark Messier. History proved what Mess was able to accomplish and it was a poignant quote from then Rangers GM Neil Smith following the team’s Stanley Cup who said Messier “changed the perception of the logo from a losing one to a winning one” in leading Rangers to ending their 54-year drought. In essence, a Met fan yearns for a championship, in addition to being run like the organization from the Bronx. Over the past few years, thanks to Fred Coupons taking some chances, the only thing missing is the same feeling of supreme joy the Football Giants and their fans endured several weeks ago.

So as Mets fans, let’s take a moment and a deep breath here early in spring training and think about the upcoming season. We are a strong team with veteran leadership and the best pitching staff in a very competitive NL East. For all the questions about Carlos Delgado and Duaner Sanchez are we to believe that a few spring training games are a precursor to ultiMet (don’t excuse the pun) success this season? Aren’t we taking ourselves a little too seriously?

This is, after all, a team that admitted it was on cruise control last season, following a year that saw them finish one game from the World Series. Sometimes a smack in the mouth on the playground was exactly what that cocky kid from your neighborhood needed.

Speaking of which, for those of you who constantly feel the need, we have 162 games to question Willie’s decisions, or to boo Beltran, Aaron Heilman and Wagner. Crack a frosty beverage and enjoy the early work of Mike Pelfrey. Root hard for the continued development of Sanchez. Revel in the fact you’re still getting goose bumps every time you see Johan in Blue and Orange and more importantly that Fernando Martinez didn’t have to change his address to make it happen. Heck, give Angel Pagan a freekin’ standing ovation for his early efforts. After all, that’s what the Spring should be all about.

Isn’t it?

So I’m looking forward to filing reports for Hot Foot as we make our annual voyage to Port St. Lucie March 15-18. This is 8 years now we’ve been doing this and allow me to reflect on some very memorable moments.

First off, I’ll never forget my very first game at T.J. White Stadium (now Tradition Field). We sat two rows behind home plate and watched Masato Yoshii give up 10 runs over the first two innings. I remember some slick, grey haired guy looking very uncomfortable and another younger grey haired guy who yapped on his cell phone constantly, literally right in front of us. Turned out to be Freddy Coupons and Steve Phillips. So, of course, I had to hit Steve with, “I hope you’re not ordering Japanese.”

One other great memory stands out and that was my first glimpse and the Mets future SS back in 2001. He was skinny and fast as can be, and his infectious love for the game was as evident then as it is now. Somehow you just knew Reyes was going to be special.

Fast forward to last year, running into John Maine at a local Publix, I have to say there is nothing quite like Spring Training.

Pictures, video and updates to come. Let the countdown begin.

It’s been a long and very restful off-season for yours truly and I’m excited to kick off the 2008 with some thoughts on what has been quite and eventful winter.

First of all have to give a huge thumbs up to De Rosa, whose hard work over the years was rewarded by SNY. GiantsFootballBlog.com is an awesome home for die-hard fans of Big Blue and is just what the doctor ordered.

Speaking of the Giants, I had a great feeling about them beating the Pats all along, but the Super Bowl victory gives ultimate credence to how Eli Manning really should have been perceived. People would question his lame stats and his facial expressions but when they drafted him I wondered how anyone could lead Ole Miss to an SEC Western division title and not have a magical quality? Hopefully, Giant fans will remember the Super Bowl-winning drive the next time Eli has difficulty with the wind at the Meadowlands or has a questionable QB rating.

And in watching the parade it came to mind that, yes, there is no place to win like New York and the “Canyon of Heroes” is the ultimate experience, but why did we need to hear politicians spew forced football jargon?

That said, nice job by “I love it when you call me” Bob Papa, - he made me want to throw my hands in the air.

My thanks to someone from WNBC-TV called Tracie Strahan who made me hit the mute button during their parade coverage after proclaiming, “Now I know what it’s like not to be the most famous Strahan in New York,” in reference to having to share the stage with Michael Strahan, no relation. Yep, those local NBC reporters have a great sense for the moment, don’t they?

Speaking of the mute button, how about Chris Berman’s latest venture? No, not the countless videos of Boomer cussing out ESPN peons, I’m talking about his role as the ultimate sportscaster for SportCenter’s “Greatest Highlight of All-Time.” If you haven’t seen it, ESPN deletes the original announcer’s call, thus overshadowing each broadcaster’s defining moment, so that Berman can interrupt with his own anti-climactic version. There’s nothing like hearing the “BACK, BACK, BACK…gone!” call attached to Aaron’s 715. Thanks Chris, we knew what was going to happen, it happened 30 years ago. Makes you wonder how sports EVER got along before ESPN, and Berman. Actually, it makes you wonder even harder just how cool sports would be if ESPN scaled its narcissism back and reverted to more simpler times.

As far as the Mets are concerned, say what you want about Johan, Pedro or Delgado, but I think the key to this year’s team is Duaner Sanchez. The guy was the best set up man in baseball for a stretch two years ago thanks to a nasty change-up which he learned from Eric Gagne. One can only hope that Sanchez is healthy and ready to contribute.

I recently noticed that the Yankees will start the season with Joba Chamberlain coming out of the pen. Strategically, it makes sense to shorten the game to 7 innings, the championship teams of the late 90’s were carried by getting late inning outs, but who on earth is going to pitch the first 7? Rest easy Yankee fans, Carl Pavano is raving up his engine again.

So here’s my take on the whole Clemens/Mcnamee thing. They’re both creeps. But neither are as creepy as the gutless Republican Congressmen who felt the need to verbally attack the trainer based on his checkered past, yet ignore basic flaws in Clemens’ testimony. The worst offender was Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana, who reminded me of the great Vin Scully’s evil twin brother. The whole thing was such a joke that it really cast a terrible cloud over our justice system. If you really believe that Clemens, a man who threw a jagged-edge bat in the direction of another human being, would allow a man to inject his wife without his knowledge and do NOTHING about it, you either need to pay better attention, actually do a little research, or get your head examined. In fact, Burton should be held accountable for his performance the other day. Ironically, Burton was the primary sponsor for the The Government Performance and Results Act, an 1998 effort to require federal government agencies to do more strategic planning, establish more accountability measurements, and do more reporting on their performance.

You have to love American politics.

The bottom line is Americans and even sports writers to a degree ( doesn’t agree) are forgiving people. Clemens should have come clean, waited 15 years and gone into the Hall of Fame a graceful 50 something, instead of hoping to go in a shady and tarnished, 40 something year old.

The whole thing will continue to drag on and on but let’s hope that the hype doesn’t overshadow what could be a glorious baseball season in New York.

As noted on Metsblog, some guy named Rich Hofmann (leave off the last “f” for “fuming”) spewed some good old fashioned NY hate on philly.com. The sub head says it all.

“New York disgustingly canonizes new ace before he even pitches”

Here are a few more gems:

“In the realm of the nauseating, this was even worse than Eli Manning and the fellas parading the Lombardi Trophy through the Canyon of Heroes (because the Giants earned it, after all). You really had to see the way they welcomed Johan Santana to the New York Mets to believe it…”

“And then the PR guy attempted to shut down the last shutterbugs and begin the news conference by announcing, ‘Johan, your public awaits.’

At which point, I gagged on some vomit.”

Hey, Jay Horowitz is Mr. PR Guy to you pal.

“The Mets … just spent up to $150 million on one of those green Christmas-tree things you hang from the rearview mirror. They would hate to find out that it failed to mask the stench of 7/17*.

By 7/17*, Rich is referring to the Mets collapse, but of course the obvious question is which “stench” smells worse 7/17*, or the effort of losing three straight to the Rockies in the playoffs. Real impressive. So much for NL East momentum.

It gets better. Our favorite coffee swilling “ex-Sports Reporter” Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News feels that Santana alone won’t heal all of the Mets problems.

“Fortunately, the team behind Santana will be basically the same one that went into the tank last September and helped the Phillies win their first East title since 1993 with only 89 victories. Rag-armed catcher Paul Lo Duca has been replaced by defensively superior Brian Schneider. But, really, do last season’s .235 and 54 RBI terrify you? First baseman Carlos Delgado played a lot older than 35 last season. Moises Alou turns 42 in July. The leftfielder hit .341, but 89 of his 112 hits were singles, and it takes a triple to score him. Luis Castillo had one homer and 38 RBI in 135 games between the Twins and Mets. The guy’s a Hoover at second, however.”

And by “Hoover” he means like himself at the buffet table.

What troubles me is that I don’t want to get into this NY/Philly thing, we were burned by it last year. Let’s face it, the Phils ARE the team to beat, but what on earth have THEY done to improve? Brad Lidge? Maybe if teams in Philly actually won something the media would know how to handle it instead of exhibiting their inferiority complex on paper. But then, we couldn’t have any fun with them now would we?

Hat tip to Andrew Smith for sifting through Philly sports rummage.

Watching Johan Santana pull on the Mets uniform made me flashback to another great Met who wore #57- Eric Valent.

Why? I have no idea. Maybe it’s because on July 29, 2004 he hit for the cycle, or maybe it’s because nothing quite sums up the “Art Howe Era”, quite like Valent. He’s like the quintessential bad Met who was very easy to root for. Heck, the guy has his own fan site.

Alas, those days are gone, and as much as people want to dwell on the collapse look on the bright side, Eric Valent isn’t in the middle of our lineup.

That’s right, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has laid down the gauntlet today on WFAN.

“Ryan Church is not better than Shawn Green…”- February 6, 2008.

Now, “to be fair” we think Russo is a good baseball fan. He knows his stuff as well as anyone. But c’mon, this is just ridiculous. Church is very productive. Granted, he doesn’t have Milledge’s upside, but he’s more productive than Shawn Green, heck I’m more productive than Green.

By the way, any time I hear Church’s name I think of Steve Somers‘ classic line:

“Omar got rid of the Temple and brought in the Church.”