NEW YORK METS BASEBALL MESS

Let’s break this down as in New York, New York, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.

Anywhere? Well, New York is not just anywhere, it’s where you can fly out of its airports, ride its trains and buses, dine at its restaurants, follow its many sports teams, and root, root, root. Could this be outdated?

Could be. Times change, the Empire State is not what it once was, the governor was forced to resign, the New York City mayor lost his election, and only the Brooklyn Nets stand tall while trees grow in Brooklyn, and the Brooklyn Cyclones’ minor league baseball team has low prices for the tickets at their ballpark in Coney Island.

But even if you don’t know who to root for, just take it one at a time because no where are there more professional sports teams, enough so you will find a team to root for.

The Madison Square Garden New York Knicks on the other side of the Manhattan Bridge are showing signs of moving up the National Basketball Association ladder, but they still fall off.

The winningest professional franchise of all time, the New York Yankees, once hailed as the Bronx Bombers, are in quest of a new starting shortstop and a return to the top of the heap.

The trio of National Hockey League teams, Madison Square Garden’s New York Rangers, the New York Islanders soon to move into their new arena in Elmont alongside Belmont Park, and leaving the Holland Tunnel can get you to the New Jersey Devils, but make sure you have gas in your car.

Then there’s the college scene, and New York is not an area of national success in regard to championships.There’s  St. John’s and Queens College in the borough of Queens, and Adelphi, Hofstra, Stony Brook and C.W. Post in Long Island. In Manhattan, there’s NYU, CCNY, and don’t forget Manhattan College.

In the borough of Richmond or better known as Staten Island, there’s Wagner and Staten Island colleges, and upstate you’ve got Syracuse, St. Bonaventure, Siena, the University of Buffalo as well as Buffalo State and Albany State and Loyola, and a load of Division three schools like Cortland State. In the Bronx, there’s Fordham and Iona.

Of course there’s more. More residents like to spell it Nu Yawk, and by any name it stretches from upstate to downstate to the five boroughs, from Montauk Point to West Point, to Sing Sing Prison, in Ossinging right off the Hudson Rivera, to across the many bridges and driving through the tunnels, and if you are anti-sand and anti-shark, don’t head for the beaches in Coney Island, the Rockaways or Jones Beach.

To the Bronx where the current Yankees who have their own problems as they try to return to the magical years.

With all this, there’s the true or false talk that players, coaches, managers, general manager or others looking for employment do not want to work in New York. With the downplay of life in the Empire State, it’s a big change from the good old times.

It’s not yesteryear when Willie Mays happily returned to New York in 1971 to play his last two Hall of Fame years with the Mets after originally playing for the Giants in New York and San Francisco.

You could see the tears when he was honored before a packed house at Shea Stadium, and not being much of a speaker, he topped it off with “Goodbye baseball.”

Then there was National Hockey League Hall of Famer Marc Messier celebrating the Stanley Cup he predicted and won for the Rangers. Where the great Wayne Gretzky was overjoyed to wind his Hall of Fame career down with the Rangers.

There’s much more, as in the late Bobby Murcer excited to return to the Yankees after two years in the lineup of the Giants in San Francisco. Where Reggie Jackson welcomed in his first October with the Yankees and said he’s lucky to land with them in this great big city.

Where Mike Piazza became the Mets’ catcher in a trade with the Miami Marlins, and was so happy that he even wore a Mets’ baseball cap in his Hall of Fame induction in Cooperstown, and still reminds people that he loved being a player in New York with the Mets, said he had big moments there and the fans were great.

And can’t forget Bobby Bonilla who, when the Mets released him, the next morning in Baltimore he searched for an out-of-town newspaper stand or store that sells New York dailies because he wanted to see how the Mets did the night before.

Oh, he truly loved New York and playing for this franchise, that when his attorney looked through Bonilla’s long-time, well-paid contract, he pointed how to the Mets that they owe him a lot of money after releasing him at that time. Thus, the deal has been going on for years, and the Mets are paying him about a million bucks a year with no taxes attached.

So don’t ever confront Bonilla with his years playing in the borough of Queens and coming out of it a wealthy man. He will smile and say New York not once, not twice, but three times, and to him, that’s his “anywhere.”

But these are new times with only memories to share.

And this leads to these New York Mets, who unlike the Yanks had their glory years in the amazon’ 1969, and in the dazzling 1986 campaign.

They also had National League pennants in 1973 and 2003, and now they have gone from a new billionaire team owner, Steve Cohen, the wealthiest of all professional team owners, in what is shaping up in becoming a frustrating second season for the Long Island-born Cohen.

In last year’s start of things to come for Cohen, his blue and orange faded from a long run in first place to third place in the National League East, being overtaken by, believe it, World Series champion Atlanta Braves, as well as the down-the-turnpike Philadelphia Phillies.

But it doesn’t look any better as spring training nears. So far Cohen has spent on bringing in catcher James McCann, shortstop Francisco Lindor, a late edition in second baseman Javier Baez from Wrigley Field’s Cubs, and names and more names as injuries provided the most headline news for the franchise.

Right now, with their own free agents, the Mets are 0-2 after both outfielder Michael Conforto and pitcher Noah Synegaard turned down initial offering contracts, both at the one-year $18 million dollar price tag. Conforto said no and Synegaard instead signed a one-year contract for 21 million offered by the Los Angeles Angels’ dollars.

Oh, and earlier this week, premier center-fielder Kevin Pillar also declined the club’s initial contract offer of one-year for 2.1 million. Thus, with him possibly gone and also Conforto, the Mets are short on outfielders, with only center-fielder Brandon Nimmo signed.

Now all new signing players must take physicals, and usually, they all pass, but in the case of the veteran right-harden Synegaard, he came off of two years of Tommy John arm surgery, and the long-haired long and tall hurler made two late-season appearances of two innings and not throwing a single breaking ball, so good luck Anglels.

Besides, Synnegaard has had one good season, that being 2017, so perhaps it’s all right if he wants to trade in his orange and blue for Angels’ colors.

And so good luck Noah and the Angels because if he doesn’t pass the physical, he’s left without a job, and Los Angeles still needing pitching help.

Either way, the queensmen still have a problem with their starting pitching. Jacob deGrom, the best pitcher in baseball, is coming off various injuries that shut him down in May, and it still remains a mystery, although it’s been reported that at least his elbow has healed, and that he will return to spring training with optimism.

Without the right-hander, Cohen has to deal with this huge dilemma, which is currently his all-time favorite sports team, and so let’s start on his payroll with the hopeful, probable starting pitching.

As was Synegaard, right-handed starter Marcus Stroman, in his second stint with his hometown team, is a free agent who they must resign. With 2-time Cy Young Award winner deGrom sidelined, Stroman posted the team’s best earned run average, but he often had control problems and trouble putting away batters on long counts.

The other probably starters are all question marks, as in right-hander Carlos Carrello they got from the Cleveland Indians in the Lindor trade, right-hander Trijuan Walker was super at times with strikeouts and good control. He has some poor starts, but he does belong in the rotation.

Southpaw David Peterson who had an up and down season, with control his biggest problem, and righty Tyler McGill who came on at midway of the campaign and looked good at times and struggled in others, but he figures to be back.

Presently, with the Mets finally naming a new general manger in Billy Eppler, are in search of a new starter or two, as well as a third baseman to upgrade the batting order and the defense, and might need one or two new outfielders, and not to forget, they are still seeking a new manager, their third in the last five years.

So far no names have been mentioned, as well as any clues or rumors.

There’s also a need for more long-ball power in the lineup, thus the addition of Bryant and or Rodriguez would be a big plus. Slugging first baseman Pete Alonso returns with his big bat. He swings from the right side, and left-fielder Dominic Smith hits from the other side, and when he’s hot at bat, he brings more power.

He is originally a first baseman and backs up Alonso, but despite much improvement, is not the best of outfielders.

Nimmo has his versatility, but the one who plays the outfield best is Kevin Pillar, and he might also sign elsewhere. But in the case of Synegaard if he officially inks the Angels’ contract, the orange and blue will get an 11th or 12th first round pick in the Major League in exchange

Pitching? Well the Mets have names to toss around, but it’s a guessing game on who would sign with them, who would want to play in New York?

That’s been what has become an annoying, uncomfortable thought that players, coaches, managers, general managers and others seeking employment do not care to work in New York.

Now it’s time to find out, true or false, when the Mets’ new general manager and team president Sandy Alderson sound out the names of players they intent to pursue, and who would want to move on to New York.

Heck, they have the money to spend. Cohen is willing to spend, now it’s time to begin upgrading the franchise as the fans hope for the best and a season that brings rewards for Cohen and company.

The Broadway lights are still a-glow, 42nd Street has been cleaned up and great to walk along, the five boroughs remain a big part of the New York, New Yorkscene, and if baseball players don’t want to spend Cohen’s money, fine, let them go elsewhere and find that there’s no other place like — say it twice, New York, New York.

Jeff NcNeil and J.D. Davis haven’t gone anywhere and they are in the same mode, with both saying how they enjoy playing for the Mets, how they like being in New York, and with both playing the infield and outfield is always good.

Also 37-year-old second baseman Robinson Cano is recovering  from knee surgery and it’s anyone’s guess as to how much he can bring. McNeil can also play second base and Davis third base, while Villar is best at third and shortstop.