Hope Springs Eternal?

A new season is upon us. Will be interesting to see what Terry Collins has in mind. I have such low expectations that it will be hard to disappoint this year. Nonetheless, it could get late early around here especially if Wilpon's tragilarious financial situation gets any worse.

So I'll ignore the freezing rain and wind and the fact that seats at the corporate wonderland park are reduced to just $400 this year if you want to sit up close and personal, where you can actually see players and hear real live baseball sounds. I'll forget Beltran's creaky knees and Santana's bad arm and Rodriguez' incredible stupidity and Bay's inability to ever be healthy and look on the bright side. Wright should be good, so should Reyes and Pagan and Davis, and the pitching might be decent. Lucas Duda is just 25 and if he keeps it up, in a few years there's a good chance he'll be 30.

I don't watch games anymore except in person, and then only if I can pay face value (or less) and without extra fees. I listen on the radio, and below is my letter to the Mets stating why. It's hard to believe that at one time you could watch every game for free on channel 9.

I've been a Met fan my whole life. A few years ago I decided I'd had enough of Time Warner's thievery, and stopped paying $100 a month for basic cable, which is the only way to get SNY. The cable companies hold fans hostage, forcing us to subscribe to hundreds of channels we won't watch and don't want in order to see our favorite teams play. I, like many others, would gladly pay for MLB.tv or some other service if the absurd blackout rules were removed. Until then I'm happy to listen to Howie Rose on the radio. Please consider offering a package for games that doesn't require a subscription to cable tv.

I'm certain this strongly worded missive will make the Mets and MLB cave THIS YEAR! Such is the power of the written word! Now play ball! It's been a long winter.