Here’s three jerseys to compare.

At the top of the image a 2012 ivory.  In the middle a 2009 snow-white.  In the forefront a 2011 cream.

 

Be sure to check out the Mets Police Holiday Gift Guide for lots of items under $20 and the full Mets Police Holiday Store

Related posts:

1. Comparing the Mets jerseys: 2009 vs 2012 pinstripes
2. You sure 2012 Mets blue isn’t darker?
3. Mets 2012 Jerseys

Ryan G from Long Island: Why does Sandy refuse to say, ‘Rebuilding’? Everyone knows he’s in a Rebuilding Phase, yet he won’t say so.

Matthew Cerrone: In these cases, I’m a believer in action not words. So, I’m far less concerned with what he calls what he’s doing and more interested in what he’s actually doing. However, from a public relations stand point, I bet the team could gain more fans than they’re turning away by simply calling it what it is…

I suspect they feel otherwise, and that by saying, ‘Rebuilding,’ they think they’ll be perceived as giving up, which will mean no one buys tickets and the ballpark will be empty. However, it seems to me that large-scale ticket sales are always based on what is happening on field. In other words, if the Mets are playing well and it looks like a fun time, regardless of how the team characterizes it in words, people will go watch; and if the team is losing, they won’t. But, by making fans more aware of what is happening, I bet the team’s core fans would embrace the process. From what I can tell talking to season-ticket holders, they’re almost insulted that they’re being asked to pay a lot of money to watch a mystery unfold. Instead, I think with a price break and total honesty about where things are headed, those same season ticket holders would likely stick around feeling included (especially if they knew there would be something extra in it for them when the good times return).

So I’m walking across Mets Plaza in front of Citi Field the other day, quietest place you’d ever encounter late on a Tuesday morning in December. Nobody around for miles as far as I could tell. What a shame, I thought. I’m going to the holiday party the team holds for kids inside. To me it’s just another thing to cover. It should feel bigger, somehow.

A Mets fan's view of December.

But then the silence was broken. There was this “thwack!” sound. Over and over again: “Thwack! … Thwack! … Thwack!” I figured it was coming from somewhere deep inside the chop shops. I sure didn’t see anybody or anything out of the ordinary until I looked down at my feet and saw a pink rubber ball rolled to a dead stop. It was a Spaldeen, as Pete Hamill would be quick to remind you.

Out of nowhere there’s a kid with a Mets cap, maybe 11 going on 12. It was his Spaldeen.

“Hey mister,” he said. “Can I have my ball?”
“This is yours?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”

He took the ball and returned to his business of bouncing it against the side of the stadium and catching it. Bouncing it and catching it. Bouncing it and catching it. It was almost hypnotic.

The ball got away from him again. He’s not really that good at this, I thought, but I admire his persistence. As it was rolling, I grabbed it and tossed it to him.

“Hey kid,” I say. “What are you doing out here? They don’t let people bounce balls off the side of Citi Field. Do they?”
“I dunno,” he said, though I got the feeling he did.
“Well, you should be careful. There’s security and stuff.” But there wasn’t any security. There wasn’t anybody. “Besides, it’s a Tuesday morning and it isn’t summer. You should be in school…shouldn’t you?”

“I dunno,” he said again.

I shrugged and let him be and started walking toward my appointment. I heard two more “thwack!”s and then his voice.

“Hey mister,” he says. “You going in there?”
“Yeah.”
“Can I go with you?”
“Go with me?”
“See, I’m like the biggest Mets fan I know, and I’m here ’cause I heard something was going on today. I thought maybe I’d see some ballplayers or something, but I haven’t seen anybody.”
“Well, yeah, they’re in there. At this party.”
“So can you take me inside?”

I started to explain that I was here in the role of quasi-media, that my job today is to be a dispassionate observer, maybe ask a few professional questions and not make a big deal out of it. He didn’t seem to be listening, though.

“So can you take me inside?”
“Well, I don’t know if the rules would allow that. I mean this is a kids’ thing…” I thought about how odd it sounded telling a kid that. “I don’t know if you can just walk in and get a present.”
“I don’t care about any of that stuff,” he insisted. “I just want to see the ballplayers. I just want to be around baseball in the middle of December.”

“Let’s go,” I said.

I thought I’d have to make my case for him at media check-in, but nobody asked me anything about the kid I brought with me. The guard inside didn’t say anything, either. Same thing when they opened the door to the Acela Club. It was like nobody saw this kid except me. Still, I figured I’d lay low on his account.

“Sorry I can’t let you line up for a present or a picture with Santa Claus or anything,” I told him. “I’m just worried they’ll see you and throw both of us out.”
“I told you I don’t care about presents or Christmas,” he reassured me.
“Do you celebrate some other holiday?” I asked so as to cover my multicultural bases.
“The only holiday I like is Opening Day,” he said. “The quicker Christmas is over, the sooner baseball season gets here.”

I liked the way this kid thought.

“What are you doing here again?” he asked me.
“Well, I write about the Mets and sometimes the Mets do these things they let me get a close-up look at. It’s mostly a bunch of PR jazz designed to help make the team seem more appealing when you get right down to it. Like last month, they had this thing where I got to talk to David Wright and Ike Davis…”
“YOU TALKED TO DAVID WRIGHT AND IKE DAVIS?”

When the kid said it like that, it sounded a lot more amazing than I thought it was at first.

“Yeah. See, I’m a blogger, which is kind of like a reporter or a columnist. So I have to maintain a veneer of professionalism and objectivity…”
“YOU TALKED TO DAVID WRIGHT AND IKE DAVIS?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How much money is involved for something like that?”
“Well, I don’t get paid. The blog is something my friend and I started because we like the Mets and all…”
“No. I mean how much do you have to pay to get to talk to Mets players?”
“Oh. Um, nothing. It doesn’t work that way.”
“THEY LET YOU TALK TO DAVID WRIGHT AND IKE DAVIS FOR FREE?”

Again, it sounded way cooler when he said it.

“So,” he asked, “what’s gonna happen here today?”
“Assuming I don’t get caught for letting some kid sneak in here with me, I’m going to stand behind a curtain with a bunch of other bloggers and writers and reporters and at some point, after the Santa stuff, the PR people will shuttle a few Mets in.”
“You’re going to talk to MORE Mets?”
“Uh-huh. Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner and Jon Niese, I think.”
“Murphy, Turner and Niese?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I guess they couldn’t get any bigger names up here for this.”
“THOSE ARE THREE OF MY FAVORITE PLAYERS!”
“They are?”

The kid looked at me like I was on the wrong planet.

“Of course! They’re on the Mets! The Mets are my favorite players! Murphy! Turner! Niese! They play for my favorite team! And you get to talk to them?”
“I guess. I don’t expect to learn a whole lot. They’re not much older than you and, besides, they aren’t going to say anything substantive to a dozen bloggers all pointing tape recorders in their face for five minutes. It’s all a big dog and pony show, to be honest.”
“WOW! YOU GET TO TALK TO DANIEL MURPHY AND JUSTIN TURNER AND JON NIESE!”

Maybe this kid should go into PR when he grows up, I thought. He has a real talent for spinning.

I told him we have to play it cool for a few minutes until they’re ready for us. We followed the media crowd behind a black curtain while the players, dressed as Santa (Murphy) and elves (Turner, Niese), handed out presents to Queens schoolchildren who got into the building by more legitimate means. After I nodded hello to a few acquaintances — none of whom noticed the kid who was with me — we wandered to the back of the room and looked out on the still and empty field.

“I see they’re working on bringing the fences in,” I said. “About time. What a badly conceived dimensional nightmare Citi Field has been.”
“WOW!” the kid answered. “THERE’S THE FIELD THE METS PLAY ON! IT’S RIGHT THERE BELOW US!”
“Yeah. It was too deep and high in left and that silly notch in right was too artificial to be taken seriously.”
“WOW! THAT’S WHERE JASON BAY IS GONNA BE! AND ANDRES TORRES WILL BE OVER THERE! AND LUCAS DUDA!”
“Of course maybe if you have a seat over there in the Left Field Landing, maybe you’ll get a better view of fly balls if the wall isn’t so far back. What a missed opportunity this whole place has been.”
“THIS IS WHERE THE METS PLAY AND I GET TO STAND HERE IN THE OFFSEASON AND JUST STARE AT IT! THIS IS THE GREATEST FEELING I CAN IMAGINE IN DECEMBER!”

Eventually the sanctioned festivities on the other side of the curtain broke up and the PR people began to bring the players in for the group interviews. I told the kid to stay quiet and out of the picture. I had work — or something like it — to do.

First they gave us Turner. Bubbly sort. Taking nothing for granted after several years in the minors.

Then Murphy. More of a firecracker than I would have guessed. I asked him about being one of the de facto veterans on this ever younger ballclub, at least in terms of Met tenure: he’s fourth, by my reckoning, behind Wright, Pelfrey and Santana. Murph said he didn’t know he was so far up the food chain. “That’s bold,” he proclaimed, which I found charming.

Niese…didn’t have much to say. Maybe he was tired.

All in all, a pleasant enough round of exchanges, most of it rather predictable. They’re all gonna work hard, they all want to win, they all said the kind of stuff they’ve probably been saying since people started asking them questions based on their athletic ability. Perfectly decent but nothing groundbreaking.

When we were done and back outside, and he was sure nobody would see or hear him, the kid with me all but squealed.

“THAT WAS FANTASTIC! JUSTIN TURNER TALKED TO YOU!”
“I wouldn’t say he talked to me. I was just one of a dozen faces, just another part of his job.”
“AND DANIEL MURPHY ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION! HE LOOKED AT YOU AND ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION! HE EVEN PATTED YOU ON THE BACK AS HE WALKED AWAY!”
“Well, he’s supposed to answer my question. As for the back-patting, I wasn’t expecting that, but it’s not that big a deal.”
“A MET TOUCHED YOU!”
“I’m in the communications business. I can’t make a big deal out of anything like that.”

The kid seemed confused by my nonchalance.

“But didn’t you say you’re a Mets fan?”
“Uh-huh.”
“So how can you not be excited by getting to talk, even a little bit, to guys who are on the Mets?”
“I am. I just have to, you know, keep it in check.”
“Really? Why?”
“I dunno. I just have to.”
“So you don’t cheer at the games or yell at the TV when they’re playing?”
“No, I do. That’s different.”
“It is?”
“It is…I guess.”

The kid didn’t seem any less confused by my lack of clarity, but he forgot about it soon enough. I told him that I should have asked somebody about bridge loans or other important issues — I did come face to face with one of the owners of the team for the fleetingest of moments — and that the goodwill of the party didn’t mean the Mets were actually going to be any better this season. But he wasn’t listening to me as I droned on cynically. The kid who was with me but who nobody else saw had his own agenda.

“Wow,” he said. “Turner and Murphy and Niese all up close. Just being inside Citi Field for an hour was great enough, but players, too? Hey mister, how did that happen?”

“I’m not sure, kid. But I guess I’m glad it did.”

Here is the latest, most relevant Hot Stove buzz from around MLB this morning:

• The Texas Rangers are pursuing both Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey from the Athletics.
• According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs are the “front-runners” to land Prince Fielder.
• The Rockies are growing confident that they will land free-agent outfielder Michael Cuddyer; who they have reportedly offered three years and $27 million.
• There are multiple sources corroborating a New York Post report that the Blue Jays have won negotiating rights for Yu Darvish. If true, the Blue Jays will have until Tuesday to complete a deal.
• Josh Willingham has agreed to a three year $21 million deal with the Twins.

This is the time of year where we start to hear all sorts of silly rumors with very little basis in fact, but yesterday's rumblings that the Mets are in on Gio Gonzalez made little sense to most Mets fans. Gonzalez is an interesting pitcher who's yet to reach his prime and under team control for several more seasons, and he'd also fill a big hole in the current rotation. If the Cahill deal is anything to go by, the cost for Gio will likely be sky high. It's funny how much things have changed for me since we were relieved of Omar...had this rumor popped up two years ago I'd be crying at the thought of dealing with Billy Beane.

The Mets made an actual move yesterday, signing lefty Chuck James to a minor league contract. In his 326 major league innings James has been exactly replacement level. That should be another decent piece for the Bison rotation, but hopefully we don't have to see him in Flushing.

There is more about the Wilpons today. The Post ran a story today about the Wilpons asking MLB to help them in the Einhorn negotiations. If true, it really does paint an even uglier picture of the Mets owners. FanGraphs ran an article on the Mets ownership as well, this one citing the work that Dan did the other day.

Sandy Alderson is at least making the news for a good reason. He's been named to a committee to study how to handle international talent going forward.

R.A. Dickey will be receiving the Thurman Munson award. It's nice to see Dickey being recognized for his general awesomeness off the field as well as on it.

Finally, teams are awaiting word on who placed the winning bid for Yu Darvish. We know it won't be the Mets, but it's an intriguing story to follow all the same.

Here’s what I’m reading, it’s called Wilpon’s Folly and it’s only $3 bucks

Product Description (from Amazon)

On December 11, 2008, in the middle of a busy baseball offseason, Bernard Madoff was arrested for orchestrating a massive financial fraud. Among his chief investors was Mets owner Fred Wilpon, who not only lost a major revenue stream as a result, but is now being sued for “fictitious profits” that he now owes to other Madoff victims. To the tune of almost a billion dollars.How did this happen? Where did Wilpon go wrong, and why does a fraud victim suddenly owe money? The truth about these questions has been largely hidden, but in this short book, the whole story is fully revealed. In this tight narrative, Howard Megdal tells the dramatic financial tale and proves a surprising truth: Wilpon’s thirty-year reign as owner of the Mets is about to end. Perhaps the most public victim of the Madoff scandal, Wilpon now faces a long road, and likely a difficult offseason. Here Megdal articulates both Wilpon’s position and those against him. Like Michael Lewis’ The Big Short, this book unravels the world of a major investment scandal through an entertaining and recognizable story.

I’m not smart enough to know if anything said in the product review is accurate, or if Howard is right/wrong/smart/crazy or a mix of all those things.As a Mets fan though it’s a must-read. Absolutely fascinating and for only $2.99 why not? I blew through about half the book last night while commuting and will probably knock out the rest today. (update – finished it!)

One of my weird quirks is I am often reading multiple books at once. This is one of those times, and the other book I am reading is The Last Icon

You either get Seaver or you don’t (man have I lived so long that such a concept exists?). If you get it then get the book. No brainer. If you don’t get it but have heard old fat guys go on and on about Tom, then get the book.

Two more I will plug are my favorite book of the year, and my favorite Mets book of them all.

And of course don’t forget the Mets Police Holiday store for all your shopping needs.

Be sure to check out the Mets Police Holiday Gift Guide for lots of items under $20 and the full Mets Police Holiday Store

Related posts:

1. Can The Wilpons Support An MLS Team? At Twice The Usual Cost, Maybe Not – Forbes
2. Must read of the day: Again, I Choose The Mets
3. Silver anniversary: shake-up in Mets ownership

The Mets are among at least six teams pursuing A’s LHP Gio Gonzalez, FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal said on Twitter.

The Tigers, Phillies and Blue Jays have also reportedly shown interest in Gonzalez.

Matthew Cerrone: This is odd. I mean, the Mets have been talking to other teams about trading away Jon Niese. So, it seems strange that they’d also be in on trying to acquire Gonzalez, who, from what I understand, has had at least 12 teams check in on him. Despite throwing 200 innings with at least 170 strike outs in each of his last two seasons, Gonzalez doesn’t strike me as someone that Sandy Alderson would be looking to bring on because a) he also led the league in walks, b) he has said he doesn’t want to trade away his prospects yet, and c) Gonzlaez is arbitration eligible each of the next four seasons.

My hunch is that Rosenthal heard the Mets name either because of their previous interest in Andrew Bailey, or perhaps they’re part of some sort of three-way deal.

I’ve heard from more than one person that the Mets have had substantive talks about Niese with the Jays, who have also been mentioned repeatedly in rumors involving Gonzalez. The people I’ve talked with say the Mets like Jays C Travis d’Arnaud, as do many other teams. Also, the word in baseball has been that Billy Beane is looking for the type of prospects that most teams refuse to include in a deal for Gonzalez, like Marlins OF Mike Stanton. So, perhaps the Mets and A’s are considering something creative involving their two, young left-handed starting pitchers?

Mets join the hunt for Gio Gonzalez

That's what Ken Rosenthal is reporting. Pretty strange since a week ago there were reports the Mets were dangling Niese to teams that had interest in Gio.

Here is Sandy Alderson discussing his thoughts on Fernando Martinez and Kirk Nieuwenhuis in 2012.

Video courtesy of US Navy YouTube account.

Owners vote unanimously to approve deal The Associated Press http://connect.nj.com/user/njoapnews/index.html

Here is some video of the construction of the Citi Field walls courtesy of SNY on YouTube.

In this week’s Mostly Mets Podcast, Ted Berg, Toby Hyde, and Patrick Flood discuss Andres Torres, Carlos Beltran, Ruben Tejada, and a potential new market inefficiency:

Click here to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes: Subscribe

In a post to Twitter, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports says LHP Joe Saunders has developed a healthy market for himself, although the Diamondbacks, who non-tendered him earlier this week, are no longer in the running for him.

Last week, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic said the Diamondbacks offered Saunders a new two-year contract before they non-tendered him, and rather than non-tendering Saunders, GM Kevin Towers had suggested they intended to either sign Saunders or trade him.

Regarding the possibility of adding a starting pitcher this winter, Sandy Alderson told reporters on Tuesday:

“The problem with rotation depth is you have to hit the sweet spot. So it’s got to be somebody who can either be a swingman out of the bullpen, or somebody who could go to Triple-A initially and maybe move up and down.”

Michael Baron (Updated from Dec. 9, 2011): Based on what Alderson said on Tuesday, it didn’t sound to me as though he intends to pursue a major league starting pitcher, despite the loss of Chris Capuano, and the uncertainty surrounding Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey. Based on that alone, I’d like to see him explore Saunders or at least another healthy arm for the rotation.

Saunders isn’t going to “wow” anyone with his stuff, but he’s proven to be a durable and steady left handed pitcher who could be a fit. He usually sits in the upper 80s to low 90s with his fastball and off-sets that with a good tailing change-up. He pitches to contact and gives up a lot of home runs, but a move to a more pitcher-friendly park would probably reduce that number.

In 33 starts for Arizona in 2011, the 30 year old Saunders went 12-13 with a 3.69 ERA in 33 starts and 212 innings, allowing 210 hits and 67 walks and 29 home runs. He is entering his third year of arbitration, and he just completed a one-year, $5.5 million contract he signed with Arizona last January.

It's A Wonderful Life...Unless You're David Wright (2011)

David Wright is down on his luck. His power has deserted him, his glove isn't what it used to be and his best friend left him to go to Florida. Wright is contemplating throwing himself off the Whitestone Bridge when he is visited by a guardian angel who shows him what it would be like for the Mets had Wright never come here. Sadly, it turns out the Mets actually would have done better without Wright and let's just say it doesn't end well for David.

The Mets continue to have “regular contact” with free-agent SS Jack Wilson, according to a tweet from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

Last month, Jon Heyman said the Mets, Dodgers and Braves are among teams with interest in Wilson, which was confirmed by his agent in the New York Post.

Wilson, 34, hit just .243 with a .274 OBP and just 9 extra base hits in 79 games between the Braves and Mariners last season.

Last week, infielder Alex Gonzalez signed with Milwaukee, but told a Venezuelan sports-talk radio show that he received offers from both the Giants and Mets. However, he decided to take the job with the Brewers where he could be a starting player.

Mets sign Chuck James, and it’s that time of year and that type of year when we cover this stuff like it’s important | Tedquarters

TedQuarters scoops us again! Damn you, Berg!

There's this old fan's tale that ties the derisive "Break up the Mets!" chant to the history of the ballclub.

The story goes that upon the team's first win in team history and after nine consecutive losses to open the 1962 season, journeyman catcher Joe Ginsburg bursts in to the Mets clubhouse and says, "Break up the Mets!" The exclamation caught on for better or worse, but mercifully (or mercilessly, depending on your purview) only erupted 39 more times that season.

But it never quite went away. It carried on ever after in fits and spurts, among future Mets clubhouses and fans at the Polo Grounds and Shea Stadium. In their book The Year The Mets Lost Last Place: The Most Amazing Year in the History of Baseball, Paul Zimmerman and Dick Schaap recalled fans sitting behind home plate at Tom Seaver's near-perfect game against the Cubs in July 1969 starting that exact chant during a Cubs pitching change. It's been used as headline fodder then and now, making for a sarcastic blog post title or a spontaneous utterance.

Call me crazy, but it sounds like the chants are in full force again. We have rampant speculation that Alderson may break up the roster and rebuild without actually uttering the word. We have a dire prognosis for the financial well-being of the Wilpons and calls for MLB to step in and break up the ownership.

So maybe we haven't found ourselves in this particular doom-and-gloom scenario before, but this franchise has a history of shooting itself in the foot and coping with self-deprecating humor. Why stop now?

I'm a firm believer that the Wilpons will not voluntarily sell the Mets. There's simply no incentive as it doesn't fill in any meaningful financial holes for them. And if you haven't admitted to yourself that baseball is a business first, then you should start coming to grips with the fact that the Wilpons keeping hold of the Mets is looking out for themselves -- which is hardly a new phenomenon in professional sports. If you want to own the Mets, you will need to pry them from the cold, dead fingers of the Wilpons via bankruptcy or MLB intervention.

That's just the worst-case scenario, though. If Alderson can build a club capable of playing meaningful enough baseball (i.e. not effectively eliminated by the All-Star break) that would entice you to pony up for tickets in September, then the club could start paying for itself again and leave the Wilpons to work on climbing out of their bigger holes. If the economy turns around and real estate starts booming again, the Wilpons will find themselves flush with cash once more. There are both unlikely scenarios, but the former's not beyond the realm of possibility considering Alderson's track record while the latter is the carrot the Wilpons chase while plugging every hole in the ship in the interim.

There exists a very real possibility that the Mets could enter a dark era rivaling the one following the Midnight Massacre or The Worst Team Money Could Buy. But unlike those eras, we're entering this one with our eyes wide open. No M. Donald Grant to blindside us. No Al Harazin, Steve Phillips, or Omar Minaya adding lousy contract after lousy contract to bury us. No lack of a meaningful framework that allows for successful baseball without a bloated payroll.

I don't know where this trail goes, but I'm very interested in seeing it through. If Alderson pulls this off, it will rival any accomplishment he's achieved in the baseball wing of his decorated history. If the Wilpons come out of this alive, it will be a miracle -- and aren't we rooting for the club that makes believing in miracles one of their core principles?

Break up the Mets? Why? We're just getting started.