Links: Carter, Collins on Harvey, Play a Different Type of Ball, Site News

Baseball is back and there is so much to get to. Here are some stories I thought you all would like.

Recently I had the pleasure of appearing as a guest on the Phil Naessens Show for a tribute to Gary Carter. It was quite a moving show when you hear what other players had to say about him as a man and player. Check out the show here. I will be appearing on the show again on March 14 to talk about the 2012 Mets. You can like his show on Facebook here.

“April 2012 will mark the 50th anniversary of the New York Mets, one of the most popular and culturally significant baseball franchises.” Three days to celebrate the Mets 50th Anniversary at Hofstra University.

Kerel Cooper from On The Black had a chat with Terry Collins about his impressions on Mets pitching prospect, Matt Harvey.

Darren Meenan from the 7 Line is in Port St. Lucie having some fun. He had a chance to play ball with the guys.

You can check me out on The 5 Tool Show tomorrow night to talk Mets baseball and more. The show airs live Tuesday nights at 9pm EST.

There is an upcoming video blog featuring you the fans coming up this week. Be on the lookout for it. You can subscribe to the CFoD YouTube Channel for all of the videos when they are uploaded.

There is going to be some changes to CitiField of Dreams.com. The site will be unavailable for 36 hours as I make some much needed changes. You can like the fan page on Facebook to be updated on when this will happen.

Goodbye 2011 Mets, Hello Mr. Ya Gotta Believe!

The year 2011 seemed to have been just another flat, monotonous, atrocious, aggravating year for the New York Mets and their fans. At least, that is what many would have you believe. With the Wilpons still in power, it is easy to see why many focus on the worst rather than dream of what can become.

What many fail to see is that the Mets gave us glimpses into our future.

Yes, we lost Jose Reyes. We lost his speed, electricity and defense. You know what else we lost? His injuries, at times poor attitude and self-righteousness. Think about that before you shed anymore tears or see him in the Miami Marlins uniform in 2012.
What we saw was the potential in Ruben Tejada and the power of Lucas Duda. They gave us dreams of a true power threat in David Wright, Duda and Ike Davis. Combine that with the walls moving in and you can actually dream of Jason Bay hitting to his full potential again.

Dare to dream about home runs being hit out of Citi Field again.

We saw the farm system take more shape with the tremendous addition of Zach Wheeler as we said our teary farewells to Carlos Beltran. The pitching rotation of the future is something to keep our eyes on with Wheeler and Matt Harvey as we continue to believe in what Sandy Alderson and company is doing.

What Mets fans fail to believe in is the impact minor changes can have overall. They forget what they had in 2000 with little people like Matt Franco, Benny Agbayani and Jay Payton. The minor things usually result in the most dramatic results.

With 2011 coming to a close, let the doubts you hold deep within you go out with it. Let the words you say after “Happy New Year” be “LET GO METS! YA GOTTA BELIEVE”. Because when all is said and done, the games are not written on paper. Every single game, day and night, are played on the field. Every pitch makes a difference. Every diving play, swing of a bat, stealing of a base, take out slide and fight could result in a win for the New York Mets.

Despite what is happening with the Wilpons, they do not play the game. It is ever player in that dugout and bullpen who make or break their own season.

In 2012, let the spirit of Tug McGraw take over your Mets soul. May the words “YA GOTTA BELIEVE” always be uttered from your lips with true sentiment behind them. May you never give up and always be true to the great ol’ orange and blue. The players believe in their fans. Now you believe in the players.