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Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

batmagadanleadoff Oct 17 2010 11:59 AM

If nobody cares whether or not Tim Marchman cares about the Mets, did the tree really fall? Or something like that. Minaya and Manuel Over the past few days I've had several false starts on what I'd intended to be a lengthy post on the Mets that would be more worth your time than, say, this, but I just don't care enough for it to be worth the effort I'd put into writing it when I could be reading a Henry Kissinger biography and baking. I'll say this: I was born in Queens to a National League family. I still have my ticker tape from the '86 parade and my first Keith Hernandez card, I courted my wife by taking her to Shea Stadium and my son is the only kid in Hyde Park who wears David Wright and Jose Reyes shirts. The Smithers Institute, Vince Coleman, Bobby Bonilla, sexy general managers, Jason Isringhausen's tuberculosis, Jason Isringhausen playing for a beer league, Todd Zeile, the Juan Samuel trade, Mo Vaughn, Mark Corey's seizure, David Cone's 1988 stint as a sportswriter, Gregg Jefferies' stint as a WFAN writer, the neon men on the side of Shea, Carlos Baerga, John Franco's mustache, Edgardo Alfonzo's back problems, the David Cone trade, late model Armando Benitez, the Scott Kazmir trade, the 7 train, signing Tom Glavine, the collapses and the volume of the Shea sound system all failed to make me stop caring about the team. Last year—all of it, from the Adam Rubin incident to the handling of Ryan Church and David Wright—managed to finally beat it out of me. So while I don't really think that Manuel and Minaya were the problem, and while I'd even say that a team whose most valuable property is Ike Davis probably should have kept the incumbents around so as to take the blame for what will doubtless be a lousy 2011, I'm indifferent to their fate and apathetic about my apathy.

Edgy DC Oct 17 2010 12:16 PM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

The more folks jump ship, the more the volume of fans seems to go up. People make it out that they were never so despondent before. I don't believe that, and I don't believe they're done. Besides, writing about your washing your hands of a team seems awfully self-centered.

MFS62 Oct 17 2010 01:30 PM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

I think he's trying to tell us he didn't start the fire. But his music writing probably sucks as much as that prose. Later

Kong76 Oct 17 2010 01:32 PM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

I'd only stop being a Mets' fan if they left NY ... see ya next week, Tim.

Frayed Knot Oct 17 2010 03:28 PM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

"Last year—all of it, from the Adam Rubin incident to the handling of Ryan Church and David Wright—managed to finally beat it out of me." So let's see here - over the "past few days" - he's decided that he's finally had enough - on the basis of three "incidents" - all of which happened in the year before this past one - but are apparently affecting him just now. Or at least two of them happened in 2009 because I'm not sure what "handling" they did to Wright or when & how this implied mishandling took place. And if it's his implication that it was their mishandling that knocked him down to 10 HRs I guess they must of un-mis-handled him somehow back up to his normal 30-ish level this season. I'm indifferent to his indifference.

Edgy DC Oct 17 2010 04:40 PM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

Tim Marchman in 2008 wrote: Dour a conclusion as this may be to draw from the wretchedness of the last two weeks (or, for that matter, years), it does point to the one thing that Mets fans can do on their own, without waiting for the light to dawn on Wilpon and their capos: They can give up all hope. A pessimist is never disappointed and is sometimes surprised. Only by abandoning all expectations, and admitting the certainty that however badly one might think the Mets can scotch something they'll not only find a way to do so worse, but also to do so more painfully, can the Mets fan align himself with the natural order.

Gwreck Oct 17 2010 05:02 PM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

I could give a crap if he's indifferent. Knowingly stupid statements (Ike Davis is the Mets most valuable property) makes me actively hostile towards his writing.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 17 2010 07:22 PM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

I hope his son gets a Jeter jersey for Christmas.

Willets Point Oct 17 2010 07:38 PM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

I don't know who this putz is or why I should care about his ignorant and poorly written opinions.

Fman99 Oct 17 2010 07:38 PM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

This article is the journalistic equivalent of masturbating into a sock.

metsguyinmichigan Oct 18 2010 04:26 AM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

What an idiot. If I can withstand the Seaver trade and still be a fan, than he can deal with one disastrous season. Hey Tim, real fans stick with the team through thick and thin. Go jump on some bandwagon.

Frayed Knot Oct 18 2010 07:53 AM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

"Hey Tim, real fans stick with the team through thick and thin." It's not even that. Look, I don't give a shit who roots for the team and, frankly, have no freakin' idea why a supposed journalist would even declare that he is or is not a fan of a given team unless he, for some reason, wants everything he writes - both before and after such declarations - to be seen through that prism. But this just smacks of someone looking for reasons to vent as if he's an entrant in a contest where the goal is to show how pissed off you are. It reminds me of Met fans a few years back spinning yarns about how long/how loyal fans they had been but then adding that it was all over if the team didn't rid itself of Aaron Heilman immediately - as if having HIM on the roster was the worst baseball crime ever committed and not just some reason du jour for throwing a metaphorical brick through a window.

metirish Oct 18 2010 07:55 AM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

There was a time when Tim used to be really good IMO, I guess like the Mets he's just not that good anymore.....

G-Fafif Oct 18 2010 08:35 AM Re: Tim Marchman is indifferent. And apathetic.

When the Sun was still in the newspaper sky and Tim was the toast of the advanced statistics crowd, he did a Q&A with Metsgeek here. Explains his fanship in the context of being a sportswriter: I grew up in Richmond Hill, and I was eight in 1986, so of course I was a Mets fan. The whole cynical sportswriter bit is a giant scam. Someone is going to pay me to attend the Caribbean Series. Baseball is fucking great. When I start disliking it I’ll get another job. Generally came at the Mets from an advocacy journalism point of view. I think that's legitimate. It was sort of refreshing to see the approach gain a little currency. In the context of what he's written about for years, in which he's an admitted Mets fan (this is 13th day of sobriety) and wants them to do well, his revelation or whatever you might call it about not feeling it any longer makes sense. We may not agree with it (though I certainly get what he's saying), but it's not just out-of-the-blue noodling about how "I don't care" anymore. I wasn't really a member of the Chowder & Marchman Society, as it were, when he was at the Sun, not in the way there were bloggers who swore by him. He wrote some good pieces, others didn't register for me. But he tended to seek the different angle and did it, I thought, with a little style (as opposed to Mike Sielski in the Journal who also seeks to be Not a Beat Reporter from a non-traditional outlet and isn't that graceful about it).