Surprises are always best when you don’t expect them.

Below is the 2011 Over/Under Game. Lets see how many of these we actually get right at the end of the season. Winner will receive a FREE PESSIMETS T-SHIRT and will be contacted by e-mail at the end of the season. Congratulations to “steven” winner of the 2010 Pessimets Over/Under Game. Copy the picks below in your comment and then write your predictions in whether the stat will be over or under. Good Luck!

1. Johan Santana Games Pitched – 11 1/2

2. R.A. Dickey Wins – 12 1/2

3. Number of different Mets to start at 2B – 6 1/2

4. Jose Reyes Triples – 13 1/2

5. Jose Reyes Stolen Bases – 47 1/2

6. Carlos Beltran Games Played  as a Met – 92 1/2

7. David Wright Home Runs – 28 1/2

8.  Jason Bay RBI’s – 91 1/2

9.  Chris Young Innings Pitched – 143 1/2

10.  Roy Halladay & Cliff Lee Combined Wins – 34 1/2

11. K-Rod Games Pitched – 54 1/2

12. Bobby Parnell Saves – 7 1/2

13. Ike Davis Home Runs – 26 1/2

14. Mike Pelfrey Wins – 13 1/2

15. Mets Wins  – 82 1/2

Tie Breaker – Number of wins for 2011 New York Mets -

Fast forward to Sunday October 3rd 2010. A mere five years has passed since those wonderful thoughts went through the minds of many a Met fan. And now the future couldn’t look more dismal. It was quite fitting on this last day of Omar Minaya’s tenure as GM and Jerry Manuel as skipper that Oliver Perez would be the pitcher to lose the game, of course by hitting a batter and walking three straight. You couldn’t have planned that any better. Right now, there is no plan in sight, drama around every corner, a useless owner and a terribly underachieving, disappointing team.

So when did it all go wrong?

I mean it was just four years the Mets were one hit from the World Series, just two years ago one win from the playoffs. That seems like such a  long time ago now, doesn’t it? Two miserable and mediocre years will do that to a fan. We had been burnt by 2007 and 2008, severely beaten(literally) in 2009 and finally now I think most of us have thrown our hands in the air and given up in 2010, yes I’m waving the white flag. No more misery, please.

Don’t get me wrong I’m still a Met fan for the rest of my life. But, at least for the next few years, we won’t go into the season thinking playoffs are even a possibility, at least we shouldn’t. Not until we get back to that promise land of the post-season, will I allow hope and happiness to crawl back into this Pessimet’s head. After the caught looking in 2006, the destructive endings to 2007 and 2008, the injury filled year of 2009 and the mediocre and disappointing 2010. Not to mention Tony Bernazard, firing of Willie Randolph at 3am and countlessly other mishandled moves it’s easy to understand a Mets fans reluctancy to get our hopes up for the future. 

Fool me once shame on you, fool me four straight years after that and I’m just a moron.

Well, it will soon be time to begin a new chapter for the franchise. Gone will be Omar, gone will be Jerry Manuel.  Don’t get me wrong, I think Omar did a pretty good job of restoring this franchise to respectability and contention. Signing Pedro and Beltran was amazing, acquiring Johan for next to nothing was genius. The peak of the Omar era was clearly the Endy Chavez catch in the 2006 NLCS Game 7. I remember him making that catch and thinking, yes we’re going to score some runs, World Series here we come.

Ever since that Endy catch the team has gone down hill.

Omar, I thought, did well for the most part, but under his guidance the organziation lacked the forward thinking approach that was desperately needed. It was always patch up a hole in the off season but never address any major problems in season. I’m not sure how much flexibility Omar was given in the last couple of years but the Ollie P and Castillo contracts sure didn’t help.

In any organization it starts at the top with the ownership. Unfortunately, that probably won’t be changing any time soon for the Mets. I don’t have the answer as to who the next GM should be. I’m hoping who ever is chosen is given full control with ample spending opportunity. I’m praying Ollie P and Luis Castillo are no longer on this team next season.

It’s going to take A LOT for the organization to regain the fans trust and take A LOT more for them to get the fans back in the ball park. Even if they do well for a half a season, I’m not going to be in any rush to buy tickets because I’ve been so badly burned in recent years.

There is some hope in the future with Mejia, Ike and Niese but I’m afraid by the time they become dominant we’ll have the same problems with a different cast. Time to close the book folks on one very dissapointing chapter in Mets history, ladies and gentlemen the Omar Minaya era is officially over, let’s pray for a better tomorrow!

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Dom Pinto, Pessimets: When you started MetsBlog, Did you ever think it would get to the point it is now?

Matt Cerrone, MetsBlog: I started MetsBlog.com as a project in a digital media class in college.When the class ended, I stopped writing it. In the weeks that followed, I received a number of emails from people outside the class, in New York,apparently, that had been reading it, asking me why I stopped. I figured,there is an audience here, and I enjoy it, so I’ll keep it going. I think I had, maybe, 100 readers. Today the site can reach close to 100,000 hits in a day or around 30,000 unique readers every day, which continues to surprise me.

Dom: What were your goals back then and how did you promote your blog?

Matt:I had no goal, I did MetsBlog as a hobby, for the love of it, while working other jobs. I still have no goals actually, though I know I do not want to be a beat writer, or work for the team. I like being a fan and I’d like to keep it that way.

I have a background in media relations, doing publicity for authors and politicians. So, I used a lot of that knowledge to build relationships with reporters and the team during a time when there were not many blogs, and people were skeptical of what I was up to. I did a lot of grassroots marketing, as well. The bigger the site got, the easier it was to leverage my audience to get interviews on NBC, SNY, etc., and use my platform to get interviews with people looking to promote their produce, book or shows.

Dom: Is that how the relationship between SNY and MetsBlog got started? Did you reach out to them or the other way around? Either way I think readers of MetsBlog have appreciated the way you’ve stuck true to your form even after their sponsorship.

Matt: I reached out to them. We negotiated for close to 12 months.

Dom: Do you ever really have any free time where you’re not thinking about the Mets or about you’re next post?

Matt: I try to lay low on the weekends. In some cases, I only look at the boxscore and watch highlights. But, it’s tough. I usually give in and watch the game anyway. I need a break though, because, while my love for the team never flickers, it’s difficult to be creative 24–7. The brain needs a minute to pause and re-group.

Dom: I recently celebrated my one year wedding anniversary, how does your wife feel about your blogging or how did she feel about it when you first started MetsBlog?

Matt: She tolerated it, but when we got engaged we had a serious discussion about where it was going, and whether I could make it a full time job. I was offered a job in the media department for a political campaign, at the same time Pajamas Media approached me with a flat-rate, guaranteed payment for access to my ad space on MetsBlog.com. My wife and I agreed, with help from my inner circle, that it would be unwise to abandon MetsBlog. So, instead I made it a full-time job, knowing I could make more money elsewhere. In that time, I started talking with SNY, and now it’s a stable job, which is fueled by my love for being a Mets fan.

Dominic Pinto, Pessimets:You may have already posted a response like this on MetsBlog, but what’s a typical day like in the life of Matt Cerrone these days?

Matt Cerrone, MetsBlog: I get up at 6:20 am, make coffee, and start reading e-mails, text messages,organizing news for posts, and I begin blogging.  I will take the train to SNY if need be, otherwise I work from home.  I may go to Citi Field around 3pm, from which I’ll blog from the phone.  Otherwise, I’m tethered to the laptop in some location, keeping tabs on talk radio, other blogs, my e-mail, etc., while brainstorming ideas, developing other elements of the blog, talking with people in the game, and writing.

Dom: When’s the busiest time of year for you? Before the season or the trading deadline?

Matt: The busiest time is easily either the trade deadline or the WinterMeetings.  It can literally be 24 hours of blogging in some cases.  I typicially sleep for a few hours, blog for a few hours, nap, blog, make calls, listen, and so on.  It’s crazy, but so much fun.

Dom: What’s been the best and worst part of running MetsBlog?

Matt: The best part is having an outlet to vent and think and get feedback from fans and people with the team.  The worst part is looking ‘behind the curtain,’ so to speak.  I love being a fan, and do my best to keep myself away from situations that can change that dynamic.

Dom: Are there any specific post or series of posts you’re most proud of?  Were there any posts that were very influential on something the Mets actually did after reading MetsBlog?

Matt: I have no idea if my blog has influence.  It may, but I have no clue, and even if it did I would never know – nor do I care to know.  Seriously.  I find it best to just do like I have always done, write like I’m keeping a journal with just one person reading.

Dom: Favorite met of all time, favorite current met.

Matt: Darryl Strawberry was my favorite player growing up.  But, as I got older, it was Keith Hernandez, because his iconic status sort of transcended baseball.  Today, I like Reyes and Wright and find it very easy to root for Daniel Murphy, but it’s tough to say.  I mean, Santana is amazing, and when he’s pitching he’s my favorite.  Here’s the truth, the one jersey I own hasno name on it, just Mets on the front, because I think that says it all. I’m a Mets fan first.

Dom: Best advice for a new Metblogger like myself.

Matt: Be yourself.  Don’t try to be like other bloggers, or beat writers.  Write, listen to your work, find your voice, and be who you are.  You can’t trick people in to liking your work.

Once again a big thank you to Matt Cerrone for taking the time out to do this Q&A. With the magnitude of where MetsBlog is and as busy as he is he didn’t have to take the time out to do it, but he did. It is greatly appreciated by myself and all Pessimets readers. Check out the post Matt Cerrone made regarding this Q&A here.