Shame(s) on You: New York Sports Media

I'm sick and tired of hearing all this talk about how shocked you at the ignorance of New York baseball fans. About how you can't believe that we're even having this conversation in today's day and age. About how incredulous it is that people are actually upset that Mets GM Omar Minaya might be constructing a Latino All Star Team out of the Mets roster.

All of you from Newsday's Jon Heyman to the Post's Joel Sherman to the Daily News' Mike Lupica all the way down the line to the lackey who gets coffee for the lackey who gets coffee for everyone else are to be blamed. Blamed that is for blowing this way out of proportion.

There is no racism here on the part of New Yorkers. This isn't Topeka, Kansas. This is a very diverse area, the so called 'melting pot' of society, where people come from all over the world to make a better life for themselves. These people have far too much to worry about than to take the time out of their busy lives to get upset that the Mets roster has been filled with Latino born players.

News flash. Latino baseball players are amongst the best in the world! Baseball is probably 40% latino by now with hotbeads in the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Venezuela turning out all star players left and right. In a few years almost every GM in baseball will be accused of assembling a Latino all star team. That just goes to show the growth rate of baseball around the world.

No rational Mets fan is going to get upset over the fact that his favorite team has a largely latino flavor to it. You just want your team to get the best players and you can't argue with the fact that Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado are amongst the best players in the game.Getting those guys were the right moves to make. No one is going to question that.

However, once someone pointed out the obvious, that the Mets were becoming more Latino since Minaya took over, it suddenly became a taboo subject. In fact, if you were to factually state that the Mets were indeed becoming more Latino (they've added something like 22 latino players to their roster in the last year) you would be branded a bigot by the New York Sports Media. And that's where I draw the line.

If someone says I don't want to be a Mets fans anymore because they've become too Latino then yeah I agree with the columnists that the baffoon who said that should be locked up and have the key thrown away.

But if someone is merely stating that a Latino GM is acquiring Latino born players then I don't see what the problem is.Why can't people face facts and actually admit that the face of the Mets has changed. Carlos Delgado even said that Minaya used a Latino angle to try to recruit him prior to last year when he was a free agent. That was the major reason why he signed instead with the Marlins. And the biggest reason why the Mets gave Pedro a four year deal was because they knew it make them more attractive to latino players like Beltran and Manny Ramirez.

The distinction that needs to be made here is that Minaya isn't trying to assemble a Latino all star team by design. That's what the World Baseball Classic is for. He's just trying to make the Mets better...by using his background, heritage, and influence in the region to attract the best free agents who just so happen to be Latino. See the difference? There's no intent. Just a strategic advantage in the marketplace. One that he would be foolish not to use to his advantage.

So, from here on out I would like to be able to call it like I see it without fear of being branded a bigot. You got that New York Sports Media? Why don't you stop playing the race card and go grill Minaya about why he just traded Kris Benson for piece of shit Jorge Julio.