Undertenants Forever

It's hard to write a blog about the New York Mets during the winter months, and not tie it in to the Mets football brethren, the New York Jets. After all, the Jets were undertenants to the baseball club at Shea Stadium from 1964-1984. You see the Jets have had plenty of practice being the undertenants. For years the Jets played the first six games of their schedule on the road because the Mets did not want them to chew up the baseball field (the pourous infield of the early Mets did a great job of that by themselves, thank you.) The Jets even had to practice in Flushing Meadow Park, with the rocks and the gravel and the trees for goal posts.

Jets owner Leon Hess wanted a better facility (and cleaner bathrooms), so he went from being the Mets' tenants, and actually became the little brother of a competing football franchise, the New York Giants, as they moved into the Meadowlands. They did this, like Felix Unger, with the promise that one day they would return. Years later, after a failed attempt at a West Side palace, the Jets signed a deal with the Giants to build a new shared stadium and play as "partners" for ninety nine years.

The New York Jets...Just Renting For Over Forty Years, And Counting!

Of course, the Jets picking up shop and moving the whole operation to the Garden State means that the Met fan base will no longer be automatically linked to the Jets fan base, as it was from the 60's and 70's, all the way up until now. Way back when, if you were a Mets fan, more than likely, you were a Jet fan. Geographically, it just made sense. Now of course, it's all gone. To be a Met fan growing up now is to be a Met fan no longer automatically linked to another football team.

But with head coach Herman Edwards leaving the Jets (because the Jets can't seem to fire anybody fast enough before they leave), they're once more linked to the Mets. Because the last time the Mets were involved with a head coach (they call 'em managers in the summer) it was Lou Piniella who was angling his way off his employer, and Jose Reyes playing the part of the fourth round draft choice.

This resulted in Art Howe.

We know how that turned out.

Today, Jim Haslett visits with the Jets to talk to them about their vacant head coaching position. Jim Haslett...a coach with one less win than the coach who's leaving.

Jim Haslett: Autumn's Art Howe.

So how about hiring Art Howe to coach the Jets? How about being the Mets' little brother one last time and reaching towards the baseball world for their next head coach? It certainly would be a more prudent choice than Jim Haslett. Art Howe will come cheap and we all know that's what Woody Johnson wants. What? You say Art Howe doesn't know football so that would be silly? He hardly knew baseball! And he lucked his way into a good 65 wins a season. So what exactly is the difference here?

Because with Art Howe, you know the Jets will battle...because Howe will tell you so.

You play...

to keep...

it close.

Hello?!?