Now Playing for the Syracuse Mets: Yesterday’s Stars, Not Tomorrow’s

More than sign a lease for the stadium for 25 years, the Mets have created some stability for their AAA franchise by buying the team. That outright ownership, coupled with the direct ownership of the clubs in Brooklyn, Kingsport, and St. Lucie, will hopefully end the non-stop affiliation merry-go-round that has plagued the Mets for years.

I was a kid when my hometown of Miami got its AAA ball club - the Miami Marlins. And as a result, I got to see Satchel Page pitch. Talk about being a witness to history. And Woody Smith at third base was pretty amazing too. It was before major league expansion. Today, a player like Smith would have been an all star.

That must have been a pretty early season photo to get that many hats and coats in the photo of the stadium. It does actually get hot in Upstate NY.

A day in the minors still beats most of what passes for a “job” these days. Nine innings is a great workday. (“Let’s play two!”- Ernie Banks)

I went to college at Syracuse University. The city is a relic from the 1940s. As much as they try to improve upon it, it's still a bunch of 25-year-old guys in pickup trucks hitting on teenage girls before they settle down and have sixteen kids while complaining about how life "done treated them rotten." I hope the players escape. Soon.

The Mets farm system rated 26th in July? That is ridiculous. I hope they have a plan, because this could seriosly effect the team for the next few yaers.

Another indication that top management is a joke.

'Since 2006, the Mets have had five different Class AAA locations.' Sell the team Fredo Wilpon!

Their AAA team full of old retreads is a sure sign of a sick baseball organization. And Van Wagenen keeps trading their best kids for old guys like Cano and Stroman so look for the Mets to be a bad team for years to come.

It's so tough to let go of what you love.....

According to spotrac.com, Gregor Blanco has earned $14,373,000 in MLB. Unless he's blown it, he's set for life. Enjoy your ballpark summer, Gregor.

It’s interesting that the Mets have such a large contingent of former major leaguers on the Syracuse team. What the Mets are missing is that the price for trading away their young prospects will be paid in lack of progress at Citi Field. Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano are not worth the loss of future talent that was sent to Seattle. Marcus Stroman May be a work in progress, but he is no Max Scherzer. The loss of young players in the swap for Stroman will also be a net negative in the near future. Building a team out of relics may be the way to stock a museum, but leaving a team with only memories and a possible short stay in the playoffs this year will insure that Citi Field will be a mausoleum for years to come. Gil Hodges and Casey are rolling over in their graves.

While I wish these journeymen (as you refer to them) the best, the uptick in attendance has little to do with them. Years of lackluster management and competition from a scrappy minor league hockey team and Syracuse University football and basketball, have meant that baseball in this town has become an afterthought. A new franchise, promised ballpark upgrades and a summer flirtation with Tim Tebow has resulted in a bounce for the team's fortunes. If the bounce lasts, it will be because the team has started to post victories, not because it has filled its roster with former stars.

If they all want to come out to Seattle and play, we can swap out our entire starting lineup to Syracuse. It is so crazy it might just work.

"Doug Glanville ... believed most former pros on minor league deals ..." Is Mr. Berkman saying that players on minor league teams are NOT pros? I believe they are still being paid.