The Gold Gloves were passed out, and no member of the New York Mets received one. A couple former Mets did, however — Carlos Gomez and R.A. Dickey.

There is a passage in Jack Lang’s excellent Mets history book about an early 1970’s confrontation between Lang and then Mets Chairman of the Board M. Donald Grant over Lang’s newspaper column ripping a trade that Grant had orchestrated. “You said we had to make a deal and we made one,” Grant reportedly snarled. “Now that we made one, you’re killing us.” “I said you had to make a deal,” Lang replied, “but I didn’t say you had to make that deal.” This exchange occurred outside the Mets’ TV broadcast booth and grew so heated that Ralph Kiner had to close the booth door to prevent any additional foul language from going out on the air. Ah, good times!

For the record, “That Deal” was the infamous Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi trade. You can probably understand why Grant got so defensive.

In an offseason where they have to do something, the danger of making “That Deal” looms very large. Check the comments section of any Mets news posted online, the remaining faithful are disgusted and are drifting perilously close to apathetic indifference. Ticket sales and TV/Radio ratings reflect this. Even Matt Cerrone has the blues. These are desperate times and I feel some concern that in response, the Mets will make a desperate and ill-conceived move. But, they won’t trade away another young pitching prospect for an over the hill infielder again; they’re not that dumb, right? Well before you answer…

“That Deal” seems to be in the Mets DNA. I started rooting for them during 1970’s when it seemed the only trades they could make were bad ones: the Ryan trade, four insignificant players for Tom Seaver; an in-his-prime Rusty Staub for an over the hill Mickey Lolich; slugging Dave Kingman for gimpy Bobby Valentine. They swapped relief legend Tug McGraw to Philadelphia for John Stearns. The latter became known as “hard-nosed.” McGraw became known as “World Series star.” They had a few good trades here and there, but for the most part, the bad deals weren’t just bad, they were disasters.

Then came the early 1980’s and GM Frank Cashen, who seemed to have the magic touch. But, “That Deal” syndrome caught up to him with a vengeance later in the decade and in short order he traded away a World Series championship team for a collection of players who failed to live up to expectations. Meanwhile the players he banished, including Lenny Dykstra, Rick Aguilera and Kevin Mitchell, helped the Phillies, Twins and Giants respectively, to pennants, each playing a key role on their new team. The Cashen era ended with the signing of Vince Coleman. Anyone who thinks that Jason Bay was the Worst Free Agent Signing Ever apparently doesn’t remember Vince Coleman.

Fast forward to the mid 1990’s and now Joe McIlvaine, one of Cashen’s old protégés, is the GM. You could argue that non-deals for the highly touted Generation K arms where Joe’s ultimate undoing, but at the time, McIlvaine was simply following the conventional wisdom of stockpiling young arms (uh-oh). What really got Joe into trouble was “That Deal” he made with the Orioles, trading a now-unwanted Bobby Bonilla to for Alex Ochoa. Bonilla didn’t go on to superstardom, but Ochoa’s poor play gave credence to the whispers that McIlvaine wasn’t doing his homework and limited his scouting on Ochoa to reading Baseball America. This apparent poor work ethic bothered the higher-ups so much that in the middle of 1997 the Wilpons replaced him with Steve Phillips. The fun soon began.

Phillips got off to a great start, including having the incredible luck of getting Mike Piazza dropped on his lap. The period from 1997-2002 were heady times for Mets fans. The rise of the Internet soon spawned an electronic rumor mill that was churning out something new almost hourly. Phillips didn’t disappoint, moving players in and out with frequency and often going on WFAN or some other “old media” source, leaking out cryptic comments about pending moves.

It worked for a while: the Mets had the only back to back playoff seasons in their history to date in 1999 and 2000. Then Stevie Skill Sets went sour. “That Deal” for Steve came in the rather corpulent form of Mo Vaughn, who arrived from the Angels after the 2001 season. Overweight and nearly immobile, Vaughn was a mistake that was too big to hide from. It went downhill from there quickly for Phillips. His later big moves also went bust and he was shown the door in mid-2003. His replacement was Jim Duquette. It took less than a year for Duquette to make “That Deal.” Exit Duquette, enter Omar Minaya. Like Phillips, Omar got off to a hot start and built a post-season team even faster than Phillips did, but just as quickly he seemed to lose his way. He made “That Deal” right after the 2006 season, sending future all-star closer Heath Bell off to San Diego for two insignificant players. Overall, Omar made a bevy of bad moves that offseason, all of which set the stage for the consecutive late-season collapses in 2007 and 2008. Much like Cashen and Phillips, Omar doubled down on his mistakes, leading to the Bay and K-Rod signings and the trade for JJ Putz. Sandy Alderson succeeded Omar in 2010.

No one who really knows for sure will come clean on the reasons why the Mets have slashed payroll since 2010. Given their apparent lack of integrity, the Wilpons are a convenient target. While this doesn’t mean that they aren’t the main culprits, I do wonder where Alderson fits into the picture. Yes he has yet to really make “That Deal,” but his luck may be running out as it appears the purse strings may get loosened somewhat this winter.

One would be hard-pressed to find a Mets fan who isn’t at least vaguely disappointed by the Alderson regime so far. He was ballyhooed as the godfather of Moneyball and a deal making Zen Master, but the team seems stuck in reverse since his arrival. I like his deals for top prospects, but they are called prospects for a reason. Those moves can’t be fully evaluated yet. At the same time, his miscalculations have mounted and now so is the pressure.

The Mets couldn’t sell the 2013 team to their fans in the 2013 season. There is no way they can sell the 2013 team, sans Matt Harvey, again to ticket buyers and sponsors in 2014. This means they can’t run a lineup out there that features both Lucas Duda and Ruben Tejada as starters. Harvey’s injury means they can’t credibly position Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero as future cornerstones of a stellar rotation. Poor showings by Ike Davis, Travis d’Araund, Wilmer Flores and Matt den Dekker took away their ability to point to their small samples and say “well, extrapolating those numbers over six months…” Bud Selig’s pending departure means they probably can’t rely on further help from the Commissioner’s Office. Their top draft pick is protected this year. Pundits hammer at the Red Sox model as a way to get better quickly (as if the Mets are the only team paying attention). The Yankees appear poised to spend again. All of this might pressure Alderson and the Wilpons into “That Deal.”

So what do you think? How do you think the Mets can avoid making “That Deal?” Should they take a risk and move a prospect or two for a proven star? Should they sign a free agent to a long term contract? Or will they get “sticker shock” again for even the mid-range free agents? Should they just pack it in for another year and wait for 2015 when Harvey is healthy and Syndergaard and Montero are ready? I will try my hand at deal making soon enough, but for now, I’d like to hear from you.

I love sports. I watch a lot of sports, attend games, and write about sports. I take sports seriously. But I know that they are just games. They’re diversions and entertainment meant to make life a little more fun. But some people don’t see it that way. They become emotionally invested to the point where sports become destructive to them and those around them.

There have been several incidents recently involving people who took it too far. Today, a man was arrested for making threats on Twitter toward Mets players, management, and fans. If you have a Twitter account, you probably know who this is.

Brandon Jacobs, running back for the New York Giants, also received threats from a Twitter user. Not only is that rude and illegal, it’s pretty stupid. Jacobs is 6’4” and weights upwards of 270 pounds.

Four people were charged with assault and disorderly conduct stemming from a fight at the Jets game this weekend. They punched each other because they had a disagreement over whose football team was better – and in this day and age of trash talk, an argument like that can turn personal.

Down in Houston, Texans fans have been threatening their quarterback, Matt Schaub, burning his jersey in the stadium parking lot, and two people were even arrested outside his home.

A Dodgers fan was killed near AT&T Park in San Francisco, reportedly because he shouted “Giants suck” outside a nightclub. In 2011, a Giants fan was severely beaten in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium.

I’d like to think these are all isolated incidents, and that 99% of people reading this would never engage in this kind of behavior. Maybe it’s been going on forever, and with the propagation of the new media and the too-much-information age, we’re simply hearing about it more, but I am increasingly disturbed by the severity of these events.

We’re passionate sports fans. We like to discuss, debate, and argue about what the GM, manager, and ownership should do. We like to roll our eyes at the latest baserunning mistake, or throw our hands up when our QB throws an interception. There’s nothing wrong with that.

When it gets to the point that you’re threatening players, trespassing on private property, engaging in violence, or even killing someone – just because you don’t agree with them or they’re in a slump or they’re wearing another team’s colors – then it’s time to take a good, hard look at your life.

Let’s just remember that these are games. They’re supposed to be fun. Let’s keep it that way.

The Mets are moving a few notches down the radio dial. They reportedly reached an agreement with WOR (710 AM in New York City) to carry their games beginning in 2014.

The 50,000-watt station is nearing an agreement with the Mets on a multi-year deal, according to industry sources.

Howie Rose is expected to remain the primary voice of the Mets.

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment also operates five FM stations in the market: Z100, KTU, Power 105.1, Lite FM 106.7 and Q104.

WFAN decided to part ways with the Mets following the 2013 season, citing disappointing advertising revenues. The all-sports station will now become the flagship station of the Yankees.

Cuban free-agent power-hitting first baseman Jose Abreu has signed with the Chicago White Sox (per Ken Rosenthal) — so scratch him off the list for potential acquisitions for the New York Mets.

Additionally, the Mets lost some property in the past 48 hours.

Remember when the Mets let Jose Reyes walk away for absolutely nothing, and inked David Wright to an historical contract extension?

At the time, the thinking was that Wright was more “the face of the Mets,” better fit the team’s offensive philosophy of homeruns and walks, and would prove to be more durable than Reyes over the long haul.

The first element is debatable; considering the team’s Flushing, Queens, location and associated extremely diverse local demographic, it could be argued that a Latino ballplayer would be as fitting a “face” as any. There’s no argument for the power/OBP — Wright wins that hands down. But what about durability?

For all the brouhaha regarding the supposed fragility of Reyes, guess who has played more ballgames over the past three seasons?

Ever see that grand old flick “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington“? I have to wonder if there are similarities between the plot of that movie and the next move of Wally Backman‘s baseball career.

By ending the 2013 season 74-88, the New York Mets have compiled a record of 225-261 with Terry Collins as manager. Fittingly, Collins was rewarded with a two-year contract extension that includes an option for a third year.

Which do you think has a better chance of happening: the Mets going to the postseason with Collins at the helm, or Collins losing more games than any other manager in Mets history?