OK… it just has to stop. Mets fans must stop reading the Daily News.  This feud has gone on long enough.  I know the Mets were lousy last year.  Yeah, and so were about half a dozen other teams.  I know they spent considerably more than those other teams, but that was for the same reason the Daily News thinks we won’t notice just how awful they News is being- because the Yankees are in town.

I have unbookmarked the site, even though it has one of the best sports sections in the city.  I just can’t stand a newspaper using its position to pay back a General Manager and a franchise for a poor choice they made.  What am I talking about?

Way back when the weather was warm, and baseball was being played, the Mets had to fire one of Omar Minaya’s closest lieutenants, Tony Bernazard.  During the press conference, Minaya went after one of the news writers, Adam Rubin, accusing him of wanting Bernazard’s job.  Minaya tried to discredit the reporter who broke the story that caused Bernazard to get fired. The Daily News, in support of their employee has since gone after the team.

The Yankees won the World Series.  That unto itself makes it very easy to point out what the Mets have done wrong.  Yet, the Daily News has gone on beyond that.  They aren’t simply writing stories about what the Mets should do or aren’t doing, they are dragging the Mets inactivity into every piece about the Yankees.  They are drawing up Brian Cashman and Omar Minaya next to each other.

But here is the question all Mets fans need to ask themselves.  Is it really in the Mets best interest to make a move just because the Yankees did?  Think back to Mo Vaughn.  Think back to Kaz Matsui.  And is it really in a Mets fan’s best interest to read a newspaper trying to get the Mets to make a dumb move?

Today, the tabloid wrote a piece about the Mets being the lousiest of the decade.  That is compared to the Yankees.  There were plenty of teams that were lousier through the decade than the Mets.  The Rays went to the World Series, and yet their record for the decade is significantly worse than the Mets.  The Mets at least made the post-season several times.  Imagine being a Royals fan, a Brewers fan or worse, an Expos fan.  What about the middle of the road?  Would you rather be an A’s fan or a Cleveland fan?  The Mets always get into trouble when they compare themselves to the Yankees.  Don’t listen to a newspaper that does it.  Stop reading them.  If every Mets fan stops buying the Daily News, they will get the message.

I know they cover other sports.  I know they have very good writers- none that I would want to see lose their jobs.  But the Daily News coverage of the Mets is not journalism, it is a vendetta.  And while it may seem to sell newspapers, its not good for New York.  Its not even good for Yankee fans.

We find out about our teams through the eyes of these writers.  If those writers become jaded, that’s how we will see our team.  The Mets have had very good pieces for a while now.  Last year, injuries took their toll.  But with healthy players, the team could be back to good form without spending money on an extra year for Jason Bay or overpaying for Randy Wolf.

My plan today was to write about the beauty of the knuckleball.  Apparently, that will have to wait. Today, the Daily News made me ashamed that I have read and supported them for so long.  No beauty in that.