Jerry Seinfeld is freaking out over changes SNY is making to the New York Mets broadcast team.
The regional sports network announced over the weekend that Bob Ojeda was being replaced as the pre- and post-game analyst for Mets telecasts, and one of the team’s most famous fans voiced his displeasure over the move on Twitter.
Nelson Figueroa is taking over for Bobby Ojeda as analyst on pregame and postgame show. #mets “Booooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!”
— Jerry Seinfeld (@JerrySeinfeld) February 16, 2015
According to the New York Daily News‘ Bob Raissman, SNY and Ojeda could not reach agreement on a new contract, though the former Mets pitcher wanted to return. He had been the pre-and post-game analyst for Mets broadcasts for the past six seasons.
As Seinfeld mentioned in his tweet, Figueroa is replacing Ojeda in the studio. He pitched for the Mets during the 2008 and 2009 seasons (compiling a 6-11 record and 4.28 ERA in 32 games) and is a Brooklyn native, growing up as a fan of the team. If you’ve seen Figueroa during appearances on MLB Network, he seems relatively polished and comfortable in front of the camera. But of more importance to Mets fans will be whether or not Figueroa is as candid an analyst as Ojeda was.
One can only imagine Seinfeld will precede watching each Mets game this season by saying, “Helloooo… Nelson.”
Another possible issue for those concerned about Figueroa’s ability to be critical is his coziness with some current Mets players. Newsday‘s Neil Best points out that Figueroa is still young enough to have played with a few guys on the roster overseas.
“Those guys that I played with have been in the New York media market for quite some time,” Figueroa told Best. “They understand. I think they’ll respect that I’m someone who’s gone to battle and been in the trenches and knows what it’s like to be on the player’s side and pick up the newspaper and read when you’re not doing well.”
The implication is that Figueroa will get some insight from players and coaches that analysts further away from their playing days might not be able to yield. But the other side of that is what Mets fans — Seinfeld presumably among them — fear most: Figueroa may be afraid to criticize former teammates and those he can still relate to.
@Robbie_Dizms @AdamRubinESPN @Mets @SNYtv I’m insanely furious!!!!!!!!! — Jerry Seinfeld (@JerrySeinfeld) January 30, 2015
That is a lot of exclamation points from Seinfeld. SNY might consider him a bad breaker-upper after reading those tweets.
