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'Ya Gotta Leave': Mets Fan Goes After Ownership With Billboard

ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) — A New York Mets fan has put his displeasure with the team's ownership on full display.

Gary Palumbo, a 39-year-old from New Hampshire, paid to have a billboard with the message "Fred, Jeff & Saul, Ya Gotta Leave," erected on Interstate 95, about eight miles north of Tradition Field, the Mets spring training home.

The billboard is blue with white and orange lettering — Mets colors. The message is aimed at owner Fred Wilpon, president Saul Katz and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon.

The Mets last made the playoffs in 2006 and have not had a winning record in six straight seasons.

"Most Mets fans really dislike the Wilpons and don't feel they're capable of running a team in New York properly," Palumbo told The Associated Press. "I completely appreciate that it won't convince them to sell the team, but I hope it will add pressure."

Palumbo says he raised $7,000 for two similar billboards near Citi Field in Queens. Those billboards cost approximately $5,000, so he used the remaining money for the one placed in unincorporated St. Lucie County, between Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie.

"I love the Mets and believe the owners are not responsible stewards of the team," Palumbo wrote on his Kickstarter crowd-funding page. "Their poor decisions have placed the team into a position where they no longer invest in a manner of placing the team in contention for the playoffs. They manage the team simply to keep it as a family heirloom. This project is simple, I would like us to create a message and place it on the billboard."

The billboard near Tradition Field is scheduled to come down on April 2, the final day the team will be in Florida for spring training.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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