‘Torture’ [Quote]

“Torture.”

-Fred Wilpon on what the off-season was like

The Wilpons, Omar and the Mets and my opinion on it all

Little will change for the Mets until they change the way they operate — from ownership on down.

The Mets, multiple industry sources say, do not function like most clubs. Their unique style would be fine if they were building championship teams. Instead, they’re coming off a 70-win season and losing out on free agent after free agent -- except for one, left fielder Jason Bay, who seemingly lacked a better option.

-Ken Rosenthal

I agree with Rosenthal to a point (you should probably read the article, then come back here).

Yes, the Mets look hapless right now. Three bad years in a row. “Bad,” though, is relative.

A win or two more in ‘07, and the Mets are in the playoffs. Same goes for ‘08. Last season, thanks to injuries, they needed about 30 more wins.

Is Omar the problem? Maybe. Is it the Wilpons? Again, maybe.

We’ll see the change in the GM position before the keys to the franchise switch hands, but to me, Omar gets a lot of unnecessary flack.

I’m sure you all have had (or still have) bosses that you hate. They just don’t do things the way you’d like, but you have to deal with them anyway. It makes your life at work a lot harder because you have to wait around for them to approve this or them to check that.

To me, from the complete outside looking in, this what Omar has to deal with. I’m not saying Omar is a saint and the best GM ever, far from it. But it seems to be a perfect storm of ineptitude.

Bad ownership makes a mediocre GM look even worse. A new stadium and TV station magnify the holes. And the fans, three seasons removed from a playoff run and Game 7 of the NLCS, are ready to jump ship.

All this combined, has brewed the perfect storm of cynicism, sarcasm and dislike, all pointed toward Flushing.

Is the state of the Mets bad? Without a doubt. But it has become too easy, and the norm around these parts, to pile on this team.

The fans, if they’ve been here from the start, have seen worse. A lot worse. But the media is feeding into it and it’s blowing holes in an already sinking ship. It’s easy for the media to blast the Wilpons and Omar & Co. for anything and everything, and they have.

So who is the problem with the Mets? How will it ever get turned around? Where will 2010 take them?

Honestly, no one can know.

There is a chance, a small, miniscule one at that, the team jumps out of the gate, things clicking and running smoothly and they surprise everyone in ‘10.

Say they win 80 games. Will that please the fans? Maybe.

Say they make the playoffs. Even as a Wild Card team, I’d be thrilled.

Imagine if they get through the first round? To the NLCS? Maybe even the World Series?

Am I dreaming? Am I too hopeful? Do I actually think this will happen? Yes, yes and no.

But in this off-season, which was weak to start, the Mets have become an easy target and everyone has their Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle out and ready to fire.

There is no quick fix. Ownership changing hands won’t do much. Cleaning house will just set the franchise back by 10 years.

Fred, Jeff and Omar don’t want to lose. They don’t want people canceling ticket plans. They don’t want all this criticism.

But due to their flaws, the flaws in the people they’ve hired, the flaws in the people they’ve dealt with and all of them falling into some mystical alignment to create the super-flaws, this team is where it is now.

No one wants this. But here we are.

Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Baseball, and especially the Mets, is about entertainment. And heck, if this team isn’t entertaining, I don’t know what is.

The Mets are not ‘Major League’

For the past few weeks, I’ve been listening to a lot of WFAN. I truly enjoy the station for it’s varying opinions and entertaining hosts. But as of late, Mets fans have been taking to the airwaves blasting the Wilpons and Omar Minaya for a slow start to the offseason.

But why? John Lackey was overpaid and Roy Halladay was never coming to the Mets. The Mets are still in on Jason Bay and are likely the leading team to land the free agent.

The more worrying comments I’ve heard on air is that:

1. The Wilpons are too cheap to put money into the team.
2. The Wilpons are content with losing.

Do you actually think the owners of the team don’t want to spend money on their team and don’t want to win?

This isn’t “Major League.”

If you’re unfamiliar with the 1989 movie, in it, a Las Vegas showgirl inherits the Cleveland Indians. She wants to move the team to Miami, but to do this, the Indians must draw less than 800,000 fans. She instructs the GM to field the worst team possible so no fans come and she can move the team, fire the whole team and start anew.

A few differences between the Mets and Major League…

• The Wilpons are not Las Vegas showgirls
• The Wilpons just built a brand new, very expensive stadium
• The Wilpons do not want the team to lose
• There is no Roger Dorn

But, there are a few similarities…

• Carlos Delgado is Pedro Cerrano
• Oliver Perez is Rick Vaughn
• Jose Reyes is Willie Mays Hayes

Anyway…

The Wilpons do not want to lose. To think that is downright insane. What owner in their right mind would actually go out of their way to, not save money, but cut costs so much that the team suffers?

Putting a poor team on the field, as we saw last year, makes people stop going to games. Yes, last year’s team wasn’t very good. Chalk it up to injuries, lack of depth or whatever you like, but to think that the owners of the team were pleased with this in bonkers.

The Mets are getting torn apart in the papers and on the airwaves. Has the offseason been a success so far? No, not at all. But there have been barely any moves at all. Mets fans must be patient right now.

If, by March, the team is no better than it is today, there will be reason for concern. But that is not the case.

In “Major League,” Rachel Phelps wants her team to lose. She puts the worst possible team on the field. (Of course, they overcome the odds and make the playoffs. It wouldn’t be a Hollywood movie without that!)

The Wilpons, like every fan, player and employee of the team, want them to win.

The team had the second highest payroll in the major leagues last year. No, spending money does not automatically earn you wins. But it’s an indication that the Wilpons are willing to spend money, willing to pay lots of money out of pocket to put a quality team on the field.

If you actually think the Wilpons would much rather see the Mets lose, look terrible on the field and watch their multi-million dollar stadium stay half-empty, take all your Mets merchandise and donate it to a fan with a level head.

This is not a Hollywood movie. The Wilpons are not dastardly villians out to make baseball miserable for Mets fans. They want to win just as much as the fans do. They’d make more money if the Mets were better, so why wouldn’t they want that?

To think they want the team to lose just to save some money (of which, they have a lot), is nuts. They want to win, they want to bring in players to help them win and they want the fans to come out and support their team and cheer for the win.

To think otherwise is just flat-out wrong.

Author defends ‘Wilpons selling Mets’ stance [Video]

Here is author Erin Arvedlund on FOX Business Channel defending her stance that the Wilpons will sell the New York Mets soon.

Thoughts, Mets fans?

h/t to Brian Costa over at NJ.com

Will the Wilpons sell the Mets?

The author of a new Bernie Madoff book believes so.

Erin Arvelund, author of “Too Good To Be True,” a book about Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, believes the Wilpons lost somewhere around $700 million and will be forced to sell the Mets very soon.

“You can quote me,” Arvedlund told FOX Business. “It's a matter of when. It could be as soon as next year.”

The Mets, obviously, refute the rumor.

A Mets spokeswoman told FOX Business on Thursday by e-mail:

“The numbers speculated continue to be inaccurate. We refute what has been reported. As we have said on numerous occasions, losses incurred by the Sterling Partners do not and will not affect the day-to-day operations and long-term plans of the Mets organization. The team is not for sale in any respect.” Wilpon's Sterling company controls the Mets franchise.

Well here’s another storyline to watch for in the coming months or years.  This team is never boring, that’s for sure.

h/t to The Mets Police

Minaya and Manuel get second vote of confidence

In a tune we’ve already heard this season, a Wilpon has made it known that Omar Minaya will be back for 2010.  When Minaya was asked about Jerry Manuel, he sang the same song.

This time around, it’s head honcho Fred Wilpon making the call on Minaya.  (Last time, it came from Jeff’s mouth.)

Mike Puma of the NY Post got in one question to Wilpon, asking if Minaya was coming back for at least another turn with the team.

“Am I going to bring Omar back next year?” Wilpon told Puma. “Absolutely. That's a fact.”

Later, Puma asked Minaya what his plans were for Manuel.

“Jerry is my guy,” Minaya told Puma. “We work well together.”

That’s two of the dreaded “votes of confidence.”  Guess we just have to wait and see how it plays out.

Rebuttal: My outrage at Citi Field

I miss Shea Stadium. But I'm much more excited for Citi Field.

Andrew Beaton over at Hot Foot feels much different:

It is truly shameful that the Wilpons are sacraficing thousands of seats, the opportunity for thousands of fans to go to a game, in order to build a few extra luxury boxes and earn an extra couple bucks. In fact, MLB teams have financial incentives to build luxury boxes beyond the obvious ones.

Sure, that's an issue here, but if you've been to Shea Stadium at all, you must know it's a dump. That's right, I said it. Shea was a dump.

It wasn't pretty. Citi Field will be gorgeous.
It didn't have the greatest facilities. Citi Field will be better for the players and the fans.
The good food was few and far-between. Citi Field will have scrumptious food at every turn.

There are 10,000 less seats, but it will be a much more pleasing venue for everyone. Better seats, better sight lines, better proximity to the game. It's going to be a better place, no matter which way you slice it.

Plus, you cannot forget that baseball is a business. It is hard to look beyond the emotions and love of the game, but it's an entertainment business. It's sole purpose is to entertain to make a profit. If they can make more money in Citi Field, then so be it.

They make more money because of SNY, would you want them to shut that down too, just because some people can't get it on their cable provider? I don't think so. It's a business, and where they play is just another way they can make money.

And where do you think that money goes? Well, most of it probably goes into the pockets of the Wilpons & Co., but the money gets recycled into the team. More money translates to better facilities, better franchise, and possibly better players.

So Citi Field in an investment in the franchise for the better. It may be a bit tougher to get a ticket, but outside of the huge games, I've never had a problem getting a seat at Shea when I needed it. I'm sure it will be just the same.

Citi Field, I can't wait for you to get here.

Early Morning Madness: Numero uno edition

As a Mets fan, did you feel comfortable at any point during last night's game?

I think maybe during the top of the first inning, I was all right, but after that it was nervous city. John Maine surrendered his early lead very quickly, on back to back home runs. He was handed another lead, but let that one slip away as well. Still, the Mets did not relent, and Jose Reyes vaulted them into the lead for good in the sixth inning.

Maine's start wasn't as bad as I'm describing it. He only allowed six hits, and three earned runs thanks to two solo shots.

However the Mets did it, they're back in a first place tie with the Phillies with today's noon game determining who will land in first after this series.

** * **

Our thoughts go out to Pedro Martinez and his family. Pedro's father lost his long battle with cancer last night.

Pedro lefts the team in the seventh inning to tend to his family. Martinez will miss his scheduled start on Friday. Mike Pelfrey will pitch that game, with Johan Santana going on Sunday. The Saturday pitcher is still yet to be determined.

R.I.P. Mr. Martinez.

** * **

This is just stupid.

Bob Raissman has quotes from Fred Wilpon where he admits to screwing up the Willie Randolph firing.

From Raissman:

Fred Wilpon said he learned something from firing Willie Randolph. And it is this: The next time he fires a manager he'll do it in the light of day, when reporters are not sleeping.
---
"I said (to Omar Minaya) 'When are you going to do this?' He said 'After the game (Mets-Angels, June 16).' I wasn't smart enough to say, 'And cut the New York press out of it?' I didn't even think of it," Wilpon said. "I screwed up."

Great. Wonderful. Super. It took two months for this?

I think this just makes the team look even worse than before. We knew you handled it poorly, you knew you handled it poorly, so coming out and saying it two months later makes you look like even bigger buffoons than before.

Still talking

According to ESPNews, the meeting between Fred Wilpon, Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph is still in session.

The meeting was scheduled for 2 p.m. and it's now 4:37 p.m. I can't see them taking over two and half hours to fire a guy, so I think Randolph's job is safe for now. I could be wrong, but just a hunch.