Jeff Wilpon’s video blog [Day 2]

It’s funny because it’s true.

Here’s the second installment of Jeff Wilpon’s video blog from 12 Angry Mascots…

12 Angry Mascots: Jeff Wilpon’s vlog

The mad minds behind 12 Angry Mascots are launching a Jeff Wilpon video blog called The WilVlog.

Below is the first installment.

They plan to post every Tuesday and Thursday for the next few weeks.

This should be fun.

(Driving to Atlantic City for the next few days.  Might have Internet, might not.  If not, talk to you on Friday!)

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.

Quotes from the Jason Bay press conference

Jason Bay

• "Thank you to Jeff and Omar and everyone else that made this possible."
• "I'm grateful and honored to be here."
• "I offer a fresh perspective as a little bit of an outsider."
• "The Mets wanted me more."
• "The money's nice, don't get me wrong. ... You still have to make a decision ... New York: It was the perfect fit for everything."
• "Where you come up with Beirut, I don't know."
• "Can somebody ask Omar a question?" (jokingly)
• "I actually never hurt my shoulder. That thing took on a life of it's own. I had surgery in 2003 and it's been great ever since."
• "I can play in the playoffs, I can play in this market."
• "I'm expected to drive in runs. There's a lot of ways to do that."
• "I don't consider myself a home run hitter, I pride myself on trying to drive in runs."

Omar Minaya

• "We ask the fans to be patient."
• "Jason Bay, when it's all said and done, does a lot of fundamental things right."
• "I do anticipate Luis Castillo being our second baseman."
• "2009 is over, 2010, for me, for all of us, we're looking forward to having a great year."

Jeff Wilpon

• "Omar had a plan and wanted to get a power hitting outfielder. We looked at the spray charts and everything."
• "We have to do what's best for the organization long term. ... We had a deal done Christmas Eve."
• "Speed is not going to win this winter."

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.

Is Jeff Wilpon the real GM?

This is just strange.  But I’m not really surprised.

From Justin Terranova in the NY Post…

Peter Gammons today called owner Jeff Wilpon the general manager, and said Omar Minaya is only "out there to take the heat."

Gammons, as heard on the Michael Kay Show on 1050 ESPN New York, was asked why the Mets had not hired a particular coach. Gammons replied, “Ask the general manager, Jeff Wilpon.”

Asked why Minaya wasn’t interested, Gammons replied, “He’s not the general manager. Omar’s the one out there to take the heat.”

Thoughts?

Something that is bothering me

Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon are on WFAN right now.

Two times already, they have said that “the Mets will have one of the highest payrolls in baseball.”

Um…why?

Can’t you have a winning team without spending so much money? Making the right signings, for the right price or fostering the minor leagues to produce quality players who are under your control.

Enough with the “big payroll” talk and tell me you’re going to give the fans a “winning team.”

Jeff Wilpon in the upper deck at Citi Field [Photo]

Via Twitter user katiestereo…

File this under: Things I never thought I’d see.

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.

My words on the Rubin / Minaya tiff

Barring some unforeseen changes to the situation between Adam Rubin and Omar Minaya, here is my take on the matter.

One of the first things I learned in my journalism classes was to never make yourself part of the story.  Yesterday, Rubin had no control over it.  Minaya pulled his name out and tried to drag it through the mud.  Rubin had to respond with a press conference of his own to clear up the insanity.

Most people are taking sides on it, but I stand firmly in the middle.  Both parties were wrong.

Rubin, though interested in a job in baseball, should not continually (or even once) “lobby” for a position or even inquire with officials of the team he is covering.  Maybe another team, in another league.  Maybe.  Otherwise, this just seems like a huge conflict of interest if anyone does lend a hand his way while he may be covering the team.

Edit: Rubin said something to the effect of talking to people about a career in baseball. That might not be lobbying (hence the " ") but it is something to note.  Minaya could be fabricating this “continuing lobbied” story, or it could be true.  Even if Rubin once asked Jeff Wilpon or anyone else with the Mets about a job with the team, I think he crossed some line.

Minaya, though somewhat just in his suspicions, should not have slapped this on Rubin during the press conference that was being broadcast on TV.  If he took Rubin aside and spoke to him, that would have been fine.

Rubin should, and has, stood by his reporting.  His articles brought to light a very serious matter within the Mets and they conducted their own investigation because of it.  The team must have found something to back up Rubin’s story, otherwise Tony Bernanzard would still be employed.

Sure, it could have just come from fan pressure that they let Bernazard go, but I don’t see that being the reason.  They must have found a red flag (or a few) in order to go through with canning a dear friend of Minaya and Jeff Wilpon.

Rubin did some great reporting to break the story and defended himself against the acqusations that he was gunning for Bernazard’s job.  But Rubin did trip up in his press conference and appearance on TV afterwards.

He said, on many occasions, that he doesn’t know how he’s going to cover the Mets anymore after this.

That’s a big no-no to me.  As a journalist, you have to stay emotionally separate from your story or beat.  You cannot spill emotion into a news article.  That’s for a columnist or fluff article.  You must report the facts whether you like them or not, because what you think as a reporter doesn’t really matter.

If you do see a discrepancy or some fault, you can further investigate, but your personal feelings should never, ever creep into your articles.

If he believes that, as a reporter, he won’t be able to continue to find the true facts on the team, that may be one thing.  I don’t believe that was what he was alluding to, though.

So both Minaya and Rubin were at fault.  Minaya should not lose his job over this.  Either should Rubin (though as he said, he doesn’t know how he’s going to cover the team anymore).  Both probably said things they would take back in a second.

This story seems like it has some legs and will keep chugging along for a few days, at the least.  As a journalist, it is fascinating and horrifying to watch. 

It might be more exciting than the Mets season.

Opening Day with the Buffalo Bisons

The Buffalo Bisons, the Mets new Triple-A affiliate, opened their season against the Pawtucket Red Sox.  Friend of The ‘Ropolitans Howie Mansfield was in attendence, and he sent along a report and some photos.

Here’s what Mansfield had to say:

The Bisons lost 6-4 to the Pawtucket Red Sox on Opening Day in Buffalo. Jon Niese went two innings, gave up five runs. It was cold, and he never could get comfortable, and he was just rattled today. But the ump was worse...he should have gotten the game ball. Bisons had 11 walks as a pitching staff.

Fernando Martinez was great as DH. A double and a triple, but stranded both times. The Bisons had their chances to take the lead, but just not enough. Jonathan Malo had a nice game, while Nick Evans was quiet at the plate. I was surprised but there was no Argenis Reyes or Robinson Cancel.

And now for some more photos…From top: Jon Niese on the mound, Jeff Wilpon accepting the key to the city of Buffalo, Nick Evans manning first base, Fernando Martinez standing on third after a triple, Eddie Kunz pitching in relief. (Click for full size.)

Thanks, Howie!!

Things I found at Citi Field: Part 1 -- Jeff Wilpon

Here is the first of a series of findings and photographs from my first time in Citi Field...

When I first arrived at Citi Field, we made out way down to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Poking my camera through the fence, I started snapping off a few pictures of the place, and trying to take it all in. It's a very cool place and I love atmosphere it gives off.

While my eyes were darting from side to side trying to absorb all that was going on. Something -- rather, someone -- caught my eye.Oh, hello Jeff Wilpon!That's right. The COO of the Mets was standing just a few feet away. Strangely, no one on my side of the fence seemed to notice him. I started yelling "Jeff! Jeff!" but to no avail.

Here's another shot of Mr. Wilpon riding the escalator.Well, I found that interesting.

The State of the Mets -- 3/27/09

Here is the 11th edition of The State of the Mets!

Topics covered: Will Ohman, Oliver Perez and a grab bag of Mets topics to end it.

Enjoy.

Mets Rumor: Randy Wolf

With the end all but sealed up, the Mets now need to focus on who will be starting some of those games.

According to Anthony McCarron in the Daily News, the Mets have turned their sights to free agent Randy Wolf. I believe the Mets made a tiny run at him during the 2008 season, but he instead went to the Houston Astros.

Here's what McCarron had to say:

The Mets are interested in re-signing Oliver Perez, something GM Omar Minaya has said is "50-50." Lefty Randy Wolf, who has a career mark of 11-5 with a 3.34 ERA in 28 starts against the Mets, is another strong possibility. Wolf is likely to sign faster than Perez, which would solve the Mets' rotation riddle sooner.

McCarron also notes that Wolf is represented by Arm Tellem, a person Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon have come to know lately, since he also represent Francisco Rodriguez.

Wolf spent eight seasons with the Phillies before moving on to the Dodgers, San Diego and Houston. His best seasons came between 2000 and 2003 when he went 48-39. Since 2002, he hasn't posted an ERA below 4.23.

In 2005 and 2006, Wolf combined to pitch only 130.7 innings. In 2007 he pitched 102.7 and last season he threw 190.3 between the Padres and Astros.

If the Mets do sign him, I hope it's cheap and incentive laden. He's the kind of guy that can break down very easily.

Minaya's Q&A

Steve Serby of the POST has a great Q&A session with Mets GM Omar Minaya. Here are a few highlights:

Q: You met again with Team K-Rod the next day.

A: We had met at the Bellagio late in the afternoon - 4, 5, 6 (p.m.)- then we kinda went back and forth for about 12 hours. Jeff was really the one driving this. I don't want to be the one taking credit. We work together as a team, between [John] Ricco and Sandy Johnson and Tony Bernazard and (pro scout) Brian Lamb.

---

Q: K-Rod had one concern.

A: He also wanted to know "Who's the guy that's gonna give me the ball?

---

Q: You're the talk of the town.

A: Being a Met fan, it's a passion. I just want Met fans to know we all care. I say, "Look, if you're afraid of your heart being broken, you cannot be a baseball fan," but you can't be a Met fan if you're afraid of your heart being broken. We overcome tough losses. It's like relationships in life - you overcome them. You bounce back. The fact that it's Christmas in the city, waiting for spring to start for new hope of a better year - they (Mets fans) should feel ownership and the front office will continue to do everything they can to provide them a championship team.

Minaya has definitely proved his worth as GM so far this off-season. He still has some work to do, but the bullpen -- which has been the major issue the last two seasons -- has been completely overhauled.

Two marks on the To-Do list down, a few to go.

Leave it to Graziano for the doom and gloom -- Too bad he's right

Dan Graziano has a very sobering article up. In it he details how "painfully slow" the off-season has gone for the Mets, and the outlook on 2009, as of now. Let's take a look at the more important pieces.

Earlier this off-season, the Mets had the opportunity to trade Aaron Heilman for a 30-year-old pitcher who's averaged 32 starts and 13 wins for the past five years while his teams won four division titles and a World Series. As part of the deal, the Chicago Cubs were willing to pay part of the pitcher's $9.875 million salary in 2009, the year before he became a free agent.

That pitcher in question was Jason Marquis. If this deal was straight up Marquis-for-Heilman, and the Mets didn't pull the trigger, than they're downright silly. Marquis would have been a nice back of the rotation pick up, and would have rid the team of Heilman, a win-win situation if I've ever seen one.

He then begins to break down the Mets rotation behind Johan Santana. All of which he labels as big question marks.

-John Maine. He's coming off of shoulder surgery, has never had any sustained health or success without Rick Peterson as his pitching coach and probably can't be counted on for anything reliable until we start seeing it.

-Mike Pelfrey. Big, strong kid who had a breakout year in 2008 and could be headed for big things. But his innings total jumped by 50 from 2007 to 2008, which makes him a potential breakdown candidate and, at the very least, a candidate to not be as good next year as he was last year.

-Jonathon Niese. Yes, it's true. The Mets have made an internal decision to bring Niese to camp as a projected member of their starting rotation. They believe he's got the talent to succeed in the majors right now. That belief is fortified by the success Pelfrey had last year, and their hope is that Niese can follow in his footsteps.

I do think Maine will bounce back. He's matured as a pitcher and should be able to hold his own. I've noted Pelfrey's coming troubles in the past, but hopefully he can pitch close to the level of last season.

Niese, I am worried about. I don't understand how the Mets think he will easily transition into the rotation. He's going to have growing pains, just like Pelfrey did. If they expect him to hold his own in this league, they're in trouble. They need to sign some low-risk / high-reward veteran to challenge him in spring training.

He then wonders why the Mets are holding back and fearing to spend to too much. He lays out the idea that with a blossoming TV network, brand new ballpark and $20 million a year from Citigroup, they still choose to not spend a lot of money.

I have to agree with him here, again. The Mets need to spend spend spend because they have so many holes to fill. I understand they don't want to be the ones to set the market standard, but there comes a time when you have to break the bank. This is one of those times. After two awful collapses of just missing the playoffs, they need to do something to make the fans trust them again. The new ballpark is nice, but if the teams stinks, it won't matter.

Graziano's theme is that the Mets are overvaluing their 2009 team.

You can't expect similar numbers out of Fernando Tatis, the second-half Carlos Delgado or even the first 120-AB's of Daniel Murphy's career. The core is nice, but they have two gaping holes in their rotation, with no solid outlook on who will fill those holes. They are so focused on picking the right closer, which won't matter if you don't pick the right rest of the bullpen to get the leads to that closer.

Omar Minaya has A LOT of work to do, and it should just be getting started. Hopefully Jeff Wilpon is ready to sign some checks.

Mets Rumors: Mets prefer K-Rod

Though this may not come at a shock to anyone, Marty Noble reported today on the Hot Stove Blog that the Mets prefer Francisco Rodriguez over any of the free agents or available closers.

A few days ago, a poll finished up in which I asked which closer fans would want more. K-Rod led the poll, garnering 41 percent of the vote, with Brian Fuentes getting 27 percent. A lot of fans have brought up Rodriguez's decreased velocity over the last few years, and commenter Paul Mannino has continually brought up the fact that Fuentes led Rodriguez in VORP last season.

(VORP, for those of you that are unfamiliar with the term, stands for Value Over Replacement Player. It is compiled as (((League Runs/Game + 1) - RAvg)/9)*Innings Pitched. Enjoy that.)

Noble also notes that the Mets are likely to come away from the Winter Meetings empty handed.

Again, I don't care who they sign, as long as he doesn't break the Mets bank.

According to Jeff Wilpon in an article in today's Daily News, Omar Minaya has been working the phones.

I know that there is a lot of activity with Omar on the phone talking to different GMs right now trying to get something done in a trade or maneuvering so that he's ready when we get to the winter meetings and go from there.

I also love this little quote.

He's [Minaya] like, 'Listen, we'll take care of business.' He's on the phone all the time now with other GMs trying to set things up.

I can just imagine Minaya turning to Wilpon and saying "Listen, we'll take care of business!"

Well, get it done, Omar. Take care of business.

Upset-ness

Jeff Wilpon gave the grand tour of Citi Field today (you can see some awesome photos here and here and here) and he commented on Citigroup and their naming rights. During the "interview," he coined a new term.

"I understand where they're coming from. I understand that there's some upset-ness in the marketplace," Wilpon said. "But we don't agree with it."

Upset-ness.

If that isn't the perfect word for how the Mets have made me felt over the last two years, I don't know what is.