23
2011
Amazin’ Reactions To Fred Wilpon Comments
An article by Hojo's Mojo
Amazin’ Reactions
David Wright:
“Fred is a good man and is obviously going through some difficult times. There is nothing more productive that I can say at this time.”
Scott Boras:
“This is not consistent with the Fred Wilpon I know,” Boras said. “I think an organization’s best chance to succeed is to conduct itself in a positive and supportive manner.” He added, “I believe that any evaluations or internal perspectives that an organization may have about a player are best kept to themselves.”
Terry Collins:
“I’m not going to get into that comment. I can’t. These guys are professionals and I don’t think a lot of that stuff fazes them.”
Joel Sherman:
Wright, for example, just played hurt for a couple of weeks. He has spent years standing in front of his locker, professionally accepting the role of player spokesman; offering hopeful words amid the hopelessness of the situation; pledging his allegiance to this franchise, this ownership, painting pictures of a better tomorrow. Why would he ever do any of that again?
The reality is that Wilpon had Wright defined ideally: Great kid, but no superstar player. But that truth should be left for people like me to tell. It is simply ungrateful sounding from this owner.
Mets quotes courtesy of ESPN.com
Updated 8:45 AM
Jeffrey Toobin of the New Yorker appeared on WFAN this morning and said that if the Wilpons lose this lawsuit they will have to sell the Mets.
He was very adamant that Fred Wilpon is a stand-up guy and will not deny he made the statements quoted in the artcle.
Despite what Fred said, Toobin believes that they will most likely try to re-sign Jose Reyes, but there will also be a “huge housecleaning”.
The interview was conducted over a period of five meetings with Fred.
Original Post 2:20 AM
I just finished reading an eye-opening 12-page article on Fred Wilpon in the New Yorker by Jeffrey Toobin. Obviously, the article goes into a lot of the Madoff mess, and some things you may or may not already know about Fred, but it was some of the quotes he made about the team and some key players that really caught my attention.
On Jose Reyes
In the game against the Astros, Jose Reyes, leading off for the Mets, singled sharply up the middle, then stole second. “He’s a racehorse,” Wilpon said. When Reyes started with the Mets, in 2003, just before his twentieth birthday, he was pegged as a future star. Injuries have limited him to a more pedestrian career, though he’s off to a good start this season. “He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money,” Wilpon said, referring to the Red Sox’ signing of the former Tampa Bay player to a seven-year, $142-million contract. “He’s had everything wrong with him,” Wilpon said of Reyes. “He won’t get it.”
On David Wright
After the catcher, Josh Thole, struck out, David Wright came to the plate. Wright, the team’s marquee attraction, has started the season dreadfully at the plate. “He’s pressing,” Wilpon said. “A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.”
On Carlos Beltran
When Carlos Beltran came up, I mentioned his prodigious post-season with the Astros in 2004, when he hit eight home runs, just before he went to the Mets as a free agent. Wilpon laughed, not happily. “We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series,” he said, referring to himself. In the course of playing out his seven-year, $119-million contract with the Mets, Beltran, too, has been hobbled by injuries. “He’s sixty-five to seventy per cent of what he was.” Beltran singled, loading the bases with one out.
On Ike Davis
Ike Davis, the sophomore first baseman and the one pleasant surprise for the Mets so far this season, was up next. “Good hitter,” Wilpon said. “Shitty team—good hitter.” Davis struck out. Angel Pagan flied out to right, ending the Mets’ threat. “Lousy clubs—that’s what happens.” Wilpon sighed. The Astros put three runs on the board in the top of the second. “We’re snakebitten, baby,” Wilpon said.
You can read the article in it’s entirety at the New Yorker.
I think we just found out how the Mets will proceed with soon to be free agent Jose Reyes later this season. If you take what Fred said and add it up with some of the things that Sandy Alderson has said, it’s certainly beginning to look like Reyes will be wearing a new uniform come 2012.
As for Wright, I was surprised that Wilpon referred to David Wright as a “very good player, but not a superstar”. Even if it were true, why would you tell that to the media about the face of your franchise?
What may have been the most surprising was that he referred to the Mets as a “shitty team”. Wow.
About the Author: Rob Johnson
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 23 | 18 | .561 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 19 | .548 | 0.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 22 | .476 | 3.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 23 | .410 | 6.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 31 | .262 | 12.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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PLEASE SELL THE TEAM NOW!!!!!! WILPON IS A FREAKING JOKE!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve never heard Wilpon quoted like that before. It’s really not helpful for the him to be publically running down his players. Crawford Money is now the goal thanks to Fred. Beltran has earned his money here INO. three great years, one very good so far, one a little below expectations and two lost by injury. Hate to say it but that’s the best you can hope for on a 7 year deal. Wright, now is probably just riding out the next couple of years. Not smart Fred. As someone who can influence thing in the Mets organization he should shut his mouth to avoid making things worse.
Thank you Freddie W, for embarrassing the fans, and the players and coaches. That was just what we all needed. Is there any end to your selfishness and stupidity?
Without even reading the Toobin article, it’s pretty evident someone was doing a parody of Wilpon who would never say the things quoted above.
This is unbelievable. Ive never seen any sports owner trash his players like Wilpon did in that article. I felt sorry for him over the lawsuit but not anymore I hope he loses everything. I feel bad for the players. Im gonna be sick if we lose Reyes.
What a POS!!! Put a gag on this guy! STFU FRED!!!
Well I read it and it still reads like Parody to me. The best way to address this is to ask both Toobin and Wilpon whether this was totally taken out of context.
In other words, Was Wilpon deliberately mimicking – i.e., PARODY – what Mets fans say about their own team with regularity? LET’S NOT JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS without getting some answers from both Toobin and Fred Wilpon. Mets fans trash their own team all the time, but get all up in arms when they think the owner is doing same. HYPOCRITES!
Not a doubt in my mind it was taken out of context to slant the article towards the road Toobin wanted to go down.
Regardless, Wilpon should know better who he should and should not be having these type of discussions with. Namely ANY reporter types.
Hypocrites? What you described happens everyday… you can tell your brother he’s an A-hole but no one else can and further more if someone else does it then you would want to kill that person. So I think fans are right to be upset about the comments. With that being said…I have a hard time believing this as well. I would want to hear what Fred has to say…. For no other reason that its apparent that Beltran is going to be traded near the deadline if not before. Think of all of the lost leverage with opposing teams actually interested in Beltran by saying that he’s a mere reflection of what he used to be! Then Fred will ask Sandy to go out and get 1-2 top tier prospects in return for Beltran… What do you think any team says in return… 1-2 prospects for a guy that we know you know is only 65% of what he used to be?
He’s the owner, he’s held to a higher standard than Mets fans. As a real estate tycoon, what if he went around talking about a prized piece of real estate, saying, “Yeah, it’s valued at $1 million, but it really isn’t worth more than $700,000.”
You’d say, “Wow, what a crappy businessman”, and you’d be right. That is what, in effect he did here. Players under contract are his assets, and he devalued his premium aassets. I am amazed at how far some Met fans will go to defend these clowns.
Exactly right. Not to mention how these players feel toward the Organization and how they talk about it amongst themselves. This Team already had a bad name for the way they’ve treated players going all the way back to the 60′s.
Some inroads had been made with guys through the years but the same sort of things keep happening to cause this to be viewed as an unprofessional, incompetent Organization.
Does anyone really think that Beltran was really going to be saying good things about his years here before those comments?
I guess any chance of Reyes giving a us a hometown discount is down the toilet now too.
Like Jessup?
I think the Wilpons stink as owners but honestly, this does not sound like Fred. I don’t trust writers. Maybe Fred had had a few. This just does not sound like Fred. Having said that, I agree with most of it.
I’ve met Fred and I believe every word in the Toobin article.
Jeffrey Toobin is a brilliant guy who is a muckraker of the first order. He himself has been involved in many scandals — legal, political, and sexual — just for starters.
I don’t necessarily doubt that Fred said what Toobin alleges, but the circumstances haven’t been disclosed. Was it confidential, was it a lawyer-client privileged, was it secretly taped? Too much to contemplate without knowing more of the facts. That is not to say I didn’t chuckle at some of the statements.
Some will defend Wilpon as well as his GM as if he’s your own blood. Your comments are the joke as are long time’s comments that he makes while proudly displaying the fact that he didn’t even read the article but he nows the truth.
Touchy, touchy. I’m not defending Fred Wilpon. I’m just not sold on Jeffrey Toobin. Don’t ever get between Toobin and a TV camers. LOL.
I’m very familiar with Toobin from his legal and political background. He’s a jerk in my opinion, even while I acknowledge he’s very smart.
If Fred Wilpon is so upset, and so down on his own team, he may as well just sell the team. This is certainly going to affect the Jose Reyes negotiations, and it certainly affect David Wright. Fred Wilpon is now becoming the most hated person in the Mets organization. (besides Jason Bay of course).
For god sakes, sell the team already Fred! NUFF SAID!
The Mets were 5-11, on their way to be 5-12, when this ‘interview’ was done.
Everyone in the Mets world had the same opinion that they were a shitty team at that time.
This is not real and so obviously concocted by Toobin. I dont believe any of this garbage.
But, if the article is true, is Wilpon way off base in what he said. If true I think it was a fairly straightforward assessment of these players and his only mistake was it should have been said behind closed doors. I said last year that I see Reyes taking over for the aging Jeter at short. Who else would pay Reyes the money his agent will want.
I don’t believe any owner would trash his own team this way! This can’t be true! If it is, how pathetic is he?
Very pathetic.
I cant wait to see how Jay Horwitz tries to spin this one. Should be a fun week in Mets land. This team is a joke.
Jay is not the PR director. He just handles press request/activity stuff.
They should have asked him about Bay. This guy is killing us with his non hitting.
Fred should start doing “stand-up”.
These are Marge Schott comments! When did she come back into MLB?
Ummmm, no. This is a little short of defending Hitler.
DPLennon David Lennon
I’ve seen just about everything from #Mets, but to make these comments in May – about own players – is a new level of mind-boggling.
The media will run with this for a week. Stunning.
Is calling out the players all part of the new Mets era? What a disaster.
Fred Wilpon has never come out like this before in any way. With all the trouble that he has because of the Madoff scandal I find it hard to believe that he would start to do a George Steinbrenner and belittle his players and his people at this point in time in public!Until proven otherwise…this story (LOL) is probably a whole lot of BS
Yes, I would like to see this team sold to someone who with a few bucks (LOL) can make it better and at the same time show more interest in honoring and displaying the accomplishments of our own stars. The Dodgers left to go to California…we of the faithful have been supporting this team since 1962. Show us some respect!
And all Mets fans should keep their fingers crossed for the kid, Gary Carter. A few prayers can’t hurt either!
I concur. If Wilpon actually made those comments, the only explanation is that he is following Steinbrenner into senility. Running down your own franchise like this is a great way to find a new minority partner – NOT! All we are looking for is a respectable NL presence in NY. Why does it have to be relegated to a lughingstock?
Alan, whether or not this is true you should keep your making sense and not jumping to conclusions to your self. There’s no place for that kind of thinking here. Best wishes to The Kid and his family.
Stop buying tickets to Mets games! Hurt them in their pocket and run them out of town!
Wilpon is preparing the fans for the trading of Wright and Reyes, et al. He probably sat down with Alderson and they figured the only way out of this mess was to rebuild, which will take 3-5 years. By trading Wright and Reyes for top level prospects, they can almost ensure and effective rebuild and free upo money for a superstar FA or two once they assemble a team of capable young players.
I’m not sure what is sadder.Making his comments public or the fact that they are true about his 3 best players.Please sell the team!!!Every met fan is sick of the wilpons
I find it odd that people are complaining that Fred said many of the things those same people who are complaining have said many times on this site!
If you take each statement on it’s own he didn’t really say anything that you didn’t already think or know.
On Reyes: We all assume he is going to get Crawford money but what Crawford got was only possible because the Red Sox had plenty of money to spread around. They bid his numbers up. Would the Yankees bid up a guy like Reyes? Would anyone else (and Who?) bid up Reyes’ number? Would the Red Sox do it again? (side note: would THAT be Moneyball?) Well look at what $149Mil has got them:
Crawford .209BA .243OBP .277SLG 7BB 34K
Not Much! Think someone else is going to give a Reyes who has similar numbers but a health history that much? Maybe not! If we were in a Playoff race or get to the WS this year he might get it cause he would have the marketing and hype of that at the time the other teams are thinking about who to buy next. But if we wind up below 3rd in the Division he may or may not get all this money we think he is due if for no other reason that there is no one who is willing to pay anyone that much. The teams that can May not need a SS. Will the yankees pay a Reyes that ind of money after just resigning Jeter?
RE: Wright – well a good player, not a superstar…Hell that gets said here once a day. Ok he may not be a superstar but he is the All Star selection last couple of years. Wright was never meant to CARRY this ballclub, the mistake was in trying! jeter didn’t carry the Yankees either, Others did, he made a very big contribution as has David over the years.
In fact the contribution of both is remarkably similar, Jeter with higher average Wright having more pop. Both are the “FACE” of the franchise, Both are supposed to be leaders, well Jeter’s leadership this week was awful Wright like wasn’t it? Jeter is the consistency the player around him are what win the games for them. Wright would be every bit Jeter here if he was playing with a Granderson Teixiera A-Rod Cano Et Al… He wouldb’t be required to do the HEAVY LIFTING but be a solid good BA player who hits one out if you let him and is a good citizen who is perfect to have as the CONSISTENCY piece of your organization so called FACE status!
RE Ike and Beltran: He said this happened over the course of a few days. What does that tell you about the timing? Obviously it sure wasn’t this week or recent. Bet these MEETINGS Which obviously happened “IN THE STANDS” was sometime in early April! That Miserable start we had! You know those 6 games we didn’t win in a row early? Lot has happened since then!
RE Beltran: At that time everyone assumed Carlos wouldn’t last 3 games in a row! Lot has happened since that losing streak. Fred would not be wrong when he says we paid for that WS performance, No one really thought Beltran was anything all that special till that happened! Beltran has been what he always was! Only thing that is different is the knees force him to play RF because he lost a step and is also no longer a base stealing threat.
RE Ike, Ike’s statement is one of the reasons I believe this interview happened long ago when Ike was the only bright spot on the team during that losing streak. He is a good hitter and the question now is will HE be a superstar. And the truth is the reason why no one has yet brought up his status is cause we own him for awhile. If we had to pay him based on his numbers right now he probably would be too expensive to keep as well!
All I know is it didn’t sound like Fred and the reason it doesn’t sound like Fred is because Fred never opens his mouth to say anything that is not either defense of himself or promoting the position of the team. But even if he did say that I don’t think he said anything we haven’t heard here a thousand times.
Say what you want the guy spent 140+Mil for a baseball team so you can’t fault him for trying, put himself in Debt to do it, and did it based on what his Baseball people told him to spend it on! Wilpon is many things but he is no Steinbrenner. Does anyone on this planet believe that Jeff is? meddler maybe but more likely just asserting himself enough to prove to himself he is actually BOSS!
He was ready willing and able to try and buy us a win and for three years did just that before the Injuries to the first purchases caused him to say hold on here. When we stopped competing is when all the Wilpon meddling seemed to occur! Not allowing them to cut castillo and perez just means they wanted Omar to do something to fix his mistake. The fact he didn’t probably got him fired. Omar WAS sometimes to close, too loyal to certain players and perez and castillo may have been one of those…
We got 4 cherry picked quotes in that, I’m sure in 6 days they talked about a lot more than that! If thats the WORST you can quote them on then I can only assume that total of 60 seconds of conversation was not indicative of the other 6 DAYS (minus one Minute) worth of conversation they had.
WHEN you say something is almost MORE important than what you say. HOW you say it is almost MORE important than what you say! These are the items of CONTEXT that are needed to understand what the person is talking about!
So unless this bit in Newsweek has a lot more than just those 4 tidbits in it’s entirety this is nothing more than another Smear Campaign. Cause in 6 days if thats the worst thing Wilpon said I can only imagine how much positive Hyperbole was left out!
Ok MLB, take over the Mets from this cheapskate Wilpon.
“Fred is a good man and is obviously going through some difficult times. There is nothing more productive that I can say at this time.”
No David, tell us how you REALLY feel. Stop with the “all clean & wholesome” schtick for a minute and VENT!
Then again, he was right about Wright saying that he’s pressing too much and right now, he’s not a superstar. Everything else….he needed to keep his damn mouth shut!
Great job Fred, just great. After throwing 3 of your best players under the bus, after all 3 have played their butts off for YOUR team, why would ANY player want to play here? GM Alderson only had $10 mil to spend this offseason and came away w/ Young, Capuano, Paulino, Bucholz, and Carrasco. After those foolish comments he may have to pay that much just for the next DJ Carrasco to come here, let alone get 5 players for that much! Wilpon just complicated Alderson’s job 10 times over. He may have just forced a Reyes trade just to MAYBE get more than a couple of draft picks. He may have given Wright justifiable reason to demand a trade and for Carlos Beltran to say he’ll only be traded to certain teams, say the Yankees, Phillies, or Braves for instance. Maybe it’s time for Bud Selig to step in and convince his “friend” Fred to sell the team outright, not just sell a portion to make ends meet. As for me, GOOD RIDDANCE Fred, Jeff, and Saul! Enough of your tainting my Mets!
Any way we can IMPEACH THE WILPONS FROM THE METS?!
Don’t go to the games.
I’ve always maintained to all the d wright whiners that he is not the problem on this team the last few years.He has been a perennial all star, 25 plus home run 100 ribbys and a .300 avg to boot.What is there to really complain about with his work.If every position contributed like he did, we would have a few world series banners hanging at citifield.Was it wrights idea to take away his power in the gaps by building the idiotic fences at citifield?no.It was the idiotic wilpons who did it.Fred should shut up and sell the team.He is an idiot and he just made the mets look look more pathetic to baseball fans.
Give him some credit. He did have the balls to call Minaya a schmuck.
wow just wow.
I think he was referring to himself, dude.
Read the article last night all 12 pages. Assuming that Wilpon indeed said the things he did and that none of it is being read in any way out of context. Then this comes down to a man that was way too honest and open with his thoughts. Albeit being wrong in some of them.
As an owner he has to know no good would come from such statements once published and as an owner he should know that unlike fans (something he says he is) that can make such statements him being both fan and owner means he must always speak as an owner 1st and not as a fan.
Fred Wilpon was wrong and stupid.
Not so much for his thoughts but rather for making them public.
I’ve seen some suggest he spoke out of frustration or that he was tricked into saying the things he did. Regardless in the end if he stands by his statements the final outcome is the same. He should of never said them to a reporter.
As far as what he said let me for the record say the following. While I continue to say he was wrong for saying what he did. Much of what he said is rather true.
On Reyes:
“He’s had everything wrong with him. He won’t get it.”
To say “everything” is over the top and a stretch and Wilpon if confronted knows Reyes has given him many great seasons. The rest is pure speculation on if Reyes will or won’t get Crawford money.
On Beltran:
“We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series. He’s sixty-five to seventy percent of what he was.”
If Wilpon thinks he is a “schmuck” for paying him what he did based on 1 series and feels he didn’t get what he expected then I can’t get bothered by what he thinks of himself.
On the theory that the Mets might be cursed:
Here I think some may be reading into this more than there is. At least based on how I read it. Toobin says he mentioned to Wilpon the theory that the Mets might be cursed and Wilpon responded “You mean” and then did a check swing. I don’t see this as him saying they are but acknowledging he is aware of the theory. Kind of hard to suggest he believes he thinks they are cursed because he knows the rumors that some believe the Mets are cursed since that infamous strike 3 call.
On David Wright:
“Really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.”
Here is how I interpret it. “Really good kid. A very good player. Can’t carry a team.” Clearly Wright is a ALL-Star now what is your definition of a superstar I don’t know? But I am a Wright fan and I know as good as Wright is and he is a very good player but he can’t carry a team in my opinion.
On Ike Davis:
“$hitty team—good hitter.”
No matter if it’s true or not as an owner he just is not afforded the privileges fans have and can’t publicly say the team is $hitty. No matter how true it is and I know many fans that agree with him that this indeed is a $hitty team so i understand it also is a bit hypocritical but as an owner he just can’t say it in my opinion.
On the team:
“We’re snakebitten, baby,”
I looked up the definition of snakebitten and the results I got were “Experiencing a period of misfortune or inability to succeed. Having or experiencing failure or bad luck.” That sounds like The Mets these last 5 years. Had Wipon said “We’re experiencing a period of misfortune or inability to succeed” would that had been better?
In the end I go back to what I said at the start. Fred Wilpon was wrong and stupid. Not so much for his thoughts but rather for making them public.
Does Wilpon making public what he felt privately now means that there are dark days ahead? I don’t know. That seems like a big leap but time will tell.
“In the end I go back to what I said at the start. Fred Wilpon was wrong and stupid. Not so much for his thoughts but rather for making them public.”
I understand what your saying but doing so always seemed to work with Steinbrenner didn’t it?
Maybe if the Wilpons were as tough and vocal about the team as George was someone would have done more to make sure they kept thier jobs.
Not saying it is how I would run my business myself but you have to admit that while his interference cost them for awhile it was his sheer will of force, demanding win nature that has caused the folks running the team to put up or get out! And that included players as well as GMs.
truth is guys like Wright is not actually hurt by what he said. What hurts is the fact is it is probably true!
The reason the fans are upset is because the owners did not say what the fans felt. If they had then right now people wouldn’t be trying to smear them every week!
They would be applauding them for taking the bull by the horns the way they did when Steinbrenner did it whenever the fans and George were disappointed by the result.
I think Steinbrenner did it more to single a particular player out as opposed to three or four and he did it partly for box office reasons as well. Nothing Fred said is going to drive people to the box office. I mean when the owner call the team shitty……
If in fact he did, that’s not going to sell any tickets.
If Fred did say those things he sounds like a man ruefully bemoaning the way things have turned out, probably over a Bushmills or three. That’s what it sounds like to me. If he did say it.
It could also be the strain of all his financial issues combined with an onset of senility.
Steinbrenner was regarded by fans and residents of NYC as a complete buffoon. He went 13 straight years without going to the playoffs and the whole thing was finally brought under control only after he had been suspended from Baseball.
His bombastic blowhard act didn’t get anything done. It prevented things from getting done. He was a clown and a distraction.
If he hadn’t been suspended from MLB the NYY would still have been in constant turmoil.
1. Everything Fred said was true
2. I believe he was venting during a very bad stretch for the team and for himself.
3. He probably felt he was confiding off the record.
4. As an owner, he should know better.
6. It shows that he’s a fan first and a businessman second when it comes to the team.
Oops. I skipped over number 5.
freddie already started to look like al davis, now he’s starting to sound like him too.
and not the 70′s al davis, the 2010 version.
Wilpon has thrown his team under the bus, reminiscent of Steinbrenner at his worst. An owner who calls his team “shitty” doesn’t deserve to be an owner. If he can’t figure a way to sign Reyes, he’s lost a major portion of the Mets fan base.
With somewhat of a tactful understatement, Wright said it best, “Fred is going through some difficult times”. Unfortunately, Wilpon failed to utilize the same prudent judgement when critiquing some of his star players. This is no surprise, since Wilpon used the same poor judgment when hooking up with that disreputable character Madoff.
After thirty seasons of blowing through some of the best talent MLB has had to offer, and just (thanks to Bill Buckner) one title to cash in, it appears we are witnessing the sunset of the Wilpon era. Alas, we may have some thing to thank Madoff for after all.
If The New Yorker article by Toobin does appear to be a lynch job, remember it is Wilpon who provided the rope. Why is Wilpon unprofessionally and cowardly dragging his high priced employees into this Madoff mess? If anything, Toobin defended Wlpon by failing to press Wilpon when he stated that he did not know Madoff very well. How do you invest hundreds of millions of dollars with a guy who you do not know very well?
In any event, the Mets will need to clean house. Retaining Reyes and his high priced salary makes absolute no sense on a team which is in rebuilding mode. Mets need to start wheeling and dealing, since there still is some value in the lineup, regardless of what Wilpon thinks.
All in all, the Wilpon era has been pretty much of a failure, with the disappointments taking front and centre stage. When you begin to miss the Payson era, you know it is time for a change. Even the Payson teams were loveable when they were losing. This bunch…not so much.