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.

and not the 70′s al davis, the 2010 version.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.