In defense of Fred Wilpon

66 Comments + Add Comment

• Pete May 23, 2011 at 10:44 am

  “Many of the Mets roster and farm problems are not because of ownership, but because of who ownership hired and trusted at the time.”

  Are you serious?
  • Chris May 23, 2011 at 1:04 pm

    it’s because they don’t pay over slot in the draft. no other reason than that.
• alex68 May 23, 2011 at 10:46 am

  some things don’t change, i see you’re (jesseP) still trying to be a hero…. is a shame joe D (who’s in metsblog a lot) lets you keep writing garbage.. this man needs to sell the team and maybe go buy the dodgers with koufax, and if you’re wondering yes, i am alex 68.
  • JerryG15 May 23, 2011 at 12:31 pm

    Writing garbage – so now you think David Wright IS a superstar?

    Which is it?
    • jessep May 23, 2011 at 12:32 pm

      Jerry^ who are you asking that to?
      • JerryG15 May 23, 2011 at 12:35 pm

        68
• alex68 May 23, 2011 at 10:47 am

  So yes, while in some regards Wilpon’s comments were wrong place, wrong time. That doesn’t mean they weren’t true, and it also doesn’t mean he should sell the team.”

  ohh, and btw, what do you mean??? please elaborate as to what they should do then?? please i’d and other im sure would like to know what’s your response to that
  • jessep May 23, 2011 at 10:54 am

    Are you asking me if I think the fact he doesn’t think Jose Reyes is worth Crawford money, or that David Wright isn’t a superstar or that the team was 5-13, and very bad means he should sell the team… I’m saying no. It makes his statements true, but his statements given at a time when he probably should not have made them.

    They have done what they should have done. They fired Omar, replaced him with a GM who can focus on more than 1 task at a time, and they are putting their chips on Alderson to repair the franchise within 4 years.

    What more do you want them to do today?
    • jessep May 23, 2011 at 10:58 am

      To sum it up, what does selling the team “today” accomplish?

      Alderson would still be the GM, and its Alderson’s decisions that will decide where this franchise goes in the next 5 years or so.
      • will May 23, 2011 at 1:56 pm

        new owner brings in new people. get real
        • jessep May 23, 2011 at 1:59 pm

          No will. You’re wrong

          New owner abides by contracts. If a new owner came in today, he’s not releasing Sandy Alderson from a 4 year deal, and he’s not cutting ties with JP/DePo either.

          But thanks for your input.
          • Metsie May 24, 2011 at 9:16 am

            Well Jessup It should be pointed out that while he abides by the contract doesn’t mean the guy who is under contract retains control…He gets paid but thats about the only thing the contract guarantees.

            A new owner could easily fire Sandy and pay him the remainder left while also hiring someone else.
• Des May 23, 2011 at 11:01 am

  “At the time of that quote, the Mets were 5-12, and 1-8 at home, and would go to 5-13 at the end of that game.”

  So Fred was as disgruntled and ticked off as much as many of those who post here were. Fred doesn’t get high marks for discretion, but he does for expressing his views. Let’s all remember, each of us has a particular view and none are necessarily wrong.

  Thanks, Jessep.
  • jessep May 23, 2011 at 11:04 am

    Des: Also if you (in general) read the article, you’d understand they were trying to paint him as an owner who deep down is a fan at heart.

    How many fans were thinking the same thing at 5-13? If that article came out after that game, nobody would be disagreeing with him. Yet, we have the luxury of knowing the Mets are now only 2 games under .500. They’ve gone from “sh*tty” to “below average”.
• alex68 May 23, 2011 at 11:10 am

  jesse P

  i’ve respected you and even though i was gone from this blog i always kept reading, is my fav blog to be frank, but i think you’re viewing it the wrong way, this man is not a fan, he’s the owner of the team and shouldn’t say this type of thing publicly like that, he clearly IS a dodger fan and he should just sell the team and try to buy the dodgers, is reyes worth crawford money?? no, but how many bad contracts are there in baseball?? plenty, and reyes even though was hurt in 2009 in 2010 wasn’t as bad, he did play in 133 games and was productive to say the least, you’ve always been bias towards wright and i get it, but at what point you’re gonna let your love for wright go and realize that the mets need more reyes than wright, or that wright is UNCLUTCH as we know. this owner is an embarrasement to baseball and selig should step in and force them to sell, if you don’t like the players YOUR baseball team has, then guess what, they’re not gonna like you either. nor other players who hit free agency
  • jessep May 23, 2011 at 11:16 am

    68: I don’t really understand how I’ve been bias towards Wright. Reyes is my favorite Met, I own a jersey and a player t with his name on it. I don’t own any Wright apparel etc. I think they should both be gone. I think the entire MLB core should be gone outside of Ike. They need to start over.

    I mean if Wilpon buys the Dodgers, that’s fine. I don’t see that happening considering his love for the Dodgers comes from Brooklyn, NY and being a New Yorker… not a Californian.

    So because there are plenty of bad contracts in MLB that means the Mets should write up another one with Reyes? How does that make sense?

    By the way, you’re an owner of a team because you’re a fan. If you had the $ to buy the team and live comfortably, would you? Of course you would. Would you stop being a fan?

    I got news for you, if you wanted Wilpon to think more as a businessman and less of a fan, then he would have followed Francesa’s advice about breaking them up 3 years ago.
    • alex68 May 23, 2011 at 11:21 am

      jesse P,

      you obviously have your opinions and that’s fine, but i don’t think you should defend wilpon on this, he clearly was wrong and soon you will see a statement saying his words were taken out of context, or he’s sorry, or trying to lit a fire.. and btw, he’s a new yorker who cleraly loves his dodgers, well, were do the dodgers play?? california, well go ahead, sell the team and GTFO
      • jessep May 23, 2011 at 11:24 am

        I hope we don’t see some sort of retraction but I won’t be shocked if we do.

        The bottom line is the article is much better than people will give credit for because all they will read is page 7. And truthfully, when he talks about Reyes, Wright, Beltran and the team on April 20th. He was right.

        Doesn’t mean saying it made him right… just what he said was true.
• alex68 May 23, 2011 at 11:14 am

  also, kind of funny how the owner didn’t actually say anything about bay’s contract or how unproductive he’s been. even though he wasn’t playing he only took a shot a reyes and beltran, while underlining wright a bit, and guess what, the only 2 productive mets this year have been beltran and reyes, wright is OVERRATED and the book is still out on davis, bay suck as murphy, pelfrey and yet you didn’t hear him saying anything about them or the smuck who signed them and drafted them. i will be pretty much happy when reyes and beltran are gone and win championships for other teams.
  • jessep May 23, 2011 at 11:18 am

    68: That’s because Bay wasn’t playing in the game… Wilpon just didn’t go on some rant about players on the roster. He was asked about them during a game they were playing or he reacted to things happening in the game. On April 20th were you talking about Jason Bay during the game? Of course not. Why would you?
• Nester May 23, 2011 at 11:15 am

  I couldnt disagree with you more on this artcle. This isn’t about what fans, bloggers and sports talk callers say about the Mets. Fans are entitled to be critical if they choose. It doesnt mean an owner can bash his team and players in the media. What do these comments do to the trade values of Wright (just good, not great), Reyes (always injured) and Beltran (65% of what he was)? He cut off Alderson’s legs at the knees and destroyed what leverage he may have had in dealing either of these players. Wilpon should tarred and feathered.
  • Metsie May 23, 2011 at 11:35 am

    Oh Please Nester…Fans have a right to complain and bash their team but the guy who is paying that team 140+ Mil and went into DEBT to do it doesn’t have any right whatsoever?

    Give me a break! I know it is probably not good character but it is SOP in NYC where it was practiced by Steinbrenner to much great affect!

    Steinbrenner’s ways may have stopped the progress for a short time but there is NO DENYING that the success the Yankees had were due to the sheer force of his WILL and demanding the best from every one of his employees!

    If you as a fan feel the need to trash your team then the guy who owns it has the right to trash it even more and SHOULD be before we ourselves start!
  • jessep May 23, 2011 at 11:21 am

    Nester: Totally disagree. If a GM wants to trade for any of these guys, it’s what Alderson’s opinion of the trade is that matters. If a GM calls and say “hey I hear Wright sucks I’ll offer you a bag of balls for him” Alderson replies “I know you don’t think that, so make a real offer”

    Saying that Beltran’s contract was a mistake in 2006 hurts his trade value as a rent a player in 2011? Really?

    Saying Reyes isn’t worth Crawford money hurts his value? How? Nobody who trades this year for Reyes is trading for him because they WANT to give him Crawford money.

    If anything Reyes’ contract value would DECREASE based on this and thus more teams think they could make an offer.
• Lawnguylander May 23, 2011 at 11:20 am

  With all the stress he’s under from the Madoff scandal and his under-performing team, I’ve been expecting an “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore’ rant from Wilpon for a while now. Here’s hoping he goes full Howard Beale at a home game soon, flings open the window of his owner’s box and goes on a long, angry rant through a bullhorn.
• alex68 May 23, 2011 at 11:26 am

  i really wanna see an article from you when the mets have murphy playing SS, and pridie CF, and hitting 250 each.. while bay wright and co complaing about bot having enough fire power or good players in the roster..
  • Metsie May 24, 2011 at 9:51 am

    Alex you mean you want to see an article about how bad it will be if the Fans get the house cleaning they have all been asking for the last 2 years?

    I agree that selling the house of all it’s good parts to get multiple sub-standard MAYBES is the wrong approach.

    It is based on the BEANE COUNTING principle AKA MONEYBALL! Collect as many kids as you can and hope to appear to have developement you don’t really have so you can make trades for NEW guys to beat on because of how much they are about to get paid.

    I can’t say paying Reyes Crawford money is worth it, Crawford sure hasn’t done anything this year to show even HE was worth that kind of money.

    But I do know this. If thats what a guy like Reyes is worth in the open Market then there is a damn good reason for it. And considering the fact that Salaries never go down just up by the time we get to where we ARE in a position to make signing a guy like Reyes worth it that same guy will probably cost 1.5 times as much as Reyes would now.

    The money should not be an issue, Whatever it is it is, What is key is not giving a NO TRADE clause so that in two years time if we want we can trade Reyes for those prospects. His Salary will be normal compared to what other lesser players will be making at the time and the team is not hurt in anyway.

    Jessup is taking a lot of heat here but mostly because of his views on how best to go about rebuilding the team. And I disagree with himon that proccess.

    But what he said in regards to what Wilpon said and people are slamming Fred for he was dead on!

    People have accused Fred of being a liar for years…
    Was he lying there or did he merely speak the truth we all been speaking?
• alex68 May 23, 2011 at 11:27 am

  from dwright:
  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.”
• alex68 May 23, 2011 at 11:28 am

  your beloved franchize player is at a loss of words regarding this man, and yet you’re defending him jesse P.. come on bro..
  • srt May 23, 2011 at 11:36 am

    I wouldn’t call it a loss of words at all.

    I’d call it smart media sense. Wright knows better than to go off on a rant and come out publicly against the man that owns the team he plays for. What he thinks privately is something likely none of us will know.

    You didn’t honestly expect Wright to come out with both barrels did you?
    • alex68 May 23, 2011 at 11:40 am

      SRT,

      he called wright a very good player, not a superstar. there’s nothing bad said about wright, but is clearly affecting him, it shows how the “leader” of this team has little sense for certain situations. he knows that now no free agent will wanna come here to play for this POS owner, unless they sell the team…
    • Des May 23, 2011 at 8:31 pm

      srt, subtlety is beyond 68. Don’t try to operate on different levels with him. Wright can as you implied.
• t agee May 23, 2011 at 11:32 am

  Jessep,

  Let’s not pretend that the Wilpon’s are adhering to Bud’s slot guidelines for MLB’s best interests. Their doing it for their own best interests. They were doing it long before the inception of these guidelines and the result of that short sighted philosophy is that we wind up with lesser players. Plain and simple.

  There also are no slotting guidelines in the international arena, nor are there any players that you don’t get a chance to draft. Quite simply every single international amatuer is available to every single team.

  There is simply no reason for us to have gone the entire span of the Wilpon error without a very good RFer. Darryl Strawberry was drafted in 1980, Fred’s first year as “owner” with a 1% stake in the team. Since that time we have consistently received the leagues worst offense from RF, a period of time that spans thirty years since we drafted Straw. For thirty years the Wilpon has had the means to correct this issue and has failed to address it in any kind of a meaningful and coherent way.

  Same can be said of LF. Seven free agents since the Wilpon wiggled his way in here. Foster, Coleman, Shinjo, Cedeno, Floyd, Alou, Bay. Loss of SIX potential players and millions diverted from other positions all in an attempt to fix (or cover up the mistakes of previous years) and all resulting in far less than average overall production.

  Same can be said about catcher. Even going back to 1998 when we signed Piazza to a 7 year deal, we had SEVEN YEARS to get a couple of league average catchers. Thole, Vance Wilson and from outside the organization Santos and Nickeas. Every single year we have to import one, two or three catchers into this organization. Why? The best catchers we have EVER produced are Hundley and Dyer and smart trades for Grote and Stearns but produce them ourself? Doesn’t seem like any one cares too. We are talking 30 years here since Gibbons and Fitzgerald were at least a credible attempt.

  Second base. UGH! 45 M for **** play over a span of seven years and still the best play we’ve recived there since Desi Relaford has come in very small samples by a 13th round Murphy and a DFA’d by Baltimore Turner.

  SS. Two guys in fifty years. 3B. One guy in fifty.

  So yeah the Wilpon can point to spending on the 25 every year to jump start the season ticket renewels and sell single season tickets, beef up the advertising rates and “create a buzz” by importing a big name but they recoup some of their money by eliminating signing bonuses, drafting cheaper players and not spending in the IFA market and the combined effect of all that chincing out is that we always have a bottom third farm system. The amount over and above average league payroll is only enough to move us from bottom third to middle of the pack and even that comes at a cost to the future with the loss of draft choices.

  It is time to face the facts. The Wilpon’s are simply not committed to putting a long term, consistent winning product on the field. Their interested in public perception and especially box office buzz but they have continually failed at the very thing that would give both of us what we both want. They’d get their box office buzz and we’d get a winning team if they just abandoned the past their prime FA for the in their prime MOST talented product of their farm system.

  They have crashed 3 times under the same formula at it’s by design. It’s a business model that they insist that everyone they hire follow. The only one who defied them was Mcilvaine and he got short circuited. Took the team from 69-88 in four years without taking a single thing from the future, while cleaning up from the diaster of the Worst team money could buy part 1, while significantly lowering payroll so he could expand it WHEN we had the talent base to support it. There was no calling for Mcilvaine getting fired. He got fired because he wouldn’t play box office BS the way everyone else here has.

  The Wilpon has very unsatisfied customers who didn’t get that way overnight. We got that way over two decades of their skinflint ways. Plenty of their customers have just flat out had it and walked away. MILLIONS never BECAME Met Fans because of the buffoonery around here and the NYY going to the post season every year.

  I am a very dissatisfied customer of the Wilpon’s and Fred shows me every June in the draft and every July 2 in the IFA how little he gives a ****.
  • Metsie May 23, 2011 at 11:46 am

    I am more and more convinced you are RELATED to McIlvane lol

    Dude you keep harping on slot guidelines. Who have we lost because of this practice in the last 6 years?

    How many times did the Phillies or Yankees have to go OVERSLOT to make their teams what they are?

    How many 1st round picks have those two given up to get where THEY are?

    Phillies last 10 years have given up 3 First rounders…
    Yankees gave up 5 first rounders in the 10 years before they brought up Jeter and the CORE!

    Didn’t seem to hurt the Yankees (jury still out on the Phillies) by buying to hold you until that core is built and may have even helped them allow those kids to not be rushed up and developed properly because there was no fan pressure based on attendance!
    Your right in regards to the fact that you can’t BUY YOURSELF a WS!
    But you can buy yourself enough time to BUILD one while the fans are distracted by a competitive team of temporary Mercenaries.
    • t agee May 23, 2011 at 2:10 pm

      Metsie, those temporary merceneries can be assembled at NO cost to the future by going Plan B, trade, non tender, two guys in a platoon ect.

      First and second round is where your future top talent comes from. That cannot be spent on “distracting fans” or you will never get that core built.

      In 2007, while Minaya was insisting SF take our #1 pick for Alou, Gillick was picking up a non-tendered Jayson Werth who A) was able to stay on the field. B) played great for Philly and C) left behind TWO #1 picks when he left.

      See. You can do both at the same time.
      • Metsie May 24, 2011 at 9:55 am

        Name someone who did that…sure wasn’t the Phillies and Yanks!

        So tell us who did? Oakland? How many WS titles did they win?

        MAYBE, just MAYBE you can say that about the 2004 Red Sox. Which was their first WS win in 100 years!

        What have they done since?

        MERCENARIES! If you don’t believe it just look at Crawford!
        • t agee May 24, 2011 at 10:44 am

          Wrong Metsie.

          Boston does both. Sign free agents AND let them go for draft picks to replenish their farm system, and then they go OVERSLOT to pick up the best talent available.

          Since 2005 they have “lost” the following players. Orlando Cabrerra, Derick Lowe, Pedro Martinez, Johnny Damon, Bill Mueller, Alex Gonzalez, Keith Foulke, Greg Gagne, Billy Wagner, Jason Bay, Adrian Beltre, and Victor Martinez.

          This has resulted in Boston having SIX extra 1st round, ELEVEN extra supplemental round, TWO extra 2nd round and ONE extra 3rd round picks.

          That’s TWENTY extra early round picks. In that same time frame we’ve had ONE extra First, FOUR Supplemental ONE extra 2nd and One extra 3rd for “losing” Glavine, Bradford, Roberto Hernandez AND Feliciano.

          So far we’ve gotten Davis. The Red Sox have gotten Ellsbury, Lowrie, Bucholtz, Bard and Clay.

          We’ve also given up Three first rounders, two second rounders and a third rounder for a net defecit of (-2) first rounders (-1) 2nd and (-1) third.

          The Red Sox have also surrendered picks but they make sure they take back picks as well and then leverage that advantage with drafting the BEST talent, not the cheapest.

          Big BIG difference.

          No comparison between the two different philosophies whatsoever.
          • t agee May 24, 2011 at 11:14 am

            Actually Boston has received back Six #1 picks, THIRTEEN Supplemental round picks, THREE 2nd round picks and ONE 3rd rounder.

            A total of 23 extra early round draft choices, NINETEEN of which were first or supplemental round picks.

            That’s a lot of talent infused into their farm system and a big reason why they didn’t fold last year when they had record injuries. They still won 89 games in the AL East. It’s also a big reason why their able to go out and pick up a guy like Josh Beckett or Adrian Gonzalez and make it worth acquiring them because their being added to other terrific players they drafted or developed like Lester, Pedroia, Youklis, Lowrie, Buckholtz, Clay, Ellsbury and Bard.
          • Metsie May 24, 2011 at 11:33 am

            Still paid Crawford didn’t they?
            Did Boston give up picks there?

            If they have been hoarding 1st round picks and doing so well from within then WHY did they have to pay Carford and give up picks?

            COULD it be that they are in the exact same situation Omar was in when he went and got Wagner and k-Rod? The ONLY two times he did that?

            Answer: YES!
            Now spin that all you want but the situations are pretty much the same. Only difference is Omar already had his bats and needed Pitching! His failure was in not also getting the STARTER ACE he needed as well!
            • t agee May 24, 2011 at 12:17 pm

              Omar did it three times and tried to a fourth with Zito.

              The three were Alou, Wagner and K-Rod but unlike Boston he failed to take back picks when he had a chance. He also didn’t get all that much for the guys he spent first round picks on.

              Alou only played 100 games over two years. That wasn’t hard to predict. Wagner pitched 189 innings over four years and blew the NLCS. He wasn’t even available for game 7. He also wasn’t available down the stretch in 2007 or 2008 when the bullpen blew game after game. To give away a #1 pick for a 34 year old is exhibit A of why this team constantly has so many holes to fill every year. So far K-Rod has pitched 150 innings over 2 1/3 years. Two #1 picks for 338 innings just isn’t good value forget about the money diverted that could have been used better elsewhere. No one should have been under the impression that Trachsel, Glavine, Pedro and El-Duque were going to last forever. By 2010 it was obvious to all that Maine and Perez should at most occupy one spot in the rotation, not two. At most.

              Selective use of FA should be a part of every big market team’s plan and while Boston does use FA to address needs ther is no denying that they also let guys go and then use those picks to replenish the farm.

              NINETEEN extra first or supplemental round picks since 2005 including 20% of their current roster, many more on the way and four not even selected yet is not even close to what we’ve been doing.

              We’ve actually given Boston quite a few of those picks. Floyd, Pedro, Wagner, Bay. They’ve all been hurt for long stretches while they were here, they’ve played well at times but none were at the peak of their game as Mets and when they left us we got zippo (unless you count Carter) The Red Sox got three supplemental picks, one first and two 2nd rounders to replenish their farm. That’s a hell of a lot better than zippo.

              If your giving up picks one one hand and taking back two on the other, chances are good your not going to run out of players. We have continually run out of players. Had to go out and rush guys up here, settle for whoever’s just hanging around, whoever’s recently been cut. Boston doesn’t have to do that. Cause they have a farm. That’s a big reason why even in an injury plagued year they can still win 89 games in a much tougher division.

              We’ve only won 89 games (in a much easier division) four times in 23 years.

              Clearly not even close to same thing despite the fact that they have also signed some free agents.

              Big difference in results or haven’t you noticed?
              • Metsie May 24, 2011 at 2:39 pm

                Got one back with Glavine or did you forget about Ike Davis?

                Dude he gave up 3 Picks, and the one you complain about the most was the NEXT TO LAST pick in the 1st round! A Virtual 2nd Rounder!

                WOW you mean we could have had Wendel Farley???!?!??!??!
                Oh saints preserve us how did we let such a catch get away??!??!??!
        • Chris May 24, 2011 at 11:31 am

          “What have they done since?”

          what have they done since? um, they won another WS in 2007, that’s all.

          Metsie, do you know anything?
          • Metsie May 24, 2011 at 11:52 am

            “Metsie, do you know anything?”

            Sure! I know your an idiot!

            Why didn’t they win in 2005 and 2006 if they knew better than everyone else. What did dumping Damon do for them? Where were all those SUPERSTAR Draft picks they hoarded to take his place?

            Hmmm?
            • Chris May 24, 2011 at 12:13 pm

              lol. you’re asking me why a team didn’t win the world series four years in a row?

              all I can do now is just laugh at you Metsie. it has gotten that bad.
• Paul I May 23, 2011 at 11:32 am

  Would it be appropriate for any business owner to talk about his current employees like that. I think most people would agree that the answer is no.

  The Wilpons have in the past spent money on the team, but other then that they prove no value to the team. They are arrogant, lack enthusiasm, do not care about their fan base, and lack good baseball knowledge.

  My biggest concern as a Mets fan is my fellow fan base. The last year or so, it feels like I am surrounded by Yankee fans. It is hard to put my finger on it, but there is so much negativity, and hate. Maybe it has to do with the high price of tickets, or other external factors – but since when did Met fans feel such a sense of entitlement?
  • Metsie May 24, 2011 at 10:00 am

    Where do you guys work?

    Yes it is totally appropriate for an Owner to call out his staff when they are not performing.
    ESPECIALLY when the business is ATTENDANCE driven and Attendance is driven by team success!

    When you 5-13 you have every right to tell the 140 Mil worth of losers how bad they MAY be. Mind you that isn’t what Fred did all he did was NOT HYPE the guys that are here which we users here have UNHYPED for the last three years!

    a baseball team does not make money just on personal image!
    The 86 Mets were all BAD BOYS but people loved them because of their record.
    If they did not have that record all the Bar Brawls and suspcted drug usage would have not been as overlooked as it was at the time!
• Vinny B May 23, 2011 at 11:34 am

  “What is so special about a .278 average, 83 runs scored, 27 doubles, 11 triples, 149 hits, 49 RBI, 44 sb? How can you justify locking into a “Crawford” type deal for that?”

  What are those numbers? Are they your projections for Jose? Because Reyes is a better hitter than that – 149 hits in a full season for him? This a guy who had over 190 hits every year from 05-08, and in 2008 lead the league in hits, and he is again leading the league in hits this year.

  Reyes is probably going to get a “crawford” type deal because their numbers are pretty much the same, and Reyes plays SS, which would make him more valuable. They are both around the same age too.
  • Met Maniac May 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm

    Vinny, by now you should know that jessep will skew any numbers he can to add steam to his weak arguments. Must be the only person in the world applauding Wilpon for being an ass, even though he did say the truth as far as Wright goes.
  • jessep May 23, 2011 at 11:44 am

    Vinny:

    That is 2007-2010 average season for Jose Reyes.

    And again I totally recognize the average drops because of 2009, but 2009 still happened. You can’t just erase injury problems when looking at a longterm $100m deal.

    Most people think Crawford’s contract is or was a mistake. But it was done because Boston feels they can win it all within 3 years. Can the Mets say the same?
    • alex68 May 23, 2011 at 11:53 am

      Most people think Crawford’s contract is or was a mistake. But it was done because Boston feels they can win it all within 3 years. Can the Mets say the same?”
      Yes, if they get starting pitcher yes they can, but in order to get an ace, you trade dwright and prospects for felix hernandez, and then you can have santana, felix, niese, dickey and finnaly slot pelfrey where he belongs as a #5
      then your offense will be based on reyes being on base and the “rbi’s” hitter driving him in..
      • jessep May 23, 2011 at 11:57 am

        oh here we go again. Now we’re trading Wright to Seattle for King Felix. Because what Seattle is longing for is to trade their 25 year old stud cy young winning pitcher for a 28 year old 3B and prospects from one of the worst farms in the league.

        Why do you even say stuff like this?

        The Mariners got Smoak for free agent Cliff Lee. You think they are trading King Felix away for David Wright? If they trade Felix its to re-stock the farm like Toronto tried to do with Halladay and KC with Greinke, not to set themselves back.
    • Vinny B May 23, 2011 at 12:01 pm

      Yeah but that’s very misleading, you made it sound like that’s the numbers Reyes is going to put up in a full season. you didn’t say that was counting a season where he played 30 games.

      Anyway, his injury in 2009 wasn’t all his fault, the Mets really mishandled the injury – they NEVER should have made him played in that Dodgers series. It was a terrible decsision, and it ruined Jose’s season – That was 100% the Mets fault for the way the handled that.

      And last year he had the thyroid condition(which isn’t going to come up again) that caused him to miss all of ST, and the start of the regular season. His numbers were down last year because he missed all of ST, so it took him awhile to get back in shape – I remember him looking slow when he came first came back, and hit awful for about the 1st month.
      • t agee May 23, 2011 at 12:47 pm

        The Mets are first and foremost concerned with selling tickets. That’s why they don’t want the season spiraling out of control when players get hurt.

        They never have any depth because of a **** farm system, an ill conceived and top heavy payroll so they went out of their way to keep everyone off the DL resulting in injuries getting worse.

        They release the most optimistic time frame as if that’s when the guy will be back to peak form instead of just planning ahead of time.

        They throw a ****fit when a player their medical staff has misdiagnosed, follows THEIR procedures and elects to have HIS knee treated competently by someone with HIS best interests in mind.

        They put a player with a concussion on the plane in 2008 and they put a player with a concussion on the plane in 2010.

        None of these things can be attributed to bad luck. They can all be attributed to a flawed, out dated and imbecillic thought process.

        If the Wilpon’s only did what was best for the long term competitvness of the team they would have produced a jagernaut that would have solved all of their other concerns. Instead they worry only about everything but having a winning team for a solid decade with the result being none of us get what we want.
      • jessep May 23, 2011 at 12:36 pm

        But Vinny if you’re evaluating a player to decide his value over the next 6 years lets say. You can’t ignore 2 injury plagued years. That doesn’t make sense. Reyes got hurt twice in 4 years. That’s significant and should be taken into account.

        If you can guarantee me he plays 140+ games for the entire length of any new contract then we’ll ignore his injured years. You can’t, so I won’t.
        • Vinny B May 23, 2011 at 2:03 pm

          I’m not saying to ignore his injuries…..I’m just saying that the numbers you used were misleading – You made it sound like that’s the numbers he’s going to put up in a full season.

          Jose Reyes has also never hit under .279 in a season since 2005, but in your post you say he’s a .278 hitter.

          So anyway, if you want to say reyes shouldn’t get a 7 year contract because of his injuries the last two years, ok. BUT the injury last year will never happen again, and the injury in 09 was mishandled by the Mets…..They rushed him back too quickly, it wasn’t his fault he missed all of that year, it was a terrible decision by the Mets, and it ruined Jose’s season.

          And last year, he had no problems at all with his legs at all…same with this year. And if the Mets were concerned about Jose’s health this year, they wouldn’t have played him in EVERY inning of EVERY game this year.
          • jessep May 23, 2011 at 2:11 pm

            You are right it’s .286 not .278
• Jason W. May 23, 2011 at 12:05 pm

  Sometimes its embarrassing to be a Mets fan.

  Today is a shining example of that.
  • Hodges14 May 23, 2011 at 12:20 pm

    Sometimes? I’ve been embarrassed every day since since Omar Minaya said “Wow, these things are coming out. And I say this because coming from Adam Rubin, okay, and Adam, you gotta understand this, Adam, for the past couple of years, has lobby for a player development position. He has lobby myself, he has lobby Tony. So when these things came out I was kind of a little bit, I had to think about it. And I was a little bit, you know, somewhat, kind of, we gotta find out about this. We really have to do a thorough investigation of this.”
• JerryG15 May 23, 2011 at 12:35 pm

  Most honest NON – emotional blog written in a long time.

  Problem is, we Mets fan are overly emotional and not pragmatic and sometimes can’t handle the truth.
• jdon May 23, 2011 at 2:24 pm

  I am dying to hear Fred’s response. Let’s face it: saying Reyes isn’t getting Carl Crawford money is hardly a dis. He doesn’t deserve that kind of contract based on his career production. Heck, Carl Crawford did not deserve Carl Crawford money. Paying Reyes based on one year production would be like signing Beltran based on his playoff in Houston. That kind of thinking left with Omar. What David said essentially makes no sense. To me it is almost a non sequitur. Why does he have to say something “productive?” David is an automaton with the press. Unfortunately he is the only met who talks consistently. The answer sounds like something he would say after his agent advised him to make sure he did not say he agreed that he was not a superstar. That would be a contract killer. Anyone think Beltran goes out there every day rain or shine because it is a contract year? Just asking. Since Beltran and Reyes will not be back, I think Wright is the only real issue. Maybe the statement about Wright tells us that he will not be back either.
• Stanton May 23, 2011 at 3:27 pm

  Just stumbled over this while searching the web. Whoever wrote this “article” is a Fred Wilpon’s illegitimate child, a color blind homer, or simply a moron.
  • james May 23, 2011 at 3:48 pm

    Great job by the writer showing a lack of understanding of both

    1) the sport of baseball and
    2) the role of ownership in management in ANY real world company.

    The smugness this ignorance is written with does make it quite comical though. In all fairness he probably had to wrap it up quickly before the school bus came.
    • jessep May 23, 2011 at 9:10 pm

      James: What am I missing about the sport of baseball that you would like to enlighten me on?

      Let me ask you this.

      His opinion. Was it wrong? His timing and the fact he said it, probably not the best idea.

      But the things he said, were they wrong?
  • jessep May 23, 2011 at 9:09 pm

    It’s kind of odd that I’m a homer for agreeing that David Wright isn’t a superstar, Jose Reyes isn’t a $100m+ player and Beltran’s contract was a bad idea. Wouldn’t it make me a homer for thinking the opposite of all of this?
• Joe D May 23, 2011 at 8:06 pm

  Who says we’re not fair and balanced?
  • jessep May 23, 2011 at 9:08 pm

    haha right!
• tlagee May 23, 2011 at 10:40 pm

  Found a very interesting article from long ago called ‘Wishing Doubleday was still the Mets owner’ while I was researching the famous Wilpon quote he made when he hired Art Howe (“He lit up the room” said Freddy – which reminded me of a saying that my second grade nun repeated often – ‘empty barrels make the most noise’, in Art’s case empty heads apparently give off the most light)

  The reason I looked for Fred’s quote is that was the moment that I lost faith in the man’s judgement.

  Here’s an excerpt:

  Doubleday hired Frank Cashen and by extension Davey Johnson. Wilpon, in his first act without Doubleday around, hired Art Howe, who he claimed “lit up the room.”

  Doubleday got out of the way after hiring Cashen and let him do his job. Wilpon instituted a collegial managerial style with no evident chain of command and put his son in a position of power.

  Doubleday was willing to spend money when he thought it was in the best interests of the club and is allegedly the one who pushed for the Mike Piazza trade. Wilpon was the one who allegedly pushed for character guys and was the one blamed for sending outspoken players like Kevin Mitchell and Lenny Dykstra out of town.

  there’s more…

  link: http://mets360.com/?p=5439