21
2011
Mets Thoughts: Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
An article by 
Last week, Adam Rubin posed a question to his readers that seven days later I still can’t find the words to compose an appropriate response. But I’ll take a stab at it.
Mets fans, how do you feel about the prospect of seeing Reyes come back to Queens in a garish Miami uniform? Can a New York team ever justify losing a star player to a team from a smaller market, and what, if anything, should be done about it?
To the first question of how would I feel? Terrible, of course. It’s not so much that you’re losing your number one offensive player, but the possibility that he goes to the Marlins and makes them instantly and infinitely better than the Mets is a punch to the gut.
As for whether we can justify small market teams running circles around the Mets, it’s unjustifiable, but it is what it is. Regular readers of mine shouldn’t find this surprising at all.
What should be done about it?
Nothing can be done about it as long as the MLB Commissioner and Fred Wilpon are in cahoots… And make no mistake of the fact that they are indeed in cahoots… One hand washes the other with those two and it goes all the way back to the second Fred cast the deciding vote to make Bud – a team owner – the commissioner of baseball.
There’s still plenty of offseason left and Jose Reyes to the Marlins is still not a done deal, but it does look pretty good for them.
If the goal of the Mets and specifically Sandy Alderson is to make the Mets relevant again by 2013 or 2014, why would he allow a small market division rival to become significantly better than the Mets - not just for 2012, but also for the foreseeable future?
Now there’s a question worth looking into.
If the goal is to win again in ’13-’14, how could you possibly stand by with your arms folded and help create the future juggernaut that is the Miami Marlins?
We talk about our prospects helping in a couple of years, but the Marlins have some of the top prospects in baseball and a couple of them are already here with even more reinforcements on the way.
Mike Stanton, Hanley Ramirez, Logan Morrison, Gabby Sanchez, Emilio Bonicfacio… Does anything we have compare to that core of players?
Now add Jose Reyes into that mix for the next 5 years which now brings us out to 2016… Get the picture? No need to mention young Josh Johnson is the ace…
It will be a lot longer than 2013 or 2014 before the Mets can even sniff a division title again. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you’ll understand what’s really going on in Flushing these days.
Brother, can you spare a dime?
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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If only we could get Wilpon to go on a trip to Venezuela with no security
LMAO!! the CORE salutes you!!!
is a shame, pathetic, but the man running the show is more interesting in getting picks for reyes than getting reyes. is a shame really that a MAJOR MARKET TEAM will lose a player to a team knowingly for being a small market.. i mean.. wow..
I think you mean it’s a shame!
Losing your home-grown star player to an inferior team in your division no less is a total disgrace. The Wilpons have destroyed this franchise. The old saying of mixing business with pleasure seems appropriate here. Their business is a failure, and they’re mixing it with the pleasure of owning a major league baseball team. There is absolutely no EXCUSE for not signing Reyes to a resonable contract. I can see if someone offers him 6 or 7 years at 140 million, but 5 years at 100 million is completely doable.
BOYCOTT!
I already have since last season. I’ll go back when the front office stops insulting my intelligence and puts a better product on the field.
I haven’t been to Citifield since 2009.I won’t go back as long as they own the team.It will never happen because there are just too many Koolaid drinkin Met fans that will go no matter what but people need to stick together and boycott the team.No tickets,no merchandise.
As long as these scums own the team we as Met fans will suffer.Force their hand and make them sell.Stay away!
It’s getting very hard to follow this team anymore. I’m glad I’m also a Green bay Packers fan. At least they give me some enjoyment from sports. Go Pack!
“If the goal is to win again in ’13-’14, how could you possibly stand by with your arms folded and help create the future juggernaut that is the Miami Marlins?”
How long did it take to write that sentence? Including all the fits of laughter, I mean.
They were 72-90 last year. What makes them a future juggernaut? Because they took a bunch of players to dinner? Have they signed any of them? Did they get a new owner who doesn’t treat the team like his own personal ATM?
Is Reyes going to win 20 games for them?
Did they get a new owner who doesn’t treat the team like his own personal ATM?”
funny, isn’t that the exact thing the wilpons are doing to pay their debts!?
Not to the extent Loria has his entire time as an owner. The Wilpons need to fix the mess they are in due to being too free with their cash. Loria was almost held at gunpoint by MLB to spend more money.
Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t there a salary floor implemented in the new CBA?
Don’t tease me. You back that up. You back that up right now. I’ve been screaming for one since 2005.
Wilpons aren’t interested in bringing Reyes back – they’re only interested in holding onto the team. Somewhere in that collective mind of theirs they’ve convinced themselves they can hold on through what surely will be some more lean years here in Flushing.
Don’t shoot the messenger – Alderson – he’s got no hand in this team being broke.
Unfortunately there are folks here who seem to forget what type of owners the Wilpons have been.Now they pass the blame on a man who’s been on the job for a little more than a full calendar year.It’s going to take a while but I’m still confident that we’re heading in the right direction.It’s a long term rebuild.The only thing that could possibly speed up the rebuild process is for the Wilpons and Katz to sell.Next offseason we’ll all see just how much of a financial mess they’re really in.
There are some marquis names that are going to be free agents next year and if we don’t get in on any of them then the franchise is even worse off than I originally thought.
Joe, I don’t think the full story will ever come out. The Wilpons are in more trouble than we’ll ever know, and that’s just how they want it.
You’re probably right Ex but nowadays it’s much harder to keep stuff like this under the rug. People who are more privy to their issues say that they’re far worse off then they’re letting on.I think over the next few years more and more will make its way through the media.I would love to be a fly on the wall and listen to the shit that goes on behind closed doors.
Good point JoeD.
Seeing Jose in a Marlins uni especially will feel like a punch in the gut then a kick to the gonads.
I live here in FL and the Marlins are on tv a lot and watching them play the Mets if Jose signs with them will make watching those games really tough.
I hope someday the back room dealing that has allowed some one like Selig to run MLB then be the one that helps the Wilpons despite their foolishness with their money, comes out so that we can get rid of two birds with one stone.
“One hand washes the other with those two and it goes all the way back to the second Fred cast the deciding vote to make Bud – a team owner – the commissioner of baseball.”
An owner should NOT be commissioner of his sport. How the players union ever let that happen is amazing. This is an item that players should speak up about. The Commissioner should be an impartial individual to oversee players AND owners.
No, the commissioner is an employee of the owners. always has been. Way back when Landis was first appointed, it was just so Comiskey could play CYA and look like he was doing something about cheating.
It was never about having an objective 3rd party to mediate between the players and owners. It was about having a guy working with the owners to tell the players what was what. He can only act when he has support of the owners.
Yes I understand. At the same time Landis put a lifetime ban on eight ball players that the owner did not want to lose. Comiskey thought they would get fines and suspended for a time.
Do you think Bud Seelig would have done that or banned George Steinbrenner like Bowie Kuhn did?
As an aside, I figured this- acc. to Heyman, the Mets are 1 of 6 teams showing interest in SS Jack Wilson.
dunno if they would be “infinitely” better than the mets.