7
2011
Even The Believers Stop Believing At Some Point
An article by 
Before I start, I have to admit to my bias. I have lost a lot of faith in the direction of the franchise. It is well defined at this point and it is not the way I would handle things. There was a glimmer of hope in all of us that really felt in the back of our minds that Jose Reyes would somehow return to the Mets. It’s impossible to play for a team that never made you an offer, but honestly, the Reyes issue has beaten to death in 48 hours. I really do not see any reason for me to continue on about that.
I am genuinely worried about the franchise in this upcoming year. Adam Rubin reported that Alderson made a comment earlier: it was more likely that he would sign multiple cheaper players than one expensive one. He held true to that statement by signing Frank Francisco/Jon Rauch yesterday and also acquired Ramon Ramirez. Kudos on that last one.
Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez, Frank Francisco, Bobby Parnell, Manny Acosta, Tim Byrdak, Josh Stinson, DJ Carrasco, Pedro Beato, Daniel Ray Herrera are all in the mix for the bullpen arms next year. That doesn’t include guys like Miguel Batista or Jason Isringhausen who have also been linked to the Mets in a possible return. Alderson clearly went ahead and decided to go with quantity over quality. He also made it clear that Wright would not be moved this offseason, either.
As I mentioned before, I lost faith in the franchise. The feeling I seem to have developed is that Alderson is here to get rid of everybody under the guise of rebuilding. Last year, the team was not expected to perform well. Injuries hit again and the team still held itself afloat in a position that most people were surprised to see. So we gutted our team and traded our best offensive player and above-average closer to save money. I’m a firm believer in the idea that you can compete and rebuild at the same time – this ownership just doesn’t want to do that because it would cost them money.
Who’s to say that won’t happen this year? Without Reyes, this team is going to find it that much harder to compete. A healthy Ike Davis and the new ballpark dimensions might give a little boost to David Wright and Jason Bay. Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda will see some more regular time – they have more value to the Mets right now compared to any other team.
If the team succeeds this year, it’s going to be blown to bits. It’s extremely likely that the only reason Wright won’t be traded now is because the front office is trying to let him build his value with the new dimensions. He’ll be gone at the deadline. Rauch, Francisco, even Ramirez? Don’t be worried about whatever they’re being paid. If they pitch well, they’ll be shipped off at the deadline to a contending team. Who knows what Santana’s fate is? Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Duda or Murphy was dealt, too.
I am usually not this negative – but the front office has sent me this message. There is no way I am going to renounce my fandom or anything of that nature. I am not that crazy. But when it comes down to it, it really will be a weird season for me. I will be there cheering for them to win every game and for anyone in a Mets jersey to succeed. However, I’m worried about just how bittersweet that could be for me.
A team without Wright AND Reyes… I guess I always hoped to see them retire together. But alas, I’m just a mere fan.
About the Author: Satish Ram
I am a Senior Writer and Editor here at MetsMerized - where I specialize in Minor League coverage. I have been on the staff since 2007 and I am currently in my third semester of college in New York City. You can find me at www.facebook.com/SatishRam or @SilverHeatMMO. Feel free to message me - I love talking about the Mets or baseball overall with anybody.
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Not a bad article from someone who has admittedly lost faith. However, you seem to imply that actually keeping Beltran and Krod last year would have been good moves. Imagine the shape we would be in now if they had? Krod coming back at 17.5M? Our 1-2 prospect in Wheeler missing and Beltran walking away anyway? As for signing cheap players for the pen? Damned if you do or don’t. There are those who are complaining that we actually spent too much on the pen. It’s not like there was a lot of “quality” out there and for the bullpen I would much rather go with decent quantity over a couple of good guys and backfill.
Thanks. I lost a lot of faith… Not all. It’s impossible to be a fan of this team without some faith, ha.
I was under the impression the team could’ve competed down the line in the season. I thought by trading Beltran, albeit getting a respectable prospect, was the plan from the beginning. The new CBA does make me scratch my head a little – because I would’ve expected Beltran to finish as a Type A and net the Mets two picks.
The problem in my head is this – there’s no salary cap in the MLB, but the Wilpons are self imposing one. Yeah, K-rod would’ve been extremely overpaid if we let him pick up that option. But we would’ve had a closer for the next season and the only ones who would’ve been in trouble at the Wilpons. My faith in team wavers because it seems the owners are just trying to pennypinch from now on.
Even if we keep all the bullpen guys through the end of the year, which I don’t expect because I do see them being traded to a contending team at the deadline, I think we got exactly what we paid for. Rauch and Francisco seem like decent signings and i’m excited about Ramirez. I’m just worried that if the team ends up competed, it’ll get gutted worse than last year.
The problem is that irresponsible spending and spending above our margin is what got us into this situation to start with. It is fun for fans to say spend this, spend that… it’s not our money. However, NO owner digs into his pockets year after year to pay for the team under performing. The Mets were just losing too much money for them to support such a high payroll. Something had to change.
Krod at 17.5M, that’s awful. Not to mention that realistically he is not going to be much better if any than the guys we picked up last night. His “other” stats show he has to regress.
As for Beltran, there was no way with or without him they were competing last year. Also even if Beltran could be a type A (remember it’s based on more than one season) he had a clause in his contract forbidding arbitration. Thus it really was an all or nothing situation with Beltran.
My slip-up. I forgot about that clause in his contract for a second. It bothers me because I was well aware of it during the time of the trade.
It really was a tough situation. Beltran was one of the main cogs in the offensive machine and trading him did mean giving up on the season. However, I understand the need to get a return… It just struck me the wrong way. As I said before, I felt no matter what happened to the team, he would’ve got traded anyway. It was part of this plan.
As we’ve seen this offseason, one thing an outsider can say is Alderson is committed to whatever plan he has in place – regardless of fan support or not.
Now, as much as I like K-rod(on the field, not off), I understand the problem with paying him 17.5 million. Yes, it was a horrific option. But at the same time, I think this was going to happen regardless.
It’s come down to a type of rebuilding, but if anything, my fight is more with the Wilpons than anybody else. I believed we were able to compete and rebuild at the same time. Yes – trading Beltran helped the rebuilding process by getting Wheeler, but trading K-rod just saved money, you understand what I mean?
This year, I think even we begin to compete, it won’t matter, because it’s not part of the plan. They’re keeping it simple and doing a pure rebuilding type thing – that’s why I’m worried the new additions will be traded at the deadline and why my faith wavers in the franchise overall.
But saving money considering the results on the field is something that had to be done. And while I think you can contend and rebuild at the same time you have to be realistic in that approach. The Mets were 13 games back in the division and 7.5 games back in the wild card when Beltran was traded on July 26th. I like to be optimistic but there was not a chance in hell they were coming back.
Beltran’s contract dictated that any team owning his rights after 2011 couldn’t offer arbitration. So no one was getting two picks for him. This makes the Wheeler trade look even better. The Giants might be what the Astros was to the Phillies. As for competing, we’re starting over. it’s not the end of the world. Don’t expect to be a legitimate contender until 2014 at the earliest. Just enjoy baseball, root for your team, and realize that even last place nets top ten picks and aids in the 2014 rebuilding effort.
satish, as usual, good article, keep up the good work… but please, get the memo, yesterday alderson had a good day…
Well damn, now I will have to go back and re-read the article. If you are giving him praise it has to be full of crap….
Sarcasm a mile away.. he’s a horrible GM who needed to overpaid for relievers just so we can forget about his horrible eyewash decision of let reyes walk… for nothing nonetheless…
Alex the best part is those moves are considered good and proclaimed a good day by the grand apologist, God help us on a bad day.
Will, not only that, that idiot made it seem as if having a so called “good day” is way better than having 2 good offseason.. that is why i sh** on him all the time, where was his article about alderson having a bad day yesterday when reyes signed with the marlins? no, he was too busy stuck between alderson’s legs to write an article.. that guy is the worst will, do like bayonne suggested to me, don’t post on his article and that’s it.. i only comment on his article to let him know how sh***** they are
you are right, the names changed, but the two offseasons mirror each other. crap and crapper.
Alex, you have to admit that having me on here adds a little fun to your day. You always know that while I will disagree with 90% of your post I will be respectful. However, comments like this one regardless of who they are to are making me think twice about coming on here. Why treat a fellow Mets fan that way just because he has a polar view of yours? Of course you might return with “he started it” or “he does it too” but don’t those seem like a childish reason to respond in like fashion? Again, for some reason as I have always said I think you are better than this.
TRS86, appreciate it, me and you have always gone back and forth, there’s things you don’t know that go beyond being in the blog. this is a great site to be a part of if you’re a mets fans and i will recomend for you to stay here and encourage people to come and be a part of MMO, that man is the worst met fan i have ever met, i wish i can go into details of everything i think of him but i’ll just get banned if i write what i think of him, don’t let mine or anybody else’s comments in here affect your stay, is always nice to have knowledgable people who know baseball in this site, bayonne, maniac, metsie, will among others as well form a great group of ppl who know baseball and love the mets, but is hard to ignore the few others who are instigators, baiters to get ppl banned, arrogant jackasses who infect this site.. if you wish to leave, it was a pleasure, but good bye, but i hope you don’t to be honest..
BREAKING: @Rockies agree to send closer Huston Street to @Padres for Minor Leaguer, according to @harding_at_mlb. #WinterMeetings
Nice read Satish. I can understand your concerns and though I am nowhere near where you are (yet) what in the end is most important is where you said “There is no way I am going to renounce my fandom or anything of that nature. I am not that crazy.” Mets fans through the good and the bad forever. Hopefully in time your faith will be restored.
Mr NJ,
It almost definitely will. I think my major problem is with the Wilpons, as I stated above. If they don’t want to spend anymore, they should sell. Because what happens in 2014 if we actually do succeed and start becoming competitive again? If those kids need/want extensions, I’d be worried.
Satish, I wish it were that easy. However, there is not much money to spend and even if there was the return on the field would not warrant it. As I said below, no owner is going to continue to bail out an underperforming team. The Mets are paying the price for letting their payroll soar and not getting anything in return for that.
I understand your point, trs. But when if the Wilpons own this team in 2014/2015, when the kids like Wheeler/Harvey/Familia/Gorski… you know the names, are up in the MLB, and they need extensions, it’ll be interesting.
Yes, they won’t need extensions right away. But when they need money, will the Wilpons be able or want to pay them… or will we have to see them walk away too, you know? I know Reyes asked for a decent sum of money, but every player who is above average is going to be looking for that these days.
I will give you a definite who the hell knows? Most of it will be determined by how the Mets play on the field and how promising those prospects are in 2013-2014. If the Mets are making money again then chances are they will have money to invest. If they are still losing money, then hell chances are the Wilpons won’t be here anyway.
I’ll take the who the hell knows. Because that’s pretty much where I am too. Just expressing a worry about it – but it’s nowhere near enough for me to stop being a fan of this team.
Quit complaining about Sandy when Minaya’s ridiculous contracts have handicapped our budget. Reyes chose money over loyalty get over it. We weren’t exactly winning the pennant every year with him anyways. Yesterday’s moves were sound transactions. We have experience and depth in the pen and while pagan might be slightly better, Torres brings energy and hustle. He also can actually field his position. Keep in mind we were sixth in the league in runs scored last year and that was with Reyes on the DL three times. We will be ok.
We weren’t winning every year because every year we were faced with devastating injuries to key players.
And if you were in Reyes’ position, you would take the money too.
Vinny, reyes chose money over loyalty.. he forgot his idol sandy never even offered him a contract…
Amen, brother.
Jose did what Walter O’Malley, an owner, did some 55 years ago. He’s not to be faulted but the facts are the facts. Both Jose and Walter, kindred spirits in search of the Golden Goose, chose expediency and money over loyalty to the fan base.
Lets see! 106 Million or nothing? I’d take the 106 million over no offer too.I hold no ill will towards anyone except the Wilpon and Katz families.Never allowing any of their GM’s to spend money on the draft,scouting and player developement have just as much to do with the position of the team as all the bad contracts Minaya gave out.Drafting easy signable college seniors instead of the best talent available is much to blame for this mess.Even a halfway decent farm system could’ve been adequate to withstand injuries over the course of a season.Every team has injuries.Not every team overcome their injuries.Even before Omar and before Steve Phillips,Wilpon has never allowed his GM’s o spend on the draft until Alderson got here and last year they spent the most money on the draft in team history.20 years too late.
And you don’t see a pattern? You think no other team suffers injuries to important players?
Freak accidents happen. If you don’t account for them, then you shouldn’t be running a business.
And you shouldn’t be bringing in old, injury prone players on their last legs and putting them in important spots. that makes you more likely to suffer those devastating injuries.
At this point, all of you crying about injuries are just making excuses.
All teams suffer injuries, but very few suffer as many injuries to key players like we have had. I’m not talking about losing a guy for a week or two, we have been losing players for MONTHS at a time.
You can’t win when your losing your best players for months at a time, and replacing them with backups – There’s no way you can account for that.
You ignored the rest of my post. Keep telling yourself Minaya didn’t put the Mets in that situation.Keep telling yourself signing old/injured players to big deals and making them major components on the team isn’t a recipe for disaster.
“You can’t win when your losing your best players for months at a time, and replacing them with backups – There’s no way you can account for that.”
Quick, someone tell the Cardinals they didn’t really win the World Series.
Nope, what happend to the cards is completley different – Pujols played in 147 games, Holiday played 124, Berkman 145, and Carpenter didn’t miss a start.
They didn’t miss their guys for MONTHS at a timem – Nice try though.
So, Adam Wainwright was a nobody? Lance Berkman was expected to carry the team? You don’t think maybe being such a well balanced team helped them out just a smidge?
Where was their El Duque? Their Moises Alou?
We are talking about 09-11 – Alou and elduque have nothing to do with this.
Wainwright was just one guy, you can survive injuries to one or maybe even two guys, but when almost all your players go down, it’s impossible to win.
You think the Cards would have made the playoffs if Holiday and Pujols played under 100 games? No way.
So, each season is an island? What happened the year before doesn’t affect the next?
You can cry all you want about injuries, but the Mets put themselves in a position where they couldn’t afford the freak accidents everyone suffers and then mishandled them.
We are talking specifically about 2009-0211. not 07-08. This is about 2009-2011, and yes, the only years that matter whe we are talking about 2009-2011, is 2009 -2011.
Everyone suffers the injuries the Mets had? Name me one team last year that lost FOUR players under 30 our for MONTHS at a time, that did good. Just one, AND lost their ACE for the entire season.
Davis 36 Games.
Murphy 109 games.
Wright 102 games(and when he did play, he played with a broken back)
Jose Reyes 126 games.
Santana missed the whole year.
Plus guys like Niese, Pagan, Young, Paulino, and Hairston missed time as well…..and you can’t forget about on the minor league level, losing Nieuwenhuis, and Mejia, who would have been called up at some point during the season. I bet there is no other team that came close to the injuries the Mets had, and was succesful.
And I’m still waiting to see i you think the Cards still would have made the playoffs if they had Pujols and Berkman play under 100 games…….I’m sure they still would have won even if they didn’t have them right?
And if they didn’t make the playoffs, saying the reason why they didn’t is because they lost Pujols and Berkman would just be an excuse, right?
And by the way, the injuries happend to both the young and the old players. Ike Davis, Wright, Reyes, and even Carlos Beltran in 09 was 32, in 09, Beltran was not “old” or “injury prone”.
Yes, freak accidents occur. That has been covered.
The problem is the Mets were constructed in such a way that those freak accidents were 10x worse for the team than they should have been.
And Beltran is in his 30s . There should have been some inkling he was going to need a suitable back up towards the end of his contract.
Pagan not a suitable backup?
No, a 4th outfielder is not a suitable back up.
Huh? A 4th OFer IS a backup.
No, a 4th outfielder is a sub. The back up option is meant to take over the spot for an extended period.
Yep – That’s the problem – You can’t win when your starting guys who shouldn’t be starting for extended periods of time.
Now you got it.
So, you don’t see a problem when you are putting in old/injured guys as starters?
Expect those aren’t the only guys that have been getting hurt.
No, but what happens when you have a bunch of those guys and the young guys get hurt?
But those guys haven’t been the ones getting hurt latley…..So your point is meaningless.
And by the way, if the FO had done a better job handling his knee issues, Beltran probably wouldn’t have missed so much time.
“except” not “expect”
yeah how would those numbers of been if beltran and reyes didn’t play at all last year. i gurantee we woudn’t have finished with that many runs scored.
Actually looking at the stats the Mets offense actually produced more runs post all-star break than they did prior.
having Ike and Wright for full seasons will go a long way to offsetting what they lost.
Jason bay coming a 36 hr season.. $16 million per
Santana $22 million
Wright $15 million
now, explain to me minaya’s ridiculous contracts??? because last i checked, coming off a 36 hr season bay was a good addition, too bad he forgot how to hit when he came to queens, but hey, just like torres he plays hard and hustle..
Santana everyone loves, yet he’s more injury prone than anybody else in the team.. not minaya’s fault now is it??
Wright.. unclutch but at least he puts numbers. and remember, minaya signed him at roughly $9 million per.. so tell me, which contracts minaya has that are ridicolous??
The only contracts from Minaya you can call ‘ridiculous’ that are left would be Bay and Santana – K-Rod, Beltran, Perez, and Castillo’s contracts are all gone. So to say it was because of Minaya’s bad contracts why we couldn’t sign Reyes, is completley untrue because most of them are gone now.
Yet you are missing the entire devastation that those contracts brought. They tied their hands for not only this off-season but in previous years as well. The fact that so many of them did not allow the Mets to make improvements when they could have been competitive or were direct results in poor play on the field caused low attendance and thus more money issues. The team could not sustain a high payroll this year not just because the Wilpons are broke but because the METS have been losing money for 3 years now. No owner continues to bail out a poor performing team with his own cash. Fact is they let their payroll balloon to unsustainable levels and underperformed. That is the risk you take.
Those contracts cannot handicap the budget, if they aren’t here anymore.
Sure they can. They have already done their damage. That’s like saying cancer can’t handicap the body after remission. You still have to deal with the damage that was done.
The Mets can’t afford high priced FA right now because they underperformed on the field and have lost money for 3 years in a row AND their owner has no money to bail them out. Eventually though no owner would continue to bail out an underperforming team. So while the Wilpons and Omar are to blame, in some ways so are the players. In general the METS front-office, owners, and players underperformed with an overstretched budget and now they are paying the price.
The Mets underperformed because of injuries, not because of contracts.
If you want to blame the Wilpons, go right ahead, but Omar is not to blame at all for Reyes leaving- All those contracts are gone.
Blame the Wilpons or Alderson…..or both, but not Minaya.
If you don’t see the correlation and how those contracts had a string of consequences then please watch out for the trees as you are running through the forest, chances are there will be another tree right behind the one in front of you.
If you don’t see the correlation and how those injuries had a string of consequences then please watch out for the trees as you are running through the forest, chances are there will be another tree right behind the one in front of you.
So the fact that a lot of those big contracts were tied up with old and/or injured players means nothing?
Some under performed cause they sucked ie Castillo,Perez and Bay.The good players were the ones set back by injury.Whether by injury or underperformance those contracts become bad contracts and they had an affect on this offseason even though they’re no longer here because we lost money while they were here.Losing money the last few years prohibited the team from adding any significant payroll.We still have 2 left overs that are taking up 40% of the 2012 budget.
Let’s remember which GM has been getting rid of all those contracts ever since he took over the job. If Bay coming off such a good single season was worth so much why didn’t the Sox want him back at such a “bargain”? I’m not blaming Reyes for wanting to get paid, but if we don’t have the money to match the marlins why insult him with a low-ball offer?
Letting Perez and Castillo go was a no-brainer – Every GM makes the same move. Let’s not praise this guy for a move that every GM would make.
My point is, that how can you balme Minaya for this, when most of the expensive contracts are gone? They can’t handicap our budget, if they aren’t here anymore.
You’re also forgetting that they lost $ leading up to this year because of those deals+ lack of revenue.
We lost money because every year we were faced with devastating injuries – They hurt a lot more than the bad contracts. It’s unbelievable how people just overlook the fact that our team was killed with injuries to key players every year.
It is unbelievable Vinny but that’s how those people are. Outside of the 2 collapses It is the primary reason for the Mets problems. We never had a chance to compete the following 3 years covering 2 different GMs because our main stars have been hurt substantially.
Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.
Because no team has ever suffered injuries to important players.
Because no team tries to avoid tying big money in old and/or injured players on their last legs.
Because a GM just has to read a guy’s baseball card and cut a check. There is nothing else to the job at all.
from 09-11 injuries have happend to both the young and the old players – Stop saying it was only old players, it wasn’t.
I didn’t say it was only old players. Read what was written. It was that we had too many old players that when the freak injuries happened to the young players, the team couldn’t handle it.
Last year, what old players got hurt?
Davis, Wright, Reyes, and Murphy were the biggest injuries. And ALL of them were under 30!!!!
No one important. But, the team was so depleted that one freak accident all but derailed the season.
Or are you going to tell me that you prepare for 2011 in December of 2010?
You can’t plan for FOUR of your best players, who are all under 30 missing the majority of the season…..You just can’t.
you were talking about the Cards earlier, so if Pujols and Berkman played less than a 100 games, you think they would have made the playoffs?
Not exactly true. 2009 was arguably the most ‘devastating’ year for injuries and they were fine revenue wise. Probably b/c it was the first year in a new ball park.
2010 was bad and 2011 was downright awful.
Minaya was the GM in 2010, Alderson in 2011. IMO, this has nothing to do with the GM and everything to do with ownership. Bottom line is the Wilpons can’t afford right now to own a NY team but they don’t want to let go. Only thing getting them out of the hole is increased revenues. Only thing getting them increased revenues is a good product on the field.
It’s like the chicken and the egg – which comes first?
Personally, I’m hoping the Wilpons just sell.
it was a no brainer yet Minaya kept them on the 25 man roster and we were playing with 23 because those 2 were useless.
Perhaps you misinterpret, Jeff.
I actually like the acquisitions yesterday – especially Ramon Ramirez. But my worry is that even if the team competes this year, those players (Rauch, Francisco, Ramirez) and guys like Wright or Santana will be traded again to complete this rebuilding type process.
But is that a bad thing Satish? If we aren’t winning why not trade for more prospects? If we can get another Wheeler at the deadline this year wouldn’t it be worth it. Besides of Wright can hit with the new dimensions he needs to go.
Jeff,
If the team is losing, it is by no means a bad thing. I understand completely.
I’m worried about two things.
A – if the team is actually competing, what happens? Do we still trade everyone?
and B – as I stated above, what if the Wilpons aren’t willing to spend in the future even when the payroll is more manageable and the team is *hopefully* filled with succeeding young prospects and such?
my guess?
If they are competing mid-year with this crew they will keep them and go for it. Only way they start off loading BP arms would be if they were dead in the water.
Wright? different situation, but I can’t see him being traded unless again they are way out of the running. Otherwise, they keep him around.
and looking 3+ years down the road? It will come down to revenue/resources. 1st off, for the Wilpons to even survive that long has to mean that finances stabilized. So, the situation will be depending on winning and attendance. if this new core is winning and drawing fans, the money will be there to lock them up and keep building around them
YUP.
See that’s what I’m worried about. I think these guys will be traded no matter what. Wright especially – and if his offensive numbers do go up a bit due to the new dimensions, even more reason to expect him gone.
Although I see your point. Finances should stabilize enough for them to be willing to spend if they stick around that long. I just hope for the best. Because if the problem is in the owners… it’ll be a real struggle.
I didn’t read the article because I haven’t lost the faith and don’t want any more negativity shoveled my way. I know in my heart that no matter what happens, I’ll be a Mets fan and will cheer them on. It hurt to see Jose leave, but it hurt more to see Seaver leave and I got over it. Life goes on. LETS GO METS!
Santana I can’t fault him for. Yes it was a risk (as many of us noted) to give a pitcher that long a deal (and he had had some minot injuries popping up). But, even so, just about everyone agreed it was a risk worth taking to get that quality SP.
But Bay? Yes, he put up good #s in Boston his last year, but it was a stretch to think he could replicate them as he passed into his mid-30s, moving to a huge BP. really a case (not in hindsight, lots of us said it at the time) of likely paying top $ for what a guy did for his previous team(s), with a low probability of getting that return again.
And don’t forget with Santana, the year before we only missed the playoffs by one game, and he was at that time regarded as one of the best, if not the best pitcher in baseball.
at that time, it was a very good trade. Anybody who is saying it’s a bad trade now, is just 2nd guessing.
It was an excellent trade. We gave up NOTHING in retrospect for a guy who can actually still help this team (and has helped this team already).
If you look at the people being traded now (like the kids the Rockies got for Ubaldo Jimenez) we fleeced the Twins.
We stole Santana! Not one of the 4 we gave up ever turned into anything worth worrying about.I make that trade 10 times over.
Alderson on Reyes
“If you’re asking him if I should have sent him a box of chocolates, perhaps I should have done that.” .
Alderson showing the arrogance him and his followers are famous for. Terrible response by Alderson and now we’re getting a better idea of his personality.
Hey Sandy “F*** you too”
Bayonne — If you’re taking the high road and saying Sandy is arrogant, you’re really undermining your view by acting arrogant and low class yourself. You should have stayed classy.
That quote actually cracked me.
Exactly. Can we please just accept Jose is gone and was going to be gone regardless of what Sandy did or did not do? Doing things just for looks and fan appeasement is something that is no longer happening. I think that is good, your right to think it is bad. Either way it is now more of a fact.
Pirates sign Eric Bedard for 4.5 million – Heyman
Buerhle signs withe the Marlins 4 yrs 58 mil.
i’m not upset that Reyes signed with Miami, because: 1) his contract is too rich for the risks attached to signing him to a long-dated deal. Anybody glean the bucks the guy’s gonna reap in the outer years? Holy moly! 2) we couldn’t afford to be dumb (for once). Also, i fully support Alderson’s comment that his goal is to “outperform the payroll.” How novel.
And i like the trade with SF too; and seems to me the 2 bullpen F/A signings are constructive. And with the continuing rumors that Sandy is actively pursuing other trade opportunities, i believe the guy is working over time to improve this team with a strapped budget for a Big City Team.
I agree 100%. We’ve always been the team with the dupe GM who throws stupid money at random big name free agents every winter. Then every year, we’re the laughingstock for how we overpaid for all our crappy players. That’s how we got Jason Bay. And Luis Castillo. And Ollie Perez.
Now we have a GM who actually wants players who are smart values, and fans are screaming that they want more stupid contracts.
I love how Alderson is sticking to his plan. We finally have a smart GM, and the fans hate it.
It’s comical1
Reyes is a good guy, but to pay him like he’s an elite SS is crazy, given that he had one elite 3 month stretch during his entire long Met career. And by the way, that 3 month stretch came in his contract year. And by the way, he got hurt again, missed the second half of the season, returning in September when he couldn’t run at all. How many SBs did Reyes have in the 2nd half? Zero?
To be outraged that Alderson didn’t overpay 30 other teams to sign Reyes long term is laughable. You actually want the franchise to be hamstrung by another stupid contract? Why? Because you like Jose’s personality?
We had Reyes for the front side of his career, and he helped us win nothing. In case you didn’t notice, we sucked with him, every year. Every year he was lousy or hurt for long stretches, he made countless sloppy and boneheaded plays. He forgot to slide. He hacked at anything.
The Marlins got him for the downside of his career, and are paying him WAY WAY more than we paid him. Does that sound smart to you?
Really, I’m baffled by bawling your eyes out over Reyes. If you love him more than the Mets, great, become a Marlins fan and cheer for Jose until you are teal and orange. Enjoy!
I barely spoke about Jose Reyes in this piece. I’m worried about the direction of the franchise and the motive of the owners/Alderson.
I don’t know if you’ve got some kind of agenda against Reyes… I certainly don’t. I really did want him back and he’s not back.
Also, at age 28, he’s not in the downside of his career. I don’t know when 28 stopped being somebody’s prime – nobody sent me the memo.
I was more worried about what will happen this year, next, the year after even. If the team is winning, will we trade the relievers we just added to the team for prospects? Will we lose guys like Wright and Santana anyway? Just posing my questions in worry. You may have over analyzed my disappointment in not signing Reyes.
” I lost faith in the franchise. The feeling I seem to have developed is that Alderson is here to get rid of everybody under the guise of rebuilding. Last year, the team was not expected to perform well. Injuries hit again and the team still held itself afloat in a position that most people were surprised to see. So we gutted our team and traded our best offensive player and above-average closer to save money. I’m a firm believer in the idea that you can compete and rebuild at the same time – this ownership just doesn’t want to do that because it would cost them money.”
Geez, what took you so long to figure that out? The reality is that the discarding of players will continue until the entire 40 man roster is paid the ML minimum salary. The rebuilding will not start until the disbanding is complete. The rebuilding will wait until new owners have the team and, of course, a new GM leads the FO. Figure 2020 until we actually start to get better.