Not that it lets the Mets off the hook for being any less of an arse for doing so – just reminded me that it had been done before. If the Wilpons do not have the money to have even made a token offer to re-sign a young batting champion before Miami came into the picture, that shows how broke Sterling Equities is – and that their intention was never to re-sign Jose and just say that they could not match the highest offer, whatever it might have been (and Miami eventually gave them the perfect out).

I think it got to a point that he had no choice (though we should all be in such situations).

The Miami offer blew away all other competition. Wonder what other clubs that were interested would have offered.

Whether Sandy moves on to be the next commissioner or not he is the guy that is going to try and reshape the organization. There will be no long term contracts where health risks are involved. In so far as what Sandy says in public…..could he say that our team is not going to compete this year? He doesn’t owe any of us an explanation as to his decisions. He works for Fred Wilpon. He will make his decisions so that he will be forming a stronger future for the team and you fair weather fans better get used to it.

Half of you think that you could be a manager or a GM just because you play in your fantasy baseball leagues…..SNAP OUT OF IT

What you say about the ways GM’s handle contract negotiations is, of course, true, but there are factors to consider that make the case of Jose unique and different from, lets say, the Cardinals waiting to begin re-negotiations with Puljos.

The Mets were talking about cutting payroll from the day Sandy came on board. Sandy then signed players who were cast-off by other teams or reclamation projects at bargain basement prices. The rumors were abundant regarding Jose being shipped off even before spring training began. As the players reported to Port. St. Lucie Sandy was non committal about even his desire to keep Jose. Then Fred came out and made disparaging remarks about both Jose and Wright.

But the signs were there even before Sandy came on board. In 2010, we bypassed the starting pitching available in the free agent market which was our main concern (Omar’s plan A), eventually signed Jason Bay and then went on pursuing the likes of a Gary Matthews Jr. a Mike Jacobs and even a R.A. Dickey (granted, a great surprise).

By early July we were still in second place only 1.5 games out when a slide began pushing us further away to 6.5 out by the end of the month while still hanging onto second place. That is the time general managers begin seeking out help to strengthen the team to mprove their chances – but Omar didn’t. His hands were already tied by that time. From a record that was at one point 46-36, the team fell apart, going 32-48 the rest of the way and though a lot had was due to injuries catching up to us, there was still non-movement on the part of the front office before that time when our chances appeared very good.

So we can see a pattern beginning after the 2009 season that I think eventually led to Jose being given his walking papers. And I don’t think it was Sandy’s call, either.

I agree the Mets could have tried to negotiate a contract long before the Marlins came into the picture. That said I am not of the opinion that a new GM coming in decided to take a wait and see approach with a player entering his final year to then mean they was literally telling Jose to look for employment somewhere else.

It is not unheard of for teams that have even an already established GM let alone a GM just walking in the door to take such a approach. Follow that with once the season got underway Reyes had said he just wanted to focus on baseball and the GM in June still reached out to Greenberg to initiate discussion to get a sense of what they may be seeking and Greenberg replied with Reyes earlier request that he still just wants to focus on baseball and not negotiate through the season.

The flip-side to your argument is that the Mets could have tried negotiating a contract with Jose’s agent a long time before the Marlins made the ridiculous offer. The Marlins came into the picture way after the door to the theater could have been closed.

How long a deal and for how much is up to debate and I don’t think many of us would have blamed Sandy for Jose taking a walk if there were offers on the table beginning last winter and Jose still wanted to play the FA market. But when an ownership won’t participate in any negotiations at any time, it was literally telling Jose to look for employment somewhere else.

My thoughts entirely regarding Sandy. He was successful when given financial leverage to work with, not when he was forced to cut payroll and keep it that way. He did not put together those great Oakland teams by getting under-valued talent looked over by others. He developed a good farm system, signed free agents with established credentials and made some good trades to get others. No Youngs, no Capuanos, no Carascos, etc.

So I give Sandy credit for being a very good general manager with an astute knowledge of the game and a keen eye for talent – for when he was forced to experiment with computer analysis and financial grading, he got nowhere – just like he is being forced to do now. I just don’t like when he has to publicly go along with the company line for it makes both him and the fans seem like idiots.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7620552/spring-training-2012-fred-wilpon-intends-new-york-mets-owner-very-long-time

So at least 4 of the 7 in escrow are from SNY.

“… Wilpon said the sale of seven of a possible 12 minority stakes in the team worth $20 million apiece — which are expected to boost the team’s operating cash flow and enable it to repay a $25 million loan to MLB — are currently in escrow awaiting closing. He also revealed that two of those shares will be purchased by members of his family and four by SNY.”

So let me get this right, two of the $20 million shares have been bought by Wilpon family members with an additional four $20 million shares being bought by SNY. That totals six shares. Is that six of the seven shares that are currently in escrow meaning they have one share that isn’t connected with Wilpon or SNY?

Or, are the Wilpon’s and SNY shares on top of the seven in escrow – meaning they have a possibility of 13 shares and not 12? (six and seven equals 13 not 12).

I can’t make any sense of the math.

He’s the best positional player we have ever had! He was 28! He was the only player worth watching on this awful team and you’d go 5 years but not 6!

Thats ridiculous.

1. They are broke.

2. They are liars.

They didn’t re sign Reyes because they didn’t have the money. This idea that it was Sandy is a flat out lie. I really hope for his sake he gets the next commissioners job because this assignment to be “Mets GM” while they have zero money is a thankless no win kind of job.