12
2012
Thoughts On Dickey and the Ongoing Mets Incompetence
An article by Hojo's Mojo
Post updated by Joe D. on 12/12
Mike Puma of the NY Post sheds more light on what now appears to be a tenuous situation that existed between the Wilpons and R.A. Dickey even before Tuesday’s Holiday Party at Citi Field.
Besides the financial roadblocks, what became clearer yesterday was a underlying tension between team and player. Dickey is frustrated he cannot get the Mets to move faster, especially because, as he said, “I feel we are asking for even less than what is fair.” The Mets, meanwhile, have mounting concerns whether all of Dickey’s off-the-field endeavors could impact his on-field results or his standing in the clubhouse if the perception is that he has become too absorbed with his new celebrity.
The Mets already were annoyed, The Post has learned, Dickey last week turned down a personal appearance request from owner Fred Wilpon. Nevertheless, they knew he was in town for a business matter and asked him a few days ago to appear at Citi Field for yesterday’s holiday party. The Mets expected Dickey to be more diplomatic in his comments.
The Mets were seriously pursuing a trade of Dickey anyway, and this will only add impetus. The Mets wanted to wait until Zack Greinke signed (he inked with the Dodgers) and James Shields was traded (he went to the Royals) to clear out two big starting options and see if that motivated teams still needing top-flight starters to sweeten bids for Dickey. The Mets have sensed some movement in that direction.
Sandy Alderson said: “We’re in a similar place today as we were last week. Some of the surrounding circumstances [Greinke/Shields] have changed somewhat. I would hope that we’ll have more clarity within a few days, but in the meantime we’re more or less status quo.”
Dickey was asked if he felt insulted by the Mets’ offer.
“Things are emotional for me,” Dickey said. “When people say it’s business, it’s not personal, that just means it’s not personal for them. It can be personal for me.
“I’m hoping that it’s going to end up in a good place, but you can’t help but in the back of your mind think it may not, and that’s sad.”
It was already predetermined, even before the offseason started, that Sandy Alderson was going to “work in parallel” with the Dickey situation. That is they would be negotiating with him while shopping him at the same time. Yes, this was their plan all along.
It was a risky proposition and ill-conceived because it would mean no real urgency to negotiate a deal because you are also trying to shop for the best offer which would naturally drag the process out for months. Not a good thing when you’re talking about the team’s most valuable player.
This tactic seems to have backfired on several levels. Not only did it damage the process with Dickey and undermine the trust that is needed by both sides to get a deal done, but it sent the wrong signal to other teams who were reluctant to trade two prized prospects for a player that the Mets were apparently reluctant to sign.
I’ve said this before about the front office, but they always over-analyze things to a fault.
They are incapable of making a quick decision which is essential in today’s fast-paced baseball environment. Everything is a long drawn out process and during last year’s Winter Meetings Jon Heyman reported that teams were reluctant to deal with the Mets because of their dysfunction.
“We’re waiting to see how the market develops.” That’s the automatic response you get from Sandy Alderson whenever he is asked about progress on any front or situation.
There are some who want to hang the blame for this on Dickey. Don’t. This scheme was doomed to failure. You either make the decision to keep Dickey or you re-sign him. You don’t openly leave him flapping in the wind and then cry foul when things go awry. Make a damn decision. This is a reigning Cy Young winner and the only good thing to happen to the Mets in the last three years. Get your freaking act together for crying out loud.
What this front office is doing is not normal… It breeds the often chaotic situations you have seen these last three winters and turns everything into a media circus. #LOLMets is alive and well for those of you who think Omar Minaya took it with him when he left.
The other thing is – who made the decision to invite R.A. Dickey to the Holiday Party in the first place?
How do you invite him to a setting that is swarming with media and not expect him to get bombarded with questions about this screwed up situation which you yourselves created?
Of all the players in your system you invite the one person you probably don’t want in front of ten cameras and two dozen recorders? Really?
The incompetency that is going on by ownership and the front office is out of control.
This Dickey situation is getting ugly, but don’t blame Dickey for it.
I’m glad to see more and more people coming around and are finally seeing the incompetence and lack of direction with improving this team. Even MetsBlog is coming around as you may have seen yesterday. Welcome to the party…
What’s happening here is not rebuilding…
It’s not competing…
It’s just keeping up appearances and doing things in the hopes that it motivates fans to buy tickets. That is what ultimately guides every decision including re-signing David Wright which I always maintained would be done for the fan’s sake and not for rebuilding’s sake.
Original Post 12/11
Mike Puma of the NY Post says that according to a team official, the Mets are “not happy” that Dickey used yesterday’s holiday party as a forum for an airing of grievances.
The Mets continue to explore trading Dickey, but haven’t made headway in convincing potential suitors such as the Rangers and Blue Jays to part with top prospects.
Also, a high-ranking club official brushed off a report indicating the Mets just increased their offer to $20 million on Monday night.
“Nothing has changed since last week,” the official said.
Dickey is seeking $26 million over two years, according to sources. In context, Jake Peavy recently received $29 million over two years, writes Puma.
About the Author: Rob Johnson
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its business like usual . LOVE RA , but he is no Superstar or Phenom rookie . He shoudl know better, he should just be ready to pitch, for whoever team it is
If the Wilpons were chefs, they’d screw up a potato. If there’s a wrong way to approach any given situation, they’d find it.
Secure Dickey with 3 year/31m deal and either keep him or trade him. What’s so difficult about that. It’s not as if they didn’t just pay Jason Bay NOT to play in a Met uniform. Okay, so I get it… give Bay 16m for not playing here and penny-pinch on your 20-6 Cy Young winner.
I don’t like the NY Met organization, as currently constituted. SA can take his condescending sarcasm elsewhere.
Really, just tired of all the BS.
Nothing is simple with these clowns… aren’t they still paying Bobby Bonilla?
…and Bret Saberhagen…and Glavine…and Beltran…and almost an entire roster of players from 1995-2010 they offerred deferred contracts to…
FYI – David Wright just joined the list
Wilpon, Alderson and Angelo should be embarrassed. This is why great players hate playing for the Mets, only suckups like Wright.
come on, no place to be traded in a sec. then the mlb , its not a mets thing
It’s ok for Sandy to leak lies everyday to the media, then along comes Dickey who is refreshingly honest and they try to vilify him. You see nothing wrong with that?
i blame the idiot from sny , the media . This business and handling this trades is as old as the game . Dickey is not the first player to feel that way , all i´m saying is i would love to see him more quiet, he can wrote a book about that if he wants .
Angelo,
We no longer live in an age that lacks 24/7 news cycle and full bore interconnectivity amongst players, fans, front office.
The Mets totally brought this onto themselves by opting to be so public about trying to trade him at same time negotiating with him which by itself is outrageous. Their strategy has come back to bite in mega way.
One also has to respect Kevin Burkhardt for raising points and asking questions that did not put the front office in the best light. One thing with R.A. raising those points but another when a Met employee does. When Kevin first reported how the team felt it was kicked in the teeth my opinion started to change about him being just a homer. Up to that time, he was eschewing the company lines like Sandy has a vision for the team, Jose left the Mets, exploiting the killing of bin laden to hype the first home game to that of 9/21 (Mookie Wilson in the clubhouse said it felt like just another game and nothing more).
As far as R.A., his sad acknowledgement that this could be the last day he was in a Met uniform and in Citi Field was too hard to take knowing it was out of his control – sort of like what he must have felt in 20011 when he said the front office having no faith in the team was hard to take as well.
Who at this point can still see Sandy Alderson as anyone other than a business person – and for that matter, even a good one at that? Architect of Oakland who was going to lead the Mets to the promised land, indeed.
Kevin has been doing that for a hot minute now
Met Maniac…..
“then along comes Dickey who is refreshingly honest and they try to vilify him”
I couldn’t agree with you more about Dickey’s honesty or character, but I don’t think anyone is questioning that or trying to vilify him just because according to Mike Puma some unamed team official said the club is “not happy”.
I think the only reason the negotiations are dragging out is because the FO decided long ago that it may be in the club’s best interest to trade him while his value is high and move forward with the talented pitching prospects within the organization. You may not agree with it, but it is a feasible option. Now it appears they have run into a roadblock with no team willing to give up a top prospect thus far. Perhaps a team may eventually blink, perhaps not. But as the interest in Dickey apparrently continues to wane, its a clear indication that clubs perceive him to be a risky investment as we saw with KC opting for the younger Shields. With the situation unfolding like it has, I just don’t see why fans are perceiving the Mets offer to be dissing Dickey when his value is plummeting. Dickey should jump at the $10 and $10 mil 2 year extension unless he has great confidence in himself that he can continue pitching at the level he has the last 3 years. But he also needs to remember that after playing out his option, he’ll be yet another year older. I just see it as the club having way more leverage on this one then Dickey.
His value isn’t plummeting. If he was under already contract with reasonable extension like he wanted this spring, teams wouldn’t be trading for a pitcher scheduled to hit free agency in a year. That’s the difference. Teams want cost certainty beyond a year if they’re going to give up top prospects under control for 6.
I’d say that would definately be true if he were younger. I’m starting to think that his best value may now be with no extension, in a July deadline trade as a 3 month rental to a contending team that needs one quality starter to put them over the top.
And how can you be certain he would not have a no trade clause. He is man that does not seem to like to hand that control over to others. I would not be surprised if Dickey, like all others especially in light of the Reyes trade, were not pushing hard for it.
I’ve had just about enough of this organization. I’ve lived and died with this team for 47 seasons. The Wilpons are a disgrace to baseball, and I for one, will NEVER attend another game at Citifield. What they’re doing to R.A. is embarrassing. They are a laughing stock to the rest of baseball. If they had half a brain, or knew anything about the game at all instead of what they “think” they know, they’d know that for the past 3 seasons, R.A. is ranked 4th among active MLB pitchers in ERA. They’d know pitchers like Wakefield and other knuckleball pitchers pitched effectively well into their 40′s. These cheap sob’s are treating R.A. like a “has been” when in reality, he is now reaching his prime. Let’s hope their 140 million dollar golden boy can win it alone for them. R.A. has been the best thing to come to this team in a long time.
Bravo, Susan…..
Don’t try too hard to analyze the Wilpon’s train of thought. Can’t expect much more from a pig than a grunt.
Look at Wakefield after the age of 38. Two winning seasons. Never an ERA under 4. Twice made 30 starts. And never pitched more than 189 innings.
Plus Dickey throws harder than Wakefield (and other kballers) while picking up the pitch late. Do not forget he was a traditional pitcher until 2005.
These are all reasons to pause, a fact validated by the other 29 GMs in baseball. Nobody was jumping at the opportunity to give the Mets a ton for a reigning CY winner.
Yes ad you forget that Dickey has been a pitcher all of his life and Wakefield was not he didn’t become a Pitcher until he failed to hit….
Something to be said about building up your pitching muscles all your life as opposed to playing a position and then taking up pitchng in the MLB…
Also Wakefield never won a Cy Young has he?
Throwing 80 MPH is not more taxing than 70 MPH….
It’s the 90Plus guys you all drool over that have arm issues and they are the ones who have given you your Age Phobia because once they drop below 90MPH they can’t get anyone out unlike a Knuckleballer!
I saw nothing in that interview that was disrespectful to Mets management. RA was polite, thoughtful, and respectful and expressed his loyalty to the Mets and their fans. Spring training starts in a few mo ths and as a married man and father he has the right to know where he will be playing so he can make decisions with his family. You know the Mets organization doesn’t deserve RA Dickey and his Cy Young. As a Met fan I would love to see him in a Met uniform but if he moves on we wish him another Cy Young, I have been a fan since ’62 and the Doubedays and Mrs. Payson were good owners and had the fans and teams best interest at heart. The Wilpons SUCK!
If I’m not mistaken, Johan said the exact same thing heading into the New Year when the Twins were trading him. He told them to get on with it already and make a deal b/c he wanted to get his family settled before ST started.
Bottom line though is, Dickey isn’t happy, Mets aren’t happy, Met fans are furious and who the hell knows what the Wilpons are thinking.
The natives are all getting restless.
Hi Lou,
Since we are both original new breeders you know I share your sentiments completely.
Having an R.A. Dickey is someone to be treasured. Who else ever heard of one volunteering on his own to accept less money in order to stay with a club he loves so much? Yet the front office is treating him like a piece of meat.
Even from a competitive standpoint, at his age R.A. should have more productive years ahead of him despite Sandy Alderson’s quip about him throwing a “hard” knuckler that could put more strain on his pitching arm. If Sandy doesn’t feel that R.A. fits into his vision, does that mean that Sandy doesn’t expect anything from the club to at least the 2016 season – when the two year extension R.A. is seeking expires – and thus the three good years that we believe R.A. could have left would be a waste since it won’t help contribute to when the team can become competitive again?
All those who say trade him for prospects – does that also mean you do not expect anything from this club till 2016 as well? I thought 2014 was considered by many as the year the Mets start making their move upward. If so, why would having a R.A. Dickey be a hinderence to that?
As much as R.A. acknowledges the business aspect of the situation and loves the team and wants to stay, I wonder how much of the front office virtually admitting they don’t want him around anymore has taken some of the heart out of pitching for us – just like they have taken a lot of the heart out of rooting for this franchise (which unfortunately results in it being taken out on the players when it shouldn’t) for us?
I want R.A. to remain a Met forever but I think it would now be best for him to pitch for an organization that appreciates him. He is certainly deserves better than this and comes from a much more better breed than that of the owners and their hatchet man.
Joey, talking about guys like Olt and Myers is about way sooner than 2016. They would have certainly qualified as potential difference makers by 2014 (2013 rookie year to get settled in, then 2014 and beyond to show what they really have).
As long as the Mets will only trade him for a guy along these lines, it does not mean giving up on years and years.
Hi If,
The analogy I was trying to make was that if the Mets feel they will be ready to make the leap in 2014, why wouldn’t R.A. fit into their plans? R.A. is a proven commodity and since one only makes trades in hopes of improving the team, what does that say about the desire to part ways with a Cy Young Award winner who has only gotten better with age? We know they have what appears to be a good starting rotation but within that framework is needed an ace with veteran poise that goes beyond just being dependable.
So considering trading R.A. close to the time the front office believes the team would start to jell, why trade him? It’s not a matter of other teams approaching Sandy – one who is so publicly un-committal about a player’s future with the team has to be sending out feelers as well.
As we know, R.A. isn’t asking for the moon and nothing more than a two-year extension but I’m sure I am not alone suspecting even that is more than Alderson is willing to spend. Why would he sign David but not R.A.? Probably for the same reason why he said as to why he wasn’t going to trade David after losing Jose – one doesn’t want to lose both players in the same year. Now that he has one, he can concentrate of saving money down the road on the other.
He did nothing wrong. Why did they invite him to a venue full of reporters? Mets are acting like lowlifes.
How sad that the Mets took one of the only feel good stories of the year and turned it into something so demeaning.
You know what happened the last time he ( or his wife) used the teams holiday party for self promotion. See ya!
Correction…… The last time a Mets pitcher…
Kris Benson…he sucked through and through.
From the looks of it so does his wife Anna.
$10 million a year for a Cy Young? It’s getting tougher and tougher to be a Mets fan.
Initially it was 8 per. Unbelieveable.
I think Sandy thinks he can still offer R.A. what RA might have taken had Alderson bothered extending him in spring training like RA wanted. Had he done the right thing then, he could have also easily traded him.
There are eyes on the Mets all across baseball, including those in current clubhouse and those who might ponder signing here in future.
Sandy still thinks it’s 1993 and he is offering RA the highest salary ever for a pitcher ?
The man, R.A., is such a delight, such a warrior, such a team leader–IMO–that I surely hope the Mets do everything to lock him up at least for two more years. We would have been in the toilet without him (Well, we sort of were, but you know what I’m saying).
If you haven’t read his book, you really, really should; it’s excellent.
When I think of what makes me happy to be a Mets fan, it’s knowing we have guys like R.A. on the team. Would hate, hate to lose him.
Burkhardt definitely didn’t need to go with this line of questioning at this particular venue. C’mon!
scrapheap sandy,cheaper than cheap,lower than low.if nobody wants to ante up just sign the man he is a cy young award winner 12million a year bargin price wake up after you sign him you can still trade him if you want at that price RA DICKEY is a no brainer.
Its been a total PR disaster for the mets today. They better get thier butts in gear or there will be nobody left to preach patience to the angry mob. I am thinking they are for sure going to trade dickey and thats why they are lowballing him to stretch this out. Is it fair to Dickey? probably not. If he gets traded for a package that helps the mets in the long term all will be forgiven. SAs comments about spending the money? I dont know, should he make an announcement that he is ready to spend 20 mil? probably not. My hope is that he is playing chess and thinking ahead. I dont care if he spreads disinformation, but it his turn now to make a move.
Dickey is frustrated because he holds none of the cards. All power in this situation is in the hands of the Mets. Dickey has no choice other than accepting a contract or not..other than that, his future for the next year is in their hands. They can trade him anywhere at any time or simply let him play next season for $5M. He can claim that he wont be back but, from what I can see, other GMs werent falling over themselves to get their hands on Dickey. If the market isnt that great for a knuckleballer coming off the Cy Young, what will it be like next off season especially if he gets hurt or has a bad year? He will be one year older and his stats will most likely be worse than they are this year.
According to Clubhouse Confidential on MLB Network, his 3.3 WAR is worth 16.5 mil on the open market.
They also said the his 2.95 era over the last 3 years is in top 5 in NL but he is being paid on average, less than any of of the others, including a 24-year old. The others in that group include Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Kershaw and one I can’t remember.
Dave Cameron of Fangraphs concurs with Clubhouse Confidential and think that as knuckleball of his age should be paid 15 mil.
Until the Mets raised their offer to 2/20, they offered 2/16.
Disgraceful.
Are you serious? And which of those guys you mentioned is 38 years old?
As for the metrics you used, who cares? They mean nothing. Here is what is important. The Mets werent even offered two top level prospects for Dickey let alone a major league player. Do you think the same would be true for Kershaw if the Dodgers were willing to trade him?
Taskmaster, I didn’t use it.
MLB Network’s Clubhouse Confidential program, which is a live Sabermetrics show, did.
So too did Mr. Cameron from fangraphs.com on that show. In case you don’t know, fangraphs.com, is well-known, sophisticated, sabermetrics website. He cited study he did last month on knuckleballers at age 38 and said Dickey’s worth is 15 mil per year.
If Kershaw had one year left before free agency and would hit the open market, that would make any potential trade partner think twice before giving up 12 years of control of 2 top prospects.
On the other hand, if they had cost certainty, with R.A. beyond 2013, it would be risk worth taking if it was in their budgets, despite his age. Let’s say he was signed for 2014 at 8 or 10 mil. He hasn’t missed a start in the last three years, has no history of arm trouble, takes good care of himself. There are plenty pitchers far younger who haven’t stayed off the DL.
ummm…teams do this all the time…
lol
the giants gave up 6 years of Zach Wheeler for 8 weeks of Carlos Beltran
Hi Long Time,
Though I have issues with the sabers and don’t believe any front office looks in terms of WAR, I’m glad that you pointed out that even that stat shows the Mets would be getting a bargain.
I think Sandy Alderson just accomplished something many of us thought totally impossible. Uniting the traditionalists and the sabers against a common enemy.
Mets should be ashamed of themselves how they’ve treated such a gracious person and fabulous pitcher. It’s not RA who’s unprofessional – it’s the Mets. They think they’re entitled to walk all over him like they have and that he’s going to continue to be gracious about that. Shame on them! I
It’s the Mets who have taken a feel-good situation and sullied it.
DICKEY is worth the money the guy plays his heart out ,20 WINS with a shitty ballclub ,he is worth more than david wright who i am forced to watch play for the next decade at a whopping 20 mil a year horrible contract.as for injuries can happen to anyone at any age.PAY THE MAN . HE WON 20 GAMES WITH A BUNCH OF SHIT BEHIND HIM COME ON.
So true, the negotiation is just a ploy to make teams think the RA window is closing. There’s no way Dickey starts 2013 in a mets uniform….
I don’t care what’s said by Matino, Rubin, Sandy, Hoho’s Mofo, or anyone else…they have no intention to sign him. He’s as good as gone.
They are simply waiting for the absolute best package offered and if that’s just one top prospect and another good one that’s years away, then that’ll be it, but once they know for sure they’ve received the best offer, that’s when Sandy will pull the trigger.
If he’s not signed to extension, there will be mega fallout and animus toward this team that won’t go away anytime soon.
They will not be able to clean up the bad feelings they’ve created. I feel this animus and disgust in away I never had, and am speaking as someone who has never turned my back on them. into my 5th decade with this team. They can do the right thing or the wrong one and there is price to pay in matters of integrity if they opt to take the latter.
Hi again, Longtime,
Amen to all that you just said.
I feel what you feel at least on an emotional basis, but I’m torn on a logical level. I think trading Dickey may be our only hope of getting someone who has the potential to make a real offensive difference. Hopefully, without embarassing himself defensively. On the other hand, giving up Dickey means a loss of 3-4 wins minimum. Since we’d be replacing him with a rookie, you can probably double that. It’s a roll of the dice, whatever we do. I haven’t mentioned free agents because you know that “extra money” they raised from deferring salaries to use this offseason for players is going right into the Three Stooges’ pockets. The best we’ll see is the third coming of Scott Hairston.
Hi Steve,
There are two other ways in which the Mets could have had better outfielders other than having to trade away their Cy Young Award winner or an other strong arm. One was not trading away and not trying to re-sign the two veterans they had in the first place.
The second was spending money on a free agent deemed a good investment.
Well Steve consider this…
Is it our only hope because the MLB limits what we can do?
Or is it because we are stubborn and refuse to use all possibilities at our disposal?
If you had an infection in your arm that could grow to kill you if not treated and deny yourself the shot that could cure it, that doesn’t make amputating the arm which is the only alternative (hope) left is a smart move or one you should consider doing.
I get it that people are worried about 4 years from now….
Dickey doesn’t stop you from competing 4 years from now and neither does Wright!
Hell they aren’t even stopping us from competing now!
What is stopping us is our refusal or unwillingness to keep the good players and replace the bad with better MUCH better.
And this treading water by placing bandaids on open wounds or trading one good limb in a veiled attempt to replace a bad one wlll not only make NOW a losing season in 4 years we will be in the same exact place!
The only thing anyone should be worried about is putting the best team on the field THIS year. That doesn’t mean you have to win a Playoff or go to the World Series but if you put the best team out this year you can build on it next year!
I can’t say any of the names mentioned in Dickey trades are going to make us better than if we kept Dickey.
And if you can get two good guys for Dickey you can get ONE of them for less!
And thats where this team is failing miserably!
Instead of everyone looking for the EASY, LAZY way of getting good players which is the path most inexperienced kids prefer to take, It’s time for some good old fashioned rolling up of the sleeves, Making deals for prospects we can’t find a place for to get prospects we CAN find a place for, Sign Mid Level players instead of scrap heap cast offs…
Start to build a team by keeping the best we have and replacing the WORST we have as opposed to this Whack a Mole Fantasy league simple minded thinking.
Would you trade a Porsche for Two Kias who MIGHT be able to go 200+MPH if you work on them a bit?
Keep the good and replace the bad!
And stop limiting ourselves in ways no other team limits itself because it only hurts us and doesn’t help us!
We are pretty much handcuffing our hands behind our back, no one else is forcing us to work this way!
And while some will say the Wilpons are the ones holding Sandy back truth is he got a windfall by deferring Bay and a Discount from Wright and yet he STILL refuses to spend it to get what he needs…
He said nothing wrong. straight from the heart. management just are a bunch of pricks no matter wre you.
When Dickey wins 20 games again and walks away for free agency,i am going to send in the Zulu’s after the Wilpons They don’t deserve to be owners this organization. They haven’t a clue what they are doing. Going after a 199 BA in catcher Olivo proves it to me.
Somewhere out in San Diego, Omar has to be laughing his arse off
I actually laughed out loud about this. Not the first time for my Mets today that I have said, so sad, but so true. That said…today has brought forth a great idea for me. I used to laugh off all the people talking about boycotting the Mets, but I think I got one better.
I think we should organnize a one-day boycott. Like spread it to blogs, families and friends. But one day during the 2013 season, we should totally Florida Marlins the Wilpons. I mean go to park and protest. If we all threaten to boycott all year, it won’t work. We’re Mets fans, and even the most angry of us will return. But if we picked one day, build a coalition, and boycott just this one day…it could be amazing.
I’d prefer we could do it on Jeff Wilpon’s birthday, but one, the internet can’t seem to find when he was born and two, he might be an alien.
This from the June 21, 1998 edition of The New York Times (page ST-4):
From the time he was 10, Jeff Wilpon had been eager — maybe too eager — to follow his father. At that age he carried a homemade business card identifying himself as Director of Construction. His father, Fred Wilpon, was an owner of Sterling Equities, a real estate conglomerate he founded with his brother-in-law Saul Katz.
In 1980, when Jeff was a high school senior in Roslyn, N.Y., his father and uncle bought the Mets. Jeff was so gung-ho to join the front office that he gave up every boy’s dream — a potential career as a professional athlete. He had been drafted by the Montreal Expos out of college and believes he could have started at catcher in the major leagues, he said, but quit after one spring training session to join the family business.
“I always knew I wanted to do what my dad did,” he said, sitting, like his father, with legs crossed in Fred Wilpon’s office in Sterling Plaza, on Fifth Avenue at 47th Street. From time to time, his father glanced dotingly at him.
Now, said Wilpon (and he said it repeatedly), if only the news media would cut the Mets a little slack.
”We need some people to believe that it’s not all negative, because we’ve got to sell some more tickets,” Wilpon said. ”We need the revenue to do the things we do.”
This says ALOT
JDD,
Great stuff. This guy had about as good a shot at being a major leaguer as I do of being president of the US. He was drafted as a favor to his dad. This is the type of guy who has rode his father’s coattails his whole life. This is the guy that will inherit the team. This is the guy behind the big ticket negotiations. Unfortunately, this is the guy running the team that we like to root for. But, nowhere does it say that we have to pay for his product. I don’t believe in making charitable contributions to billionnaires.
Yup…as a kid, he even had batting lessons from a certain St. John’s coach…who 30 years later would become a scout for a met…who advised them to get rid of Scott Kazmir…
Poor Jim Duquette…he never had a chance
Jeff Wilpon is NOT HAPPY with this article
http://risingapple.com/2012/12/11/jeff-wilpon-needs-a-new-role/
Hi Just,
Don’t know if Jeff Wilpon would be all too unhappy with that article. It was noted that he came into the job with no practical baseball experience. Wouldn’t that be taken as a compliment since the same has been said about Sandy Alderson and how that didn’t hinder him from building the Oakland dynasty?
Sandy had the humility of surrounding himself with people who knew more than him. He said when he took the job, he kept his mouth shut for the first few years.
Wilpon actually thinks he knows what he is doing.
thats the difference
Hey Sandy….
1-800-CHO-COLATE
Hi Metsie ,
Everyone knows there are only seven digits in a phone number after the area code – even Sandy.
Actually they are so poor, and their phone service is so cut rate, you have to dial two extra numbers to make a call!
Hi Metsie,
And I’m sure if the one Sandy is phoning has caller I.D., he or she probably won’t pick up the phone.
His Caller ID identifies eveyone the same it show up SAPS CALLING.
Mets ownership / management are low-lifes. RA is a class act. The classy way to deal with this would’ve been to extend RA 2 years beyond 2013 for 12 / yr + his $5mm for ’13…then IF as business goes, a team amenable to RA wanted him, we’d trade him.
This is total horse manure. It’s becoming very difficult to be a Mets fan, when you realize the Wilpons & the FO benefit when the team does well.
Theres a reason this team hasnt wo since 86. Starts with a W ends with an ilpon! The arrogance and stupidity of Fred and Jeff over the years is just amazing. As someone else mentioned they ruined the only feel good story this team has had in years. They don’t know how to build a team and market their team. They are absoulute numbskulls and i dont understand why this is no public outcry from the fans or media to force this family out. Why do they get to ruin half of ny baseball i dont get it? I cannot wait till selig leaves. Bring in Bob Costas, he’ll do right by the game he loves.
Wilponhata – love it.
Just shut up, R.A. You have a year to go on your deal. Stop grandstanding.
Yes Mr. Wilpon
I think RA is getting traded. If we were going to keep him and from what RA has said about being reasonable, he would have signed by now. Alderson should have pulled the trigger on trade already or does he really think the longer he waits the better trade he will make. I wonder who he is waiting for?
Sigh… At this point, who cares anymore… It’s getting sadder and sadder to be a met fans this day. ANd to think not too long ago, people were STILL defending sandy alderson and his crew…
http://metsblog.com/metsblog/quote-the-mets-have-no-chain-of-command/
“Tony Bernazard is very close to Jeff Wilpon, and that, in some ways, can be difficult for the GM, when there’s that sort of relationship between an underling and the GM’s boss… The Mets don’t necessarily believe in the chain of command. They believe, in one of their core values, in what they call a Collegial Organization. What that means is: people down the ladder can go to people up on the ladder, and people up on the ladder can go down the ladder to any level and have conversations, share thoughts, ideas… It sounds nice, but it’s not functional. Because, what ends up happening is, it tears apart the fabric of the organization and its structure…
When I was there, I actually said, ‘This can’t work.’ The people below me need to know that I’m their boss… I was perceived to be a control freak about it. It’s something I think is a nice concept, but it’s not functional or practical in a real business environment. And, that’s what ends up happening, there is too much free flowing information and access without the chain of command and it’s not a functional system… Every organization is complicated. I mean, for the longest time the Yankees had dysfunction with the way they were run… There is no perfect company or organization… Fred Wilpon understands the people and understands the structure and system that’s involved there, but I don’t know how much he is really involved anymore with what’s going.”
Reporter: This is for Magic Johnson…….it seems like when it comes to the Dodgers, money is no object….can you explain what is going on here
Magic: Let me answer this really quick….WE WANT TO WIN
I am so jealous of the dodger fanbase
Hi Just,
I’m jealous of the Dodger fan base too. Ever notice what their ticket prices are?
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/7145121/los-angeles-dodgers-slashing-season-ticket-prices-2012
To add to your points, any leverage the Mets may have gained when Greinke and Shields were off the board, is probably lost now as teams see the Mets may be faced with a must-trade situation with Dickey. Trading him is no longer optional they almost have to now. This was a first class boner and it was handled like a bull running in a china shop. Disappointing to say the least.
Teams must look at us like we’re retarded.
In ten years we will look back at this Alderson era and conclude it was worse than the Minaya era. All arrows are pointing to that. There is a big difference in doing everything you can to win as compared to doing the opposite of that. Things are considerably worse as the other writer above this post made crystal clear. There has been no max effort to move up in the ranks and instead we’ve gone south. You are what your record says you are. A great leader once uttered those words. History has proven him right.
In ten years we will look back at this Alderson era and conclude it was worse than the Minaya era”
In ten years??????? As of now it has been worst and it’s not even closed.. From his moves, trades, everything this guy has done is for his boss wilpons, and we get that, but he’s far from the genius he was portrait to be by a lot of media members, sabergooners and fans of moneyball… He was supposed to be the guy who with no money was gonna be able to identify low cost guys who could’ve helped and contribute to win games for this team, 3 years later the excuse has switched from the payroll being too high, to the mets have no money, to blame the wilpons to the wilpons are the ones running the show.. it’s getting really sad to see people still trying to look elsewhere but at this guy, because just as the wilpons, he’s as much responsible for decimating a good roster and fill it up with garbage players. (Good day my ass)
Never let it be said that Wilpon’s fingerprints are all over this too.
Should read, Never let it be said that Wilpon’s fingerprints are NOT all over this too.
You may have been a little to quick say Cerrone has come around:
Matthew Cerrone, MetsBlog.com:
I blame the Mets much more in the previous post, but it’s also very likely Dickey knew what he was doing. He’s a smart, calculated guy, and I’m sure he took advantage of yesterday’s media opportunity to essentially threaten the Mets in public with leaving next year as a free agent.
Apparently Dickey is a cold and calculating snake. SNY must have slapped him on the wrist after yesterday’s post.
Now Matt is turning into Mike Lupica…u cant even respond to this:
Please, read this, it may help with the waiting…
Sandy Alderson’s top priority this winter is to acquire a young hitter. The easiest way to do this is by trading R.A. Dickey or Jon Niese. The Rangers and other teams are genuinely interested, and have the young hitters to trade, but (for now) they’re exploring other options.
Meanwhile, in case a trade doesn’t happen, or in case Niese is the one that gets traded, the Mets are discussing a contract extension with Dickey because they don’t want him to leave after next season. Dickey wants a deal, but the Mets can’t ink him to one until the trade market has played itself out…
In short, it’s a waiting game. Dickey is waiting on the Mets, who are waiting on the trade market. Dickey thinks he should be paid X, the Mets think he’s worth Y. Teams will give one prospect to get Dickey, the Mets would like two. The Mets will trade Dickey in the right deal, but they’ll sign Dickey if they don’t.
It’s not about ‘dragging feet,’ or disrespect, or spending or not spending money. It’s about exploring ways to make the overall team better, and eventually someone will blink.
Matt Cerrone got spanked by the Mets PR staff..WOW
Isn’t he an employee of SNY and no longer owns Metsblog? So of course he has to tow the company line for his paycheck.
Wilpon Bad, Dickey Good. Wilpon Always Bad
I think there’s a lot of merit to Davidoff’s post today questioning Dickey’s awful timing for spouting off. Complaining about $25 million contracts at a Xmas party for kids who’s lives have been turned upside down by Hurricane Sandy is real, as he puts it, “chutzpah”. I happen to agree. I’m starting to wonder if Dickey’s ego has got the better of his judgement and if I’m the Mets front office I’m wondering the same thing.
Dickey was probably asked directly by reporters and he is a straight forward kind of guy.
Also, a lot of people are taking his statements, twisting them, and running with them to fit their narratives.
Why do Mets fans refuse to understand that the team is still relatively cash poor?
Yes, the economic situation is better then it was but it still is a year away from being able to be active in the free agent market. After the season ended the main issues in order were the resigning of David Wright and R. A. Dickey. Did the Mets cheap out on David’s deal? No but the main differences between his deal and any deal with R.A,.Dickey is age and past performance.
R.A. Dickey has been nothing short of a breath of fresh air for this team, it’s fans and baseball itself. His performance has been wonderful and there is no reason that he won’t perform well for another couple of years. Realistically, that does not mean that he will win 20 games again or lead the league in ERA….INNINGS….or STRIKEOUTS.
Is Dickey asking too much or are the Mets looking to low ball him? Let’s face facts people!
We as fans are still complaining about paying off Bonilla and others that cripple the finances so I suggest that we remember that overpaying now cause problems later on. There is no doubt that I want Dickey resigned but I do understand the idea that there is still risk involved because of his age etc.
For all of you screaming about why don’t they pay him the bucks he is asking for, consider this! Dickey signs for another 2 years past 2013 for upwards of 30 million and all of a sudden loses the magic with his knuckleball. What would you say then? Admit it folks.
I suggest that we wait and see what happens in the next few weeks. The team has to know that allowing him to go unsigned before the season starts reduces their chances of ever resigning him as a free agent. Teams are not going to trade off a can’t miss prospect unless they are desperate and at this point no one has shown that inclination.
‘Why do Mets fans refuse to understand that the team is still relatively cash poor?’
Not all Met fans. I agree 100%.
Hi Alan,
“For all of you screaming about why don’t they pay him the bucks he is asking for, consider this! Dickey signs for another 2 years past 2013 for upwards of 30 million and all of a sudden loses the magic with his knuckleball. What would you say then? Admit it folks.”
But by that logic, what if Wheeler can’t get better command of his pitches and becomes a bust as well? Or that Harvey was a flash in the pan? Or that Nimmo is not the player of the future. What would one say then, as well?
All I mean is that one can’t look at players in terms of what if when it comes to the hypothetical for that is the risk every team has to take every year with every player, whether it be in terms of basing the future on or in economics. That is different than asking the same question about an injured player, one giving indications of being on the decline, etc.
But yet considering the Mets current financial situation, none of those guys are being paid any significant money.
Hi TRS,
But those are two different issues. Talking about player performance.
I think that SA thinks he is Scott Boras who is notorious for having his clients wait, sometimes into Jan or right before ST to get the most value for his player.
The problem is that SA is not as smart as Boras is when it comes to players plus Boras does not have to deal with fans!
As I have thought all along SA is here to make Mets franchise, Wilpons also, more stable financially so that MLB does not have to be making emergency loans because of their stupidity in the real estate mkt plus allowing friendship to rule over business savy with Madoff.
The read I get is that SA doesn’t care what RA wants and he is set on a plan, either the one he fed David or an internal one with ownership to make them as stable as possible before ever handing out another contract.
RA has become what Doc was for awhile, a reason to come to the park and watch a master at his craft, a knuckle baller who could control an un-controllable pitch while making for an interesting game for fans and team.
I know there is still time left before ST but SA’s track record does not bode well for fans and this team AND as stated before Terry Collins will be left holding the bag at season end.
Lets Go RA!
Why is the situation getting ugly? The Mets know what they have to pay, Dickey has NO leverage, why not try and get the most you can get , if it doesn’t happen then you sign him. If the Mets were to trade him and not get enough all you whiners would be sure to let them know. Of course you would wait until after the fact so you could see how it turned out first
Sandy could have signed Jose Reyes to a long term deal in spring training ’11 for a lot less than the Marlins gave him but Alderson decided to wait.
Jose went out and took the batting crown raising his value considerably.
Sandy is a bit of a dope and he’s playing the Dickey situation all wrong.
The fans are already ticked off at Mets management for gutting the ball club and replacing performers with cheap average players. The two good things about the season were Dickey and Wright. They signed Wright – now appease the fans and sign Dickey. But no – Sandy’s got to screw that up.
Dickey is a real solid performer and a good teammate. He understands the ‘big picture’ probably better than anyone on the team. He’s good for the Mets.
Tell you what Sandy – according to reports you and Dickey are about 6 million apart. Split the difference – give him eight million instead of five for ’13 and keep it at ten and ten for the following two years. Done and done.