How Badly Do The Mets Want Michael Bourn?

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• 86mets February 9, 2013 at 10:59 am

  Just another case of the inconsistencies of this front office…”we’re committed to building a strong farm system”…..then don’t sign 1/2 the players you draft while leaving over $1 million in pool money unspent….”we want to avoid contracts that will be burdensome to the club in future years”…then talk about giving a heavily back loaded deal to a .270 hitting, 150+K, powerless OF’er. Sometimes I don’t think this front office knows what direction they’re going in. It seems they change their mind as often as a obsessive compulsive clean freak washes their hands. Then there is the infamous “We’re not punting on. (insert year here)” quotes we hear every offseason. Yet, we always seem to be at 4th and 20 whenever Alderson says that. (Btw, I “HATE” hsi football to baseball analogies) For once, can these people PLEASE make up their mind which way they’re taking this team! Trade your team ace (although I loved what they got in return) then talk about how a high priced free agent may help you sooner rather than later. I’m tired of the daily changes in direction this GM seems to make. Make up your mind, Alderson, PLEASE!
  • Just-Da-Damaja February 9, 2013 at 11:29 am

    this is what happens when u have to many chefs in the kitchen…its a problem that has plagued our org for over 12 years.

    I think if it were up to Sandy, we probably do a COMPLETE reboot, and we would’ve saw more trades.

    I think if it were up to Sandy, Hairston and Byrdack would’ve been gone..

    I think if it were up to Sandy, David Wright would not have been signed to that contract…and eventually he would’ve been gone too…

    the most logical thing to do is either surround David Wright with top talent ( aka sign 2 above average free-agent OF ) or just punt…

    but signing him to a 138 mil deal…and having 2 large gaping holes in the OF with a defensively below avg 2B and still a crappy bullpen…with the same failures in the training staff…with Dan Warthen at pitching coach…is below half-ass…its bare minimum…

    thats what signing David Wright to that contract is ….the absolute bare minimum….and if u are going to go THAT low…for that big of a price…you MIGHT AS WELL just PUNT !

    so yes, David Wright lovers, I actually am in support of keeping Wright under a very narrow set of circumstances, mainly being surrounding him in 2013-2015 with other premier hitters…

    the mets had a chance at doing that and refused to budge…they even refused to budge with Hairston at 3 mil and no draft pick given up…

    Anyone who says the mets would not have been much better off with Bourn and BJ Upton in the OF is lying to themselves.

    Can Matt Den Dekker be the truth? sure….

    Is it possible that Bourn and/or BJ fail miserably here ? sure

    What we are talking about are odds and chances and the risks associated with each…

    If Met attendance goes down again…and the mets make less money…there is a smaller chance of them competing in the free-agent market in 2014 ( with a smaller pool of free-agents )…

    copy and paste that for 2015…and 2016…and 20.

    u get the point…

    no free-agent hits the market at age 21…they all hit at age 27 and up…and the younger they are…the more years they look for….most premier free-agents sign contracts that go into their age 35-38 years…

    so going by that….

    we will never sign a leadoff hitter….since every speedster’s game is based on his legs ( i never knew a SB threat who stole with his hands )

    we will never sign a guy who strikes out alot….unless he is David Wright, then we’ll just ignore that and point to his stats in 2008…

    we will never sign a premier SP for more than 3 years….so basically we will get out-bid for a premier SP services on Day ONE

    and now that we can take off King Felix from our wishlist…and probably Kershaw…and Verlander….

    please…name the top talent that we will outbid other teams for next year

    Ellsbury? Injury prone, game based on legs, boras agent

    Granderson? Old, plays in hitters park, numbers artificially inflated

    Cano? Lazy, immature, Boras client, too expensive, plays in hitters park, stats artificially inflated, middle-infielders dont age gracefully, develop wrinkles too quickly, etc

    Gomez? High K rate, game based on legs, low OBP, immature

    Beltran? too old, injury prone, too expensive, doesnt care about US veterans, is scared of CB’s
    • Hitman February 9, 2013 at 4:08 pm

      “Beltran? doesnt care about US veterans”

      Seriously? This bullcrap again?
• Joe S February 9, 2013 at 10:59 am

  The Mets signing Michael Bourn will not happen. Scott Boras said they are not shopping for steaks anymore. He is right, they are shopping in the 99 cent store.
  • Sandy Alderson February 9, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    Is that what Mr. Boras says? Tell Mr. Boras I’m offering a 3 year $30 million contract for Mr. Bourn with an option for a 4th year at an additional $10 million.

    Don’t like it? Well, it’s February 9th as I type. The remaining teams in the bidding are all low ball offer teams (the high bidders got their guy’s 3 months ago, Phillies, Nats, Giants, Redsox, Braves).

    Mr. Boras you have two options, accept my deal or wait another month and realize that your client is about to miss the 2013 season.
• Heybatter February 9, 2013 at 11:11 am

  I believe they want their cake and be able to eat it too. I think they their interest in Bourne is genuine, otherwise why keep up the charade. Most people won’t base their decision to buy tickets based on what may happen. I believe Sandy and Co. Are finally waking up to their outfield dilemma, and I think terms and $$$ is what is stalling this train. I could be wrong, and will be first to admit it if I am. Lets hope that if they sign him, you will be too!
• Boomer February 9, 2013 at 11:30 am

  If we’ve learned nothing else about Alderson we’ve seen that he is an extremely hard bargainer. For weeks all we heard was that he was overplaying his hand with Dickey but he walked away with a great package.

  He is not going to overpay for Bourn and Boras’ MO is always to get GMs to overpay for his clients. Alderson may not land Bourn but I do believe his interest is real but only on terms he considers fair. Some other GM may be willing to overpay and swipe Bourn off the table but it hasn’t happened yet.

  We’ll see who blinks first.
  • srt February 9, 2013 at 11:32 am

    It’s a game of chicken now between Boras and SA, I believe. Who is gonna swerve first….
  • Chicago Days February 9, 2013 at 11:54 am

    Yes, agree Boomer. Alderson is the inveterate bargain hunter / negotiator. He hates overpaying for anything. An, guess what, it may be maddening sometimes, and sometimes you miss a ‘hot’ market, but what do the NY Mets have to show for over-paying and mis-evaluating F/A’s over the past decade? Not much.
  • Bayonne Mets Fan February 9, 2013 at 4:35 pm

    He’s a hard bargainer? LOL. How do YOU know? You just can’t wait to lay praise on him that’s all. Joe D had earlier pointed out, citing a tweet by Jon Heyman that there seem to be a disconnect between the Mets front office and the rest of the teams during last years Winter Meetings.

    So how do you know that Sandy Alderson’s disposition and beliefs haven’t COST the Mets better moves? There’s more evidence of that than he’s a hard bargainer.
    • chicago Days February 9, 2013 at 5:12 pm

      “…a disconnect between the Mets front offices and the rest of the teams at last year’s winter meetings….” Yessir, and thank God there was! Victorino, Pagan’s deals…Josh Hamilton’s Babe Ruthian deal…Zack Greinke’s Cy Young deal…Guthrie’s deal on 1 good year…give me a break. The ‘market’ was over-priced in most cases this offseason. No doubt about that. i bet > 50% of the guys who signed for FAT $$$$$$$$$ contracts will be busts or plain under-perform. With teams signing young guys up in their Arb or Pre-Arb years for 5 – 6 years, the F/A Market will continue to be populated with over-paid and past-their-peaks players.
      We’ll agree to disagree.
  • L.J. Phipps February 10, 2013 at 3:43 am

    Great package, I’d wait and see first before I say a catcher with a bad wheel, a double A pitcher, and a throw in outfielder as a “great package.”
  • alan February 10, 2013 at 9:38 am

    You are 100% correct about this. Sandy Alderson will stick by his guns and not give up his
    # 1 pick in the draft and overpay for Michael Bourne.

    Bourne is certainly a good outfielder and a pretty good leadoff hitter but at the current asking price….is not going to make the Mets significantly better than the upside of what Capt Kirk is capable of.

    It is obvious that Sandy knows we are not quite ready to compete for a playoff run this year but that does not mean that he is “punting” for the 2013 season.
• vigouge February 9, 2013 at 12:19 pm

  I think the Mets want Bourn,but only a specific price. It’s quite refreshing, if it were Omar he would have signed him to a 4/60 contract with a 20 mil vesting option.
  • Metro12 February 9, 2013 at 1:06 pm

    ^^^^ Very very likely!
  • Bayonne Mets Fan February 9, 2013 at 1:10 pm

    and that concerns you because? Are you in line for loaning the money that you make it your business so much?

    If Omar Minaya were still here this team would be in MUCH BETTER shape than it is now and he would not have tanked the last 2 years. I would have liked to see him work with a low budget and a manager he would have chosen.

    No doubt, looking back in hindsight, this team would be better off.
    • vigouge February 9, 2013 at 3:39 pm

      Bad contracts don’t concern you? They concern me because every dollar spent on a bad contract means that there is less to be spend on good ones which tends to get in the way of acquiring good players, or it could be that I’m secretly getting profit sharing checks from the Mets, that sounds really realistic.

      The fact that anyone thinks the front office has tanked the last two years is absolute lunacy. No one alive could have taken control of a team without any impact players in the upper minors, cut 50 million in payroll, and produce a winner.

      You talk about the last two years but conveniently ignore the previous two where teams with much higher salaries won 2 less games than the ones you think are being purposefully tanked. 60+ million in extra spending for 2 less wins. The mediocrity of the past 4 years is directly attributable to poor drafting, player development, and being saddled with budget crippling free agent overpays.

      You would have like to see what Minaya would with a low budget? Go look at his Expo tenure. The amount of future wins he gave away to get Colon is astounding. You’re pinning away for non existent glory days. Minaya was a mediocre GM who had some skills but his flaws were exposed when he couldn’t patch his mistakes with big money free agent signings.
      Now I have no idea whether Alderson’s tenure will be considered a success. I like his process, I like the way he negotiates, I like the way he isn’t willing to overpay when more efficient options are available, and I like that he values the farm system and views it as a long term feeder to the major league club but I need more data to determine if it’s the right way to do things rather than just the one I ‘like’. I do know that 8 years after Minaya took over as GM is long enough to pass judgement on him. I do know that a good GM needs to be proactive in the offseason and not only tackle one problem each time, I do know that a good GM needs to build depth for the inevitable injuries and that having guys like Jose Lima and Brian Lawrence start games is a failure to build that depth. And I most certainly know that even large market teams have salary limits and that spending wisely is always the right thing to do and that you shouldn’t just target a guy and then do whatever it takes to sign them because it will ultimately end up being a waste of money a make it harder to win in the future.
      • Bayonne Mets Fan February 9, 2013 at 4:45 pm

        and how do you know that any future FA signings won’t tank under this administration as well? Omar also spent big money wisely too you know. So all of a sudden all prospects will develop properly and all free agent signings will work? Baloney. This is what drives so many people to despise this front office and hate the new fans that go out of their way to put them on a pedestal without them ever doing anything

        Carlos Beltran wasn’t a waste of money, the Johan trade was a fantastic coupe and just because he got injured doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good move.

        he signed David Wright & Jose Reyes to very team friendly contracts with some saying Reyes could have gotten even more.

        You forget about those things because of one reason. They lost BIG games from 2006-2008 and NO GM can do anything about that at the time. To look back at those significant moments that cost the Mets big ballgames now and blame the FO is pure Second Guessing and an excuse. It was the BALLPLAYERS fault, not the GMs.

        And no doubt Alderson purposely did not get better ballplayers to help this club the last 2 off seasons and got the cheapest filler instead. Because in my opinion he felt the team he inherited would NEVER compete so in essence yes he tanked both offseasons in order to get higher draft picks instead of using whatever resources he was given more wisely and more competitively in order to field a team that can compete as best he can.

        he did not do that, the team both offseasons fell off at the all star break and neither you, me, or anybody else don’t know what would have happened if the man actually tried to win. Instead many good ballplayers were signed at good prices by other teams who wanted to win. Other teams were even to move bad contracts for other players. Not Alderson, all he did was cut players and people here act as if it were Moses parting the Red Sea.
        • vigouge February 9, 2013 at 5:54 pm

          I don’t know that future free agent signings won’t tank, I do know past ones have. I didn’t say anything about Beltran because, despite the injuries, it was a good deal and has the potential to be even better depending on what Wheeler does down the road. Not all big money free agent signings are bad, just rare.

          Santana was an overpay, it was an overpay for a reason and he pitched great when he was healthy, but when all is said and done he was a factor in exactly one playoff run (08) and about 40% of his contract will have been lost to the dl. No team other than the Yankees can lose 50 million to the dl and weather it. It was a risky move and didn’t payoff. It’s also indicative of the problem with acquiring players when they start to get expensive. The reason Santana was a necessity was that the team developed one front of the rotation starter in the previous decade, Scott Kazmir, then traded him for garbage, further proving a robust farm system in an absolute necessity.

          You say no GM could do anything about the big games lost from 06-08? Bull. The reason things were so close were that there were serious deficiencies that needed to be addressed by the GM that never were. Go look at who started games those years and tell me that adding pitching depth wouldn’t have made a difference. Championship caliber teams don’t depend on repeatedly injured players.

          You can say it as many times as you want but Alderson did not purposefully tank the off-seasons. You say he didn’t go out and get the best players available but the concepts of budgets and limited resources available don’t even occur to you. Your bitterness towards Alderson also ignores that all teams at different points take the same path. No team goes all in every off-season. Blindly throwing money away to patch structural deficiencies is a non starter. If Alderson were trying to ‘tank’ why the hell would he put money into the bullpen or starting rotation this year and last? Why even bother to release Bay, just play and the team is sure to lose more games thus getting a better pick.

          There’s also a reason the teams fell off partly through the season, it’s call regression to the mean. The teams was projected to be a mid 70 win team and surprise surprise, ended up there. Who would have made a difference last year that could have been traded for, what possible players could have contributed 15 extra wins in half a season and who exactly did you want to give up to get them? You and others may be perfectly okay with the Mets liquidating the future for a feel good winter or to postpone a late July swoon to mid august, but I’m not and I’m damn glad we have a GM who isn’t either.
          • Just-Da-Damaja February 9, 2013 at 6:03 pm

            he reason things were so close were that there were serious deficiencies that needed to be addressed by the GM that never were. Go look at who started games those years and tell me that adding pitching depth wouldn’t have made a difference. Championship caliber teams don’t depend on repeatedly injured players.

            those 05-09 teams were mansions built on stilts…the slightest bit of wind would send it crumbling down…

            that is the problem with not going ALL-OUT and half-assing it…

            http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/scorecard/01/12/truth.rumors/index.html

            After Beltran was signed…Mets CEO Jeff Wilpon warned that for another significant signing to occur, “there probably has to be the removal of money before adding money.”

            this is called a HALF-ASS JOB

            the met payroll in 2005 was 95 mil

            dont sit there and tell me u have to trade Cliff Floyd or Mike Cameron before u can add Carlos Delgado…this was the reason why the Mets never upped their offer and Wilpon gave Delgado’s agent a take it or leave it offer ( but i thought the GM had full autonomy ? ) and proceeded to leave PR, taking Omar with him to the Winter Caravan…

            its all in black and white…

            this left Omar with a few weeks to sign a 1B, he then picked up Doug M off the scrap heap.

            A year later, they move Cameron’s salary for a cheap Xavier Nady, then trade for Delgado…

            then instead of offering Piazza arb…ensuring a comp pick, they are afraid that he would accept…
            again…HALF-ASSING IT…

            the mets are the type of guy that shows up to the club in a lexus but doesnt have enough money for insurance, gas, or parking.

            It looks nice and impressive from the outside…but if anything happens, the flaws are quickly exposed
            • vigouge February 9, 2013 at 6:12 pm

              Delgado was an intersting case. His agent was an ass and by all reports Bernazard did not come off well during one of their meetings. I always wonder is the crap the NY tabloids gave him for not standing at attention for God Bless America while he was a Blue Jay didn’t help queer him to the idea of signing in NY. The fact that the Marlins came over the top with an offer also didn’t hurt. Not that it would have mattered in 05, that team made a nice run but was a little ways away and I don’t think Delgado would have been a difference maker.

              But good point about going all in. Sure the Phillies are going to be crap over the next half decade but they gave themselves a few good shots during their ‘window’. That Howard extension was still abysmal though.
              • Just-Da-Damaja February 10, 2013 at 7:10 am

                >agreed on the howard signing…that was just mind-numbingly unnecessary…but then >again…DW is our Howard minus the rings and MVP award.

                >Delgado was an intersting case. His agent was an ass

                His agent was a bit too much emotional for my taste…

                he went to the press once in january and aired out the wilpons for giving him the deadline…which was absolutely idiotic…

                then in spring training, he told a toronto reporter about Bernazard…and of course any story that has the word race in it is going to dwarf a boring story about a owner being cheap or giving a deadline…even if that was the real reason why things didnt go down

                had the mets signed delgado, we never hear a peep from his agent…
                and after delgado came to the mets…he and bernazard got along famously….when bernazard was canned, delgado expressed his sympathies.

                K-Rod was actually the one who didnt like Bernazard.

                K-Rod and Bernazard got into a shouting match because Bernazard was berating one of the guys in the pen on the bus. K-Rod for all the negative press, STOOD UP for his teammate…and was willing to give TB the son-in-law treatment…

                > and by all reports Bernazard did not come off well during one of their meetings.

                Bernazard was an ass…but I hear Bud Selig loved him…somehow Bernazard was credited by with saving baseball from another strike/lockout in 2002.

                This is why he got the job in NY…he had no previous working experience with Omar. The guy Omar brought to be his right hand man was Sandy Johnson from Texas. When Omar was hired and they asked about his staff…Omar had a ton to say about Sandy, he had almost nothing to say about Tony.

                Tony was also the one who brought in his ex-teammate Jerry Manuel…first as OF instructor…then suspiciously, Jerry replaced Sandy Alomar as bench coach in 2006, bypassing Manny Acta ( 3rd base coach ) which is basically made Jerry next in line to be manager.

                Tony was a snake and Jerry was a snake.

                The only reason people have Omar and Tony joined at the hip and buddy buddy is because they are both Hispanic.

                If these were 2 white guys, it would be plain as day to see how Tony was never Omar’s friend.

                You dont get ur first gig from ur friend and then immediately try to get his manager fired.

                > I always wonder is the crap the NY tabloids gave him for not standing at attention for God >Bless America while he was a Blue Jay didn’t help queer him to the idea of signing in NY.

                Yeah, Florida said they did not mind his protesting. But he also said he would stop protesting if he came to NY. I was VERY disappointed with Delgado after that. Expressing the right to dissent is a critical part of being an American. You cant say we have freedoms and blah blah blah then get all upset when someone actually uses them in a way you dont like.
    • DrDooby February 10, 2013 at 3:14 am

      Omar would have been facing the same financial issues as Alderson.
      He may have made different moves with the extremely limited funds available – but he wouldn´t have been able to spend anywhere near the way he did in the past either. There would have been no money to re-sign Beltran or Reyes. He would have been forced to dump K-Rod as well to avoid the vesting option. He might have kept Pagan for 2012.

      Actually, after Bay was signed, Omar in early 2010 wanted to add either RH Joel Pineiro or RH Jason Marquis to aid the somewhat thin rotation (having no idea that an in-house gem in RA Dickey was already on the roster to take over for John Maine and / or Oliver Perez). Unfortunately, there was no money left for that. So, while we´d probably have seen more of Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia than with Alderson, I´m not sure what Omar would have done with his hands tied behind his back. Except for possibly not trading Beltran and Dickey.
  • Just-Da-Damaja February 10, 2013 at 7:14 am

    If Omar were GM AND the Wilpons loosened up the purse-strings…

    Our OF would probably go from one of the worst in baseball to one of the best…

    but this would upset all the fans that want to pay more money to see Marlon Byrd play CF this year
    • Omar Sighting February 10, 2013 at 8:18 am

      If, if, if . . .

      If pigs could fly . . . . But Omar ain’t here no more!!! LOL
• Metro12 February 9, 2013 at 12:42 pm

  I don’t think the Mets want him that badly. He has a lot of weaknesses, and he’s not even Sandy’s ideal type of player. However, he’d still add value to the club and would be an improvement over what the Mets got out of their OFers last year. So if they can get him without too high a price, then they’d gladly take him.

  I love how Sandy is patient and won’t budge. I especially love it that he’s doing it with Boras. If Sandy loses out on Bourn, so be it, but at least he won’t end up making a big overpay for him.

  Hold your ground, Sandy.
  • padilla February 9, 2013 at 3:47 pm

    How super sweet. metro shows his “love” for Sandy twice in one post. Do you get a bonus for that?
• Joe February 9, 2013 at 1:07 pm

  I am not a proponent of adding Bourne at all,
  A. I dont believe hes worth the money I believe he will ultimately get
  B. I hate POS Boras
  BUT I seriously believe that the commissioners office IS going to concede and protect our #11, thereby forcing SA’s hand.
  Which will obviously either force him to sign Bourne or make hiim a ridiculously lowball offer Boras & Bourne reject, depending on what his actual intention was all along.
  I say that at this point we go with what we have, throw Turner out there in ST and let them all fight it out for the 3 OF positions.
  Out of:
  Baxter
  Duda
  Neuwenheis
  Cowhill
  Brown
  Byrd
  Patterson
  Turner
  we should come up with something mediocre enough to run with, then go after a solid FA outfielder next offseason.
• Joe February 9, 2013 at 1:10 pm

  OR, if we are out of contention in July, make a trade at the deadline for an outfielder with whomever is doing well at the time. IE:Marcum, Santana, etc…
• ray sadecki February 9, 2013 at 1:37 pm

  SA aka the negotiator – sorry William Shatner.
• TruthsABOUTmurph February 9, 2013 at 1:52 pm

  They do pay over slot for multiple draft picks…

  Evans got 650k in the 15th round.
  Nido, Flexen, Marquez, Montgomary, and a few other High School arms all got over slot money.

  Their strategy seems to be to go under slot with their first pick and even on the first couple after, in order to pick up some other guys in the later rounds that would need to be paid over slot to sway them from college. They’ve done this in the past two drafts.

  I don’t really agree with this strategy because you’re not picking the best player available with your first pick. I won’t lie, I still like the Nimmo pick, but he sure wasn’t the best available and neither was Checchini. I truly hope, this year, they pick the best player available and then start playing accounting games with the rest of the draft.
  • Just-Da-Damaja February 9, 2013 at 6:05 pm

    exactly, top talent that drops due to signability issues alone…are not dropping to the 15th round…

    3rd-6th maybe…but not 15 rounds…

    Evans dropped b/c he was not a top talent AND he had the scholarship…
• Frankie Says February 9, 2013 at 3:33 pm

  Not that badly or he would be signed already. What scares me is when we have a .500 team with the kiddie corp his same reluctance and aversion to overpaying the missing pieces will just lead to a 3-4 year run of mediocrity and then a new re-build.
  • vigouge February 9, 2013 at 3:43 pm

    If Bourn were the last missing piece I might agree with you, he’s not. There’s no reason to overpay now, especially when the option to pay market value, or below it, is still there.
  • Just-Da-Damaja February 9, 2013 at 6:07 pm

    “What scares me is when we have a .500 team with the kiddie corp his same reluctance and aversion to overpaying the missing pieces will just lead to a 3-4 year run of mediocrity and then a new re-build.”

    But thats the same thing his bosses have subscribed to for years…

    they never go all out for those missing pieces
• peter February 9, 2013 at 4:49 pm

  He is not signed because Boras will not back down from the asking price. If Alderson could get Bourn on a 3 year deal at 13.5 mill a year without giving up a draft pick, well then he would be the Mets center fielder right now. Obviously Alderson will either get the deal he wants of go with what he has. He has the option to do that, so he either gets Bourn on his terms or he does not get Bourn. Either way as a Met fan I am fine with it.I am not fine with overpaying, but more than that giving him to many years.

  Three years bridges the gap to Nimmo and lets Den Dekker remain in triple A this year while most likely being a defensive upgrade off the bench next year or the year after. I could also see Den Dekker playing some right field this year if he hits in triple A, which further solidifies the defense aside from Murphy and Duda.

  I think signing Bourn could make the Mets as a whole one of the better defensive teams in baseball, there would esentially be 2 weak points out there in Duda (who could be better in Left Field) he did show an arm out there in left last year, and Murphy who will hopefully be average at second.They can supplement Duda and Murphy as well with leads in the late innings for better defensive players. So yeah it that sense it could make the Mets extremely better defensively, and with that young pitching and Marcum being a fly ball pitcher, the signing could turn out to be better than we think.
• Bob Zoll February 10, 2013 at 12:51 pm

  I do not know how badly tha Mets want Bourne, but I check a couple of times a day to see if there is any news. I want him badly. Without am improvement in the outfield it is going to be a completely rotten summer.