Speaking as someone who was content with the idea that it took more than a season to screw this franchise up and that it will take more than a season to fix the mistakes of those that came before him, I tolerated the notion that 2014 might be the year the Mets find themselves back on the map.  So, I waited.  Waited for what, I’m not exactly sure, but I’m pretty sure I expected the framework for such a rebuild in place a mere season away from the self-imposed rebuilding deadline.  For sure, the team would need at least a season to mesh, right?  And still, I wait.

I think I’ve gotten to the point that I’m actually bored with what going on here.  Quite frankly, I don’t care what the team’s financial situation.  Furthermore, the methodical approach of Sandy Alderson seems to do nothing but make the agony of knowing there is little immediate hope on the horizon even worse.  You see there is nothing wrong with signing low risk, high reward players like Tim Byrdak to minor league contracts.  In fact, its good baseball sense.  However, these are not the signings necessary to put the chips in place for a rebuild.

To be perfectly honest, resigning David Wright and RA Dickey only maintains the organization’s current position of limbo.  These are the players that the front office should build around, but even their future is in doubt.  If we’re lucky enough to ink them to long-term deals, I fear that the players filled in around them will simply maintain the status quo.  Two months ago it was unfathomable that fifth outfielder, Andres Torres, might occupy a roster spot next season.  Now it appears borderline likely.  Simply put, scratching the bottom of the bargain bin has become tiresome.

As another spring training draws near, the blueprint for success is no clearer today than it was two years ago.  Addition by subtraction has replaced the big market mindset brought to you by Omar Minaya and Bernie Madoff.  Whether you blame poor investing, poor free agent signings, or even poor player development, the Mets schtick just seems stale at this point.  Resigning Wright and Dickey may pacify some fans, but it will be the players brought in around them that will inspire the imaginations of the masses.  They don’t have to be nine-figure players, but the Ronnie Cedenos of the world just aren’t going to get it done.

I’m bored Sandy Alderson.  Give me a reason to get excited, a reason to look forward to the future, hell.. give me a reason to come to the ballpark.  Show fans that this organization is still interested in winning.  Enough with the stopgaps.  Lets build something worth the our time..and our money.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83

Basically he said that the Mets wouldn’t be spending money on free agents anytime soon and that the Madoff situation was partly the reason. Little did I expect that less than two years later the team would go into full out slash and burn mode cutting nearly $50 million in payroll, eliminating 10% of their workforce and eventually eliminating one of its minor league affiliates.

I wrestled with the idea of writing about what I was told. You have to understand my conversation was well before Bernie Madoff and his relationship with the Wilpons became news. I certainly didn’t have an ax to grind with anyone and in fact, truth be told, after having done research for an article about the Welcome Back Veterans program, I learned just how instrumental Fred Wilpon was in the creation of that honorable effort.  It gave me a new found respect for the man. But I had/have faith in my source and Joe D echoed that faith in both my source and myself and thus started the ball rolling regarding Madoff and the Mets, at least partly here on MMO.

I took some heat for it from fans and writers alike. I understood that. I’m not a credentialed journalist, who incidentally are far more protected legally for what they write than a blogger is but, to me, it was newsworthy insofar that it was going to effect the team, most likely for years to come.  Now with yesterday’s news that the Trustee, Irving Picard and the Wilpons, settled the claw back lawsuit, with the Wilpons agreeing to pay $162 million – spread out over the next 3 years – finally we can see some light at the end of this tunnel. As this saga unfolded over time, so much information and misinformation made it’s way into our thought processes it was difficult to discern what was true and what was opinion draped in the guise of fact. To some degree we will probably never know the entire truth about this situation.

Some of the best reporting on this has been by Richard Sandomir of the New York Times. When I reiterate Joe D’s praise of Sandomirs’ objective reporting it’s difficult for me not to mention Howard Megdal who in his book, Wilpon’s Folly, did lay out a great deal of information regarding the situation. Whether he formed biased conclusions or not based on what he discovered, I’d leave for his readers to discern.

In the end, as most civil litigations play out, this lawsuit never made it to trial even though the process of seating jurors was underway. So it does beg the question of who won this high profile showdown? It’s hard to say that either side is walking away unscathed. Picard was originally seeking a billion dollars from this only to have it pared down to $383 million and then finally to settle on $162 million. The Wilpons insisted that they were never “willfully blind” to Madoff’s treachery, as they were never accused of anything illegal in Federal criminal court; if they were we would have seen them in orange jumpsuits along with Madoff a long time ago.

However they recently had a setback in court when Judge Rakoff ruled that it was the Wilpons who had the burden to prove that they weren’t “willfully blind” to Madoff’s actions. Apparently in the end it came down to neither side not wanting to roll the dice on having a jury decide this.  The media tends to self-generate its own momentum on certain stories and this was no exception. I for one still have mixed feelings about the entire case. The Wilpons for years funded this team with as much fervor as a politician does with their favorite Government program. And just like some government programs, the results haven’t been much to brag about.  But, the Wilpons do spend when they have it as history has shown. Unlike many owners who simply choose not to which is their right. It’s the “how” and the “who” the Wilpons spend it on that needs to be recalculated – as it seems to have begun under Alderson’s tenure as General Manager.

None of us can predict the future as the team still has a mountain of debt to pay off along with the lawsuit but having this saga finally come to an end should please even the most jaded of Mets fans. Perhaps some day down the road we will look back on these times as the culminating moment when the Wilpons and the Mets evolved from desperately wanting to be relevant in a city that has been owned by the team in the Bronx since the mid-90’s, to actually setting the relevance in this town.  As a Met fan I want to see this team succeed and if this ownership can rise again, with a winning formula and team, I don’t think there’s one Met fan out there that would care less who’s cutting the player’s checks.

This past Monday, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon updated the media and fans about the status of the minority ownership stakes, saying it was “going very well.” That was the first significant update since the David Einhorn deal fell apart.

Fans and the media alike were interested in who these minority owners were, and Mr. Wilpon stated:

Some of the people don’t want to be public. Some of the people might never be public. I don’t think anybody knows all the minority shareholders in each of the other teams. Do you know all the minority shareholders in Atlanta or Kansas City or St. Louis, Cincinnati, the Yankees? It’s just not widely known.

The bottom line is that Jeff Wilpon is right. The minority owners who have invested in the Mets are none of the fans’ business. I know in today’s information age we want to know everything, but this is a non-issue and I’ll tell you why.

• This has nothing to do with what happens on the field. These minority owners are being brought in to infuse more cash into the team overall and not just the roster which is our business. The renovations that are being made to Citi Field are a prime example of where some of this money is going to.
•  The Mets and Sterling Equities are a privately owned company. They are not required by law to divulge information like this to us and the media.
• It does sound like there have been some sales of the minority shares which means that the sales and new minority owners have been approved of by Major League Baseball.

That last point is what matters most. I believe last week when Bud Selig said:

I do have a lot of worries today, but frankly I’m happy to say the Mets are not one of them.

He knew of the sales and there’s nothing to worry about which is refreshing.

We need to worry about what is on the field, and the players the front office is putting on that field – not who is infusing new cash into the team. I know that is not popular in today’s climate.  We have a GM giving bloggers access to help share team news with the fans, and yet one of them attacks the owners of the Mets in order to help drive up his book sales. As long as MLB is happy and approves what the owners are doing, that is good enough for me and should be good enough for the fan base as well.

“Even if the financials break down as reported, one would think the $100 million dollars being earmarked for operating costs will go toward the projected $70 million dollars in losses this season, and any additional losses next season. Basically, the way I see it, this will keep them afloat for two years, and that is assuming they don’t lose the lawsuit.  By the end of those two seasons, the Wilpons better have figured out a plan to make the Mets profitable again, otherwise he will find himself back in this same exact situation in 2013. They have to stop the bleeding, or else.

Considering all of that, I don’t see how they won’t slash payroll by half of that $50 million dollars in flexibility they are expected to gain in 2012. That would mean a payroll that may not even top $100 million next season.”

Truer words couldn’t have been spoken Joe D.  In light of the news that Jeffrey Toobin made with his New Yorker article on Monday – far be it from me to assuage our fanbase with the popcorn and candy notion that all will be smelling like roses in short order.  Fault me if you will.  I like to live in the real world instead of the land of make believe. 

A great deal was discussed this past offseason about the level of flexibility Sandy Alderson would have once a few key contracts come off the books.  I being one, figured at least at that point Alderson would be able to either a) sign a younger player if one such option presented itself or b) re-allocate at least a portion of that money into the amateur draft and/or (international) free agent budget. 

Maybe I should have chosen the red pill but the situation the Wilpons have put themselves in is precarious at best – sad and self-destructive to the Met organization at worse.  To think that MLB could theoretically become the de-facto operators of the New York Mets, ala the Expos, the Rangers, and the Dodgers is absolutely embarrassing. 

Even if as Joe D said – “if $65 million comes off with Reyes’ departure and because Francisco Rodriguez doesn’t vest, only about $23 million gets put back in next offseason — with the need for a shortstop and a closer. And that’s not even taking into account raises to other players.” – that leaves very little room for anything substantial at that point to lessen that type of blow to the product on the field. 

No matter how some of us in the blogosphere want to downplay this situation and be the calm cool and collected heads in the room, there’s little sugar coating this monumental financial debacle that in hindsight could have been easily avoided.  As Howard Megdal mentioned in his article for ww.capitalnewyork.com,

“…it shows Wilpon and Katz ignoring advice from prominent investors ( Merrill Lynch & Ivy Asset Mangement and Sterling’s own Arthur Friedman ) that they clearly should have heeded. Fun fact: that Madoff insurance would have cost Fred Wilpon $1.5 million, with a $500,000 deductible, on $500 million of Madoff holdings. Put another way, Wilpon could have insured roughly his entire Madoff portfolio for the amount he’s paying Gary Matthews Jr. through the end of this year for 65 awful plate appearances last year.”

What can you say to defend that?  Perhaps the Wilpons are as dim witted as they claim when asked if they knew about Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.  All I know is we as fans need to enjoy what we have right now.  Enjoy Jose Reyes.  Enjoy Wright.  Enjoy Beltran.  Take a moment to realize that by nit-picking every single fault that Reyes, Wright  and even Beltran have, only takes away from the fleeting time we have to enjoy watching them play (and hopefully helping the team succeed ). 

We seem to be always looking for something better and never quite satisfied, at least some of us fans.  I’m sure if the 80’s greats of Carter, Hernandez and Strawberry were playing today the same cadre of Met fan nit-pickers would point out those players faults to a tee.  Somehow I see Keith Hernandez, if he were on this team today, ripped about by those fans who would say he’s not elite since he’s not a power guy, therefore he MUST be traded.  It’s sillyness and I’m sure those same fans would sit around the water cooler years later and reminisce about the good old days, about the players that the team traded or let go, all to have success elsewhere.  I feel sorry for those fans for they never see what they have in from of them, until it’s too late.

Though to most baseball fans the season has just begun, to many Mets fans it was over before it started.

The Mets were welcomed at the beginning of the season by five fans covering their faces in shame with brown paper bags and chanting “sell the Mets.”

After being sued for $1 Billion by Bernie Madoff victims, the Mets franchise is now left with a brand new, state of the art stadium that is home to falling ticket sales and a financially broke team.

In order to cope with these economic woes, this article is calling upon Mets fans, players and staff to help the team conserve what little cash they have left.

Mets fans are asked that if a foul ball is hit into the stands, please throw it back onto the field so the ball can be reused. When one is purchasing a beverage please ask for a little ice. Limit the amounts of squirts out of the ketchup and mustard dispensers to one squirt each and return unused utensils back to their original place.

Mets players are asked to share batting helmets, gloves and bats. Also, the Mets should issue reversible jerseys for home and away; this will cut expenses in cotton, a commodity that has recently risen drastically in price.

The Mets staff can pitch in as well. Player’s jerseys should be washed every other game, cutting back on the team’s laundry bill.

The Mets staff has the opportunity to not only cut costs but increase revenue as well. All the used bottles should be collected after the game and deposited for a 5-cent refund.

If the Mets community works together to cut costs maybe the community can save the Mets and make sure they come back next year with a winning team.

Lets Go METS!!!

This Fan Post was contributed by and written by Kevin Milgraum.

The Wilpons should be focusing on selling a large chunk of the team at this point. It is beyond obvious that the Madoff scandal is greatly impacting the team’s finances.

The article also mentions that the Mets received a $430 million loan from JP Morgan Chase last year. The bank is trying to recruit other banks to put together a loan to help the Mets until the Wilpons sell a majority stake in the team.

Sources are uncertain about if the Mets can actually pay back the loan. They believe this is a very risk move considering the team could lose as much as $50 million this year.

After the Mets received a loan from the MLB, their debt total reached $505 million. Depending on the team’s worth, they could have enough money to secure another loan. It all depends on what the team is valued at.

Payments to players may eventually become an issue if the team cannot secure another loan. This could decimate the team chemistry.

It has also been revealed that banks have been selling some of the Mets debt off form 90 cents on the dollar. They believe that the Mets are a risky investment and are trying to lower their exposure.

The new loan might help the team avoid defaulting on their existing debt. This is quickly turning into a very ugly situation for the team. There will likely be major changes with the organization before the end of the season.

A little more than two weeks ago it was announced by Fred and Jeff Wilpon that they were exploring the option of adding a partner(s) to own the New York Mets.

Naturally the news hit the blogs and Twitter in no time and there was talk among Mets fans on who they would want to own the team. There were two names that came up many times as possible new owners for the Mets:

James Dolan: Not surprising at all, he already owns two of the major sports teams in New York, the Knicks and the Rangers who both make Madison Square Garden their home. Dolan in the past has even expressed his interest in owning the Mets. He certainly has the money to run another team and would certainly compete with the Yankees in spending.

Mark Cuban: Mark Cuban as we all know is a self made billionaire. He currently owns the Dallas Mavericks.  Cuban has also been very vocal about wanting to own a Major League Baseball team. He has tried unsuccessfully to purchase both the Chicago Cubs and recently The Texas Rangers but was blocked by MLB for not being a good ole boy.

Both Dolan and Cuban have the money to run a major league team in a big market that’s for sure. Dolan has showed in the past he is willing to spend money. Cuban always wants to win. If I had to pick 1 to be the owner it would have to be Mark Cuban. Dolan has done a horrible job with both the Knicks and Rangers over the years. Dolan stays loyal to the people he hires to run his teams to a fault. Glen Sather has been the President and GM for The Rangers for too long. Many including myself believe that if Isiah Thomas did not a bring a lawsuit on MSG he would still be running the Knicks.

Then you look at how Mark Cuban has turned the Dallas Mavericks around since purchasing the team. Before purchasing the team the Mavericks had a winning percentage of 20%. Cuban has owned the team for 10 years now and their winning percentage now stands at 69%. The Mavericks have also made the playoffs every year under Cuban’s ownership including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2006.

The chances that both Cuban and Dolan would buy a 25% stake in the team are pretty low. I can’t imagine either owner wanting to fork over 250-300 million dollars to have no say in operations or the direction of the team. I also doubt MLB is going to allow Cuban to own a team, considering they have already turned him down twice.

Cuban has already gone on record as saying that he would be very interested in buying part or all of the Mets, but was also adamant that the Wilpons would have to make the first move and call him. I don’t blame him.

Who do you want to own the team? It doesn’t have to be realistic, it’s just to have a discussion.

Needless to say – the Mets have propagated their own scheme against its fans this year and it’s pretty safe to say we’ve all had our fill and want some form of retribution. The retribution we seek comes in the form of accountability from the top on down.

Are we to continue believing that the Mets are financially fit as a fiddle when you take into account that they’ve allowed Oliver Perez to stay on the roster all season, forcing the team to play a man short, just so they aren’t forced to eat the remainder of his 36 million dollar contract?

Are we to believe that Alex Cora – who’s credentials as a great clubhouse leader, and who’s batting average hardly ever seemed to hover above .200 – suddenly out of nowhere earned his release? Of course it wasn’t the fact that he was 18 games shy of automatically vesting his $2 million 2011 option? Was it?

Or Rod Barajas, who we were told was the glue to the pitching staff that couldn’t be replaced, but was literally given to the Dodgers who will be paying the rest of his $500,000 salary?

Still don’t think something smells rotten in Queens – and I don’t mean the subway? Take the Frankie Rodriguez fiasco. He beats on his father in law, in the clubhouse in front of players and their children. He’s arrested and suspended by the team for 2 days. A few days later the Mets filed a claim to convert Frankie knuckles – hat tip to Ed Leyro – contract to a non-guaranteed deal, allowing the Mets the ability to release him early next spring, and saving perhaps the remainder of his contract. Add the $3 plus million they’ve saved by placing him on the disqualified list already.

Before you think I’m going to defend his thuggish behavior, let me explain. Fred Wilpon I have a feeling is a fair man, a man who is willing to give others a second chance. He did just that when he brought Wally Backman back into the Met fold and signed him as the manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Backman’s past includes a DUI and domestic violence, yet the same team willing to give Backman a managerial job – is quick to pull the trigger on releasing one of the premier closers in the game.

Don’t get me wrong if it’s based on principle then say it and stand by it, and for God’s sake be consistent. This nonsense that the Wilpons are aghast over Frankie’s behavior, but apparently a-ok with Wally Backman’s is the same snake oil that Bernard Madoff was selling.

The reason Backman is around and probably WILL be next year’s manager is because he makes probably a 20th of what K-Rod does. Sometimes I feel like a jilted lover with the Wilpons. I’d be happier if they just stuck their hands in my wallet and took what they want. I won’t even ask for a kiss when you leave Fred.

That’s a fitting gesture and a good first step toward healing the rift between the Mets and their fan base.

However, lost in the whole “Ticket Prices Slashed” news, was something else that got very little attention.

In an e-mail to Mets ticket plan holders, the New York Mets wrote the following:

“Everyone at the Mets – our Ownership, GM Omar Minaya, Manager Jerry Manuel, the coaches, players, front office and staff – shares your disappointment with the 2009 season.  You soon will hear from Ownership and Omar about how we plan to improve the ball club through a combination of player signings, trades, enhanced player development and continued commitment to one of the highest player payrolls in MLB.”

Let me repeat those key words…

We plan to improve the ball club through a combination of player signings, trades, enhanced player development and continued commitment to one of the highest player payrolls in MLB.

Could it be that all the beat writers, sports analysts and major sports media markets have got it all wrong?

All we’ve been hearing was how the Mets were not going to spend any money because of the Madoff scandal, and many reported that the Mets would lower payroll by as much as $20-$30 million dollars.

Now I’m no mind reader or mystic, but judging by that statement from the Mets, it would seem that the Mets fully intend to do everything in their power to do whatever is necessary to put the Mets back into the post season in 2010.

Only time will tell just how committed to that vision they really are, but give the Mets credit for saying it and letting us know that they are as disappointed as the rest of us.

If they are truly reducing ticket prices by as much as 20%, and at the same time committing themselves to one of the highest payrolls in baseball, maybe all those Madoff ramblings were wrong. Maybe when the Wilpons repeatedly said that the scandal would have no bearing on the day to day management of the team, they were actually speaking the truth.

As fans of the Mets, maybe we should give them the benefit of the doubt at least on this particular matter. We’ve heard the Mets blow smoke before, but I have a hunch that maybe they will prove all those hundreds of Madoff stories wrong and show that they can still spend with the best of them.

Now if only they could focus on getting some value for their millions.

No more Oliver Perez signings where they go and bid against themselves.

No more fat contracts for players past their prime.

No more rolling the dice on injured players or those coming off of a recent surgery.

Lets get our act together and not show up at the winter meetings with the goal of signing a headline act.

What we need more than anything else is some solid complimentary players and a top of the rotation starter to pair with Johan Santana.

Let’s not try to win the World Series with one trade that looks good up front, but ends up hurting the team and our development system in the long run.

We need to employ a common sense approach, and though we have the resources of a big market team, there is nothing wrong with taking a small market team approach when it comes to team building.

It’s not always how much you spend, but how much value you get.

Howard vehemently denied some of the charges that Arvedlund made in her book which claims that the Wilpons lost $700 million in the Madoff Ponzi scheme, and that it will force them to sell all or a part of the Mets.

To watch the full video, check it out here courtesy of Brian Costa.

The author claims that her source was a Mets front office employee who has been with the Mets for two decades, a claim that Howard called “bogus and untrue”.

Howard made it absolutely clear (with no wiggle room) that the Mets are not for sale now and will not be in the future.

“The Mets are a family owned team that will remain that way for a long, long time.It’s a passionate long-term investment. There’s no need to sell. There’s no reason to sell. There will be no sale and I can’t state it any more definitively than that.”

I believe him, and I must say that the author seemed unwilling to defend her book and her claims when she had the chance. All she kept saying was, 

“It’s my opinion based on my research.”

Howard went completely ballistic on her at times calling her claims “outrageous, unfounded and grossly irresponsible.” He also added,

“The figures she’s thrown out are inaccurate and substantially overstated. The losses incurred from the Madoff fraud have not and will not affect the operation of the Mets.”

Dan Duquette, also appeared on the show and stepped back from comments he made on his Sirius Radio Show that the Mets shutdown their fall instructional league due to cost-cutting measures. He said that when he levied that charge he was unaware that the Mets had shifted that operation to the Dominican Republic so that they could compete against many other teams that had academies in that area. I actually ran with the original story and inaccurately made the same assumption as Duquette. I apologize to the Mets and retract my statements.

It is my belief that the Mets could make things so much easier if they simply communicated the extent of their losses so that these charges and assumptions would simply go away. They have a right to keep that information to themselves, but I feel that if they just came clean on this, the truth will supersede all the speculation that is running rampant out there.

As a privately owned company, the Mets are not subject to the same disclosure rules that public companies have to abide by, but in this case it would certainly do more good than harm. The Mets keep saying we didn’t lose $700 million, and if so then great. Come out and say it was only $400 million, or whatever it is, and lets move on already. We have been dealing with this issue for nine months already. It’s not simply going to rise up and walk away.

Anyway, I still see some evidence of financial woes in their actions, and until I see otherwise I will continue to believe there are tough and lean times ahead.

I do believe that despite the $30 million dollars in savings from the departures of Delgado, Putz, Wagner, etc., that the Mets will slash payroll from $145 million to $120-125 million. Prove me wrong…

And as the author said in the final words of her interview, “Only time will tell.”

1. Traded Billy Wagner for low level AA prospects…………………………………………….Savings $3,400,000.00

2. Announce decision to keep Omar Minaya……………………………………………………Savings $3,500,000.00

3. Announce decision to keep manager and coaches…………………………………………..Savings $7,000,000.00

4. Cancel fall instructional league…………………………………………………………………….Savings $300,000.00

5. Average team spent $26 million in June Draft, Mets spent 18MM (Ranked last)………….Savings $8,000,000.00

This list doesn’t include some of the other transparent cost-cutting measures whose values cannot be determined and only approximated, but you get a good glimpse of the overall picture and it’s not pretty.

1. They pulled Gary Sheffield off waivers and didn’t trade him because they only owed him $125,000.00 and it would have cost more to replace him on the roster. This kept the team from acquiring potential prospects for their depleted farm system.

2. In January, Omar said he had $5-6 million in payroll flexibility to spend at the trade deadline and he opted to sit on his hands and let the team sink instead. What makes this more strange was that Omar was under intense pressure to do something after getting so much scrutiny from last years deadline when he failed to add an arm for the bullpen which ultimately broke down and imploded for the second straight season. I guess lightning does strike twice in the same place.

3. The Mets had no problem handing about $2 million dollars each to utility infielders Alex Cora and Fernando Tatis before the Madoff scandal news broke, but afterward they scoffed at the idea of getting a proven all star second baseman in Orlando Hudson for just $3 million dollars. This happened at a time when no Mets fan wanted to see Luis Castillo return in 2009. It turned out okay for the Mets, but back in January this decision was puzzling to say the least.

4. A proven lefthanded starter in Randy Wolf for just $5 million dollars, was passed over for Nationals refugees Tim Redding ($2.25 MM) and Livan Hernandez ($2 MM). Quantity over quality, which in the end proved costly. The Mets could have hedged their bets after signing Ollie for $36 million, and instead they compounded their problems. Livan has now been cut while Redding toils in and out of the bullpen with a 5.94 ERA. In 28 starts, Wolf has a 3.,25 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.

There’s probably more one can add to this short list, but the point is made. Since the Bernie Madoff scandal broke, the Mets have been operating with a different set of rules. Whereas before the focus was on what moves would make the team better, the new focus is now on how can they cut costs further.

The Mets can deny it all they want, but actions speak louder than words.

I think we can plainly see that the Madoff scandal has hurt the Mets.  I never understood the point in denying it, in fact if they did come out and say they lost a significant amount of money, the fans and media would not be breathing down their necks as well as Omar demanding a trade or second guessing their lack of moves in the off-season.

Right after last season ended with the Mets not making the post season again by 1 game the Wilpons and Omar promised that money was not going to be an option and would go out and improve this team.  They signed K-Rod not too long before the scandal became public knowledge and then their biggest free agent signing after that was Oliver Perez for 3 years, $36 million.

I wonder how much longer they can survive?  Perhaps the Wilpons will have to sell their majority ownership?  I agreed with Joe D’s post earlier in the day when he said “I really wish the team was in the hands of an owner who loved the Mets and all their history, and was also smarter than a fifth grader.”  Perhaps that will come sooner than later?

Here is a link for Bart Hubbuch’s original blog post.

The organization from top to bottom seem to be throwing each other under the bus to preserve themselves.  Last winter we all know that Manny Ramirez was a free agent.  Before it was revealed that Manny used performance enhancing drugs there was a lot of people who wanted Manny to be part of the Mets.  Omar Minaya we all know had been trying to get Manny to become a member of this team since he became the general manager.  Last year we all found out that the Wilpons were one of the many clients Bernie Madoff cheated out of millions of dollars, but they insisted that Madoff’s lack of a soul had nothing to do with the New York Mets.  In January of this year Mets COO Jeff Wilpon said the following regarding Manny Ramirez to Bloomberg.com.

“Mets GM Omar Minaya has not brought the idea to ownership because the baseball staff is not interested in Manny.”

Wilpon not citing a cash flow problem all but threw Omar Minaya and the baseball staff under the bus because as per usual the Wilpon’s refused to admit that there was a problem.

Fast forward to Spring Training and Johan Santana developed some sort of injury in his pitching arm.  There was miscommunication from the start on the exact injury and the severity of the injury.  Dan Warthen was concerned, the trainers were but Santana went out of his way to tell the press that nothing was wrong when other were saying that there was a problem.  Once again there is a lack of communication in this organization.

Santana’s injury was just the start of the Mets feeding misinformation within the organization.  The medical staff and Omar told Delgado that his injury was day to day and that he would be in pain throughout the season, but that he would be able to perform.  Two weeks later and Delgado is having perhaps season ending surgery on his hip.  Jose Reyes goes down next and Jerry Manuel tells us that the training staff has assured him that Reyes is day to day, but Reyes has not played in over month.  Last week Carlos Beltran went down and was placed on the disabled list in what is being called a bone bruise on his knee.  Omar, Jerry and the training staff insist it is only an injury that would heal in 2 weeks.  Beltran has said otherwise, in fact he has gone to Colorado on his own to see one of the best knee surgeons in the country because he believes the injury is worse than what the Mets have told him.

With 3/4 of the core down the Mets are struggling to stay alive in the National League East.  Omar refuses to make a deal, he would rather sit and wait for the guys to heal and then try and catch up to the Phillies.  Reports came yesterday that veteran Mets players are begging Omar to add some depth to this lineup.  The manager also seems to recognize that a bat needs to be added to this team and quick.  Jerry in his post game show has all but begged for Omar to add a bat on Sunday night after the Yanks swept the Mets in their home ballpark.  Last night in his post game show he said about the under .500 team:

“We’re a below-average team — period”

The manager is lashing out at the GM for not doing enough with the team struggling, the team is under-performing and the Mets seem to be coming apart before our eyes.  Departments are not talking to each other and misinformation is being put out into the public and this is causing more harm than good.  The organzation as whole is guilty of this from the owners all the way down to the minor leagues.  This didn’t get a lot of press but the Mets had 3 minor league players suspended last week for the use of PED’s. 

I don’t know when it began or even how it started. Perhaps the collapse, perhaps building Citi Field took too much attention and now the Mets are paying the price, perhaps the Madoff scandal has had more of a negative impact than the Wilpons would like to admit.  But something has happened to this organization since the end of 2006, and needs to be fixed and now. Otherwise there will be more times like this coming.

After two straight disappointing seasons and a world of revenue pouring in from a new park, the Mets were poised to make sure 2009 would not end the same way 2007 and 2008 did.

They were going to make sure that all areas that needed to be addressed would be shored up. Things were going smoothly as the Mets signed closer Frankie Rodriguez for much less than first expected, and a day after that they jettisoned Aaron Heilman to Seattle and came away with a second closer in J.J. Putz. The Mets were on their way to a stupendous off season. Then 24 hours later the Bernie Madoff scandal rocked the airwaves.

The Mets’ first reaction was to separate the huge loss from the team by saying it would have no bearing on the Mets and their needs and goals. Yeah right… Who among us really swallowed that?

Almost immediately the Mets shifted gears. They stormed out of Bloomingdales with K-Rod and Putz, told their limo driver to take the rest of the week off, hopped on a bus, and set off for Value City.

By the following week the Mets had a new plan and a new vision for the 2009 Mets. They sent their little minions out to the media to spread the word. Basically, the new plan went like this.

1. They were no longer interested in upgrading in leftfield. After further review it was decided that Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy would go into the season as the starting tandem in leftfield. Replacing Moises Alou was no longer an option.

2. Mike Pelfrey would follow Johan Santana in the rotation, thus eliminating the need for a number two starter. Instead the Mets would now look to  fill out the bottom of the rotation.

3. Luis Castillo who was almost guaranteed not to return, was now repackaged and resold as the the Prodigal Son who promises to do better if given another chance.

The new plan went into effect without much blow-back. After all, with K-Rod and Putz in the fold, most Mets fans were beyond appeased anyway.

No matter how much free agent players discounted their services, no matter how hard they tried to get the Mets to bite, the new Madoff Era Mets weren’t budging. There would be no O-Dog, no Burnett or Lowe, and even Abreu and Dunn who were willing to sign for a three hots and a warm bath, were not even considered.

Ticket prices were announced, and as expected for the fifth season in a row it meant higher prices, only this time the hike was a ballsy 20% across the board. Oh and one more thing, if you wanted to see the Phillies, Braves, Yankees or Dodgers, you had to buy tickets to 14 other games just for the priveledge. That’s right, single game tickets would not be available for any of the attractive draws.

The Bernie Madoff era hit Mets fans both indirectly and directly. Not only were we going to see the same exact lineup we saw in September of 2008, but we were going to pay hundreds more to see them perfrom… err… under-perform.

Now that Oliver Perez has proven to be a big time bust, things can only get worse from here. Another $36 million dollars down the drain and once again it will be us, the fans that will pay for it not the Wilpons.

Let’s see who the Mets will dredge up to fill this spot in the rotation.

Not many of us wanted Oliver Perez in the first place citing his erratic past, but when he was the last pitcher left on the market who wasn’t facing Tommy John surgery we had to bite our tongues, swallow our pride, and dance with the devil, Scott Boras. When you’re broke, on the streets and starving, the apple with the worm in it looks better than no apple at all.

To make matters worse, our GM Omar Minaya goes prime-time and says his team has no fight in them, and worse yet our manager Jerry Manuel is making decisions that even leaves Sponge Bob Squarepants scratching his head.

What else can possibly go wrong?

It’s not exactly the end of the world, but all of you should have plenty of duct tape and D batteries on hand just in case.