Photo courtesy of Ryan Field.
Look, when a team is introducing a player to the media in a press conference, by its very nature it is a promotional event. The organization is showing off their player to the fans thereby building excitement among the fan base with the hopes this eventually entices the fans to buy tickets for the season.
However, this is supposed to be a quid pro quo of sorts. A team like the Mets gets to have more publicity surrounding their acquisition of a player like Jay Bruce, and in turn, the reporters are given an opportunity to ask questions about the team.
We did see that as reporters asked Sandy Alderson an array of questions covering topics like Michael Conforto‘s timetable, the first base situation with Adrian Gonzalez and Dominic Smith, the status of the bullpen, the second base situation, and whether the Mets could add another contract this offseason.
That last topic. That’s one that could have partially been addressed by ownership, specifically Jeff Wilpon. As the COO of the Mets, Wilpon would have intimate knowledge of that information. He also possesses the answer to several other burning questions both reporters and Mets fans want to see answered.
The interesting thing was Jeff Wilpon was at that press conference, but not really, Right after taking a photo with Bruce, Jeff Wilpon got off the stage, and he sat in the front row effectively removing himself from the press conference just as the floor was going to be opened to reporters.
Once again, the Mets deftly controlled the press conference with the questions being granted to the following reporters:
- Garry Apple, SNY
- Pete McCarthy, WOR
- Anthony DiComo, mlb.com
- Lloyd Carroll, Queens Chronicle
Not one question from a major media outlet or newspaper that covers the Mets. Instead, the Mets directed questions to their television network, the “Radio Home of the Mets,” an MLB reporter, and finally a small local Queens newspaper. If you have watched enough of these, this has become standard operating procedure for the Mets.
Here’s the best part. When reviewing the SNY video feed, all reporters are directed to the left of the stage to continue asking questions. If you pay close enough attention to the video, right at the 20:50 mark, you will see this:
That’s right. Just as the reporters are told to go left, Jeff heads right. There is really no other way to describe Jeff’s behavior and the Mets control of the press conference as ownership yet again ducking the media. You are almost left in complete awe of the lengths to which the Wilpons will ensure they do not have to interact with the media. If they put even a tenth of that effort into the needs of the Mets, they would be perennial contenders.
Overall, we as Mets fans can get frustrated about both the lack of transparency from the organization, and how the reporters don’t ask the Wilpons the hard questions that need to be asked. In reviewing this press conference, we see just how much the Wilpons stonewall the media and the lengths they will go to not be accountable to anyone.
