Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred was a guest on WFAN Radio on Tuesday and gave Mets owner Fred Wilpon another vote of confidence, portraying him as a victim who has been treated unfairly.
“I do understand that that undercurrent is out there. I really don’t believe it’s fair, however. The most important point is this: At this point in Major League Baseball, I think it’s very, very difficult to go out and make yourself into a winning team overnight by spending money in free agency.”
“If you look at the teams that are winning now, they’re teams that have fundamentally sound farm systems and bring along a cohort of players who are effective on the field, and they may add through free agency to get over the top. But it’s really hard to just go out there and rebuild your team by that mechanism because there’s just not enough talent in the market to do that.”
He contrasted the situation with former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Fred Wilpon as follows:
“In contrast Mr. Wilpon was a victim of the Madoff scheme,” Manfred said. “I think you have to treat somebody who is acting as opposed to somebody who is victimized differently.”
When reminded that the Mets payroll has shrunk from $147 million to a low of $85 million in 2014, he said:
“Under the basic agreement, it’s really not the business of central baseball to second guess the payroll decisions by clubs. I am satisfied that the New York Mets have a very strong desire to be successful on the field and that they’re making decisions directed at being successful on the field. I’m also satisfied they have sufficient resources to be successful.”
So there you go. Have at it…
March 31 – Original Post
Bob Klapisch of Newsday didn’t take too kindly to Fred Wilpon ducking several interview requests after a closed door meeting with the team on Monday. The only thing that was allowed to leak out was that it was “positive” and it was about “winning.”
Players were told not to divulge anything to fans or media, there was no press release to media, and the progenitor of the meeting himself refused to face reporters who were all anxious to hear what the Mets owner, who had a bodyguard to protect him, had to say.
“By all accounts this was a terrific meeting. Without going into specifics, David Wright said, “Fred has always been upbeat.” Terry Collins said it was “very, very impactful.” There were no threats, no win-or-else edicts issued. Wilpon played his hand to perfection, at least until the meeting ended and he strolled by a group of reporters.”
“That’s when Wilpon blew off a chance to deliver a state-of-the-team address. Instead of stopping, even for a few moments, to pump up the fan base, Wilpon walked right by. Not a word, not a gesture, no eye contact. Just feigned oblivion.”
This has been the case for Fred Wilpon for over two years now, avoiding any questions about his own team and preferring not to discuss anything about his not so shiny and not so new toy.
Like all the other opportunities to engage fans or the team’s reporters, Wilpon has perfected his close, oftentimes a smile and a nod and off he goes into his golf cart or his limousine.
“For those keeping score, it’s been two years since Wilpon granted his last interview, which prompts the obvious question: What’s he afraid of? Wilpon turned away from a slam-dunk opportunity to reassure ticket buyers that, yes, he’s got enough money to finance a Mets’ rebirth.”
“Instead, Wilpon continues to hide out, feeding the disconnect that made it possible for loyalists to love the Mets, but detest ownership. Ask any Mets fan if he or she would rather win a World Series or drive the Wilpons out of town and – guaranteed – they’d give serious consideration to door No. 2.”
Klapisch wonders why there has been no accountability from Wilpon in two years and believes he is hiding something, or hiding from something.
“Perhaps it’s the more difficult questions that still hover over the Mets. As in, will there be money for a midseason pickup should the Mets become legitimate contenders? Do the Wilpons have the means (and the guts) to bring Troy Tulowitzki to Flushing?”
“This is merely the top layer of distrust; the fans’ problem with ownership goes much deeper. They see the popular Bobby Ojeda walk away from SNY and think: It must be the money. They see Harvey denied the start in the home opener, pushed back to the second game, and think: It must be the money. Everything, it seems, is a money-grab with the Mets.”
“Yet Wilpon, born and bred in Brooklyn, seems to have forgotten that Mets fans cannot be conned. They are a tough, hardened and incredibly loyal subset. They know two years of silence represents arrogance at best, deception at worst.”
It’s very strange how Fred Wilpon is so afraid to come out in the open at a time when his team seems to be on the threshold of a new and special era. For a man who has spent the better part of the last quarter century always being out front and boasting about the team or preaching patience for better days, what an odd time for him to take refuge in a bunker, refusing to offer any words of encouragement to the tens of thousands who are going to be purchasing tickets to see this team and keep him afloat..
