Jonathan Bernhardt of The Guardian ripped into Mets ownership but good in a scathing article that calls the team out on a few central issues.
He contends that going with Wilmer Flores as the everyday shortstop is an embarrassment that underscores the financial depravity of the New York Mets.
He accuses the front office of being complicit because they have spent the last 10 months acting like Flores is passable defensively after three years of acknowledging he wasn’t a shortstop and even moving him out of the position in 2012 and 2013, playing him everywhere in the infield except short. It was also painfully obvious that when Flores was plopped in Terry Collins‘ lap that he wanted no part of playing him at shortstop.
“It’s important to know the context in which the Mets have named him starter over and over again this winter, and why it seems so bewildering when judging Flores by what he’s shown on the field. But there’s one last piece of information that makes everything else slide into place: Wilmer Flores will only be paid around $500,000 next year. That’s not just cheap. That’s the closest a team is permitted to free.”
He goes onto blasting the rest of the Mets’ moves this offseason, namely Michael Cuddyer and John Mayberry Jr..
“That’s it. That’s all the Mets have done. It’s an old trick for them: making a couple of big-splash signings up front and disappearing for the rest of the offseason.”
He also reserved some ammunition for Mets payroll, saying that it’s set to either stagnate or outright decline for the fourth straight season. He expects the Mets to clear Gee’s salary, calculates arbitration eligible players to earn $15 million, and adds in $3-4 million for league-minimum players to fill out the roster, putting payroll right around last year’s $85 million.
“That would be grudgingly acceptable, were the Mets playing baseball in Tampa, Florida instead of the largest media market in the planet, and had Major League Baseball’s massive new $12.4 billion national television deal not just gone into effect. It might also be acceptable if the team was rebuilding, but it’s not: New York finished 2014 tied for second place in a division that has mostly stepped backwards or tread water this offseason.”
Bernhardt says that given the young stars the Mets have now, combined with David Wright and a solid group of role players, the front office should be spending whatever is needed to shore up the bullpen, acquire a real everyday shortstop, and become a true Wild Card contender and a threat for the NL East title.
“They won’t, however. We already know why they won’t. The Mets ownership is an embarrassment to their league, their fans, their employees and themselves; this is as close to established fact as sunrise tomorrow.”
“And given that the Mets and their media apparatus are the only means by which the Wilpons can continue to live the lifestyle to which they’ve become accustomed, it’s unlikely they’re going anywhere anytime soon.”
He concludes that it’s very sad that after asking their fans to be patient for years and years, that now that their best young players have arrived they chose to pussyfoot around.
“These Mets could’ve been something in 2015 with a reasonable budget. They could still be something, if incoming league commissioner Rob Manfred has a stronger commitment to the health of the sport than he does to the personal feelings of the Wilpon family.”
Wow, that was wicked… I can’t say I agree with all of it, especially his views on Flores, but this was shocking to read. I look forward to reading your reactions to this. Fire away…
