Mets Mess: Short and Tweet - GM Alderson Hints at Grim 2012

Article first published as Mets Mess: Short and Tweet - GM Alderson Hints at Grim 2012 on Blogcritics.

In a story featured in the New York Post, we learned that Mets GM Sandy Alderson has discovered the joys of Twitter. Unfortunately, this does not equate with any joy for fans of the New York Mets. Of course, at this point, any joy in Metsville seems to be unexpected for the upcoming season.

In the tweet Alderson writes: “Getting ready for Spring Training-Driving to FL but haven’t left yet.” He goes on making things even more dismal. “Big fundraiser tonight for gas money. Also exploring PAC contribution.”

After this was revealed in the Post in all its inglorious splendor, Alderson contacted the newspaper to say he was driving because he had to get his dog to Florida and needed a car while there, but this helped light up the phones on sports talk radio here in New York. The general feeling of the fans calling in was that the first tweet was not meant to be funny as the damage control is trying to spin it. The reasoning is that Alderson has to drive to Florida because with the Mets' financial woes he cannot afford a plane ticket.

This leads to the even bigger fear that the Mets are done before they even get started in 2012. The way it seems is that the team will be back mostly intact, which should send ticket sales at Citi Field down into the black hole that has been created with the Bernie Madoff scandal that is still sucking the life out of the team ownership. We start to get the picture that Fred Wilpon doesn't have two cents to rub together, meaning a dismal 2012 for fans of the New York Mets.

Right now I believe we have to wait and see what takes place, but don't be surprised that the team will be out of contention well before the July trading deadline. Which means get ready to say "Hasta la vista" to David Wright and Mike Pelfrey and whoever else can bring some young players to a team that has no choice but to look toward the future, no matter how many years from now that may be.

As Mr. Potter asked George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life (one of my favorite films) "Do I paint a grim picture, or do I exaggerate?" In this case no exaggeration is necessary. It is going to be a grim 2012 for Mets fans and we had better get used to it.

Photo Credit: ESPN.com

Mets Mess: Luis Castillo Released - Perez Still Pitching In

Article first published as Mets Mess: Luis Castillo Released - Perez Still Pitching In on Blogcritics.

I picture Luis Castillo during this spring training as a guy with a bucket on the Titanic. He kept trying to get the water off the deck, but you know how this story ends. So now Luis is gone; either he jumped overboard or got into a lifeboat. Either way, the ship is still sinking.

Castillo always seemed to be the target of the fans. Not only did his hitting leave something to be desired, but so did his fielding. When I think of him I see dropped pop-ups and remember the booing of the crowd. Not a very pleasant memory at all. By all accounts his teammates liked him, but the main reason he is gone is because the fans demanded it.

While the Mets parted ways with second baseman Castillo, troubled pitcher Oliver Perez is still hanging in there. He pitched one scoreless inning yesterday, even striking out Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves. Does this mean Ollie might get a shot at being in the bullpen? I'd say grab a bucket, Ollie. Someone has to take up where Castillo left off.

There are also alternating reports of Carlos Beltran feeling better and his knee bothering him. Take your pick, Mets fans, because this is not the player the Mets were supposed to get. He should have been their star center fielder, ostensibly their centerpiece to the puzzle, a super star around whom to build a team. We see how well that has worked out, right?

Alas, the old regime of GM Omar Minaya (and Steve Phillips before him) shelled out lots of money to players who have gone bust. Just take a look at the short list: Beltran, Perez, Castillo, and Johan Santana. Millions and millions of dollars wasted as well as time and at the expense of the team and the fans. People can talk all they want about the money the team lost investing with Bernie Madoff, but the worst investment the Mets ever made was in these players who gave them no return.

Now maybe the Mets can get back to what they used to do well: establish a strong farm system that develops great players like it once did. Clearly, guys like Ike Davis, David Wright, and Jose Reyes give us a glimmer of hope of what can come from that kind of cultivation. We have to hope that GM Sandy Alderson has the vision to do this for the long haul because free agents are just not working out for the Mets. It seems they never have (can anyone forget Bobby Bonilla?).

There isn't much to look forward to this season, but we have to remember the band kept playing on the Titanic even as it was sinking. So grab a bucket, Ollie, but don't think it's going to save the ship before the fat lady sings.

Photo Credits:
Castillo - Daily News
Wright - espn.com

Mets Mess: Castillo and Perez Should Be Gone By Opening Day

Article first published as Mets Mess: Castillo and Perez Should Be Gone By Opening Day on Blogcritics.

It's not like Mets fans have not had enough to worry about this spring training. After a dismal time of it last season, the team squandered the off season by taking on no new players of note, and then the Bernie Madoff scandal became big news and seemed to shake the team and its fans to its core. With a pending sale of a significant percentage of the team in the works, there is nothing much for Mets fans to look forward to except maybe the 2012 season.

There is a bright note from spring training though: the Mets seem finally willing and able to part ways with two of the worst acquisitions since Bobby Bonilla: pitcher Oliver Perez and second baseman Luis Castillo. I think I hear cheering all the way from Citi Field to Central Park.


Both Perez and Castillo have shown no signs this spring of being any better than last year. With Daniel Murphy making a concerted effort to make the roster as a second baseman, it is clear that Castillo has run out of options. Perez also has little or no juice left. According to reports, his velocity is down to the low 80s and he looks inexplicably lost on the mound. There's a possibility he could be used in the bullpen, but that didn't work out too well last year.

So it seems both Perez and Castillo will be released sometime before Opening Day (unless some team wants to take them on). The team mired in its financial muck and mire will have to eat their contracts (Perez is owed $12 million and Castillo about $6 million), but this is stll something positive for the club. Finally this spring Mets fans do have something to be happy about!
Photo Credit: Simmons/Daily News

Mets Mess: MLB Gave Mets $25 Million Last Year

Article first published as Mets Mess: MLB Gave Mets $25 Million Last Year on Blogcritics.

If the dire situation on the field was not enough for Mets fans, the situation in the executive offices can make them worry even more these days. Today, the New York Daily News is reporting that team owner Fred Wilpon borrowed $25 million big ones from Major League Baseball to help "shore up the team's liquidity." In other words this was a one-time bailout that helped the team get back on its feet.


At the heart of all this is the shadow of Bernie Madoff, Ponzi schemer extraordinaire who bilked many investors, including Wilpon, out of hard earned money. While this may make Mets fans squirm as they hear about this loan (that, by the way, must be paid back), they think about the future of this organization and fear things are quite grim indeed.

Last month Wilpon announced that he was searching for a limited partner to buy a stake in the Mets. It seems everyone from Donald Trump to Justin Bieber has been rumored to be looking to get involved, but what price will be ultimately paid besides money? How will this affect day-to-day operation of the club, and more specifically, what happens on the field?

Right now Mets fans have little if anything to look forward to this season. Johann Santana will probably not pitch until after the All Star break, and with no major trades and returning players who, besides David Wright and Ike Davis, inspire little if any confidence, 2011 is shaping up to be a long wait until next year exercise in more futility.

The only bright side is that perhaps this revelation will lend credence to Wilpon's plea that he too was a victim of Madoff. We will have to see what happens in court in regards to that, but right now we Mets fans might as well settle in for the bumpy ride this season; from all indications things are going to get worse before they get any better in Metsville.


Photo credit: Simmons/Daily News

NY Mets & Madoff Mess: Wilpons Considers Selling a Stake in the Club

First published in Blogcritics

NY Mets & Madoff Mess: Wilpons Are Selling More Than a Stake in the Club

The long reach of ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff included Fred Wilpon, owner of the New York Mets. The numbers here are insignificant because they are so astronomical, but let's suffice it to say that Wilpon's former pal is still affecting the man and the team he owns. Those bilked out of their savings are seeking to get assets from Wilpon because he invested money with Madoff and actually made a profit. Can he still be considered a victim? Apparently not by those injured parties who seek justice anywhere they can get it.

Now it is reported that Wilpon is considering selling up to a quarter stake in the team. This is because of the lawsuits that could come from Madoff's victims (most of whom did not make money with Madoff the way Wilpon did). There are lots of people interested in buying into the Mets, but therein lies the biggest problem. Up to this point the Mets have been owned exclusively by the Wilpons (since 2002). Not even the Steinbrenner family can say that about the Yankees (they own less than 50% of the team).

Some Mets fans might argue that the Wilpons haven't done such a great job lately, so maybe some new blood is needed. They could argue that the Steinbrenners built a winner with lots of other fingers in the pie, but we also know that old George (and now his sons) controlled that team anyway. So maybe we Mets fans shouldn't worry all that much.

Still, I am worried because Wilpon has deep Mets roots: they go all the way down and curl around the carcass of Ebbetts Field. Wilpon is a dear friend of Sandy Koufax, the Dodger pitching legend. The Brooklyn Dodger's blue blood and the New York Giant's orange blood were the transfusion that gave life to the Mets, a hodgepodge team that was the Frankenstein monster of baseball for a while. Still, despite the sewn up parts of other teams that made up the limbs of that early franchise, those fans came along and stayed loyal - most of them all these years.

So in essence Wilpon is the keeper of the flame. He's the gotta in "You gotta believe!" He's the go in "Let's Go Mets." We know what we get with him, even if it is not an awful lot at times, and we know he loves the team as much as we do (when we're not hating them too).

What is at stake here is not just selling off a piece of the pie, but the legacy of this franchise. If some "investors" come in and buy up a quarter of the team, what's that going to do to the Mets? What will happen could be something most of us dread: they might become something like those arch enemies across the river, and don't go thinking that will be a good thing.

I think the worst fear of a Mets fan is not the Yankees beating the Mets so much as the Mets becoming like the Yankees. I don't mean in terms of winning; I mean in everything else. We don't want that corporate nightmare where winning at all costs means people-very good people-like Bernie Williams, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and many others get pushed out the door like damaged goods. Hey, that's like Popeye becoming Bluto, or Batman becoming the Joker. Mets fans would never stand for that.

So my idea is that we, the fans, should start putting money up to buy that quarter of a stake. I've got my twenty-five dollars ready to throw in the pot. Anyone else in?

Mets Mess: Hire Martha Stewart As Manager Now!

Article first published as Mets Mess: Hire Martha Stewart As Manager Now! on Blogcritics.

If you are a fan of the New York Mets like I am, you must be steaming right about now. The organization treated the hiring of Sandy Alderson as General Manager like the second coming of Frank Cashen, but the truth be told I think they should have about as much confidence in him as the financial advice once given to them by Bernie Madoff.


Most baseball fans are familiar with the famous routine “Who's on First?” by comedians Abbott and Costello. It is an hilarious look at baseball in general and is apropos for the Mets in particular. Alderson is messing around with managerial interviews and taking forever; he should take a page from Mayor Bloomberg’s book: he fired Joel Klein and faster than you can say “Chico Escuela” he hired Cathie Black to lead our NYC public schools.

Hey, I have a great idea: Alderson should go out and hire Martha Stewart to run the Mets, and you know they could do worse. They have dissed Met favorite Wally Backman (who did a great job with the Single A Brooklyn Cyclones this year), and they are looking at everyone from Clint Hurdle to Pee Wee Herman to run the show. Come to think of it, I think Ms. Stewart would be an ideal manager. If Ms. Black can come in and run the city schools with no educational experience, surely Ms. Stewart could do the same thing with the Mets.

If we take a look at previous managers in the last twenty years - and that’s not such a great crop to be sure - the one that stands out to me is Willie Randolph. Fellow New Yorker Randolph, who grew up in Brooklyn as a Met fan, not only has the right pedigree but he is baseball smart. Now, Bobby Valentine is baseball smart too, but he also was as bad a combination with the Mets as are Bill Maher and Bill O’Reilly on their first date.

Now, back to the Abbott and Costello routine. There is no question that Alderson is putting around the green and not sinking any balls. He is obviously afraid of making a big mistake - before making an even bigger mistake of messing up the team more than it already is.

My advice is to hire Ms. Stewart and let’s get on with it. She will have the guys knitting in the clubhouse, making a mean soufflé before the game, and having tea parties after the game (don’t forget to extend those pinkies, guys). After Ms. Stewart is firmly ensconced in the field they call Citi (and I still say it should have been called Shea Stadium just the same way the Yankees called their new park by its rightful name), these are the things that need to be attended to before New Year’s Eve:

First Base: Ike Davis. Enough said.

Second Base: Let Luis Castillo and his wobbly legs go. Hire Orlando Hudson like yesterday.

Shortstop: Give Jose Reyes a chance to not lead-off and he will find himself again.

Third Base: David Wright is the Mets’ Derek Jeter. "Always and Forever." I can hear Martha singing now.

Leftfield: A guy named Carlos Beltran, who looked bad in center last year, will look pretty good out there. Give him a chance to belt 40 dingers, but please, no looking at a called strike three anymore, Carlos.

Centerfield: Angel Pagan, the little train that showed he could. Now he’s a locomotive. Chug-a-chug-a, Angel. This will be his year.

Rightfield: There’s a guy named Jason Werth out there now. Martha should send a hologram of herself to Fred Wilpon saying, “You’re my only hope, Obi-wan, get me Jason Werth.” The force is with him to be sure.

Catcher: Two words: Josh Thole. I bet that he will emerge as the Jerry Grote of this team. Now all he needs is his Tom Seaver.

Starters: Martha, get that hologram fired up again, and this time ask for Cliff Lee (a lefty Tom Seaver). The force is with him too, and this is what the Mets need to do to let the Yankees and their fans know who’s boss in this town again.

Bullpen: Sayonara, Hisanori Takahashi. You did well when we needed you, but you're headed elsewhere. Oh, and the Mets can drop Oliver Perez into the same dumpster where they put Castillo and forget about him. Also, like it or not, we are stuck with Francisco (I never met a guy I didn’t want to beat up) Rodriguez. Let’s hope he can be K-Rod again and not K-Dud.

Bench: Can we coax Lee Mazzilli and Rusty Staub out of retirement? Oh well, I guess not, but they have to find a few vets to round out the roster and come off the bench when we need a hit. Can anyone say Jeff Francoeur? Oh, Frenchy, we need you more than Sandy did in Grease. Don’t be a Mets dropout and please come home - fast!

So that’s my version of "Who’s on First?" Only in this case we have some real answers here. Now the big question is whether or not Sandy Alderson was brought in to talk a good talk or to walk the walk. Come on, Sandy, Martha is only a phone call away. She’ll drop that butternut squash soup and come running if you call. Do it now!