Yesterday Jeff Wilpon made some comments about the upcoming offseason and the future of Mets baseball. What he said was nothing new and only added to the uncertainty over what this offseason will bring.
He listed David Wright, Zack Wheeler, Dillon Gee and Jon Niese as the only players that are “locks” for the 2014 roster. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. Missing from this list was Daniel Murphy, but the front office has always been willing to trade Murphy under the right circumstances.
Wilpon restated the Mets ability to spend money this offseason and that Sandy Alderson isn’t handcuffed due to payroll constraints.
All of these statements continue to express the same things we have heard for the past three seasons. What will now make the difference is action.
Making these changes, adding to the roster and investing in the big league club will get fans to regain trust in the organization of the team. Fans are tired of sitting around, waiting and nothing happens. The past three off-seasons have seen no big time talent being brought into Flushing. The phrase “actions speak louder than words” sums up this situation.
If the Mets go into 2014 adding no new talent and keeping the same roster as 2013, fans will give up. Alderson asked for patience and time to get this plan into effect, but now he needs to produce. Fans, like me, decided to join in on this ride and give Alderson the time to fix this mess. But now, I’m tired of the excuses and the talking points. Jeff Wilpon’s comments only continue the media circus around the team and don’t add any value to this process.
What will make this all go away are actions. Bringing in talent and making the Mets better in 2014 is what can please fans who have stuck through this process. But, not making changes could alienate a fan base that is alright on the brink of giving up.
2014 has always been the year for change. Countless number of times we have heard that statement. We’ve heard it from Alderson and Wilpon and from the media. It’s not good enough to tell us what you are going to do, you have to do it. The only way to gain the trust of the fan base back is to make moves to make the team better. Now that doesn’t mean overpay for players, shell out big contracts and trade the farm away, but it means making meaningful acquisitions.
Come January, Sandy Alderson’s legacy as Mets General Manager will be cemented in stone based off of what he does this offseason. If he wants to keep a fan base, he better make it a good one.
Wilpon and Alderson only lie when their lips move.
I think you have to make the distinction between Wilpon and Alderson. Alderson was brought in to keep a leaking ship from sinking to the bottom. He’s shed a lot of bad contracts and gotten some young talent back for it; presumably, he’s improved the minor league system from one of baseball’s worst to something respectably middling. That’s probably as well as you could hope he’d do for an ownership desperate to hang on to their biggest assets.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Mets actually spend real money this off season. If Wilpon really gives Alderson the money, he’ll spend it. If Wilpon doesn’t have the money, Alderson will say he couldn’t make the right deal, which would be a very nice way of saying “the owners are broke.”
Sandy Alserson will have no legacy here in New York. Nor should he. The commissioners office forced him on the Wilpons because of their own stupidity. His job was to clean up the mess left behind by Minaya and put the team on better solid ground as opposed to quagmire it was sinking in. How many times will the fan base be fooled by their empty promises? I said it last year and I’ll say it again this year, If there are no significant changes this off season fans should BOYCOTT Citifield and show your displeasure the only way a fan can do so effectively. You can always watch on television or listen on the radio.
“If there are no significant changes this off season fans should BOYCOTT Citifield and show your displeasure the only way a fan can do so effectively. You can always watch on television or listen on the radio.”
Agree 100%, have said it before, and wish more people would say this.
Tons of second-hand discount tickets for about for $5 to $10 in the uppers…you can upgrade yoursef in an empty stadium. Avoid buying stuff. Get a free soda by signing up as a designated driver. Plenty of ways to get a mediocre game in without giving the sleazy Wilpons $$$$. O yeah…take public transport.
I’m still a believer. There’s too much money available and too many players out there that can help the Mets. However, if nothing happens, it’s going to make me wonder if all the Alderson naysayers are right.
I think whenever Jeff Wilpon speaks one has to be leary he is speaking truth, wishful thinking, or pacifying us once again. Next year is the telling point if him and daddy Freddy will once again put forth the resources needed to get this team to the next level or continue to give the fans lip service that they are already tired of hearing. If they hadn’t been greedy and naive about their friend Bernie Madoff this franchise would have been in much better shape!
For what it’s worth, here’s my theory about the Wilpons: Fred is a successful real estate investor. Becoming a MLB owner fulfills his childhood dreams of being a big league player. Along comes li’l jeffy with personality and brains from the short end of the gene pool. Fred can’t let li’l jeffy screw about the family real estate business, because that’s where their real wealth is. So li’l jeffy gets to use the Mets as his outlet. As long as Fred makes sure that li’l jeffy doesn’t do anything stupid enough to get “Uncle” Bud angry it’s okay by dad. “Uncle” Bud loves to have teams with low to mid level payrolls succeed because that proves he’s been a good commish and the game has thrived competitively. Thus, Fred was willing to follow “Uncle” Buds “suggestion” that they hire Sandy Alderson, who would keep the payroll and li’l jeffy in check. So the prodigal son can make statements to the press and feel important, but if he screws with Alderson the word will get back to “Uncle” Bud and someone will get spanked. Of course, you have to throw Bernie Madoff into the scenario, thus giving Fred cover for not spending money on the team. If you were a smart businessman would you invest heavily in an enterprise with li’l jeffy involved?
Hey Scott! ALL 30 teams will have the additional 25 million dollars from television. All that needs to happen is have 1 team decide to take part of that extra cash flow and dedicate it towards a free agent the Mets may be targeting. So if the team is serious about bringing back fans to Citifield then action speaks louder than words.