If there’s such a thing as a four-ring circus, the Mets are it. It seems there is always something there to tarnish even their most shiny moments. An extremely moving, nicely planned and executed, nationally-televised ceremony of remembrance turned into a farce in short order. A nice gesture – one that has become somewhat of a tradition over the last ten years – has become the latest mini-storm to blow through Met Land.
Are we really surprised to find the grinning skulls of Fred and Jeff Wilpon behind this mess?
By now, if you’re reading this, you know the story. Two weeks ago, the Mets announced they’d wear the hats of the NYPD, FDNY, EMS and Port Authority Police on the tenth anniversary of the September 11th Attacks – as they’ve done every September 11th. 
This would dovetail nicely with the planned commemoration of that horrid event and a fine tribute to those first-responders who lost their lives that hideous day. One would think these plans would bear the label “Not To Be Messed With.” One would be wrong.
Hours before the game, it was announced that MLB had forbidden the Mets to wear the First-Responder millinery, and had to wear the MLB-issue “regular” home caps, emblazoned with an American flag on the side. There was an immediate hue and cry on Twitter and throughout the blogosphere that Ebenezer Selig – through an unlikely toady, Joe Torre – had squashed the Mets’ hope of honoring the heroes of the WTC with a crass commercial gambit: replicas of the Mets’ 9/11/11 caps are available from MLB.com for a mere $36.99. I was being as eloquent as I possibly could when I Tweeted: “That is complete crap.”
But there was an opportunity to be had here. This was a chance for the Mets organization to exemplify the scrappy, working-class-hero ethos so beloved in the mid-60’s. This was a chance for the players, the ownership and the fans to yell “SCREW da MAN!” in unison. It would have been so sweet to see the players and the Wilpons risk a heavy fine and defy the MLB edict.
Instead, they folded like a $36.99 suit.
The team met before the game and decided they didn’t want to incur the wrath of Seligula. They didn’t want to ruffle any of the feathers of the entity to which they are –quite literally – indebted. In these subsequent days, the whole situation has devolved into a “He Said/He Said” argument, with MLB claiming they delivered no threat of a fine. It just might be possible that this flap might just accomplish that which the Wilpons were trying to avoid: angering Bud Selig.
In any case, on the heels of their abandoned efforts to bring in a heavy-hitting investor , this is one more pock-mark on an already irreparably damaged reputation. Please sell this team.
And oh yeah: the bullpen stinks, too.
Well said!
Also, I doubt that the Wilpons have “family and friends” (and others) that will put $15-20 million or so into the team. Here’s hoping they have to SELL!
I’m a fan from the first day of the Mets existance and I would love the Wilponzies to sell the team. They have mismanaged this franchise for too long. Even the beautiful stadium they built has such a convoluted playing field that it is a joke. They embarass their employees,( the Randolph firing was a debacle, the New Yorker article a disgrace) fans(whining about payroll after mismanaging it for years)and the proud first responders of NYC in this most recent event. Oh yeah, and their bullpen stinks.
Right on Charlie, you’d think guys like us who’ve been around rooting for this for so long would be immune to the stupidity of the Skill Sets but we still shake our heads and wonder why?
[…] we’re distracted from yet another on-field disaster by a miniature replay of last season’s 9/11 “Capgate”. R.A. Dickey was forced to remove a friendship bracelet his daughter had given him prior to his […]