The New York Mets were recently described as the "fruits and nuts" of the league by Scott Boras. It was a description that resonated in a bad way with some optimistic fans. What he was saying is that they used to be big time spenders in the Winter Meetings and free agency but now they are reduced to making questionable and cheaper moves.
I don't think his analogy was all that bad, as it does hold a measure of truth, but I choose to think of the Mets in a different way these days. They're shopping in the giant, overloaded cheap bin of the store. Let me explain. Free agency is a lot like shopping.
These days, we can all relate to that. With the holidays upon us, it's a time to spend money we really don't have and don't want to part with on people we rarely see and will end up not liking the gift anyway. Sound familiar Mets fans?
A team decides to address needs. They don't have the money and their fans are not showing up to the brand new ballpark. So they go bargain hunting for the best deal they can afford. They have to buy so much for so little that there is no possible way they could know where to start.
When they get what they need the most, the people they are buying for (aka the fans) don't like it. They say "I loved Pagan, why those dumb owners trade him?". And "Frankie Frank? That's our upgrade?" They are relatively never satisfied. But to gain a better understanding of the presents, let's see where the Mets are shopping at, shall we?
They go to the big bin in the middle of the store. You know the one. It's bigger than your kid and almost bigger than you. It's overflowing with everything you can imagine: toys, games, makeup, appliances, remote controlled gadgets, etc. The really cool stuff (and the most expensive) is at the very top.
Sitting atop the massive heap of holiday joy. The Mets can't afford a $15 million toaster, so they dig deeper. There are movies, can-openers and stuffed South Park dolls in the next layer. The Mets can't afford a $10 million Cartman doll so they keep digging.
Finally, they get to the bottom of the bin. Everything is marked with a bright red "clearance" sticker. There's Halloween candy from 2009, cans of cat food with expiration dates from last month and box of band-aids. The Mets can afford a box of band-aids for around, oh let's say, $3.5 million.
This accomplishes two things for them. They have a present and they didn't break their piggy bank to get it. While fans would love for them to have gone after the toaster (a top player like Jose Reyes or Jonathan Papelbon) or the Cartman doll (a middle salary player like Grady Sizemore and Joe Nathan), the Mets had to financially settle with a box of band-aids (Frank Francisco or Jon Rauch).
These aren't bad purchases. They do stop the bleeding of a terrible bullpen, after all. But fans will always see this offseason as the day we lost our beloved Jose Reyes and Angel Pagan.
They will view Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez as the pink bunny suit in "A Christmas Story". Like Ralphie, fans will never like it or accept it, no matter the thought that went into it. Let's remember as fans that the Mets are in bargain hunting mode these days.
The era of breaking the bank for that brand new car with a big red bow on it are long gone. Of the last two new cars they bought, one is on the DL and the other can't hit home runs as frequently. While they are both good players, they aren't helping the team in their current state.
Don't look for the Mets to go down that road under its current administration. In fact, this Mets brass will be clipping coupons and diving into clearance bins. That's the way it's going to be for a while.
All we can do as fans is be thankful we're still getting presents.
4 comments:
I just wish one day someone out of Flushing would use the rebuilding word. And I truly wish we had gone full blown in that effort. Instead we went about seven-eighths of the way. A rebuilding mentality would have cut the cord with Reyes AND Wright without hesitancy. I trust Sandy will straighten things out over time. I just feel the Mets needed, or still need to strip this down even further.
so what your saying is, "it's the thought that counts." I get it. Unfortunately for the Wilpons, they would probably like the payroll to be around 70 million. Since they need to fill up the roster though, thats impossible. Come 2014, it won't be. Unless those pitchers turn out to be as good as advertised, the Mets are going to be screwed because by 2014, they won't even be able to buy the band aids. It's all smoke and mirrors anyway. They got the cash. The Mets do make money. It's just that the Wilpons have gotten themselves in way over their heads in debt, and all the profit is going towards paying off as much of it as they can. SNY, naming rights, 2.1 million attendence. This team made money. They just didn't make enough to cover the lawsuits, the citifield payments, the payroll, and whatever else the Mets assets are being used to pay off. Shame.
Brooklyn Trolley Blogger: A lot of people have that same wish. It's just that they're affraid that the "rebuilding" process will subtract another million from their attendence, and they simply can't afford to do that. They're gunna roll the dice with Wright, Davis, Duda, and Bay, and hope that them plus the pitch they have will be enough to remain relevant this year.
I've never seen Pagan be referred to as "beloved". Mets fans were calling for his head all year, and now that they traded him, they switched allegiances instantly.
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