Reese Kaplan -- An Eyes Wide Open Look at the 2020 Season

It was an interesting weekend between the insincere interview Jeff Wilpon gave the NY Post regarding his involvement in the team’s various messes since taking over from the Doubleday family, the shirtless prank the pitchers played on Noah Syndergaard when they all appeared in bare skin around the fully clothed Thor, and the ongoing lack of movement on improving the NY Mets roster.

With full squad practices beginning this week, a great many are looking to see who will win some of the minor position races and who will make up the 24^th through 26^th roster spots.  There shouldn’t be any great surprises with most of the decisions already made before a pitch has been thrown or a bat has been swung. 

Of course, the majority of the attention will be on the rookie manager who has not had the typical amount of time necessary to prepare his team for a full season’s battle.  Thus far Luis Rojas has been solid in interviews, quiet but forthright.  You never got the feeling like with the early days of Mickey Callaway that he was posturing for the cameras or like the overlong tenure of Terry Collins that he was resting on the laurels of dubious success in the past.  The players all seem uniformly happy with Rojas at the helm and all have been circumspect in their commentary about the man he replaced (let alone the reason for it happening).  Yes, you expect some feedback from the former Astros or players who were dinged while pitching against them, but for the most part it’s been newsworthy and not in a Page Six style.

The biggest news to evolve over the weekend was the Friday post that Alex Rodriguez is allegedly “kicking the tires” on joining the fray to bid for the team from the Wilpons.  Everyone knows that the Wilpons have agreed to relinquish control more quickly than under the documents drawn up with Steve Cohen, but they also have upped the price of the franchise by about $400 million over what Cohen was to pay for the club.  Good luck with that one given the club is allegedly losing $50 million per year and from a business perspective it would appear not to be a sound financial investment.  Financial pundits feel that Rodriguez, even with J-Lo's contributions, would not have enough capital to make this move without involving as yet unidentified partners.

TCM played the classic movie “Gaslight” this weekend which is about a desirable young wife being terrorized by her husband, making her feel as if she is going crazy.  In a way, that’s a lot like how it feels to be a Mets fan.  Just as soon as the optimism of a new beginning fuels your positive emotions, a blown deal, a baseball scandal or a misbegotten contract signing serves to pull the rug out from under you and make your despair as a Mets fan blossom anew. 

With a new owner the club might seek out a more experienced General Manager, look to strengthen the 25^th ranked farm system, and embrace spending in a positive way instead of restricting roster improvements to previously injured or overwrought veterans (as well as picking up the scrap heap picks discarded by other teams).  There’s certainly truth to those notions and in many ways the improved 2019 club has nowhere to go but up.  

Right now it’s pretty clear they are not going to make any major changes that could impact the potential sale, so what you see is what you get.  Fortunately for Mets fans, that’s not all bad for the first time since mid-year 2015 when Yoenis Cespedes almost singlehandedly led the club to the World Series.  With a better manager, maybe this time they’ll win.