Being a Mets fan no longer means sadly watching the fans of other teams get nice stuff that you can't have.
I was browsing through some of my early posts when I revived this blog in March 2020. I came across this post, written at a time when Steve Cohen had apparently backed off from buying the Mets. It was disappointing — not because I was convinced back then that Steve Cohen would be an ideal owner, but rather it meant that Fred and Jeff Wilpon would linger on the scene for a while longer. As I noted in that post, the Wilpons were "like guests that you were never all that excited about in the first place who have seriously outlived their welcome."
I envisioned a reality show based on ABC's long-running The Bachelor, where I would be allowed to bestow the ultimate rose of Mets ownership to the rich person who checked all of the boxes for me. A little arrogant? Sure, but it was my damn fantasy. I had fun writing the piece.
Although it was written with tongue firmly in cheek, I was pretty honest in laying out what kind of owner I was hoping for. Looking back on what I wrote, it's funny how well Steve Cohen ticked all of the boxes:
He/she needs to be rich. Really rich. Hate to be mercenary, but if you want my damn rose, I don't want to spend the next 10 years worrying about your finances. If you have to ask, you can't afford it. F*** off.
He/she needs to be able to hire good people and then let them do their jobs. Sure, any owner will have a say in any significant money expenditure, but my Big Bucks Dreamboat doesn't have any illusions that he can make day-to-day baseball decisions because he placed third in his fantasy baseball league 7 years ago. Remember, while George Steinbrenner brought the Yankees back to winning in the 70s, he almost buried them in the 80s.
He/she can make a plan and stick with it. I get a freaking headache when the franchise seems to retool and change direction every 5 years or so. Make it a priority to hire good people from top to bottom and build a real organization that can find talent, sign it, grow it and roll it out on a big league field. Splashy free agent signings are cool, but winning is sustained by doing the little things right.
He/she respects the past of this franchise. If you own a team, you shouldn't have to be guilted into honoring those who have shone for your team in the past. Retire a couple of numbers. Celebrate past championships. And for God's sake, I don't want to hear about feuds between you and former players.
Finally, no Drama King/Queens need apply. We've had more than enough of that with our exes. Let's just make it about baseball this time around.
Obviously, Steve Cohen is rich enough that I don't spend any time worrying that his finances could adversely affect how the franchise operates. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. Fred Wilpon never had a Luxury Tax level named after him.
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4 comments:
Steve will always run into the fire.
Thank you Mr. Matz.
Great post AND the fact Stevie is a lifelong Met's fan just sweeten's the deal LGM!
Another example of how badly a team can self destruct is my N.Y.Giants who will need year's to recover from the Gettleman disaster and he walks away with a golden parachute which I'll never understand and from a long time revered ownership family.
Good stuff as usual, Mike. I think this pretty much sums up every Mets fan thinking.
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