The Mets lost. How is the baseball world viewing it?
Let’s break down what the perception of the Mets is by the baseball world.
The perception of the Mets Pre-Steve Cohen:
The Mets have been called many things since I was born. A winner is not one of them. Their time under the Wilpon’s had been characterized by dysfunction and failure. Twitter coins these moments of Mets misery as “#lolMets” moments. These moments range from on the field performances to off the field issues. Just for fun let's name a few.
- The obvious on the field one is the ’07 collapse. I was too young to remember the details, but if you are any older than I am you still feel the pain of that season.
- Lucas Duda getting food poisoning from the Citi Field Shake Shack
- Jason Vargas famously threatening a reporter in the clubhouse
- Mickey Callaway allowing the Mets to bat out of order (really the whole Mickey era)
The perception of this organization by fans of all teams, including the Mets is overall negative. They can’t quite seem to get it right. Mets fans could not get away from the seemingly cursed organization. Every time they gave the fans hope it was quickly ripped away.
The Wilpon’s were incompetent owners who got trapped by the Madoff scandal. Their unwillingness to spend left fans scratching their heads. Signing anyone in the offseason was a plus.
Then comes 2015. After 9 years without a playoff appearance, the Mets were hot in 2015. Led by their pitching staff anchored by Matt Harvey. Sandy Alderson and the Wilpon’s got their guy right at the 4 pm deadline. Yoenis Cespedes was a New York Met. But even then, Sandy tried to ruin it by saying Cespedes was a square peg in a round hole.
You all know the story. Cespedes proceeded to go on a tear and carry this team all the way to a WS appearance. Despite the loss, the fans had hope. Was the perception changing? Were the Mets good now?
Injuries and little improvement led to a Wild Card appearance in 2016. The Mets were, in fact, not good. Several disappointing seasons followed as did the #lolmets narratives.
Here comes Steve Cohen:
September 14, 2020. The day it all changed (well seemingly). Steve Cohen and his unlimited money agreed to buy the New York Mets. Fans rejoiced. The wait was over. The Wilpon’s were gone. The Mets finally had a competent owner who wanted to win.
The perception from baseball fans, however, remained the same. All fans heard was this was the same old Mets. Nothing matters until you get a ring. The Mets will Met forever. Fans of other teams love to hate the Mets.
Executives within baseball had a very different perspective on the new Mets under Steve Cohen. They were afraid. Steve put his foot down and made his presence known when the Mets acquired Francisco Lindor from Cleveland. Even then, it took until the 11th hour to sign him to a monstrous deal worth $341 million. Just $1 million more than Tatis. The perception from within baseball was the Mets are here to stay.
Despite the spending, Mets fans still could not win. It shifted to people saying the Mets buy wins and the Mets will still Met. They were right in 2021, the Mets were not very good after their second half collapse. Steve went on another spending spree in the winter of 2021.
That brings us to 2022. The Mets were good, no doubt about that. Even when they win, it’s always in embarrassing fashion. Losing to the Padres in the Wild Card series was bad. Max Scherzer getting lit up in game 1 was worse. Getting 1 hit in game 3 was the final straw.
How will Steve and Billy Eppler bounce back? That remains to be seen. It is going to take more than spending to change the fan’s perspective of this organization. It will take wins. Wins solve all your problems.
The culture within the organization has shifted but the only way to change the #lolMets mantra is sustained success, player development, moving in silence and ultimately a World Series title.
9 comments:
I talked to someone in the Mets org and he said look for a 2023 payroll in the range of $350mil
JD, nice timeline rendition. Forgot about the Duda Puke Shack episode.
I have said it many times, when this team spirals, it is due to lack of hitting. They hit poorly ever since Marte went down. They somehow need to have as many strong hitters as they did in 2022, PLUS ONE MORE. I cannot criticize the Mets pre-deadline, as who would have thought the combined output of JDD and Dom Smith would be so substandard? But the deadline moves did them in, notably the Ruf deal.
Mack, $350 million is what is needed I'd say to transition from powerhouse-thru-free-agency to having a top team fueled with a lot of cheap home-grown talent. Caveat: if the hitting prospects past Alvarez are going to be no better than average, they may have to be bundled to trade for a superior one. You want to win a WS? You need "superior".
Exactly, Tom. The mets relied on getting 2-3 hits to drive in each run throughout the season. Marte going down eliminated that extra hit. The team lacked power (aside from Pete and Lindor).
Steve will throw money at the teams problems until it can sustain itself through the minor leagues. As Steve said, if the Mets become the east coast Dodgers (with less playoff chokes) Mets fans will finally be happy.
JD, at my risk of being repetitive about Citifield’s role in squelching offense, in Mets games on the road, the Mets and their opponents hit 28% more HRs than the Mets and their opponents did in Citifield.
I recommended more than two years ago that this Mets move on from JD and Dom. I thought they were ill fits.
Ray, they could have sold high on both. It is not good to hold onto guys too long when there are real questions or when a guy has an unexpectedly good year. JD and Dom fall in the latter category.
Nice piece Jeremy. There were a lot of clown-show antics that could have gotten to your list. . Francisco Rodriguez taking on his father-in-law a back corner of the stadium comes to mind. The Cespedes/Syndergaard white horse thing that while not criminal, was odd and a spring distraction.
The organization that I like to point to for their culture is the Cardinals. Getting to that level should be a goal. I'm not a particular Dodgers fan - they got a strike against with the Bauer signing, which could have been a huge black eye for the start of the Cohen years that would have made it even harder.
It seems as if the Eppler OBP and OPS strategies are really what this team needs. Yes, as Tom Glavine once said, chicks dig the long ball, but knowing every hitter in the lineup can hit a single, go behind the runner, and get on base makes the whole team more formidable. Three run homers are a great thing when you can get them, but to bank on them as the sole solution is not particularly prudent. For what it would cost you to land an Aaron Judge you could probably get two .300 hitters with money left over. I like that approach better.
Agree...good fundamental baseball is winning baseball....see: 2015 Kansas City Royals
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