Yes, I’m about to go there. Any Mets fan is reading this and smacking their forehead loudly. It’s almost inevitable. Last year, Sportscenter had a Not Top 10 of purely Mets-related plays and events… in August. The season wasn’t even over yet. But allow me to eloquently explain the Mets’ suckitude. Keep in mind I’m explaining why the organization is merely futile; the Mets aren’t the worst team in the league. They’ve been to the playoffs during our generation. They’ve had good players, and they currently have good players. It’s merely HOW the team is RUN. It transcends their performance (or lack thereof) on the field; the front office is equally as inept.
So we’ll start with the management involved. Simply put, the Mets need a new owner. The Wilpons are doing everything they can to run the team into the ground since 2006, the Mets’ closest chance to significant success since, well, 20 years beforehand in the magical, cocaine-filled season of 1986. (Actually, the entire decade of the 1980’s was cocaine-filled in sports and society, but that be a topic for later.) Handing out big contracts to guys like Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo really doesn’t help. The fact that management has stubborn decided to keep these players every year does no good for the team.
Jerry Manuel is arguably the least efficient manager in the league. My God, he’s not even the best manager in the NL East with the last name of Manuel. Granted, Charlie Manuel is doing an incredible job in Philly, but that’s not the point. I haven’t seen a coach or manager criticized this often by the media since Isiah Thomas got ran out of town from the Knicks; he could have saved a baby out of a burning building and Knicks fans would still have booed him mercilessly.
Anyway, Manuel’s partner/butt buddy Omar Minaya at GM has assembled a team of Hispanics and David Wright that went 70-92 last year, fourth place in the NL East. An NL East with the rebuilding Braves, the Marlins with a payroll of literally, 30 million dollars, and the Nationals. Meanwhile, the Mets have been in the top 5 in team payroll practically every year this decade and have exactly ONE playoff berth (the pseudo-miracle run of 2006) to show for it. *cough* Yadier Molina *cough*
How about that new stadium? I mean, it’s aesthetically pleasing, but for actual Mets fans, have you actually SEEN the stadium? There’s more shit about Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers in there than anything! After talking to several Mets fans, it’s obvious to me that this hasn’t really struck a fine chord with the majority of supporters. Keep in mind the Dodgers haven’t played in Brooklyn since, uh, 1958. That’s 52 years. The Mets don’t even play in Brooklyn. Moving on.
I don’t get the Mets. Their organization really seems to have no desire to build a championship team. How can a team in the sports world’s biggest market have all that payroll and perennially underachieve? I don’t even root for them and it bothers me a LOT. Jason Bay was a nice addition, but the guy already peaked statistically; AND now he’s in the uber-pitcher’s park known as CitiField (or ShittiField, if you’re not a fan). Johan Santana may not even be the best pitcher from Venezuela at this point in his career (Felix Hernandez may have him beat) and gets minimal run support. I’m actually really happy that Ike Davis has been beasting so far and Jose Reyes is healthy again (he’s one of my favorite players to watch, period), but anything above third place this year will be a surprise to me. You can only hope that David Wright will make more Vitamin Water advertisements. Just saying.
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