Sandy Alderson addressed the media on Thursday afternoon, “answering” questions about the immediate future of the Mets. Fellow Mets fans, I’m not buying any of it and neither should you. Isn’t it a bit convenient that so close to the trade deadline, with fan outrage at a feverish pitch, Sandy took to the podium to dish out some vaguely positive news pertaining to the returns of d’Anaud, Wright, and Blevins. He even went as far as to say the Mets would add any contract they saw necessary. Sandy, on behalf of Mets fans everywhere, I say, “Bulls*%$ !”
We’re still the same team that we were before his hollow words were uttered: a horrific offensive club with great pitching, and owners unwilling to make the moves that would put us into serious playoff contention. This is the same old dog and pony show that we’ve seen for years now.
Maybe it’s time we fans say we’ve had enough, and really mean it. Maybe it’s time we put our money where our mouth is. I, for one, can’t take the way our beloved Mets are being run anymore, and odds are, neither can you. I listen to sports radio regularly; I know you can’t. We are being held in a sports fan’s prison and the Wilpons are the guards whistling as they stroll past our cells.
The truth is, the Wilpons don’t believe in the 2015 Mets. It’s evident that they are eying 2016 as the year. But you know what? The Mets may have stiffer competition in 2016, and may not be in the position they are in this year. Injuries can always pop up, especially with this team. Then it will be about 2017, and the cycle repeats. It’s always about “next year;” it always has been. And the majority of us have bought into it for the most part, because of the players that were coming through the minor leagues.
Many of those players are here right now, and so “next year” has to become “this year.” The Mets are so close to being a legit contender that we can taste it. That is why we are all in such a rage. All we need is a couple of major league batters. Just one or two competent hitters; that’s it! We don’t need murder’s row with this pitching. A Ben Zobrist or a Gerardo Parra would markedly improve this team, and they aren’t going to cost the organization all that much. Both could be had for minimal prospects and some cash. And there lies the main hitch: the money.
The issue is that Mets fans sense that the Wilpons don’t want, or can’t afford to spend any money at all on this team. None. What is more troubling is the silence of ownership that supports the idea. Sure the Wilpons used to spend money and they got burned. That’s a story we hear often, but what team hasn’t had its share of free agent busts? The problem stems from the fact that the Mets have more often than not, gone out and acquired the second or third best option, rarely the first. When they have gone out and gotten the best option, i.e. a Piazza, Delgado, or Beltran, they’ve eventually been paid back in performance. Their plan B’s, not so much.
What can we do? Our hands are tied as fans, right? Management can be changed, but the Wilpons seem to have a death grip on the title of ownership. Calling into the WFAN, writing on message boards, even posts like this have been for naught. Nobody at the Mets is listening, not Sandy and definitely not Jeff and Fred. The Wilpons haven’t made themselves available to the media in ages, where they might actually have to answer for their lack of action. It’s time for that to change.
It’s time we fans force the Wilpons to talk, to come clean. There’s a way we can make it happen. No, I am not suggesting boycotting the games as others already have; too many of us enjoy going to games, regardless of the team’s play. I’m suggesting the exact opposite.
What I think we Mets fans have to do is take our outrage directly to the Wilpons. We need to amass a peaceful demonstration, expressing our distaste for the way the team is run. Even the Wilpons wouldn’t be able to ignore a rally of thousands of Mets fans outside their offices at Citi Field, could they?
Look, a baseball team is not life or death, but it’s still pretty damn important to a lot of us. People take to the streets to protest a multitude of things in this country; why should we just accept that our voices fall on deaf ears? I’m not sure how we can organize this or who should lead it, but I know that if done correctly, it could at least give us some closure.
Let’s get it going Mets fans! There has to be an option where we don’t just sit on our hands and wait! After all, that’s what the Wilpons do and we’re better than that!
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