Chick-fil-A Foul Poles Show Mets Hold Nothing Sacred
When it comes to the New York Mets ownership under the Wilpons, one thing which becomes increasingly clear is just how little they think of their fanbase. When Citi Field was built, it was an over-the-top tribute to the Brooklyn Dodgers with very little honoring the history of the New York Mets.
The exterior of the ballpark was an homage to Ebbets Field. There was the Jackie Robinson Rotunda but nothing honoring Tom Seaver or other Mets greats. The Mets Hall of Fame was nowhere to be seen. They actually removed Dwight Gooden‘s signature from the wall and invented a lie that there would soon be an autographed wall with signatures from Mets greats. There were also many obstructed views. On that front, the Mets made matters worse:
View from upper deck in right at @CitiField behind new fowl pole ad. ??♂️ #Mets pic.twitter.com/tZBmipgxvX
— Neil Best (@sportswatch) July 23, 2019
Looking at the image, aside from home plate, first base, and a good portion of right field, what you cannot see is the new advertisements added to the foul poles at Citi Field. Here’s another image to show the new minor league park like advertisements the ballpark now has:
Foul poles at Citi Field. #Mets pic.twitter.com/SrL6dCFG1y
— Neil Best (@sportswatch) July 23, 2019
Now, there are many reasons why people would be justifiably angry with these advertisements in the ballpark. On that front, it is beyond amusing to consider one of the reasons purportedly offered for the Mets not wanting to keep Daniel Murphy was his comments on this topic. Perhaps if he offered back part of his contract to advertise on the foul poles, the Mets would have won the 2016 World Series.
Social issues aside, there are other reasons to be annoyed with this. First and foremost, there are now obstructed view seats in the ballpark where there weren’t previously. This means if you bought a ticket for full price to sit in those two areas, you know have an obstructed view seat. Of course, if you go to the Mets website, it should be noted these seats are not designated as obstructed view nor are they discounted to reflect their new status.
After all, if that was done, this could not be as effective a money grab as the Wilpons wanted this to be.
Another factor not discussed is the orange foul poles were uniquely Mets. They are the only team in baseball with foul poles which were not yellow. Even with all the Brooklyn Dodger nonsense around Citi Field, the Wilpons actually kept the orange foul poles keeping something uniquely Mets in their new home. To some Mets fans, those foul poles are iconic. Now? Well, their effect is as obstructed as the views which are now being blocked.
These foul poles are another cash grab much like putting an Amway office in Citi Field was. Like that Amway office, this is another way the Mets have actively tried to make themselves a joke at the promise of another dollar. Already, people are rushing to make the joke that neither Chick-fil-A or the Mets work on Sunday. While the Mets go out of their way to make themselves a laughingstock, sorry more of a laughingstock, like the David Wright and Yoenis Cespedes insurance proceeds, this is another buck which the Wilpons will pocket and not reinvest in the team.
Overall, the Chick-fil-A foul poles represent everything wrong with the Mets under the Wilpons stewardship, so in the end, the new foul poles are perhaps more fitting that originally contemplated.
One of the replies to Best’s tweet was gold: “This team stinks, but how can we screw the fans more? Let’s put an unnecessary ad along the foul poles to block their views even more. No worries though, there should be plenty of empty seats available to switch into if you want.”
At this point we’re looking at 72 wins next season. It’s the beginning of the Alderson years all over again. A little more front line talent but even less competent stewardship, not to mention the likelihood of the Mets dumping one of Conforto or Syndergaard as they go into their penultimate arb seasons. Hooboy.
The key difference was Alderson knew what he was doing. Van Wagenen is terrible.
Alderson did some things well but overall he was a shill who swapped a good reputation for millions of dollars as the Wilpons’ front man and con man. That he lied to us regularly on their behalf was unforgivable–hence my irritations. The game had passed him by, too. He was at best an average GM (good trader, fwiw) but the point at which he paid or permitted Bruce to be paid 3/39m and failed to understand that no later than the start of 2017 he had a starting 2 win CFer in Nimmo for the major league minimum, was the point at which he was overdue for retirement. He was also shelling out for Cabrera and Walker when he had big holes on the team and Dilson Herrera on hand–Herrara, who was a hair better at the plate than Dom Smith over two full minor league seasons and as a middle infielder (!), yet Alderson couldn’t find a place for him. Smh.
But for all that, yes, Alderson was surely a better GM than Wags. Among the proof is that Alderson left enough talent to build a contender in 2019. That was clear. How Wags turned that into a team headed for 74 wins warrants a book I may just have to write.
Alderson had his issues including not trusting young players, but he was better than average. He left behind a fantastic core and payroll flexibility. Overall, his biggest issue was the biggest issue for all Mets General Managers – Jeff Wilpon.
@md — I’d prefer to say Alderson left behind a *good* core (and at best an average farm), a core out of which a contender could have easily been built given the resources the Mets were willing to invest during the 2018-2019 offseason.
As for payroll flexibility, that’s a double-edged sword. The Mets would have been in far better shape had Alderson committed payroll to the Mets controllable core during the 2017-2018 offseason (if not sooner) and signed them through their arb years while snagging an additional year or two of FA.
In short, the Mets had a lot of payroll flexibility because they had failed to lock up their good players.
Whether that’s the fault of the GM or the owners, of course, is hard to say–but Alderson did sign up for this and hitch himself to the Wilpons.
The Mets farm system was far better than average. If Van Wagenen didn’t make that idiotic trade, they’d have Kelenic, Dunn, Kay, Gimenez, and Mauricio in the top 100 with Vientos, Alvarez, and others not far behind. Really, this Mets system was going to be the envy of the Major Leagues before Van Wagenen tore it apart.