Rants

The Wilpons Need to be Stopped

The Wilpons are commonly compared to the McCourts. For the uninitiated, the McCourts used to own the Dodgers until MLB seized the team and forced the sale of the team. 

With the McCourts, the apparent tipping point was Frank McCourt seeking a $300 million loan from its TV partner just to make payroll. The Dodgers payroll dropped, and the large market team only had the 12th best payroll. Furthermore, the McCourts were accused of using Dodgers revenues to support their lifestyle. It all came unravelling during the McCourts’ divorce when much of this became public.  MLB seized the opportunity to force the sale of the Dodgers. 

I’m not sure the Wilpons’ financial misdeeds quite reach the level of the McCourts. However, they did take out $980 million in loans to stay afloat; $430 million of that was borrowed against the Mets. Since that time, as per Howard Megdal, the Wilpons have used the Mets profits to finance this debt. This debt was not taken out to benefit the Mets. Rather, the debt has had a negative impact on the Mets as the debt agreements, prior to refinancing, prevented the Mets from increasing payroll. 

Where the Wilpons conduct falls short of the McCourts is the the daily operations. At no point has it been alleged the Mets couldn’t make payroll. While the Wilpons have been using the Mets as a personal ATM like the McCourts, they have not done so to the point that they can’t make payroll. The prior commissioner and Wilpons’ good friend, Bud Selig, never said a word about this. The closest current commissioner, Rob Manfred, only said teams should “spend commensurate with the economic resources available to them.”  He also enjoyed pointing out the mid-market Royals had a larger payroll than the big market Mets. 

None of this amounts to much. It appears so long as the Mets do not interfere with the ability to find the team’s operations, MLB will not step in and take the team over. It’ll allow the Mets to raise ticket prices while reducing payroll. It will not hold the Mets up to their own standards. 

If that was the only issue, MLB could be justified in looking the other way. However, there are greater accusations of malfeasance by the Mets organization. 

The Mets settled a lawsuit due to Jeff Wilpon’s alleged discriminatory actions. He apparently took issue with a woman being pregnant out of wedlock. He told her that she would be paid more when she gets married. She was eventually told she was going to be fired, but she could stay on for the rest of the year if she dropped her discrimination claims. She refused and had her attorney advise the Wilpons she was pursuing the claims. She was fired three minutes later. 

Of course, the Mets claim she was fired for failing to meet ticket quotas. It should be noted that this was at the time the Mets initially purged payroll putting a constantly diminishing payroll each year. It should also be noted, the female employee was the first ever female senior vice president. She was replaced by a man. 

If that wasn’t enough, the Mets also declined to renew the contract of an injured pitching coach. During the season, Tom Signore was struck with a ball causing blindness in one eye at post-concussion symptoms. He was regarded well enough to fill-in for Frank Viola in AAA. Now that he had some medical issues, he’s pushed out the door. 

If you’re still not convinced of the Wilpons’ malfeasance, consider their censorship: 

https://twitter.com/koosman2pointoh/status/679434407267147776

So between the using the Mets as an ATM, firing a single mom on trumped up charges, and getting rid of a person hurt on the job, when does MLB step in and take over the team?  How long can this embarrassment continue?  Are we allowed to talk about it?  I mean they don’t allow such conversations on their network. 
Mets fans have a right to be angry with the team’s spending. MLB should be embarrassed by the actions of one of its owners. Firing single mothers and effectively firing a person blind in one eye is not okay. 

Sooner or later MLB has to step in and out a stop to all of this. 

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Team Christmas Sweaters are Ugly

I had an aunt that gave everyone one of her nieces and nephews an ugly Christmas sweater for Christmas. We all hated it. We were all forced to wear it. It wasn’t an enjoyable part of my childhood. It was a miserable experience. 

Well now, it’s a thing. People have ugly Christmas sweater parties. I get it. We get nostalgic for the things from our childhood, no matter how awful they might’ve been. Parties like this are fun. It’s great seeing people trying to find a truly awful sweater. It’s not like it was hard. They’re everywhere. However, with that said, someone’s always out there to ruin the fun. 

If you’re wearing a sports team’s “ugly sweater” you’re not meaningfully participating. It’s the equivalent of buying a jersey. You’re wearing team merchandise. Also, the point of the ugly sweater party was to highlight the truly awful ugly sweaters we either had to wear growing up or had to see on an overly festive relative. 

When the product made is intentionally “ugly”, either the sweater or the concept has jumped the shark. Please continue the parties. However, instead of regarding the unoriginal, support the person who made a truly awful sweater and is proud of it. Turning your back on them is like turning your back on Mugatu and the piano neck tie. You don’t want to deal with those consequences. 

If you really want an ugly Mets item this winter, I suggest going on the Internet to find this jersey:

  
If you do that, you’ll have my respect. 

Merry Christmas. 

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The Mets Should Be Available on Roku

When I first looked at my house, I checked everything. The toilets flushed. The water ran in the sinks and showers. I thought I checked everything. I didn’t. 

The first floor wasn’t wired for cable. The basement was. The top floor where the bedrooms are were. The first floor wasn’t. Due to reasons beyond my understanding, an antenna doesn’t pick up local television stations. Not even PBS. As a result, I got the Roku, and I have been quite pleased with it with one major exception: I can’t watch the Mets. 

That’s not completely true. I can if the Mets are on ESPN. Other than that, I can’t. I can watch them on my phone via the Optimum App, but not on the Roku. My Optimum subscription allows me to get live TV from different Roku channels, but it doesn’t allow me to watch SNY. Even if I subscribed to MLB TV, I still couldn’t watch the Mets on the Roku because I live in market. 

MLB is now easing restrictions to stream games on devices like the Roku. Note, this has no effect on the MLB TV. Rather, it has an impact if your team’s partner is Fox, which is apparently half the league. It includes YES, which owns a share of the network. It doesn’t include the Mets because their partner for SNY is Comcast. As a result, my Roku is useless for watching Mets games in 2016 past Opening Day. 

It’s about time that ends. Optimum needs to make its app available for the Roku like Time Warner did. Comcast should work with MLB to permit SNY to be streamed. Why isn’t this going to happen?  Are the Mets and MLB afraid I’ll take my Roku with me when I go on vacation to an out of market location and watch the games?  Are they afraid I’m going to see the commercials when I’m elsewhere?  

It’s ridiculous. It’s why a solution needs to be found before the season starts. 

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Mets Fans: Seaver is Much Better than Wright

In case you missed it, the Mets are having a Bobblehead giveaway. You just need to re-tweet the Tweet and vote for the player you want:

David Wright is crushing Tom Seaver with 65% of the vote. Seriously?  I know it’s a popularity contest, but there is no way you should want a bobblehead of Wright over Seaver. Seaver is the greatest Met ever. He just might be the greatest right hand pitcher of all time. There should not be any Met more popular than him. 
Frankly, the result of this poll is embarrassing to Mets fans. It shows we can’t respect what little history we have. It’s a shame. 

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When Does the Thor Backlash Begin?  

Sadly, Victor Cruz’s attempts to comeback from last season’s patella tendon injury has ended as he needs to have season ending calf surgery. Cruz sustained the latter injury while rehabbing his prior injury. It’s a cruel twist of fate. 

Cruz has overcome so much. In high school, his father committed suicide. He has been dismissed from the UMass football team due to his grades. He was an undrafted rookie free agent. He made the Giants, but he had a season ending hamstring injury in his first season meaning he’d have to prove himself all over again. 

He did. In 2011, he lead the Giants in receptions. He caught a touchdown in the Super Bowl. The next year he became a Pro Bowler. He’s been there for fans during times of tragedy. He’s always there when in need. He started the Victor Cruz Foundation to help children with education. He’s a role model. So what happens when he breaks down announcing he can’t return this year after working so hard to return:

What does it have to do with anything?  

Exactly. It’s just people kicking Cruz while he’s down.  Also, is it a surprise to anyone that Matt Harvey‘s name was invoked?  Not to me. He’s been the subject of gratuitous shots himself. Their crime?  Being visible. They’re not at clubs. They’re not beating women. They’re just visible. Apparently, it gives people the right to negate all of their hard work and effort. 

You know who’s been visible a lot lately?  Noah Syndergaard. 

  


  

  

If we’ve learned anything from Harvey, you’re not allowed to go to sporting events, especially Rangers games. 

Seriously, one day Harvey and Cruz were Kings of New York. Then they got hurt, and everybody had something to say about them.  If Thor gets hurt or sees a dip in performance, the wolves will come out. His comments during the World Series about being 60′ 6″ away will go from being  tough to being a clown. Just watch. 

I’m going to thank Cruz for his play with the Giants. I’m going to thank Harvey for his play with the Mets. I’m going to thank Syndergaard for his play with the Mets. I’m not going to change the narrative during a low point in their careers and/or lives. 

I hope the Syndergaard backlash never happens. If it does, just remember what they had to say about a good guy like Victor Cruz. 

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Ricky Henderson Used Steroids*

No, no he didn’t. There’s absolutely zero proof in my or anyone else’s possession that Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson used steroids. To make such a claim would require pure speculation of specious or non-existent evidence. That’s the point. I can use the same arguments used against other players to construct a narrative that Henderson used steroids. 

In 1980, Henderson has his first full season in the big leagues. From day one, he had the look of a Hall of Famer. He was an All Star and finished in the Top 10 in MVP voting. Keep in mind, as a young player in the early 80’s , Henderson looked like this:

  

Look at how slender he was. Of course he was. He was a leadoff hitter who started his career with single digit homers and tremendous stolen base numbers. He had a 130 stolen bases in 1982 while hitting just 10 homeruns. At that point, both were career highs. 

Henderson would go to the Yankees and eventually return to the Athletics again. This time, however, he would be teammates with two of the most notorious steroid users in major league history: Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. He had a manager in Tony La Russa who actively looked the other way. It’s no wonder that in 1990, at the age of 31, he had a career high in homers at 28. He went from a 10 homerun guy to a 28 homerun guy. Because we didn’t know then what we know now, he won the MVP award that year.

Henderson would continue to be an effective everyday player until he was 40 years old. In his age 40 season, he played in 121 games hitting .315/.423/.466 with 12 homeruns and 37 stolen bases.  Keep in mind, we know 40 year olds can never, ever be effective baseball players. Of course that season, Henderson looked like this:


Look at the increased muscle definition. He went from a guy who hit 9 homers to a guy who hit 28 homers.  He is a guy that was an everyday player until he was 42. He played until he was 44. There is no other possible explanation for this other than he used steroids. 

Why didn’t that prevent the voters from keeping him out of the Hall of Fame?  Probably because this isn’t evidence. It’s pure speculation.  Unfair speculation at that. Personally, I don’t think Henderson used steroids. I have no proof that he did. Any “proof” I have here is satire instead of evidence. The reason is because none of this prevented voters from electing him to the Hall of Fame. 

However, this is what voters have been using to keep Jeff Bagwell and Mike Piazza out of the Hall of Fame. Both were contemporaries of Henderson with muscle definition, and yet they reserved the judgment for Piazza and Bagwell. It’s as inconsistent as it is unfair. 

I’m in the school of keeping steroid players out of the Hall of Fame. However, I require proof that someone cheated. I’m not going to play a guessing game because if I did, I just as easily have used the same criteria to keep Rickey Henderson out of the Hall of Fame.  Keep mind Henderson received 94.8% of the vote. That’s a very large percentage of people applying different standards. 

For Hall of Fame voting, all I ask is you have a standard and apply it universally. There may be reasons to keep Bagwell and Piazza out of the Hall of Fame, but perceived steroids use isn’t one of them.  It wasn’t sufficient to keep Henderson out of the Hall of Fame. 

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Manfred Cannot Let Reyes Play in 2016

Well the NFL’s big problem has reared its ugly head again. Only this time it was Jose Reyes allegedly assaulting his wife in a Hawaii hotel room. Domestic Violence is now an issue MLB has to address. There is a policy in place now to handle these cases. No doubt it was in response to the NFL. Here’s the policy:

If you’re having trouble reading it, here’s what you need to know:

  1. An accused player can be placed on leave for seven days during the investigation;
  2. There is no maximum or minimum penalty;
  3. The only factor in punishment is the severity of the conduct;
  4. Punishment is not conditional on the adjudication of the crime in court; and 
  5. If the suspension holds up on appeal, player will not be paid or accrue service time. 

The main issue for Manfred is he’s about to set a precedent, a precedent everyone hoped would not have to be set. In any event, we’re here, and Manfred will have to deal with this issue. He has no choice but to come down hard on Reyes. 

The first reason is the Alex Rodriguez factor. Manfred’s first major suspension was to suspend A-Rod 211 games as part of the Biogenesis Scandal. The suspension would be reduced to 162 games on appeal. Manfred and MLB cannot maintain the appearance of being soft on destic violence but hard on steroids. A-Rod was made the poster boy for steroids, and MLB pursued him with avengeance. 

MLB cannot afford to look like they’re coming down harder on someone who used steroids than a player who assaults his wife. The only way to circumvent that is to go after Reyes with the same ferocity they came after A-Rod. 

Additionally, Manfred has to come down hard because he’s setting a precedent by which all future punishments will be judged. That was the whole issue with the Ray Rice suspension. Not only was four games way too light, but it also set a low threshold. As a result, Greg Hardy’s 10 game ban was reduced to four games. Whatever Reyes gets here will be the new standard. 

Ultimately, I’d suspend Reyes for the full 2016 season. There’s no other choice. Not after how MLB went after A-Rod. Think about it, in the grand scheme of things what’s worse: (1) taking PEDs to improve your on the field performance; or (2) assaulting your wife or child. 

If the number of games is reduced on appeal, it’s reduced. There’s nothing MLB can do about it. However, no matter what happens at that appeal, the message has been sent out there: MLB will not tolerate Domestic Violence. 

Unfortunately, that may be the only good that comes out of this. Suspend Reyes a full season. 

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Reyes Might Be a Lowlife Woman Beater

I remember the Francisco Rodriguez assault of a family member in 2010. The reports were Jose Reyes was deeply troubled by it, especially because his wife and kids saw it. Now I saw this:

Apparently, Reyes assaulted his wife in a hotel room in Wailea. My first reaction really was, no, it couldn’t be him. Not Reyes. Then I went to his Twitter page:

Yup, he’s vacationing in Hawaii. It at least adds credibility to a story I find incredulous. Frankly, I’m stunned, and this is coming from a guy who grew up rooting for Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. If it’s true, Reyes will be the first player suspended under Major League Baseball’s new Domestic Violence Policy. It’s a test for Rob Manfred as Major League Baseball is dealing with this seemingly for the first time. 

If it’s true, I’ll immediately purge every Reyes thing I’ve ever owned. I’ll make sure to go to Mets-Rockies games and boo him mercilessly. Mostly, I’ll be sad and disappointed. Not just for losing a favorite player, but also because another man abused another woman. It’s got to stop. 

Hopefully, everything about the report is false. If it is, I’ll immediately take this post down. I really hope I have to take this post down. 

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Must’ve Missed Those Apologies to Harvey

Matt Harvey was named the National League Comeback Player of the Year. He won this award after coming back from Tommy John surgery. All he had to do to win the award was push himself further than anyone else has:

This is the same pitcher everyone questioned because he and his agent tried to get the Mets to hold him back a little bit. There was a debate on who said what. There was a debate on why this was happening. However, most people agreed Harvey was selfish. They agreed he should’ve ignored advice and pushed through it. The narrative was universal throughout the press, which includes those media outlets affiliated by the Mets. 

Harvey was then terrific in the NLCS. He left to standing ovations. He gave his all in Game 5 of the World Series. It was an epic performance. It wasn’t appreciated. The jokes and hot takes followed:

Harvey was named the Comeback Player of the Year. A year in which his desire to win was question. A year in which he left it all out on the field to help his team win a World Series only to be mocked. So yeah, I think the congratulations ring hollow. 

I’d be much more impressed with retractions, apologies, and thank yous. 

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Sit Cespedes Tonight

Honestly, I hate wasting my breath. I mostly write this blog late, late at night when everyone is in bed and I’m still up pondering what the heck did Terry Collins just do.  However, this World Series has bothered me so much I’m not going to sleep anytime soon. One of the main reasons is Yoenis Cespedes. 

Be honest. After seeing his play over the last four games, do you have more faith in him than Michael Conforto?  Do you have more faith in him than Juan Lagares?  You shouldn’t. Conforto and Lagares are playing better offensively and defensively. It’s mostly because they hustle. Cespedes hasn’t. In fact, Cespedes has been lazy out there at best, a quitter at worst.  

As a fan, I have found his play in the World Series to be offensive. As you can tell from his .176/.167/.176 triple slash line, I don’t mean offensive to be his at bats. No, I mean his lack of hustle and his poor judgment on the field. He deserves to ride the bench. He won’t because Terry Collins doesn’t have the nerve to do it. I’m not even sure he’s upset with Cespedes’ play. That bothers me more. 

I know he has a shoulder problem.  The only thing that should effect is his at bats, which the stats suggests it might. It shouldn’t affect his legs, head, and or desire to win. Does his bum shoulder explain this play:

I know it’s painful, but look at that play again. He claimed he didn’t call for it, but he certainly looked like he was taking command of the play by his route. He said he lost the ball looking for Michael Conforto. Look it happens, but what happens next shouldn’t happen. The ball hits him on the leg, and he just stops.  Stops! The only guy with an arm strong enough to maybe keep Escobar from scoring just gives up right then and there. 

Another “favorite” play of mine was the Salvador Perez double last night. At the time, it was 2-0 in the fifth. Steven Matz was cruising. Rewatch what happened next:

That ball SHOULD’VE been caught. Admittedly, I thought differently last night, but I just re-watched the play. Cespedes’ top gear is a sight to behold. That was nowhere near it. As a result, he didn’t get there, and he kicked the ball again. To make matters worse, HE DIDN’T run after it. Where’s the hustle?  The sense of urgency?

That brings me to his at bats. He’s struck out six times in the World Series. It’s going to happen. I’m not even upset that he keeps chasing and getting himself out with the pitches in the dirt. I’m upset because when he strikes out, he doesn’t bother to run to first. If it happens on July 20th in the third inning, I get it. It’s a long season you got to conserve energy to get through a 162 game season. 

This is the World Series!  You’ve got to give it your all. Cespedes clearly isn’t. The Royals are. The Royals are everything Cespedes isn’t. Am I blaming Cespedes?  No. There are other problems. However, his lacksadasical play led to two outs becoming runs. 

If he’s not going to give it his all, why is he out there?  If Conforto and Lagares are playing better on both sides of the ball, why is he out there?  The Mets are on the brink of losing the World Series. It’s a time for urgency. A time to run out the players who want it most. A time to run out the players who give you the best chance to win. That’s not Cespedes. At least not when he’s doing this on the base paths:

He needs to sit. 

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