When you think of CBS and its news division, typically, the first name that comes to mind is Dan Rather (depending on your age). Dan Rather was forced into retirement for reporting on a story with insufficient documentation.
Rather thought he had the last great story of his career. He thought he had the smoking gun in what had forever been rumored: George W. Bush never served in the National Guard. Problem is the documents and source of the documents were utterly unreliable. As CBS was embarrassed by the ensuing scandal, it forced Rather out due to his perceived misconduct. Rather tried to sue to, in part, clear his good name. The lawsuit was thrown out.
John Heyman is also a reporter for a CBS owned company. With even less “proof” than Rather had on President Bush, Heyman accuses Mike Piazza of steroids use in his Hall of Fame column:
He should be considered an all-time great — he’s the greatest-hitting catcher ever and the value of having a catcher who’s one of the league’s best hitters is immense — but he’s had to wait a few years surely due to a strongly-held belief he participated in the steroid era. I understand there’s no public evidence he did more than play in the steroid era and looked the part. However, since this isn’t a court of law, the burden of proof is much lower and since it’s only about who is honored, and not who is punished, I held out for now.
Make no mistake about it. Heyman just accused Piazza of using steroids. Whether it is guilt by association or how he looked, he accused Piazza of using steroids. He offered no substantive proof. Additionally, with his voting for Barry Bonds because he was a Hall of Famer before using steroids (because he knows the exact date Bobds started using), he has announced Piazza only had the success he did because of his steroid usage.
If you were on Twitter, Heyman was given several attempts to recant his statements or provide specific evidence to establish Piazza used steroids. He didn’t:
@DanTonkin @RisingAppleBlog looking the part isn't evidence. read it rather than taking risings word for it
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 29, 2015
By his reasoning, we can’t understand his writing. In a side note, that’s his fault if everyone seemingly took that as his meaning. I digress. His lack of a response just exhibits a lack of respect for anyone who has questions about his “learned ballot”:
I find it funny when voices on the internet — almost invariably stat guys and folks who only cover the game from a distance — declare which ballots are “strong” or stupid.
**********
[Tom Verducci and Pedro Gomez] are reporters who are willing to take the abuse from the loud and shallow guys on Twitter.
You see Heyman doesn’t cover the game from afar. He’s in the thick of things. Like when he’s in studio or on the phone with WFAN. He knows more than you. If people weren’t so “loud and shallow,” they would understand that. It’s how he knows Piazza used steroids, and you don’t. Nevermind that your knowledge would come from reporters like Heyman. Nevermind that he is withholding the information that would constitute proof.
Perhaps, he’s withholding it because he had insufficient proof to prove Piazza used steroids “in a court of law.” As such, he feels comfortable making this accusation. Here’s the problem. Do you know what the burden of proof is in a court of law? In a court of law, Heyman would need to show it is 51% more likely that Piazza used steroids than he didn’t. Ergo, no one is even half sure he used steroids. By logic extension, Heyman fabricated this story.
As we’ve seen, is it a surprise to anyone that a CBS reporter has leveled accusations against a public figure with underwhelming evidence? By using Heyman’s standards, does he deserve the benefit of the doubt? Using his standards, isn’t it fair to say he fabricates stories?
I would say it is fair to use his logic against him. However, I will make clear that despite the title of this post, I’m not saying he fabricates stories. Rather, I’m specifically saying he has presented no substantive proof Piazza used steroids. I sincerely question whether he has anything linking Piazza to steroid usage. He’s had ample opportunity to provide it, but he still refuses.
That’s a real problem. Writers are tasked with reporting news, not creating rumor and innuendo. When that happens, how are the Heymans of the world any better than TMZ or any other gossip site. We deserve better than that. The Hall of Fame deserves better than that. Mike Piazza deserves better than that. If the same was done to him, Jon Heyman would deserve better than that.
Accordingly, it’s time for Heyman to stop being a loud and shallow gossip mongerer and start being a reporter.
There are all sorts of pitching prospects. There are pitchers who were uber prospects like Matt Harvey. The question with these prospects is where they’ll slot in the rotation. Then there are prospects like Jeremy Hefner.
The prospects like Hefner aren’t no doubters. You’re not a no doubter when you’re a 5th round draft pick who was twice placed on waivers before pitching one big league inning. Hefner referred to himself as “an average prospect.” Average prospects need to make the best of not only their stuff, but also their chances. Somehow, it’s more satisfying when these guys make it. You want the Hefners of the world to succeed because you want to believe in a player that really is doing everything he can do. It’s what you tell yourself you would do if you had enough talent to get that chance.
Well, Hefner made the most of his chances. He showed the Mets enough in 2012 for him to be in the 2013 rotation (even though he might’ve been a placeholder for Zack Wheeler). As the calendar turned to June, he seemed to figure something out. He went on a stretch of eight straight starts allowing two earned or less. Now what happened next is up for debate. Initially, it was thought he regressed to the mean. The truth may just be he was injured. In August 2013, Hefner had Tommy John surgery.
It’s a crushing blow to a player who just arrived on the scene. It was also crushing to him, but also to the Mets. They lost not only Hefner, but also Harvey to a torn UCL. The two rehabbed together. Seeing Hefner’s promise, the Mets kept him around rather than release him. Then something horrible happened. Hefner was not progressing in his rehab. He needed a second surgery. It definitively ended his Mets career. It put his baseball career into question.
Anytime a player like Hefner suffers a setback like this it’s deflating. Part of what makes sports fun is the out of nowhere stories. Everyone knows Tom Brady’s and Mike Piazza‘s stories. They’re reminders that what you need to succeed in sports, and in life, is hard work and determination. Hefner had those qualities. His mind was willing, but his flesh seemed weak.
Fortunately, that’s not the end of the story. Hefner again worked his tail off. We shouldn’t expect anything else. He started pitching in the Winter Leagues. He pitched well enough to sign a minor league deal with the Cardinals. Normally, I hate the Cardinals and their players. However, I’m making an exception here. The world is a lot better when the Hefners of the world are given a chance to succeed. It’s even better when they do.
I thought the Mets should’ve brought him back. I thought he could’ve filled a need as a spot starter or a bullpen arm. Instead, Hefner is a Cardinal, and I couldn’t be happier for him. I’ll be rooting for him.
Good luck next year Jeremy Hefner.
It seems like long ago the Mets decided they didn’t want the expensive top end talent for 2016. They are actively seeking a deeper 25 man roster over a more talented starting nine. To that end, the Mets have interest in Steve Pearce.
Pearce is a career .246/.325/.431 right handed hitter. He has a career OPS+ of 105. He had a great 2014 hitting .293/.373/.556 with 21 homers, 49 RBI, and an OPS+ of 157 in 102 games. Last year, he had a steep drop off. He hit .218/.289/.422 with 15 homers, 40 RBI, and a 91 OPS+ in 92 games. Overall, this tells us he’s a bench player. You really never know what you’re going to get year to year. He has the potential to be really good and really bad. The question is if he can help the Mets.
The 2014 version can. The 2015 version was no better than Eric Campbell. On average, he’s a useful player. He’s an adequate 1B/OF. To that end, he could replace Michael Cuddyer‘s expected production, even if he won’t replace his clubhouse presence. If the Mets do obtain Pearce, it should be as an occasional started against tough lefties instead of being your prototypical National League bench player.
For his career, Pearce hits .238/.314/.400 against righties and .262/.343/.481 against lefties. With platoon splits like these, he is a good candidate to take at bats against tough lefties in place of Curtis Granderson or Michael Conforto. Just don’t ask him to pinch hit. As a pinch hitter, Pearce hits .170/.255/.284. Yes, 98 plate appearances is a small sample size, but those numbers are just bad no matter how you slice and dice it. Signing him fills out the roster almost completely. It also makes Wilmer Flores that top right handed pinch hitter. That’ll be hard with the Mets having him play everywhere next season.
Overall, Pearce could help the Mets. He may not be an exciting move, but then again depth moves rarely are. To that end, signing him would be the perfect end to the offseason.
Supposedly, this documentary was directed at Mets fans. As such, I really wanted to like it. With that said, wow that completely missed the mark.
Yes, completely. I know it’s an hour show. However, it missed so many HUGE storylines. First, there was no real mention of Matt Harvey. Seriously? He was coming back from Tommy John surgery. It was the reason for the flip-flopping on the six man rotation all season. There was the Yankee game. There was the innings limit drama. There was the whole keeping him in too long in Game 5. Harvey was a huge, important, and at times, divisive figure. He barely received a blurb.
Speaking of pitching. This could’ve been the year Jacob deGrom became the staff ace. He was utterly dominant in the first half. He was the story of the All Star Game. He opened the postseason with a 13 strikeout performance. He somehow gutted out Game 5 of the NLDS, which is known as The Murphy Game.
Both pitchers got less coverage than Steven Matz‘s debut and his grandfather. It was a big moment in the season, but also lost there was the Mets mismanaging his injury in a season of the Mets mismanaging injuries. Heck, Matz got more coverage than any pitcher. That includes Noah Syndergaard, who was probably standing 60′ 6′ away. It also includes Jeurys Familia, who got thrust into the closer’s role due to two Jenrry Mejia PED suspensions. Familia was arguably the team MVP, but you wouldn’t know if from any of this.
Speaking of MVPs, if he wasn’t interviewed, I wouldn’t have known Curtis Granderson was even on the team. Granderson may have been the sole professional bat on an injury ridden deplorable offense. We heard about David Wright‘s back, but we didn’t hear about any of the other injuries (even in passing) that led to John Mayberry, Jr. and Eric Campbell hitting in the middle of the lineup. How do you miss this? Ask any Mets fan, and they will tell you that was a seminal moment in the season.
It was part of the whole Mets mockery of the fans with Panic City. It lead to an important Mike Vaccaro column about the Mets malpractice. This column really touched upon what it meant to be a Mets fan since the Madoff scandal. We were angry. Very angry. There was a campaign to buy a billboard did the Wilpons to sell the team. That side of the story wasn’t voiced, not even with Joe & Evan.
Instead, we got The 7 Line Army story. I mean no disrespect to Darren Meenan and what he’s created, but why was The 7 Lime Army featured more than anything else? The 7 Line Army got more coverage than Yoenis Cespedes being the hottest hitter anyone has ever seen. Seriously, when Cespedes hit the NLDS homer, we saw The 7 Line Army celebrating instead of an epic bat flip. Interview Darren Meenan? Absolutely. He’s a fan, and he’s made a successful business out of his fandom. However, I’m sorry. The 7 Line Army was not the defining story of the 2015 season. Yet, it got a lot of coverage. Maybe the most coverage.
With that, a lot was missed. Think about it. There were many key games this past season. If you take longer than a nanosecond to pinpoint the Padres game as the nadir, you’re a casual fan. If you don’t know the game to which I’m referring, you’re not a Mets fan. That game set the stage for the exhilaration fans felt after the Cespedes’ trade. No matter your feelings about the trade, you were excited to se degree that the Mets were remade and going for it.
That trade flipped the script on the season for the fans . . . perhaps for the team as well. The Mets went from an under-.500 team falling apart at the seams to real contenders. They went from a laughingstock with the Carlos Gomez trade debacle to a force to be reckoned. The documentary took the incredible, real-life drama that unfolded and omitted it. You could do a mini-series on July 30th and July 31st. Instead, we get a snarky Tom Verducci comment about Mets fans not being happy. I would say the quote was taken out of context, but really, how could it be? Until that trade, the Mets had cheap owners and an under-.500 ball club. Any fan had a right to be angry.
That’s the thing overall. You simply cannot discuss the fans without capturing their anger. It’s an example of how passionate Mets fans are. We’re not the hapless bunch we were presented as to the world. We are fans that have lived through nightmares. There was the worst team ever assembled. The Midnight Massacre. There were the misses in the 80’s. The Worst Team Money Can Buy. Kenny Rogers walked in the series winning run. Mike Piazza‘s ball died on the warning track. Carlos Beltran struck out looking followed by two collapses. All hope was then seemingly lost with the Madoff scandal.
However, Mets fans have seen enough magic to believe in anything. The Miracle Mets. Ya Gotta Believe! A little roller up the first base line. The Grand Slam Single. Overall, Mets fans don’t expect the worst. We’re not Cubs fans or pre-2004 Red Sox fans. No, we believe anything can and will happen. It’s a feeling that was awoken with Harvey’s right arm. It’s a feeling that’s not going away.
So no, Tears of Joy didn’t tell the world about Mets fans. It missed the mark despite excellent work by Anthony DiComo, Jared Diamond, and Jim Breuer.
Also, it didn’t tell me about the team or the season. From my understanding of Tears of Joy, Daniel Murphy had a hot streak before losing the World Series with an error. All 27 homerun Lucas Duda did was make a poor throw home. I could go on and on ad nauseum, but you get it. You watched the season. You know just as well as I do that Tears of Joy didn’t do a good job describing the ups and [mostly] downs of the season.
No, overall it mostly failed to capture the season or the fans. It’s disappointing really, just as the end of the 2015 season was. I guess there it at least hit the right tone.
One of the biggest punchlines about Steve Phillips tenure as the Mets GM has been this:
https://twitter.com/metsrewind/status/681155190020554752
Not his personal conduct. No, he’s routinely mocked for the Mo Vaughn trade. To this day, I do not understand the vitriol over the deal. I guess it’s because Mets fans do not realize the Mets won that trade. Seriously.
First, keep in mind the Mets gave up Kevin Appier. That’s it. Yes, the same Kevin Appier the Mets signed after they lost the World Series instead of making big moves to improve the team. Yes, I’m talking about the 2000 offseason, not this one. Appier signed a four year $42 million contract with the Mets.
In his only year with the Mets, Appier was decent going 11-10 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.185 WHIP. He would then be traded for Mo Vaughn. Appier was good again in 2002. He has a ring despite having a historically bad World Series start. Appier was bad, really bad, in 2003. Despite being owed over $15 million on his deal, he was released. Appier would go back to Kansas City, where he would pitch only 23 innings more between 2003 and 2004 before retiring and putting an end to a very good big league career.
In exchange, the Mets got the impressive batting practice hitter Mo Vaughn (the last Met to wear 42). Say what you will about Mo Vaughn. You’re probably right. His 2002 wasn’t as bad as people remember with Vaughn hitting .259/.349/.456 with 26 homers and 72 RBI. It was good for an OPS+ of 115. It’s more impressive when you consider he missed the 2001 season due to injury. Like Appier, his 2003 was a nightmare. Like Appier, his career was effectively over after the 2003 season.
So why did the Mets win the trade? No, it was not because of this homer:
I was at that game. It was awesome. However, this was Vaughn’s line highlight. In reality, Vaughn’s play had nothing to do with the Mets winning this trade.
No, the Mets won the trade due to Vaughn’s insurance policy. Vaughn’s arthritic knee prevented him from playing again. Like Appier, Vaughn was terrible in 2003, and his career was effectively over. The Angels paid Appier $12 million in 2004 alone to go away. The Mets only owed Vaughn $4.25 million over the next two years. The remainder of the $17 million owed was paid by insurance.
The Mets didn’t do anything with the money found that offseason, but they would invest it the next offseason when they signed Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran. So overall, the Mo Vaughn deal was really beneficial to the Mets regardless of whether or not anyone wants to recognize it.
There are still reasons to mock Steve Phillips, but this trade wasn’t one them.
I still can’t believe this will be my son’s third Christmas.
For the first one, he wasn’t even a month old. I still don’t know how we pulled it off, but my wife and I hosted that year. Seriously, the ability to do anything with a one month old is a Herculean feat. The only thing I remember was I constantly played my favorite Christmas song as a way to soothe a crying baby:
Now, my son is older. It’s all about A Charlie Brown Christmas. He knows it’s Jesus’ birthday. He knows Santa brings presents on Christmas Day. He made cookies with mommy to leave for Santa. He’s all excited. It’s great to see him excited.
Every kid is excited around Christmas. Christmas is a magical time of year. Somewhere down the line each and every adult loses the magic. That is until you see a child at Christmas. They understand this time of year better than anyone. When you see them, it takes you back. You remember when Santa brought you that special toy. Mostly, you remember family.
I remember getting together at my grandparent’s house each Christmas Eve. I remember sitting down with my family to dinner. Those dinners. Nana was the best cook. Then an uncle would dress as Santa while my cousins and I would get excited for our presents. I reminds falling asleep on the drive home.
Then Santa came! He brought presents because I was good all year. I remember having hot cocoa in my Santa mug as my mother made breakfast. I cherish these memories. It’s the type of memories I want to create for my son. I want to recapture that magic for him.
I mostly want to recapture that magic this year. For the past month or so, my father has not been doing well. He just had his second surgery in a month. He didn’t respond well to the first one, but so far so good after Tuesday’s surgery.
It’s why I want to recapture this magic this year more than any prior year. More than anything I want to give my son an amazing Christmas. I also want my family to enjoy it without any worries. We’ve had enough of those lately. Now is just a time to bask in that Christmas magic, even if it’s just for a couple of days.
I hope this Christmas finds you and your family happy and healthy. I hope you can recapture some of that Christmas magic even if it is for a day or so.
Merry Christmas!
There are always players we like more than others. Putting aside Obviously Mets, I liked Kirk Nieuwenhuis more than your average fan.
Every year, my brother and I have the same argument. I think of Nieuwenhuis as a useful player. He’s a solid defender at three outfield positions. He is a platoon player/fourth outfielder. His problem has always been the fact that he’s overexposed by a poor Mets team needing to play him more frequently than he should.
Most Mets fans were like my brother. They saw a guy with admittedly underwhelming statistics. At times, Kirk was one of the symbols of what was wrong with the Mets. This season the Mets were so bad offensively that they had to bring back Kirk after he was released by the Angels. The Angels had originally obtained him after the Mets designated him for assignment.
When he returned, he would become the first Met to hit three home runs in a home game:
He helped send the Mets into the All Star Break with a sweep of the Diamondbacks. He helped the Mets stay within two games of the Nationals. This allowed the Mets to make some deadline moves to help overtake the Nationals. He then put the final nail in the 2015 Nationals coffin:
Kirk went from cast away to afterthought to a contributor. He would make the post season roster. Unfortunately, he won’t be on the roster next year to help the Mets defend their National League title. A title he helped the Mets obtain.
No, Kirk is now a Brewer. He was put on waivers to make room for Alejandro De Aza. I’d prefer the Mets to waive someone else. I’d like Kirk to remain with the Mets. This time though the Mets will lose a homegrown player to the Nationals. There’s no hip issues stopping this move. None. Unlike Wilmer Flores, Kirk is now an ex-Met.
Kirk will never be forgotten. He’s the answer to a trivia question. I’ll remember him more for that pinch hit homerun. I’ll remember him more for how hard he played. I’ll always appreciate him for what he did with the Mets.
Thank you Kirk.
In some ways it’s ironic that Festivus is the first full day in which the Mets fans lost all hope for the continuation of Cespedes. It all started with this:
Oh my god. @Mets
I can't believe I can actually say this, but is it true that there is now
"A Cespedis for the rest of us"?#mets#T7L— Jerry Seinfeld (@JerrySeinfeld) July 31, 2015
Now, it unofficially ends with the Mets signing Alejandro De Aza. Personally, I thought the Mets didn’t have room anymore for Yoenis Cespedes. I didn’t like the trade that brought him here. But boy oh boy did I enjoy the ride.
We can all debate whether Cespedes was the reason the Mets won the NL East. Undoubtedly, he was a huge help to the cause. Furthermore, he added fun and excitement to a season which was frustrating and at times hard to watch. Seemingly overnight the Mets went from a team barely scoring any runs to a high powered offense. That offense was powered by La Potencia.
If nothing else, Cespedes made the Mets fun to watch with plays like these:
Also, let’s not forget the arm sleeve and the parakeet:
Whatever you want to say about Cespedes, you have to admit he brought energy to the team and the fanbase. He was fun to watch. He was the type of player you had to stop to watch. At any moment, he could unleash a laser from the outfield to nail a runner, or he could hit one out of the park in the blink of an eye.
When Cespedes was at his best, there were none like him. He made the game fun. He made the game exciting. I’m sincerely going to miss that. I appreciate all he did in his short time in Queens. He deserves the standing ovations when he returns. He will deserve the invitations back to Citi Field when the Mets celebrate big events. While Cespedes was only a Met for three months, he left his mark here. I wish him the best of luck.
Thank you for your time here Cespedes.
After the Mets signed Alejandro De Aza, the Mets fans realized the team was breaking its promises, and they became angry. They came to the realization that the team was not going to increase payroll, at least not significantly, after attendance increased.
Right now, I could remind everyone of the Mets great starting pitching in an attempt to calm everyone down. However, I don’t think it’s that time. Honestly, the fans need to be angry with the team lying to them. The team needs to answer questions why ticket prices increased while the payroll was decreased. The only way I truly know how to make that happen is to tell everyone the Mets punted on Yoenis Cespedes.
Cespedes is projected to receive a contract around $21.5 million per year. Jason Heyward signed a deal worth approximately $23 million a year. If you assume Heyward was the top free agent, the $21.5 million is a good approximation.
We know Michael Cuddyer. We don’t know if he received a buyout. He was due to make $12.5 million. De Aza just signed for $5.75 million, and he can earn up to $1.25 million in incentives. That’s potentially $7 million. Collectively, that’s potentially $19.5 million.
That’s right. The De Aza signing really did cost the Mets Cespedes. The money saved in the series of transactions starting with the Neil Walker trade and Cuddyer retirement wasn’t used to get the power bat the Mets need.
Yes, I don’t think the Mets should re-sign him. However, I do think they should’ve used the money to improve the roster. They haven’t done that. For me, I thought the Mets should’ve created a lockdown bullpen while bringing back Daniel Murphy. For others, it’s Cespedes.
For the Mets, it was pocketing the money while bringing on De Aza.
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.