Irene's Weblog

I’ve been a Mets fan most of my life. As I have grown older, it’s easier to see the team more as a business than a fun pastime, but I still enjoy watching a good game of baseball and the Mets, no matter how bad they are, will always be my team. Sadly, I have had to watch the current owners ruin what should be a profitable franchise because they lack the skills to run such a business.

Everyone knows that the Wilpons have little business sense. Everything about Bernie Madoff’s schemes screamed scam, but people want the quick buck so desperately that, if a friend comes and tells you that it’s legitimate, you’ll likely trust them with your money. Whether it was willful ignorance or not, the Wilpons were taken in by their friend, scammed, and left them holding the bag on some massive debt.

Given the fact that the Wilpons could not make a sound financial decision concerning Bernie Madoff, is it really a surprise that they are having financial difficulties with their baseball team? This is New York City. While many love the Yankees, you’ll find just as many who love the Mets. It’s not that hard to have your team be prosperous in such a city, yet, the Wilpons have managed to do so.

The worst part of it is that they cannot seem to bring themselves to the realization that they are inept at running the New York Mets and that it is time to sell the team. Even in the face of financial ruin, they cling to the team, dragging the franchise and the team base down with them. If they hold on to the team, even for a couple of more year, the destruction they cause will take decades to rebuild, even in a city such as New York.

The Wilpons relied on the Madoff phantom profits for years, leveraging the Mets by using those profits as collateral on loans. Just a few years ago, the Mets were valued at over a billion dollars. Today, it rests at a $750 million liability. If the Mets were a company, they would be bankrupt and, at the very least, the Wilpons would be ousted as incompetent CEOs. Instead, they are able to continue to take out loans from MLB that they can’t possibly afford to repay.

A severely restricted payroll for 2012 means that a decent product will likely not be on the field on opening day, nor will the farm system be restocked. Most of the players on the team are of AAAA quality. These players should be in AAA preparing for the major leagues or being called up in cases of injuries. They are not qualified, yet here they are. No one should expect any kind of results in 2012.

Until the Wilpons agree to outright sell the team, nothing is going to change. They cannot put up minority stakes in the team and expect that anyone is going to blindly accept their terms. Smart businessmen don’t work that way. Sadly, this will be the third year in a row that I will not pay for MLB Extra Innings. It’s a hefty amount to pay to watch your team lose every single night.

I’m still not sure how I feel about this trade. When Beltran is healthy, he’s very good. It’s just that my memory remembers him more on the DL than on the field.

The NY Daily News has compiled a list of notable moments in the career of Beltran in New York. The most memorable being a called third strike in the 2006 NLCS game.

Oct. 19, 2006: Beltran strikes out looking at Adam Wainwright curveball with the bases loaded to end heartbreaking Game 7 of the NLCS. Despite hitting three homers and driving in four runs in series vs. Cardinals, Beltran is labeled as goat of series.

I don’t think most Mets fans ever forgave him for that. It’s not entirely fair as far as I’m concerned. People make mistakes. Lots of other Mets players made mistakes in that series, but that’s the single instance that people remember. I wish I had Beltran’s stats to judge him on instead of the list the Daily News made.

The Mets get pitching prospect Zach Wheeler in the deal. From what I’ve read, he’s supposed to be good. He’s not in the majors and I have no way to watch him, so it’s hard to judge if this is a good deal or not until we can actually see what Wheeler is capable of.

In the end, it was a deal that needed to be done. The Mets had to trade Beltran. By keeping him, they would have lost more money and more prospects. Mets GM Sandy Alderson stuck to his guns, demanding a top prospect instead of just cash for Beltran and got what he wanted. Despite his injuries, I always felt Beltran tried to give his best. It’s just that his best way to help the Mets now is by being traded to the Giants.

Moments after the All-Star Game had concluded, we learned that The Mets had traded their closer, Francisco Rodriguez, to the Milwaukee Brewers for cash and two players to be named later.

Signed to a three-year, $37 million contract before the 2009 season, Rodriguez pitched well for the Mets – but his deal contained a $17.5 million option for next season that would vest if he finished 55 games this year, which he was on pace to do. That option would have been crippling to next year’s payroll, and the Mets’ chances of re-signing free-agent-to-be Jose Reyes.

I’m not really sure how I feel about this trade at the moment. Judging by the fan poll on The Daily News‘ site, most folks are torn over the decision as well. It seems like a huge white flag that the Mets are ready to give up on this season, yet we all know that they cannot afford his option at the end of the season. If K-Rod is gone, look for others to be traded as well.

This may be a sign that The Mets would rather have Jose Reyes stay than having a top closer. The Mets could still trade Reyes, but it seems more unlikely now. The fact is, this was a money move. The Mets simply cannot afford K-Rod’s option and continue to build the team. I guess we’ll all have to see what happens next.

The Daily News ran a story yesterday about how Fransisco Rodriguez has said he is willing to waive his no-trade clause if he’s asked to.

Although Rodriguez has a clause blocking trades to 10 undisclosed teams, a source close to him said that he will consider any potential deal that is presented to him. Rodriguez is also open to waiving the vesting option in the event an acquiring team wants to negotiate a multi-year extension, the source said.

“Instead of signing someone like (Jonathan) Papelbon or (Heath) Bell this winter for three or four years, a team could pick up that option and have K-Rod for a year and a half,” the executive said. “That could be very tempting, and the Mets might actually get a prospect back in that case.”

Said another NL executive: “It is still a high annual salary, but he is pitching like an elite closer, and he would be off the books after next year.”

Rodriguez has helped this argument by pitching well this season, and behaving off the field. If the perception of him last season was of a declining pitcher with alarming behavior, he has reversed that view with on-field dominance and off-field penitence. The turnaround could help him land on a contending team this summer.

One can only speculate as to whether he wants out of the current NY Mets circus or if the Mets want him gone after the incident last year where he punched his future father-in-law. Considering the Mets’ history of defending players even when they are in the wrong, one wonders what the exact cause is to make this story public. Is K-Rod being shopped or is K-Rod looking to get out of town?

As a Met fan, I can’t disagree if K-Rod wants out of town. He’s a top 5 closer on a team that is going nowhere. Fred Wilpon threw players under the bus last week in his interview with Sports Illustrated. He’s also said the $68 million that will come off the books at the end of the season is not going to be used next season. With that in mind, why would one of the top closers in the game want to stay?

The fact is that the Mets cannot afford players like Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes. They are asking for far too much money for their worth. Yes, they are great on the field when they are not injured. Given the fact that both players spend considerable time on the DL, are they really worth keeping when you can trade them this season and get some good prospects back in trade? The key to the Mets’ future is when these guys are traded and for how much. For now, it looks like everyone wants to jump ship in New York and I can hardly blame them.

Nico Rosberg of Mercedes GP Petronas explains how the steering wheel of his F1 car works.