So much of the Twitterverse, Blogosphere, and I can only assume, the Talk Radio Caller Archipelago of Shattered Dreams are up in arms about Joel Sherman’s column today. The piece suggested that, after talking with several sources within the organization, that Jose Reyes isn’t likely to return.
Surely this can’t be surprising to anyone paying attention.
Let me put it this way: every possible indicator- from the large ones, like how precarious the financial position of the team is, to the repeated efforts to move the goalposts on exactly what the offer is that is too ridiculous for the Mets to match- once Carl Crawford money (seven years, $142 million), now possibly $100 million or less, to even things like moving the season ticket renewal date up from December 15 (after the Winter Meetings) to November 7 (before free agency begins in earnest)- all suggest an organization moving forward with a plan to present the PR case that they tried, rather than an organization actually trying to bring Reyes back.
It’s the difference between the pursuits of Vladimir Guerrero and Carlos Beltran. If you watched those, you know the difference.
I still hope I am wrong, and as long as Reyes hasn’t signed a contract to play elsewhere, a change of heart could theoretically occur. But it looks silly to me to believe this is really a 50-50 shot. It will require a fundamental change in the trajectory of this story for Jose Reyes to remain a Met.
1 Comment
Such a shame that the owners of a team in the largest media market in the world have fumbled and bumbled their finances so badly that the team might be able to offer only the 2nd or 3rd highest contract to one of their own players on the free agent market. Properly run (which the Mets are NOT), no NY team should EVER worry about being outbid by another team for a player that they really want to sign. But, that is EXACTLY where Fred and Jeff Wilpon, along with Saul Katz, have positioned the Mets. They have a beautiful new ballpark, brand new TV network, and access to one of the largest population centers in the world from which to draw attendence. Yet, they’re hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, threatened by a multi-million dollar ponzi scheme lawsuit, and borrowing money from Major League Baseball just to make ends meet.
I realize that no one can be the NY Yankees with their world famous brand/logo, history, and Hall of Frame roster of stars through the years. No other baseball team could hope to match the Yankees ability to earn the money they do through marketing alone, let alone attendence. Nevertheless, for a team in New York City to be run as shoddily as the Mets have been since the Wilpon family bought out Nelson Doubleday for complete control is just an utter shame. Is it any wonder, then, why they have seen shrinking attendence since opening Citi Field in 2009? The fans are getting tired of being sold an inferior product on the field. I, as a 25 year diehard fan, am getting tired of it. If the Mets lose Jose Reyes to another team you can lay the blame squarely on the Wilpon regime and how poorly they have managed the teams finances.