For Richer or Poorer

Let us pretend for a moment that we were losing $70 Million a year because of a business venture we started. We'd all be pretty upset and... justifiably so. I mean, it isn't our fault that the team doesn't get more stadium revenue. Although... in the case of the Wilpons, it sorta IS their fault.

Take the case of Bobby Bonilla. The Mets could have paid off the rest of his contract, $5.9 Million dollars in 2000. Instead they differed the payment. They took a 10 year hiatus and then would pay Bonilla $1 Million dollars for 25 years. They did this because they were getting such large returns from Bernie Madoff that they stood to profit from having that $5.9 Million for the first 10 years... to cover that $25 Million dollar/25 year contract that kicked in this year AND THEN SOME. (Mind you, Bonilla is not the only case)

Now... let us believe in their innocence and that they simply thought that they were actually getting 8-12% returns from their magical friend of finance. If the Wilpons opened the books to the public, I wonder how much of the Met financial situation is caused by the ownership's investments and how much is the teams actual revenue.

Sandy Alderson announced yesterday that the Met payroll in 2012 would be between $100-140 Million dollars. That isn't bad... if it's closer to the 140 end of things, but in New York I shudder to think of the genuinely hateful response to the Wilpons crying pauper.

Should the Mets come close to spending in the 140 range you had better believe that the only name that the Mets should be spending that kind of money on is already on the team. (Do we really think Pujols will play RF?)

SAVE REYES

Pass The Buck

We have all heard the saying that the "Buck Stops Here." Some president built a campaign around that slogan and it was pretty successful. It meant that HE would be taking ownership for the problems the country would be faced with. Not blaming crooked businessmen or insulting his employees.

What we as fans sometimes forget is that the Buck... starts here...

Fred Wilpon pays for the players salaries, the operations costs for the stadiums and training facilities. He even pays the bills for SNY. He does all of this with the knowledge that the buck will be passed and as it does... it should make friends.

The Wilpons pay for the team and all the costs that surround them. They pay for advertising and promotion of players who... they apparently don't even like. Who pays them?

• Television: Proceeds from sales of commercials during Met games is profitable. It's even more profitable when you own the network the game is televised on. When another network broadcasts a Met game... guess what, the Wilpons make money there too.
• Merchandise: Those Reyes jerseys that will soon be hitting the discount rack as well as those Beltran bobble heads and David Wright posters all make the Wilpons money.
• Stadium: Let's talk about that stadium...

The Mets must be in trouble... right? The stadium looks barren with so few people attending the games. Let us say you did go to that game. How much money did you pay for your beer and those nachos and the souvenir sundae for your kid? The team makes money whether or not the team has fans in the seats. SURE, the more people come to the games, the better, but the Wilpons money comes FIRST from television, SECOND from merchandising and THIRD from people actually going to games.

So... the Wilpons can complain all they want about the team's struggles and the players being "over-payed". The buck might start with them, but they aren't running a charity. The buck ends with them and I'm willing to bet that with all the struggles, the Mets are not the reason the Wilpon's are tight for cash.

SAVE REYES

Let Fred and Jeffy know that you love the team and the players DESPITE them and not BECAUSE of them. Join the SAVE REYES campaign and help save the final scraps of dignity for the franchise. Don't do it for me... do it to spite Mike Francessa.

Public Enemy #1

The early voting for league LVP is in and by a resounding margin the Met ownership has entered into a 2-way tie with the McCourts atop the rankings. The MLB has already freed the Dodgers of the divorcing couple which means that the Wilpons are most likely going to move well ahead in the voting by the all-star break. If you haven't heard, I'll post a link:

Met Fans Sit Down

Basically, Wilpon, in an effort to restore his (potentially wrongfully/rightfully) defamed name decided to torpedo the only part of his empire that the average citizen cares about. Let's tally the damage:

Reyes:

"He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money. He’s had everything wrong with him. He won’t get it."

So now if the Mets want to TRADE Reyes, they no longer have the trading power of even feigning a desire to retain their talented SS.

Beltran:

"We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series [his 2004 postseason with the Astros]. He’s sixty-five to seventy per cent of what he was."

Another player we were HOPING to trade this season who we can now expect 30-35% less for. Thanks Fred, I can see how you became a business tycoon. Play the cards as far from your chest as possible right?

Wright:

"He’s pressing. A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar."

Come to the Mets, ownership can't wait to throw you under the bus. You think that any top talent wants to take a deal with this TOXIC ownership duo? Sure, the Mets can still pay for talent... oh wait... we don't have money anymore either? Well I guess perhaps treating your best players better might have been financial advice that Fred needed his buddy Madoff for.

Add to this the message to the fans. Hey kids! We don't have any superstars... go watch the Yankees. I suppose, in his defense, not many kids read the New Yorker.

The Mets (By way of Ike Davis):

"Good hitter. Shitty team—good hitter."

Awesome, hey... I just wanted to conclude my diatribe by saying that everyone not named Ike is a scum sucking loser with no right to play baseball. Way to rally the troops.

Let's see... lower the trade value of the two best trade chips Alderson has to work with, alienate the face of your franchise and insult the team. What's next, getting rid of all the team's training equipment? When does Terry Collins whip out the nude cardboard cut-out and start removing pieces with every win?

Mr. Springer, a knowledgeable Met fan put his rose glasses on and sees positives to the situation. He thinks that the ownership is long over-due for telling the players publicly that they don't value them. He sees this as potentially inspiring. So I'll take his inspiration and look at the positives.

The Dodgers don't have an Owner, perhaps we can just TRADE the Wilpons away.

In Short:

DUMP THE WILPONS

SAVE REYES

YOU WANT MORE?!?

For the sake of this analogy Gruel is Jose Reyes and Oliver Twist is the Met fans. Also in this case the fat man with the pot of gruel and the loud voice is Met management crying poverty. Actually... they aren't crying poverty, that's simply what everyone else is saying. What is being said?

"The Mets don't have the MONEY to re-sign Jose Reyes."

Let me be the first to call B.S. on this. If the Mets are going to have a $120 Million dollar payroll they'll have just under $60 Million to spend before the re-sign arbitrate etc... With all arbitration assumed I'd estimate $45 Million still free. Is there no room for Reyes in that money? Wait... maybe they'll be too busy getting pitching.

• Chris Carpenter, 37
• Roy Oswalt, 34
• Ryan Dempster, 35
• C.J. Wilson, 31
• Edwin Jackson, 28
• Mark Buerhle, 33

Above is a small list of some of the BETTER starters available in free agency. All I can help seeing is that the Mets might as well save that $45 Million for 2013 if they want only pitchers... but while they're doing that, maybe they should spend part of it on one of the most popular players on the club.

Jeff Wilpon and company have legal woes and all of that, but they are not exactly going to send out a baseball team with a payroll beneath $100 Million in New York City. The next time you hear Evan Roberts talk about it on WFAN. Call up and call him out on his B.S. Then wait for Steve Somers to come onto the air, he's the only one I like.

Save Reyes!!!

Up This Week:

Let's Be Silly - I'm Gonna Spend Those $60 Million... and Have Some Fun.

Platoon - Visiting Turner and Murphy and Giving the New Platoon a Grade.

Re-Alignment - Like Any Good Mechanic I Have to Check the Rotation.

Minor Qualms - Let's Take the Rose Colored Specs Off, Shall We?

Fire Sale

Should the Mets clean house and do a total Marlin-style reboot? It actually works pretty well for the Marlins as they DO compete for a ring every 5-10 years. The key here is what would classify a "Fire Sale" and what would simply be smart baseball mathematics.

Joel Sherman has shouted "Fire Sale!" for a while. When he says it, we know he's asking the Mets to trade Beltran, Rodriguez and Reyes. They aren't on the roster beyond 2011, so what is the harm? However, I don't REALLY see trading them as a TRUE "Fire Sale." A true cleaning house would likely see the departure of 90% of the current Mets.

My Question: Does Mr. Sherman mean that he wants a "Fire Sale" (selling all contracts that do not contribute to success for this team three or four years from now) or does he want to take advantage of some of our players with expiring contracts and/or high value?

Dearly Departed: 6/8ths of the Lineup

Jose Reyes, SS - You've heard about the Jose debate before. Trade Jose as the Mets have no shot of winning now and need to rebuild. Jose is worth at least two +/++ prospects and likely 3-4 players. He's clearly going to be a Type A free agent so he'd net the Mets a 1st rounder and a compensation pick at minimum. As the sage Matt Cerrone has noted, there isn't a backup plan to Jose in place. Ruben Tejada could play SS but if you lose Jose's bat you need more of a replacement than Tejada gives you.

Daniel Murphy, 2B/1B - Murphy has trade value? Yes, he does. He's played pretty solid 2B and he's proven to be a +hitting 2B while doing it. Add that he can man 1B and 3B reasonably well and more than a few teams might look at him. A lot depends on injuries and who the Mets would be willing to trade him for, but the Mets could get a + prospect in a deal for their blooming 2B.

David Wright, 3B - Trade Wright? I'm not for it, but this is me showing you what a "Fire Sale" would mean. Wright is going to go up in price and likely be looking for a large Ryan Howard/Ryan Braun pay-day in the next year and a half. Trade Wright for a bevvy of prospects and use them to craft a winning club. It's not as crazy as it sounds. Wright is under team control through 2013 and is still a great hitter and an okay defender. The Mets could ask for a boat of prospects for Wright and they'd probably get them from a team with a 3B vacancy looking to win NOW.

Carlos Beltran, RF/DH - Beltran is hitting well and "Fire Sale" or not he's due to be traded. You can thank that no Arbitration clause. He's looked good both in the field and at the plate so there would be some takers but the risk of health is always present so his value takes a hit. You might get a + prospect for Beltran but more likely you get 1 or 2 guys who are in the upper levels of the minors and look like lesser MLB contributors. As Robert points out the Arb Clause ends up not being a factor with Beltran's Age, Injury history and Salary. He'd earn to much in an arbitration case and the Mets wouldn't make the offer.

Jason Bay, LF - Jason Bay happens to cost a lot so if the Mets could move him for a similarly light-ish package like Beltran's they wouldn't be crazy, $36+ Mil is a lot of salary to pick up. Jason Bay can help teams looking for a good hitting corner OF with some power. They'll need to have money or the Mets will need to pay some contract because he makes more than half the players on some teams combined.

Angel Pagan, CF - Pagan is young and still under team control for another year. Even with a "Fire Sale" the Mets COULD keep him, but his skill set is replaceable. He'd get the Mets a middle of the road return. More than Beltran or Bay because of his age and price. Less than Reyes or Wright because he's not nearly as talented. It all depends on the markets need for CFs and how well he rebounds when he returns.

Dearly Departed: Almost the ENTIRE Pitching Staff

Johan Santana, LHSP - I'm in favor of trading Johan no matter what. He's been hurt too much, costs too much and he isn't the guy he was when we traded almost nobody for him. The Mets would be wise to look at offers even if they don't need to cut bait with everyone on a total overhaul. Santana isn't going to fetch the same number or perceived value he did the last time he was traded but at least one +/++ prospect and at least 2 prospects overall.

Mike Pelfrey, RHSP - Right now I'd trade Pelfrey for some Pogs. He's been awful and probably needs to go to AAA to reclaim some semblance of skill. He's young enough and cheap enough that somebody might still buy into his early 2010 numbers and make a deal. That list shrinks each time he pitches. Best case scenario is that he rebounds and builds back some value first. I worry that each time he pitches that value will go the other way.

R.A. Dickey, RHSP - Say it ain't so! Yep, this is a Fire Sale and R.A. Dickey is not a prospect under team control for little too no money. He's a veteran with solid value who could net the team multiple prospects on the trade market. The list for suitors might actually be higher than almost any other player. Met fans would likely have a riot if Alderson actually did it.

Chris Young, RHSP - Young has pitched well when healthy so it's only sensible that he has some value. Young is a 1-year rental and trading him would make sense as soon as the Mets are completely out of the race no matter what. He was definitely a good signing but holding onto him does nothing. Unless he could become a Type A free agent... I don't think he can.

Chris Capuano, LHSP - As a starter not so much value but as a lefty reliever and swing man he has some value. I don't claim that it's a lot of value but it's enough that the Mets could get something back which is generally better than nothing. Capuano or Pelfrey should be moved out of the rotation for Dillon Gee in the near future. It bothers me that the team is screwing around with Gee.

Francisco Rodriguez, RHRP - Frankie has some value already and more value going to a team who HAS a closer. On a team where his option won't vest he's a GREAT 7th or 8th inning setup man who can be a difference maker. Mets could either look to dump his salary and not get much back or pay part of it and get a prospect in return. Both solutions are good and both are smart to do with or without a fire sale.

Taylor Buchholz, RHRP - In the absence of Frankie, Taylor might be the closer... never mind that. This is a "Fire Sale" so Taylor goes too as he's worth more than any other reliever we have. I'm not entirely sure what a cheap, team controlled setup man would net the Mets in terms of prospects but it's likely to be a decent haul. Besides, Pedro Beato is cheaper and younger and can be rushed into the closer role too quickly... just like we planned.

Jason Isringhausen, RHRP - Izzy deserves to be on a winning club the way he's pitched. He is still good enough to handle later innings and he's not going to be of much value down the road. He won't net the Mets a lot but even getting a mediocre prospect might be worth it if we are selling EVERYONE who isn't nailed down.

Who's Left?:

Ike Davis, Josh Thole, Jonathan Niese, Dillon Gee and Pedro Beato would be the players I'd peg to survive even the most complete Met Fire Sale. It would mean promotion for Lutz, Duda, Tejada, Evans, Nieuwenhuis, Martinez, Gorski, Schwinden, Cohoon and others. The team would finish poorly and have a good regular pick in the 2012 draft and enough payroll flexibility to do almost anything.

So... what I'm trying to say here... is that Joel Sherman is wrong. The Mets don't need to have a "Fire Sale". They need to make smart decisions with the players who are not going to be giving the Mets returns beyond this season.

Oh yeah... and if you want the fans to keep showing up at the park... re-sign Reyes.