N.Y. Mets: The Four-Headed New World Order

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

New York Mets: Meet the New Boss, Son of the Old Boss.

Ponder this if you will ...

Fred Wilpon never hired a general manager who he didn't previously know personally well.  Now his son is following in his footsteps.

On very good advice, Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday upon purchasing the team in 1980 hand over their baseball operations to Frank Cashen.  By the end of his tenure in 1991, Cashen cultivates a crop of front office executives (Al Harazin, Joe McIlvaine, Jerry Hunsicker, and junior member Steve Phillips) that at the time become the envy of the league despite their growing reputation as notorious infighters.

Entering the 1992 season, Frank Cashen and Fred Wilpon promote Al Harazin (the least qualified of the lot) to the rank of general manager.  Angered at being passed over, both Hunsicker and McIlvaine leave the organization.  Jerry Hunsicker becomes general manager of the Houston Astros; Joe McIlvaine accepts the San Diego Padres position.  Fred realizes his mistake two years too late, and phones Jerry Hunsicker pleading for his return, but is rebuffed.  Fred then dials-up Joe McIlvaine, who agrees to rejoin the Mets and succeed Harazin as its next general manager.

After McIlvaine is fired, Fred promotes Steve Phillips, who in turn is responsible for bringing into the Mets front office fold Jim Duquette and Omar Minaya.  However, Minaya soon accepts the Montreal Expos' general manager position.  When Fred Wilpon fires Phillips, he turns to his lone remaining in-house front office executive, Jim Duquette.  However, his time in office is short-lived.  Duquette is replaced when Fred reverts to past practice, and dials up old friend Omar Minaya, who gladly returns to the Mets.

The main point to be taken away from all this is, familiarity.  Firing Omar Minaya ends Fred Wilpon's run of in-house general managers.  All Fred's previous hires are selections from house stock furnished by Frank Cashen and Steve Phillips, and he exhausts them all.  For the first time since purchasing the team and handing over operations to Frank Cashen, the Wilpons are forced to seek out a new general manager through their own volition.

After receiving professional consultation, both Fred and Jeff Wilpon conduct a rather ineffectual search that leaves them no closer to hiring a legitimate executive than when they first begin.  Not until Bud Selig intervenes by making Sandy Alderson (working for MLB in Dominican Republic) available do the Mets reconcile their front office.  I would also argue Alderson is more than just a friendly recommendation.  His primary function (IMO) is to keep MLB's National League club in an operational state while ownership attends to their unfolding financial calamity.  In any event, the Mets fruitless search for a general manager ends post haste.  What should have been a joint decision involving Fred Wilpon making his last hire, and Jeff Wilpon making his first general manager hire, turns out being neither.

Sandy Alderson stepping down this past summer due to health reasons puts the Mets back in the same situation they found themselves in 2010, only this time the way is finally clear for what will certainly be Jeff Wilpon's first effectual hire.

Before even formulating a list of potential candidates, Jeff Wilpon in no uncertain terms sets preconditions for the team's next executive.  Both he and Fred want Mickey Callaway back to start the 2019 season.  Jeff, meanwhile, prefers Omar Minaya, J.P. Ricciardi, and John Ricco, be retained as part of a greater front office enterprise.

This makes me wonder what right-minded, confident, and qualified executive of high regard (with a backbone) would accept such preconditions particularly coming from an ownership which promises autonomy, but who's reputation for being overly sensitive, reactive, and meddlesome, precedes them.  I also question Jeff Wilpon's decision regarding John Ricco's involvement through the first round of screening.

It's not unreasonable of me to say being general manager of New York City's National League club should be one of baseball's most highly sought out positions, but it's not.  Once the likes of Ben Cherington, Thad Levine, and Mike Chernoff express little to no interest, I sense the Mets are in big trouble.  The remaining list of candidates itself is not overly impressive: Gary LaRocque; DeJon Watson; Casey Close; Dave Littlefield; Kim Ng; Doug Melvin; Chaim Bloom; Brodie Van Wagenen; etc.

All the while an internal struggle is simmering between Fred and Jeff Wilpon.  Fred wants to hire an old school executive with a traditional background in scouting and development.  However, Jeff wants the Mets veering off in a new direction and catching up with 21st century analytics.  Ben Cherington was my main consideration, but I would have been agreeable with Kim Ng.  Her resume speaks for itself.  However, the list of candidates is whittled down to three finalists: Doug Melvin, Chaim Bloom, and Brodie Van Wagenen.  Melvin initially emerges as the favorite, but then is suddenly declared out of the running. 

That leads me to believe one thing: Jeff wins the tug-o-war with his father.  If you were unsure before, know this now: Jeff Wilpon is firmly in control of the New York Mets.  And I submit to you he is making the same mistake as his father.

At first glance, hiring Brodie Van Wagenen appears out of the box.  I beg to differ.  Above all else, Ben Cherington, Kim Ng, Doug Melvin, Mike Chernoff, Chaim Bloom, et al, are all unknowns.  They all also represent contrarian opinions and ideas.  Outside of Frank Cashen, hiring Van Wagenen is no different than Fred hiring Harazin, McIlvaine, Phillips, Duquette, or Minaya, because they were all friends to Fred first, and executives second.  Likewise, Brodie Van Wagenen and Jeff Wilpon are friends.  They've formed quite a relationship over the years.  That gives Van Wagenen a great personal understanding into Jeff (and his father).  Said another way, Jeff ensures himself of having a compassionate friend by his side.  Chaim Bloom would truly have been thinking outside the box.  But he's a stranger, and a contrarian.  Now we go from a three-headed monster, to a four-headed monster.  Lest we forget Jeff Wilpon's stipulations.

Never once did Fred willingly go out of his comfort zone.  Sandy Alderson was the lone exception.  By hiring Brodie Van Wagenen, Jeff Wilpon gets to remain in his.

Like father, like son.

The organization now moves forward according to Jeff's vision.

N.Y. Mets: Meet the Meddlers

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

Mets Say Mickey Callaway Is Safe 

No Matter What Next General Manager Thinks

New York Mets: Ownership Lays Groundwork For More Meddling in 2019.

Wallace Matthews writes what I've been saying for nearly a decade.

Jeff Wilpon pays people to take bullets for him. Alderson is just the latest 

in a long line of human shields. - Wallace Matthews, FORBES

I took a break from this narrative when Sandy Alderson assumed office.  Otherwise I first broached this subject back when Omar Minaya was still general manager, then again last year when he is rehired by the organization.

We joke with little amusement of the three-headed general manager.  But the real three-headed monster is Fred, Jeff, and silent Saul, and their collective inability to venture far off campus for sake of effectively seeking out a qualified independently minded executive - someone so blatantly confident as to either demand they stay clear away from baseball operations, or tells them to stick it.

PON and Son of PON have proven repeatedly how their various insecurities and paranoia prohibit them from trusting an unknown executive.  Proof positive is Fred spending his entire Mets career relying solely on executives provided by Frank Cashen and Steve Phillips.

Think about it ...

Cashen populates his front office with Al Harazin, Jerry Hunsicker, Joe McIlvaine, and Steve Phillips.  Upon his retirement, Cashen inexplicably names Al Harazin as his replacement.  Jerry Hunsicker and Joe McIlvaine rightly blow their tops, and bolt the organization (Hunsicker to Houston and McIlvaine to San Diego).  When Fred Wilpon finally grasps the magnitude of Al Harazan's ineptitude, he first asks Hunsicker to return and is rebuffed.  Fred then calls Joe McIlvaine begging for his return.  Unlike Hunsicker, McIlvaine agrees.  Fast forward - Fred exhausts his patience with McIlvaine's irreverent behavior.  Fred executes his next in-house hire, this time appointing Steve Phillips as new general manager.  Phillips in turn brings into the front office fold both Omar Minaya and Jim Duquette.  However, Omar would soon accept the general manager's position at Montreal.  When Steve Phillips earns his pink slip, Fred Wilpon turns to his lone remaining in-house executive, Jim Duquette.  Before Jim is allowed to complete his second season on the job, a panicked Fred Wilpon is back on the phone begging for Omar Minaya's return.  Like McIlvaine, Minaya agrees and assumes the office of general manager.  Omar brings in John Ricco.  Minaya gets fired.

By this time it becomes crystal clear how repeatedly hiring enablers; mutually familiar predisposed sympathetic executives; only fuel Fred's and Jeff's penchant for meddling in baseball affairs.  It was during Omar Minaya's tenure as general manager that I finally deem Fred Wilpon's Mets a lost and inbred organization in dire need of a commanding outside influence.

Enter Sandy Alderson, who I view as an anomaly.  Ownership's search for a general manager to replace Minaya as far as I'm concerned was farcical at best.  It was to be COO Jeff Wilpon's first effectual hire.  But even after seeking out professional consultation, Jeff's search goes nowhere until then Commissioner Selig makes Alderson available.  Wink, wink; nudge, nudge; ownership's search comes to a screeching halt.  Sandy Alderson is hired on the spot.

When health issues necessitate Sandy Alderson stepping down, Wallace Matthews suggests COO Jeff Wilpon may have already been contemplating mutual separation.  Sandy Alderson is not Frank Cashen, and Jeff is not his father.  Although Cashen answered directly to ownership, it's abundantly clear Cashen operated autonomously, and completely free of interference.  Every general manager since, to varying degrees, had Fred looking over their shoulder.  Whereas Omar maintained a working relationship with both PON and Son of PON, Sandy on the other hand answered directly to Jeff.

It's rather ponderous to me that Son of PON would be so motivated as to actually fire Sandy Alderson after tasking him with shielding ownership from a constant onslaught of slings and arrows.  Surely Jeff wasn't going to blame another two straight 90-loss seasons on Alderson, was he?  I would like to think that at some point during his tenure Sandy tried telling Jeff to butt out.  An unlikely scenario, as Jeff would not have allowed that being as both he and his father refuse to look themselves in the mirror and humbly admit they themselves are the overriding problem.  Circling back, we'll never know if Jeff really had it in him to fire Alderson, as the former general manager wound up making that decision for him.  This much is certain, throughout Sandy Alderson's time as general manager, ownership's meddlesome decisions are wildly dictated by their own financial distress.  Their sole focus is and has been protecting gate receipts versus smartly building a sustainable winner.  They've done just enough to elicit a ray of hope from the paying customer, nothing more.  In the end, they let Sandy take the fall, as they themselves maintain the club is financially stable.

Many years ago (pre-Madoff) Fred Wilpon told us very plainly with regards to payroll that he aims to break even.  Meaning, if we pack the place, they spend more; if we don't show up, they spend less.

Former general manager Steve Phillips is rather emphatic when it comes to defending the Wilpon's.

Now for a more detailed credit check ...

I wrote an article Feb. 18, 2018, wherein I list my sources:  FINANCIAL FOLLY

By late summer 2002 Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon have the terms of their divorce settled by an independent party.  Fred must pay Doubleday 50% up front, and the remaining balance over the ensuing three years.  At the same time, Steve Phillips leaves behind a last place team with the highest payroll in the National League.  Fred then orders puppet Jim Duquette to cease spending.  Minaya takes over, and convinces ownership to reopen their wallets.  They acquiesce, but today we better know the reason why.  Just as they had done in order to raise Nelson Doubleday's money, and just as they had done with deferred money owed to Frank Cashen, Fred Wilpon relies on Madoff accounts to fund Minaya's expenditures.  All the while, Fred Wilpon is seeking financing for the construction of Citi Field.  As fans pack Shea Stadium in its final years, Fred Wilpon sways lenders with promises of 3.5 million in sustained annual attendance.

When the Madoff ponzi scheme is revealed, the Wilpon's world comes crashing down all around them.  Without delving into every bit of minutia, they are forced eventually into selling upwards of 25% of the club to outside investors.  In 2015, they refinance $750 million dollars of interrelated SNY and club debt due over a five year period (this being year three).  This past off-season, Jeff Wilpon announces he is shaving $20 million dollars from the previous year's opening day payroll.  An unrelated report by FORBES, perhaps reveals the underlying reason why.

One can only conclude that financially and operationally, we are being told one thing, while ownership does another.

Just ponder this exceptional mess the Mets are in ...

Just look at the organizational backtracking ...

John Ricco is presently the face of the front office, while Omar Minaya mentors Jeff Wilpon.  Then there's J.P. Ricciardi, an Alderson guy.  As such, I feel he is mentally checked out, and will make his exit no later than season's end.

Ricco said Jeff Wilpon instructed all three to be creative heading into the trade deadline.  Then the plan suddenly changed, then changed again.  The results speak for themselves.

More proof of continued meddling ...

Last September Newsday reveals how principle owner Fred Wilpon shields (then) manager Terry Collins from general manager Sandy Alderson and from his own son COO Jeff Wilpon, both of whom it is speculated sought Terry's dismissal for some time.  One month later, Newsday informs us how Mickey Callaway becomes the number one choice to replace Collins after spending a long lunch with principle owner Fred Wilpon.  This past Sunday, Newsday completes the trifecta by reporting Mickey Callaway is expected to return as manager in 2019, and that even if the team brings in a new general manager, Callaway would remain in his position.

Said another way, the next general manager already has his/her first precondition.

So much for autonomy!

And so I ask: what supremely qualified and respected executive would accept a Mets general manager's position riddled with stipulations?

This is exactly why the Mets need a President of Baseball Operations - an astute baseball executive whom will ensure ownership's priorities are met to their satisfaction.  A person who in turn will oversee the entire baseball operation.  A new general manager should be hired by and made to report to said president, not ownership.  Until that happens, Fred and Jeff Wilpon will continue exercising their executive decision making powers with negative effect.

Because that's what meddlers do.

N.Y. Mets: Why Life After Sandy Alderson Terrifies Me

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

How To Make The Mets Great Again

New York Mets: We can't make the Wilpons sell the team.  So how about a compromise?

Want to know why the prospect of life after Sandy Alderson terrifies me?  For the same reason that life before Sandy Alderson once terrified me: The Wilpons are no better prepared today for running this organization than when they hired Sandy Alderson eight years ago.

Think about this: Fred Wilpon, nor Jeff Wilpon, have never once been forced to venture out into the unknown and secure a general manager of their own volition.

They tried, once.  But the matter in the end was settled for them.  Otherwise, all the footwork had already been taken care for them previously by Frank Cashen, Steve Phillips, and most recently by former commissioner Bud Selig.

I bring into question the last thirty years in support of my claim.

The late former co-owner of the Mets, Nelson Doubleday, by his own admission believed in hiring good baseball people and staying out of the way.

Fred Wilpon ... not so much.

Partner or no partner, Fred to varying degrees has always exercised managing control of the New York Mets.  A dismayed and betrayed Nelson Doubleday learned that the hard way.  Despite Wilpon and Saul Katz originally buying in as mere two percent owners, since day one and throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and through the 2002 season, Fred Wilpon served as team President (until his partnership with Doubleday reached its acrimonious end, after which he assumed the role of Chairman).  As such, Fred historically has been at the forefront of all matters concerning executive employment, specifically the team's various general managers.

Frank Cashen is easily still the greatest hire either owner ever made, and perhaps goes down as one of the few times Nelson and Fred ever agreed on anything.  Frankie Bow Tie served as general manager from 1980 through the 1991 season.  His job description was understated to say the least.  For he conducted business as the Mets grand mystic high exulted ruler of operations virtually unopposed throughout the 1980s.  Ownership essentially signed off on all things Cashen deemed fit.  Deservedly so as he was a supremely qualified baseball man who long ago proved his prowess as an executive.

With Cashen in place, reports of ownership meddling in baseball affairs were virtually non existent.  On the other hand, Cashen succeeded in transforming the Mets front office featuring Jerry Hunsicker, Joe McIlvaine, and Steve Phillips, that despite becoming the envy of the league, quickly earned a reputation for being notorious infighters (but that's neither here nor there).

By 1992 Cashen was getting up in years and so elevated himself for one season to the position of team COO (after which he continued in a consulting role).  Ponderously, he appointed Al Harazin (assistant general manager since 1986, and perhaps the least qualified of his executive choices) to succeed him as Mets general manager.

Insulted and disrespected, both Hunsicker and McIlvaine understandably flipped their respective lids and bolted from the organization with haste.  Hunsicker left to become general manager of the Houston Astros, and Joe McIlvaine likewise accepted the general manager's position at San Diego.  Only Steve Phillips (brought into the fold in 1990) stayed put.

Meanwhile, Al Harazin's two years as general manager were nothing short of terrible.  The 1993 season in particular goes down as one of the more embarrassing campaigns in all New York Mets history.  This two year episode can certainly be blamed on Frank Cashen.  Not coincidentally, though, this is when Fred Wilpon's tribulations begin.  Because by this juncture in Mets history Cashen is no longer serving as buffer between ownership and baseball operations.

Free to fill the void left behind by Cashen, Mr. Wilpon earnestly begins intervening in baseball affairs.  Acting on his own behalf, he turns to the only people with whom he had previously gained any sense of familiarity: Jerry Hunsicker and Joe McIlvaine.  The former rebuffed outright Wilpon's plea to return.  However, McIlvaine acquiesced and returned to Flushung.

Fast forward through the Generation K years, and Wilpon is growing increasingly perturbed with Joe Mac's many unscheduled and often lengthy scouting trips during which he would routinely fail to return Wilpon's calls in a timely manner ... if at all.  Wilpon ultimately makes Joe Mac's aloof and irreverent behavior an issue, and fires him midway through the 1997 season.

Fred Wilpon turns to the next familiar face.  An in-house hire, Steve Phillips is elevated to the position of general manager.  Phillips in turn is responsible for bringing into the fold both Omar Minaya and Jim Duquette.  But in 2002 Omar Minaya leaves to become general manager of the (then) Montreal Expos.

Steve Phillips earns his pink slip a year later.  Fred Wilpon not surprisingly turns to his lone remaining in-house option, elevating Jim Duquette (whom Wilpon would effectively dictate his day-to-day terms of employment to the point Duquette is literally rendered inconsequential as a team executive.  The freeze placed upon him coincides with Fred Wilpon's efforts towards securing financing for the construction of Citi Field).

By 2003-2004, Mr. Wilpon has seemingly exhausted all internal executive options left behind by Frank Cashen and Steve Phillips.  Or so we thought.  In a bind, Fred Wilpon dials up Omar Minaya begging for his return to Flushing just as he had once before with Joe McIlvaine.  And like McIlvaine, Minaya agreed.  However, in his haste to secure Minaya, Mr. Wilpon failed to relieve Jim Duquette of his duties in a timely and professional manner.  If nothing else, this made for a typically Metsian transition.

With this blog as my witness ... by 2009 and 2010 I began accusing the Mets of being a hopelessly inbred organization, completely bereft of an original idea.  Hardly a hasty conclusion considering for thirty years Fred Wilpon had limited his front office personnel to only those he was familiar with and knew well.  While Jerry Hunsicker goes down as the one that got away, Joe McIlvaine, Steve Phillips, Jim Duquette, and Omar Minaya were all either groomed by or recruited into the organization.  As front office resources, Fred Wilpon exhausted every last one.  As such, this blog began imploring the organization to finally venture off campus for sake of recruiting someone not previously tethered to the Wilpons.

When circumstances turned against Omar Minaya, the future of the organization further terrified me.  I believed then as I do now, the Wilpons do not possess the requisite, acquired, or even applied experience, nor the industry intellect to identify, recruit, and ably secure a learned and aptly qualified baseball executive.

To reiterate, my reason is because they've never before been forced out of their comfort zone where it concerns employing general managers.  Much to my dismay, I was right.  Upon Minaya's dismissal, ownership first sought consultation within the industry before initiating a (farcical) search for a new general manager.  Multiple candidates were interviewed (including in-house executive John Ricco).  Well into the process, however, Fred and Jeff were no closer to hiring a replacement than they were on day one (Jeff Wilpon is now team COO and in control of front office operations, whereas previously and right up until Omar Minaya's hiring this was formerly Fred's domain).

Enter commissioner Bud Selig.  He suddenly makes Sandy Alderson available who at the time was conducting MLB operations in Dominican Republic.  For ownership, a veritable stroke of luck.  Upon Selig's not so subtle insistence, they hire Sandy Alderson Johnny-on-the-spot thus ending their general manager search post haste.  So truth be told, it is purely by default that Jeff Wilpon makes his first general managerial hire.

Fast forward again, and we've now arrived at a point where Sandy Alderson either faces getting fired, or retires on his own terms.

The objective observer might view John Ricco as a natural candidate for general manager considering his time and experience within the organization's front office.  Perhaps best known for performing damage control in 2010 during Omar Minaya's colossal media meltdown, John Ricco not only survived Minaya, but seems as if he may outlast Sandy Alderson as well.

I on the other hand view John Ricco as a worst possible scenario.  He's been tethered to the Mets for at least a decade.  He is too familiar with ownership, and them with him.  He strikes me as just another potential yes man as I refuse to believe Ricco would be granted full autonomy.  J.P. Ricciardi is also still on board.  But I was never impressed with his body of work as GM of the Toronto Blue Jays.  In either scenario, the club would be reverting back to in-house candidates, further inbreeding of the executive pool, and once again insulating the organization from foreign and/or innovative thought.  Re-hiring Omar Minaya would be no different.

Nelson Doubleday warned fans of this looming mismanagement ...

Fairly or unfairly, Jeff Wilpon has long been accused of being a micro-meddler.  The local tabloids are littered with such scuttlebutt.  How many times through the years have you heard the Wilpons trying to maintain a collegial style front office operation?  Isn't that corporate code for meddling?  We know his father is still actively meddling when it was disclosed he sheltered Terry Collins knowing Sandy Alderson wanted him fired.  How more many times have both Jeff and Fred made baseball decisions for the wrong reasons by putting issues of money, attendance, and public perception, ahead of actual winning?  When an organization is run by a reactive (dare I say impetuous) COO, be sure meddling will be order of the day.

We can't make the Wilpons sell the team.  But there is a way of removing their fingerprints from baseball operations.  A strict chain of command has become necessary.  Hire a learned and independent minded President of Baseball Operations.  In the age of general managers basking in the spotlight, I realize employing a Team President seems somewhat archaic.  I understand teams just do not operate that way anymore.  But in this particular case, a buffer between ownership and baseball ops is just what the Wilpons and Mets fans need if they are to continue forward in an agreeable manner towards reestablishing this public trust.

A Team President of Baseball Operations must be someone the Wilpons can trust unconditionally with keeping their best interests front and center at all times, and above all having said interests satisfactorily met.  But ownership must then be willing to completely separate themselves from baseball operations.

In turn, the President of Baseball Operations oversees the entire operation.  He/she hires a general manager and makes sure he/she stays on the straight and narrow, adhering to team objectives, and making sure organizational resources are allocated in the most effective way possible, all the while ensuring the primary focus remains on the agreed upon mission (handed down by the President of Baseball Operations).

The general manager then sets forth on the Team President's mission, and reports directly back to same.  The President then occassionally reports back and assures the owners their interests are still being met.  In this system owners do not speak directly with the general manager where it concerns baseball matters.  In return, the President of Baseball Operations is left to decipher ownership's nonsense before acting upon, and disseminating pertinent information.

All that being said, I believe it's time the Mets instituted a disciplined chain of command.

Sandy Alderson's record is a matter for another discussion.  But as it relates to this narrative, he is likewise tethered.  And this is precisely the organizational condition which must change.

The Age of Fred's WILPONianism

These two posts from the past say everything I ever needed to say concerning where I have always stood regarding the Mets, and never ever wavered.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A Concise Concatenate of Mets GM's and

Life Under WILPONIANISM

Originally posted by me on December 27, 2009

http://thebrooklyntrolleyblogger.blogspot.com/2009/12/concise-concatenate-of-mets-gms-life.html

No need to click it;  It's just to show you the time stamp.

I got it ALL right here; TRUST ME.  The post is as follows:

SHEA STADIUM, 1976

The Metropolitans Baseball Club of New York

Our Matriarch; Mrs. Joan Payson

The partnership group headed by Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon purchased the NY Metropolitan BBC on Jan. 4, 1980 from Charles Shipman Payson, (who took control of the team after his wife Joan passed away 5 years earlier), and their daughter, club president Lorinda de Roulet. The Mets' original and only owner to that point passed away October 4, 1975. We owe everything as Met fans to Mrs. Joan Payson, the New York Baseball Giants fan and season ticket holder at the Polo Grounds, and to Mr. William Shea.

Joe McDonald had been the General Manager for the previous 5 years under the old ownership. The way I understand it, the new ownership told Mr. McDonald the last few years at Shea weren't his fault but they (Doubleday and Wilpon) wanted to go in a new direction. The club made an offer to Mr. McDonald to stay with the team in a different capacity which he did for one year to help make the new ownership's transition smoother. But by 1981 he was gone from the Mets' employ moving on to other endeavours.

The Mets chose Frank Cashen, architect of the mighty Baltimore Orioles teams of the late 60's and early 70's to be their new General Manager.


But before we get into Frank Cashen these are the things I didn't know about JOE McDONALD in 1978 when I was 11 years:

FIRST ~ He was Director of our Minor League Operations in the 60s busy farming-up Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry, Nolan Ryan, Tug McGraw and a bevy of our positional players that went on to win the World Series in 1969 and a N.L. flag in 1973.

SECOND - One of my favorite seasons EVER was 1976. By then, collecting baseball cards, going to games, watching on TV, listening on the radio, flippin' cards in the schoolyard and playing stick ball on the block all came together for me. It's all I lived for as a nine year old in Brooklyn.

My team for the most part was still in tact. What I didn't understand then was, it was time, unbeknown-st to me, to break that edition of the Mets up. THAT TIME had come for the Mets. Huh? From 1977-1979, one by one, I watched all my beloved Mets disappear. I was stung when they traded Tug McGraw, Cleon Jones and Rusty Staub in '74 and '75, but those were only tremors. The big shake-up started in earnest in '77. Tom Seaver, Koosman, Kingman, Grote, Harrelson, Wayne Garrett, Skip Lockwood, John Matlack, John Milner, Roy Staiger were all gone. Eddie Kranepool retired and ED OTT, catcher of the Pirates, ended Felix Millan's career with a WWE wrestling style body slam. I thought Lee Mazzilli was going to play with these guys. But I watched and thought who's responsible for this? My Dad was a Yankee fan so no help there.

What I didn't understand then about Joe McDonald was, like I said it was time to break the team up, but I certainly didn't know that Lorinda de Roulet ordered every budget in sight slashed and ground up into fine powder. Not even pencils and paper clips were safe. The team was hemorrhaging money and the Mets were looking for a buyer. I was nine, ten and eleven. WHO KNEW?! I didn't and I blamed him for everything back then, to include trading Tom Seaver.


This is what I now know about JOE McDONALD:

FIRST ~ If the choice to replace him was anyone other than Frank Cashen,- It could have gone down as one of the worst decisions the post-Payson Mets ever made. There is more to Joe McDonald's resume no one bothers to address, in part because Frank Cashen is the best executive hire the post-Payson Mets ever made. I will revisit this later and elaborate.

SECOND - Even as bad as it got between '77 and '79, the farm system was working fast and furious. Joe McDonald still had blood pumping through the system. He just was not allowed to make any free agents signings or make trades that would increase payroll. He was operating under a mandate from the Team President. I will elaborate later in this post on what kind of talent he was grooming in those dark years..

C'mon...He's it's part of my grand plan to discredit the Wilpons for my grand finale. There! Cat's outta th'bag OK?




OK...The FRANK CASHEN ERA, 1980-1991 General Manager and Executive Lord of all things METROPOLIS: The first and to date only Mets Executive that came from off the Campus.

He presided over the greatest period of Mets' prosperity. Between 1984-1990 no other team in baseball won more games. I'll spare you all the details. I forget I'm 43yrs old sometimes but you should be pretty up to snuff with 80's Baseball. Mr. Cashen gutted a bad team even further between 1980-1982, refitted an already effective farm system with even more pistons and they were off and running.

Many say under his watch, that team partied too much; - drinking and drugging, getting into on and off field brawls at clubs, and getting arrested. They reveled in their cockiness. Read Darryl Strawberry's recent book for tales of more high jinx. Hindsight says they underachieved. Regardless, the Whole Time, Fred Wilpon was acting like FLOUNDER from ANIMAL HOUSE. Remember at the end of the movie how the Delta Guys wrought havoc on the Home-Coming Parade? - And Flounder, after purchasing 2000 marbles for his part, looked around at the chaos and thought to himself aloud, - "OH BOY, THIS IS GREAT!". Well? That was Fred Wilpon in the 80's!

Throughout Frank Cashen's years, the thriving farm system Joe McDonald left behind continued to thrive pumping out prospects. In addition to the farm system, Frank Cashen procured a lot of executive talent that was at the time, the envy of Baseball. The Wilpon's continued to feed off the buffet into the present day with Omar Minaya (that connection will be tied together later in this post). The next 5 NY Met GM hires would all stem directly or indirectly from Frank Cashen and cover the next 20 years.

When Frank Cashen stepped down as General Manager heading into the 1992 season, he stayed on as a Vice President and Team Consultant into the late 90's. As a matter a fact, he resumed his GM post briefly in 1998 when Steve Phillips was out whoring around and had to take a leave of absence from his GM'ship. GOOD GRIEF!! - More about that dummy later.





Al HARAZIN, METS' GENERAL MANAGER 1992-1993:

First off, I don't know how the hell this guy rose through the ranks faster and higher than Joe McIlvaine within the Mets' executive talent pool. He was the accountant for crying-out-loud. Secondly, I don't know who's decision it was to make him GM and not Joe McIlvaine. Was it Cashen's idea or was that decision lobbied by.., by someone else? How could it be? Did Doubleday/Wilpon have a say? Was that really Cashen's hand picked replacement? I don't really know. What I do know is that he was an unmitigated disaster as GM.

Al Harazin is the genesis of when I believe Fred Wilpon first became gun shy about going out and pursuing free agents with vigor.

Al Harazin, in part because of the overwhelming backlash from the Mets not signing Darryl Strawberry, went out and spent all kinds of' cash on Vince Coleman, Willie Randolph, Bobby Bonilla, Saberhagen et'al. The only professional outta the motley crew Harazin signed was Eddie Murray (I'm sorry, and Willie; but an over-aged Willie). Outside of Eddie Murray, 1992-93 was...FUGGEDABOUDIT Horrendous.! Those were two dark years in Flushing.

Doc Gooden couldn't stay clean, Jeff Kent was always angry with the fans, Bonilla was threatening to show reporters "the Bronx" (as in kick their ass), Vince Coleman was throwing fireworks at L.A. fans in the parking lot, Saberhagen using a super-soaker filled with bleach to spray down reporters and manager Jeff Torborg couldn't keep his foot out of his mouth. Oh my, how the media wrecked Jeff Torborg. *sigh*

Fred Wilpon deserves credit for showing a backbone and in a press conference declaring, "Vince Coleman will never wear a Mets' uniform again" over the fireworks show. But it was from this time on Fred Wilpon began his aversion with free agency until Omar Minaya came back in 2005 and convinced him to up the ante a little.

Things went very wrong for the Mets in 1991-93, and Wilpon seemed proactive in wanting a new direction. Nelson Doubleday didn't say much about anything. He was really backround'ish but he was the Board Chairman. Nelson was the Big Daddy but Fred Wilpon was always the front man. Nelson always knew how to let the Baseball people do their jobs. Fred was always buzzing around. But they were fast becoming Frick and Frack.

The Mets, like I said, had executive talent on the books. Bob Mandt seemed to be in the mix but seemed to top out along the way and slipped. Joe McIlvaine was the rising star. Other teams knew it too. But somehow the Mets GM chair went to Harazin. Because McIlvaine was impatient and tired of waiting for the Mets job he took the S.D. Padres offer in '90.

If Cashen knew he was going to retire in another year.....then..? Why not...? ...nevermind.

That's one the Mets let get away. But not for long. Al Harazin was fired during that infamous 1993 season, not able to complete his second year on the job.

This is lucky break number two for the Mets. The first was getting Frank Cashen in the first place. The Wilpons were lucky McIlvaine came back. Fred Wilpon pretty much begged Joe McLvaine to return to the nest. Joe Mac obliged. I'm omitting all the in-fighting McIlvaine supposedly tired of, that went on behind the Mets' scenes, which was part of the reason for his motivations to accept the San Diego job. But that part of the story just seems too petty for this blog's purpose. I will not leave you hanging however and offer that all the in-fighting previously eluded to was basically between Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday. Yes, at times it was often ugly and public.





JOE McILVAINE, METS' GENERAL MANAGER 1993-1997:

This is the last GM for the Mets who had a clearly defined PLAN and put it into effect, post haste! Joe McIlvaine was coming in to completely rebuild this team. It would be piloted by the firm but fair Dallas Green. I was all for it. I was in total agreement with everything McIlvaine wanted to do. The whole plan was built around Generation-K. It was gonna be great, Man! The new product was to be home grown. From this era comes a member of my very select Mets I call "MY GUYS" - TODD HUNDLEY.

The plan to rebuild the Mets was an utter failure. GENERATION-K never took off due to injury (to all of them). Joe McIlvaine got fired in 1997 because he was a little thick headed. Fred Wilpon always used to get on him for being away from the team too much and not keeping the owners in the loop or returning their calls. McIlvaine just had his own way about him. He was a bit of a Diva. But the truth is he deserved to get fired because he stopped caring. He would literally dissappear for days. When situations demanded his presence, he seemed to always be off scouting somewhere; or so he said. Bobby Valentine, the manager at the time, started complaining out loud about him. Steve Phillips was turning tricks in the back allies of the organization as a young up-comer by this time. Steve Phillips bided his time, waiting for his chance too.

Jerry Hunsicker, another highly prized executive in the Mets' Front Office also tired of sitting around waiting for his chance and by 1996 went to be GM of the ASTROS.

Fred Wilpon's hand was forced by the departure of Hunsicker. He then tapped on the shoulder of Cashen's last available pupil. McLlvaine was out, STEVE PHILLIPS the rising (porn)star was in.






STEVE PHILLIPS METS' GENERAL MANAGER 1997-2003:

This is where it all goes awry for Fred-A-Licious (Wilpon), my fellow Brooklynite, the Dodger fan, - the man who went to high school in my neighborhood, like Lee Mazzilli and John Franco before him...; my team's owner who pitched for Lafayette H.S. in Bensonhurst while Sandy Koufax played first base.

Whatever assessment you have concerning the years 1997 through 2000 (2001-2003 LOL!!!) if they're positive, attribute them to Bobby Valentine; do yourself that favor.

Steve Phillips had been a part of the Mets executive pool since 1990. He was the last of the personnel brought in under Cashen to work for the Mets. Besides being horny, here's Steve Phillip's major achievment ~ Steve Phillips was the beneficiary of a Florida Marlins' fire sale. The inability of the Marlins to retain their talent was the biggest reason behind the acquisitions of Mike Piazza and Al Leiter and Dennis Cook. After the Florida fire sale and the 2000 season, his acquisitions were incredible failures and that includes the Melvin Mora trade. You know the names. Don't make me do it.

Steve Phillips did draft David Wright, whom would turn out to be the compensation for losing Mike Hampton to free agency. He also drafted Jose Reyes and Scott Kazmir. That's not bad work right there!

But Steve Phillips obliterated any respect he built for himself leading up to the 2000 season. He ignited his reputation with the acquisitions made between 2001-2003 in a great ball of fire stoked by Wilpon's cash, shell shocking Fred Wilpon even further. For the second time, Fred Wilpon was stuck with one of the highest payrolls in baseball with nothing to show for it but shame, like in 1993.

Fred always had a delicate psyche. He doesn't like bad press and contoversy. A guy named Steinbrenner loved it; not Fred though.

Back to Mike Piazza, only Nelson Doubleday knew enough to sign Piazza for his worth. Fred didn't want to write that check and that kind of thinking drove Nelson crazy. Fred Wilpon's partnership with Nelson Doubleday was falling apart like wet toilet paper during this time.

STEVE PHILLIPS also had to take a leave of absence from the team because he was out and about being a slut. No this isn't 2009 and ESPN I'm talking about. He was an adulterous whore back in 1998 too. Frank Cashen had to come in from the BULLPEN and temporarily take over while the Mets dealt with the Phillips Scandal (Pt.1).

Moving forward ~ After sitting by while Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn, Kevin Appier, Mike Bordick, Jeremy Burnitz and company stole his money, Wilpon, sporting the second highest payroll in baseball, was kicking around with a last place 2003 team, a bickering GM and a rabbid manager.

Fred Wilpon backed Phillips in his blood feud with Bobby Valentine and the manager was out. It was a bad move and definitely the easier choice to make. Valentine didn't hesitate venting frustration with the organization, and with Wilpon that's a no-no. So, Valentine basically got to fill-out his own pink slip. But Phillips also read the writing on the wall and knew Wilpon was tired of his act too. The Wilpons fired Steve Phillips shortly after.

By the time Fred limped into the offseason after 2003, all direct remnants of Frank Cashen were gone and the resources he left behind were suddenly exhausted.

Nelson Doubleday couldn't deal with his partnership with Wilpon anymore. The sentiment was Nelson found Fred Wilpon insufferable. Nelson and Fred finally worked out a deal and Doubleday's half of the team would be bought by the Wilpons. "FLOUNDER" has now lost BLUTO, D-DAY, OTTER and HOOVER.

The S.S. Wilpon officially became rudderless.

Doubleday left with the team's fortitude to gamble and dream big in tow. Frank Cashen took away all the team's brains and know-how. FLOUNDER was about to find out things can and would get worse....and more tretcherous. Fred Wilpon and the Mets made their first 10 degree turn towards the ICEBERG.

But what's a Wilpon to do?

Omar Minaya was previously brought into the fold by Steve Phillips via the Texas Rangers. He was the Mets Assistant GM and Lord over minor league and international developement since Sept.1997. He left to take a precarious Expos GM job in 2002. So with Frank Cashen's influence a distant memory, Wilpon turned to another Phillips appointment, Jim Duquette. It would be Fred Wilpon's first decision as a solo artist. He had no choice. He was the only one around. And well, Wilpon was UNPLUGGED now.

Minority Partner Saul Katz was kicked up a notch from his position of obscurity within the ownership group. And we were all left thinking what the Son of 'Pon, Wilpon the Younger, Lil Jeff, really knew about Baseball? So, at this point the Mets' fan base is about to be thrown to the whims of two Steve Phillips' imports; Jim Duquette and Omar Minaya.





Big Jim...cousin of Dan Duquette. *sigh*
JIM DUQUETTE, METS' GENERAL MANAGER 2003-2004:

Ya have to feel sorry for this guy. Fate cut him a little slack by bringing in Art Howe to manage and getting the era named after him (i.e. the Art Howe years). Howe only bought Jim a little time, for Jim was determined to put his ineptitude on display for all to ridicule. Somehow, pitching coach Rick Petersen got into the right ears and polluted his/Jim's, and Jeff Wilpon's judgement. It cost us Scott Kazmir, because Petersen thought he'd be able to get more out of Victor Zambrano. Really? Between Art Howe, Duquette trading Kazmir, poor play on the field and no indication things were going to get better in the era of Wilpon's sole ownership, Met fans were stewing.

Shea Spoke!

Wilpon sensed it and before even firing Duquette, he hired Omar Minaya. No..., the Wilpons begged Omar to come back and work for the Mets in effect creating a two-headed GM for the latter part of 2004. The appointment making Omar the official GM, and Duquette's formal dismissal from his position didn't occur officially till the 2004 season was over. It just wreaked of desparation by the Wilpons. But they had their man most Met fans were content with.

During Jim Duquette's very brief tenure, in a quite publicly known secret, he was ordered to freeze payroll. The new Mission Statement called for Met Mediocrity. Band-aids would plug the team's needs just fine, and buy the Wilpons a little more time to see if they could come up with a clue.

Ever since Fred Wilpon had to pay down the 2003 disaster of a season, his mandate became to do things second rate, second city and from a mindset shackled with timidity. It's hard to argue against paying up for Piazza and Ventura and that over-achieving team of 2000 but it was the Alomar's, Mo Vaughn's and Baerga's that made Freddie break out in a rash, just like Vince Coleman and Bobby Bonilla made him schizoid before that.

Wilpon is always monitoring what we're saying because he's that paranoid, not because he's that in touch with the fan base. But with our increasing decibles of discontent, an idea was born. "I know - Let's ask Omar Minaya to come back ~ Because the bottom line here is, I don't know anybody else. Where's Frank Cashen when you really need him?"

Jim Duquette, since day one never had a chance. He was manipulated by Wilpon like a Jim Henson Muppet the entire short time he was GM.

Scott Kazmir?! Good Grief.

Fred Wilpon used his third and last "Lucky Break" card. Omar was someone who Fred Wilpon was familiar with. Fear of the unknown is paralyzing for some..(Fred). Wilpon had a comfort level with Minaya. Omar had a good reputation. But c'mon, the truth is Wilpon just couldn't pool together a well educated baseball braintrust since Frank Cashen left. This organization is at the mercy of Steve Phillips' proteges now. I do not believe the Wilpons have the industry insight to hire someone better than Omar. So yea, here in this instance, Fred Wilpon lucks out; again. Omar came back like Joe McIlvaine did once befor him, both at Fred Wilpon's behest.




OMAR MINAYA, METS' GENERAL MANAGER Sept. 2004-present:

Omar's record since 2005 is 427-383. However, 2006, as the years pass seems to be the abberation. The win totals each year are 83, 97, 88, 89 and 70 in 2009. Ninety seven wins in 2006 seems to be standing alone. Ever since Carlos Beltran watched that curve ball fall in during the '06 NLCS, it seems like this team put it's tail between it's legs and has been heading in the opposite direction since. I'll be fair and take last year off Omar's docket. Injuries crippled the team. But from 2005 to 2008 the team is a plus six. The '08 team was six games better than the '05 edition. You decide. The book is still open with Omar. We're all watching. I wouldn't be telling you anything you don't already know.

But if Fred Wilpon fires Omar Minaya because he can't turn the S.S. Wilpon around, this team will be in a world of hurt, more-so moving forward than at the present time, and we'll head into the uncharted depths of Tartaros. I mean it. Duquette didn't leave any hand picked executives behind. He was here for a cup of coffee really. He was like a front office version of Stump Merrill. DOH ! SO who else is there?

One of Omar Minaya's closest lieutenants, Tony Bernazard sizzled up in a blaze of Binghampton MMA Bravado and then there was Omar's own Flubbering Flushing Meltdown at the press conference announcing the termination of said Tony Bernazard. It truly was BIZARRO WORLD wasn't it? Another Minaya guy, Manny Acta took a managers job with the Nationals. So who do the Wilpons look to if they relieve Omar?

Here's another concurrent problem folks. Our minor league system has come to a grinding halt pretty much for the first time since 1965. I've watched for 9 years now, my graduating Brooklyn Cyclones of NYPL sent to Binghampton AA and get stuck in the mud. Additionally, there are no more prospective executives the Wilpons can tap into anymore. They are all done. Cashen started a line of executive hires that were all in-house. At present they've all been exhausted by the Wilpons.

Fred Wilpon is at a crucible. This is his most important year of his enire time owning the Metropolitan BBC.

If he fires Omar Minaya, the next decision he makes could have cataclysmic and far reaching ramifications. The dark ages are looming for this franchise. I am a little thin on confidence the Wilpons will get this right. I fear ICEBERG DEAD AHEAD. There is still time to save this however. There's plenty of time to prevent panic. This operation is very salvagable. Fred is not an imbecile. Mawkish? Perhaps. Ignorant and dumb? Certainly not. Lacking baseball acumen, timid and paranoid? You betcha.

And finally, I'd like to bring Joe McDonald back into the conversation. Even though the Mets were miserable on the field between '77-'79 under Joe, the farm sytem was busy. Get your knife and forks Met fans and dig into this.

Wally Backman, Jesse Oroscoe, Neil Allen, Mookie Wilson, Hubie Brooks, *Mike Scott, *Jeff Reardon were all getting farmed-up during that time. Hubie Brooks allowed us to acquire Gary Carter. Neil Allen allowed us to acquire Kieth Hernandez and Lee Mazzilli got us Ron Darling in return; and we reacquired him. Honorable mention goes out to Ed Lynch; he deserves credit too. Is it fair of me to say that Joe McDonald directly and indirectly deserves credit for..oh...28% of the World Champion New York Mets of 1986? Am I way off on that? The only reason I point that out is if we're going to truley assess the body of work of this ownership group, it's imperative we know how they got to this very moment, attribute the credit where it's due examined what needs explaining.

Joe McDonald has truley been the gem of the Mets organization. He gets a bad rap for those late 70's teams. What was closer to the truth of the Mets demise back then was the dynamic between Joan Payson's husband and daughters, and an infamous Boris Kolaff of an executive, M. Donald Grant; Board Chairman. He was the real reason Tom Seaver got traded. He is where my childhood rage should have been directed towards. He was the Mets' true Phantom Manace of that ERA. But that's for another day.

Today, I'm worried for the future of the Mets franchise under Wilpon/Katz control moving foward. If the last 6 years of Wilponianism UNPLUGGED is any indication, I wanna get put back in the Matrix.

This is the way I see it. I'm not saying I'm right or wrong. It's just how I see life going into Met Year 8 A.D.

"After Doubleday"

end.

It's really an excersize in insanity complaining about the same things over and over again.

Let's please fast foward to August 31, 2010 when I penned this post 8 months later and one month left in season.

http://thebrooklyntrolleyblogger.blogspot.com/2010/08/son-of-pon-saul-b-katz-dilemma.html

No, no; you don't need to click.  It's all here.  Just giving you a time stamp.  Post is as follows:

SON of 'PON ~ The SAUL B. KATZ Dilemma


Met Year 8 A.D. ~ Year 8 AFTER DOUBLEDAY.


OR

The Age of WILPONianism.

Welcome.

Back in 2003 Nelson Doubleday sold his half of the New York Metropolitan Baseball Club to his partner Fred Wilpon, ending a very acrimonious relationship between the two.  I'm not going "there" because the Mets only won one World Series while he was still half owner.  No, I only bring that to your attention because I'd like to remind Met Fans about the parting shots Nelson Doubleday took at the Wilpon's and more specifically, Jeff Wilpon ~ Son of PON....Fred Wilpon's son that is ~ Lil' Jeff, C.O.O. of Mets R Us.

Harsh of me?  Read what Mr. Doubleday had to say to ESPN about Jeff Wilpon HERE.

The quote I'd like to extract for your reading pleasure is this little screwgie from ESPN Archives as Nelson Doubleday said what he really felt.  He was working without a filter.  There was a lot of disdain for his "Partner and Son" of which he kept no secrets about such feelings. 

** (picking up mid-article...) Doubleday especially had some harsh words for Jeff Wilpon, Fred's son, who is heavily involved in the daily operation of the franchise.

"Mr. Jeff Wilpon has decided that he's going to learn how to run a baseball team and take over at the end of the year," Doubleday told the newspaper. "Run for the hills, boys. I think probably all those baseball people will bail."

In fact, Doubleday still owns box seats at Shea Stadium, but apparently does not attend games partly due to the presence of the younger Wilpon.

"Jeff sits there by himself like he's King Tut waiting for his camel," Doubleday told the paper. "Hump one. Hump two. They like that, two for the price of one."

That ESPN article was as of July 2003.

So let us fast-forward now to September 1st, 2010 and omit everything I've been screaming about regarding this club since winter past and beyond..  September 1st, for all intent and purposes should be, symbolically or real, Day One of the Beginning of the END of the current Met Era.


The Failure in Flushing must be corrected. The Misery in METropolis must end.


FIRST ITEM OF CONTENTION: OWNERSHIP ~ Fred Wilpon, Saul Katz, Jeff Wilpon. OR as I like to sometimes call this administration....The SAUL B. KATZ Dilemma

"Meaningful Games In SEPTEMBER" will elude the Mets in this 2010 season.  Mr. Fred Wilpon's stated goal to have his club play meaningful games in September has been denied by his uniformed employees and mid-level management....again.  Barring a "Miracle" the Mets will not participate in this year's post-season just as they have missed the playoffs for 7 out of the 8 years Fred Wilpon is the sole principle owner of the Mets.

In 1992-93 both Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon were stuck with an onerous bill for an embarrassing last place team assembled by Al Harazin.  In 2003 Steve Phillips masterfully crafted the worst team money could buy and Fred Wilpon, who by then was the sole principle owner, got stuck with another payroll albatross and a last place club.  I empathize with the Wilpons in so far as I know they do care.  Fred Wilpon has never been cheap per se.  The Mets have always maintained a higher end payroll for players.  So that's not up for debate.

What is up for debate is how the Wilpons maintain a blurred line of demarcation separating Ownership and Baseball Operations.  The well publicized and criticized "collegial" structure the Wilpons promote in their front office is nothing more than a nursery for Chaos.

As Nelson Doubleday declared in 2003, and as we've witnessed with our very own Met Eyes, Jeff Wilpon really does want to be a Baseball Man.  While Omar Minaya perhaps wielded a lot more influence and operated with more autonomy back in 2005 and 2006, let's be clear, Jeff Wilpon is calling the shots.  Today Omar is a completely watered down version of the man the Mets re-employed by asking him to become GM of the club at the end of the 2004 season.  I do not want to get ahead of myself, but Omar's power has been diminished somewhat by his own machinations also.  But back to the point about Jeff, he has taken the line of demarcation between Ownership and Baseball Operations and knocked it completely out of focus.  As a matter of fact, there is no line and there never has been one.

Jeff/Fred Wilpon has the whole "OUR GANG" involved in the decision processes of the club. The philosophy was fostered by his Pop and Saul Katz.  Jeff, John Ricco, Omar, the invisible man, Bob Melvin from the shadows, before his dismissal *Tony Bernazard, and a small list of others comprise(d*) The Brain of this organization.

Before moving forward, let's revisit this clubs finances for a second because we still do not know the motivations for some moves made and the motivations for a lack of transactions made.  The Wilpons have stated the club's financial health is strong in spite of the Madoff Scandal.  There's speculation Fred has lost a very substantial sum.  There are also reports Fred Wilpon may have even made money in the process.  But while they say the team's financial health is good, they behave in a very contradictory manner.  Fred Wilpon has said nothing to silence the wild speculations consuming print, on-air and electronic media.  So that's where we are with that.  We just don't know how much the Wilpon's finances influence their, Jeff's, Jeff's dictates to Omar('s)..., decisions.

Moving forward now, Jeff Wilpon is what he is; the Owner's son.  He's the Owner's son and he wants to be a Baseball Man; The Baseball Man.  That's a problem.

Omar may have precipitated Jeff's increasing involvement in Baseball Operations, however I do not think anything would have prevented Jeff's encroachment upon Baseball Operations. 

George Steinbrenner was consumed with Baseball Operations but he was transparent in such dealings.  His word had a high credit rating with the Fans in that regard.  When George made decisions there were no secrets.  If he wanted to fire someone, he told you why.  If he wanted to sign someone, he told you why.  We do know George operated his club at a financial paper loss in his last few actively participating years.  He didn't tell us that; the newspapers did.  But what he told his fan base was that he would do what was necessary to... and don't worry about....... and he followed through.  He dipped into his own pockets to deliver on his word.  And here is one of the few if any times, I compare Met and Yankee business.  My point is, as stated earlier, the Wilpons say one thing and behave another way, in part because I feel they, the Wilpons aren't being truthful with their fan base about the Owner's ability to financially afford or manage the team.  So, what translates into the Baseball Operations side strikes us as being somewhat conflicting and confusing as Fans, and perhaps to the media also.

So let's just say, Omar remains on-board as the GM.  If that be the case, a dramatic change in the relationship/structure between Omar and Jeff must take place. If Omar is retained as the General Manager, I suggest the Mets need to hire a bona-fide, Baseball experienced Team President to separate Omar and Jeff. If Jeff wants to be a Baseball Man, let him buzz the ear of the President; not Omar's.  A Team President must assure the Wilpon's financial interests in the club are being met in return for full autonomy.  A Team President then turns and delegates autonomy to his General Manager to implement the Organizations will concerning Baseball Operations.  Omar is accountable to, and answers to said Team President.  A Team President then delivers a state of Baseball Operations report to the Owners.  Yes, this entails Jeff Wilpon relinquishing baseball concerns to said President.  If you're Jeff, this is a rather large pill to swallow.  But the homogenized duties of the front office....pffft ~ the direct connect between Omar and Jeff must be severed.  If Omar is to be retained, he must be handed a clear budget parameter and be left to make decisions autonomously.  Jeff always retains the right to question and inspect his club of course.  But as things stand right now, Omar has been rendered impotent because Jeff engages in baseball operations with an owners mind and his Father's wallet in his heart, and secondly, Omar helped create the condition due largely to diminished effectiveness on the major league level, besetting the club with paralyzing contracts and an inability to seize the moment in matters of crisis management.

All of which I said is IF Omar is retained as General Manager of the Mets.  But Omar is a later topic of discussion.  Jeff is still topic one for now.  And to summarize, if Omar is indeed retained in his present capacity, of which I am not opposed to, the direct pipeline between Jeff and Omar must cease and a Team President must be found.  A Team President is the only one who can have a Team Owner's, a General Manager's, and the over-all best interest of an organization as his primary interest all at the same time without bias.  Anything else is just hands in the cookie jar or too many chiefs and not enough Indians.  You choose. But the overlapping of ideas, interests and concerns is just creating standing water spawning mosquitoes.  The ramifications of the inbred thought process by this front office has been clearly evidenced and we've watched it bleed onto the field of play.

Regardless if Omar or whom-ever is General Manager of the Mets, something has got to give; that something is Jeff Wilpon. If he wants to be a Baseball Man so badly, I'm afraid he'll have to do it vicariously through a Team President.  Jeff Wilpon and his on-the-job-training is the Phantom Menace at work here.  If part of the reason I think what I think is because they, the Wilpons haven't exactly been truthful with us....isn't that his fault and not my misinterpretation?

There's another side of me that actually likes Jeff.  I'll just quickly make use of his trip to Atlanta back in May, when he addressed the angst surrounding the team.  He's pretty darn good speaking his way through crisis management and Atlanta wasn't the only display, unfortunately.  He comes, speaks to the media very plainly/frankly but effectively, and gives Met fans a sense as if he said, "All is well. There's nothing more to see here. Go back to your homes". He's good at that.  Maybe there-in lies his niche on this team.  If Omar is still the GM next year, I'm sure Jeff will have more opportunities to smoke screen us.  But I still hold firm in my belief one of the ways to go about solving Saul B. Katz' Dilemma is with a good Team President. The Son of PON must be contained.

A Team President is needed within the New York Mets Front Office regardless whether Omar is retained as the General Manager or not.  How else can we keep nepotism from ruining this club?  If Jeff is the one who hires the next GM..., is Jeff really hiring the next GM or someone who just plays one on TV?

The Saul B. Katz Dilemma continues.




WELCOME, finally to October 7, 2010 ~ THE DAY METropoliS STOOD STILL.

This will be quick.

Welcome to the day Mets fans have clamoured for.  Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel have been relieved from their respective duties.  Jerry Manuel's club option will not be picked up and Omar's remaining two years owed him under terms of his contract will be made whole.  Omar was asked by the Wilpons about a re-assignment within the organization, but both Omar and Jeff agreed it would have to be the new GM's decision to maintain such an employment agreement.  I honestly do not see that happening.  Omar will most likely move on and in all likelyhood do very well somewhere else.

Let's  understand this will be the third General Manager the Wilpons will be hiring since they became sole owners.  Remember, this will be the first GM hired from off-campus.  Jeff Wilpon said very plainly there are no in-house candidates for the position at this time.  The office of GM will be filled by an outside entity for the first time since Frank Cashen himself.  The Wilpons will not be dealing with a Frank Cashen or Steve Phillips disciple this time around.  Jeff and Fred both seemed to re-emphasize and even champion themselves for running their organization in a very uncorporate-like manner.  They proudly repeated they, the club, more resemebles a Family Operation, during today's press conference.  And that's all OK for me.  Besides, we know all that already.

Here's the dilemma.  Is Jeff hiring this GM?  Jeff said he and John Ricco will brainstorm together  to formulate a plan to move forward with.

Jeff and John Ricco?  See?  Here's the problem regarding Jeff Wilpon thinking he's a Baseball man.  I'd prefer Jeff did something prudent like bring in a consultant and assemble a think tank and move forward towards a GM from there.  All Jeff has is on-the-job training on his resume.  Do we not see an inherent problem here?

Is Jeff going to hire a General Manger or someone who just plays one on TV? 

Does Jeff even have enough Baseball acumen to conduct interviews?  After all,  this will be a whole new process for the Wilpons.  These are uncharted waters for the S.S. Wilpon.

If the Mets really want to get this right, they should be seeking professional consultaion, or at minimum creating a think tank to brainstorm ideas.  Jeff nor Fred, just do not have the practical experience, in my humble opinion, to conduct the interviews that will land us our best option for the future success of the Mets.
They'v never had to scour the country side for an executive before.

Separation between Jeff Wilpon and the office of GM is something I'd really like to have ironed out.  A Baseball qualified Team President is needed by this team because Jeff and a GM must be separated.  If Jeff insists on keeping his thumb prints all over Baseball Operations, then it's into the ICEBERG we go.

...And that's the way I see things in Flushing.

Thanks a lot!

Mike.BTB

On Bobby Valentine

(on Bobby V)

We Know Bobby Valentine is:


*a good/brilliant manager who can lead this team. He gets the most out of players. He knows the game. He'll take loads of pressure off the players getting the media centered on him. We know his ego, tact and attitude (smugness) are tailor made for the NY media. We know his presence and changes in mood management will keep fans streaming into Citi seats until the Club gets it's act together.

*We also know when he was here last, he and Steve Phillips couldn't stand each other. Phillips was trying to save his power and Bobby wanted more of it with say in personnel matters. The Wilpons had to pick sides and they showed Bobby the door right around the same time his players were tuning him out anyway. It doesn't help today that Bobby Valentine was openly critical of the Wilpons then. Bobby wanted to know, - what about Steve? Well, he got shown the door shortly afterward also.

Question Number 1 = Does Fred Wilpon still hold a grudge? We learned from Dwight Gooden, Fred Wilpon can hold them a long time.

Question Number 2 = are we bringing Bobby Valentine in to be just a manager? Just a manager under Minaya? Under Ricco?

Question Number 3 = I ordinarily don't like to take these "steps" backward. Bobby V may be as cunning as Billy Martin was, but we aren't the Yanks and I believe in a forward marching system.

Are Met fans OK taking a page from the past to fix the present? Does this help the future of the organization beyond this season if Omar is allowed to stay on?



Here are my answers.



The Wilpons better be open minded to outside influences for any kind of success in Flushing.

No John Ricco, especially with Booby V under him. Bobby V will sense fear in him and eat him up.

If you bring in Bobby Valentine to manage I want Jerry Hunsicker as GM. Bobby Valentine is not to manage under Omar at any expense because Omar is a Steve Phillips guy. Omar and Valentine will clash and Valentine will verbalize it better than Omar can and things will get uglier from there. Omar may make the switch but then the Wilpons must make their move and accept Bobby V's stewardship and advice and either promote him to GM or bring in Hunsicker.

THIS IS ONLY A BACK UP PLAN for the Mets going out and seeking permission from the Marlins about offering Larry Beinfest the keys to METropolis.

New York Metropolitan BB Club - Go get Larry Beinfest at all costs! Loria could use the money. Bribe him. He'll do it! Get Larry Beinfest Now!

BTB

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Steve Phillips speaks about his Sex Addiction

I have no particular want to pick on Steve Phillips right now. He has is own troubles with having to innovate a new image in light of his sex-scapades. What I do want to point out is that some of that behavior was acted out while he served as GM of the Mets. How much Fred Wilpon was clued into how much of an office trickster Phillips was is stricly speculative before Phillips took his his leave from the team that is.. However, we do know Joe McIlvaine did leave the NY Mets in part because of all the back-scene mayhem within the Mets' front office. You can look that up. I'm just sayin'. You make the connections.

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A Concise Concatenate of Mets' GM's & Life Under WILPONianism

From the desk of:   HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

The Metropolitans Baseball Club of New York

est. 1962

Our Matriarch; Mrs. Joan Whitney Payson

The partnership group headed by Nelson Doubleday (and Fred Wilpon) purchased the New York Metropolitan BBC on Jan. 4, 1980 from Charles Shipman Payson; who assumed control of the team after his wife Joan passed away 5 years earlier; and from their daughter Club President Lorinda de Roulet.  The Mets' original and only owner to that point passed on October 4, 1975.



We owe everything as Met fans to Mrs. Joan Payson; the New York Baseball Giants fan and season ticket holder at the Polo Grounds; and to an honorable Mr. William Shea; who knew enough to threaten capitalists with that they understand best - direct competition.  For he threatened to create a new Baseball league and upset the game's landscape, which he forced anyway.  Hence, the expansion era.



Joe McDonald had been the General Manager for the previous 5 years under the out-going ownership. The way I understand it, the new ownership told Mr. McDonald the last few years at Shea weren't his fault but that they (Doubleday and Wilpon) wanted to go in a new direction.  The club extended an offer to Mr. McDonald to stay with the team in a different capacity however, which he did for one year to help make the new ownership's transition smoother.  But by 1981 he was gone from the Mets' employ and moving on to other endeavours.

Heading into the 1980 season, the Mets selected Frank Cashen, architect of the mighty Baltimore Orioles teams of the late 60's and early 70's to be their new General Manager.  But before we get into Frank Cashen, these are the things I didn't know about Joe McDonald in 1978 when I was only 11 years old.



FIRST ~ He was Director of our Minor League Operations in the 60s busy farming-up Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry, Nolan Ryan, Tug McGraw and a bevy of our positional players that went on to win the World Series in 1969 and a N.L. flag in 1973.









SECOND - One of my favorite seasons EVER was 1976.  By then, collecting baseball cards and flipping them in the school yard, going to games, watching on TV, listening to the Mayor's Trophy Game on the radio, and playing stick ball on the block all came together for me.  It's all I lived for as a nine year old in Brooklyn.



In 1976, my team for the most part, was still in tact.  But unbeknown to me, what I didn't understand then was, that it was time to break that edition of the Mets up.  THAT TIME had come for them.  From 1977 through 1979, one by one, I watched all my beloved Mets disappear.  I was stung when they traded Tug McGraw, Cleon Jones, and Rusty Staub in '74 and '75.  But those were only tremors. The big shake-up started in earnest during the Black-Out summer of 1977 and lasted the rest of the decade.   Tom Seaver, Koosman, Kingman, Grote, Harrelson, Wayne Garrett, Skip Lockwood, Jon Matlack, John Milner, Roy Staiger, even Nino Espinosa, were all gone.  Eddie Kranepool retired and who can ever forget ED OTT; then catcher of the Pirates; ending Felix Millan's career with a WWE wrestling style body slam?  I thought Lee Mazzilli was going to play with all those guys.  But I watched my team get dismantled and thought who might be responsible for this?   My Dad was a Yankee fan so no help there.



What I didn't understand then about Joe McDonald was, like I said, it was time to break the team up.  But as an 11 year old, I certainly didn't know that Lorinda de Roulet ordered every budget in sight capped or slashed.  Not even used baseballs, pencils, or paper clips were safe from the financial reaper.  The Mets was hemorrhaging money and looking for a buyer.  I was nine, ten and eleven years old. WHO KNEW?!  I sure didn't.  And I blamed Joe McDonald for everything back then, to include trading Tom Seaver.









I know all that to be false now.  This is what I now know about JOE McDONALD:



FIRST ~ If the choice to replace him was anyone other than Frank Cashen,- It could have gone down as one of the worst decisions the post-Payson Mets ever made.  There is more to Joe McDonald's resume no one bothers to address, in part because, well...., Frank Cashen is the best executive hire the post-Payson Mets ever made.  I will revisit this later and elaborate.



SECOND - Even as bad as it got between '77 and '79, the farm system was still working fast and furious.  Joe McDonald had warm blood pumping through the system.  He just was never allowed to acquire free agents or make trades that would increase payroll.  He was operating under a mandate from the Team President herself.  I will elaborate later in this post on what kind of talent he was grooming in those dark years..



Trust me, there's a point to all this.  And if you're a younger Met Fan, you may learn something.



* The FRANK CASHEN ERA, 1980-1991 General Manager and Executive Lord of all things METROPOLIS:



The first and to date only Mets Executive that came from off-Campus.



He presided over the greatest period of Mets' prosperity.  Between 1984-1990 no other team in baseball won more games.  I'll spare you all the details.  I forget I'm 43yrs old sometimes.  But you should be pretty up to snuff with 80's Baseball.  Mr. Cashen gutted a bad team even further between 1980-1982; refitted an already effective farm system with even more pistons; and were off and running.



Many say under his watch, the team partied too much - drinking and drugs, getting into on and off field brawls at clubs, getting arrested, and things of that nature.  They reveled in their cockiness.  Read Darryl Strawberry's recent book for tales of more high-jinx.  Hindsight says they underachieved.  Regardless, the whole time (!),  Fred Wilpon was acting like FLOUNDER from ANIMAL HOUSE.   Remember at the end of the movie how the Delta Guys wrought havoc on the Home-Coming Parade? - And Flounder, after pouring out his 2000 marbles for his part, looked around at the chaos and thought to himself aloud, - "OH BOY, THIS IS GREAT!"  -  Remember that part?  Well?  That was Fred Wilpon in the 80's!   Flounder.



Throughout Frank Cashen's years, the thriving farm system Joe McDonald left behind continued to thrive and kept pumping out prospects.  In addition to the farm system, Frank Cashen procured a lot of executive talent that was at the time, the envy of Baseball.  The Wilpon's continued to feed off that buffet into the present day with Omar Minaya (that connection will be tied together later in this post).  The next five Met GM hires after Frank Cashen, would all stem directly or indirectly from the same Frank Cashen, and cover the Wilpon's behinds for the next 20 years.



When Frank Cashen stepped down as General Manager heading into the 1992 season, he stayed on as a Vice President and Team Consultant into the late 90's.  As a matter a fact, he resumed his GM post briefly in 1998 when Steve Phillips was out whoring around and had to take a leave of absence from his GM'ship.  GOOD GRIEF!! - More about that dummy later.









* Al HARAZIN, METS' GENERAL MANAGER 1992-1993:



First off, I don't know how the hell this guy rose through the ranks faster and higher than Joe McIlvaine within the Mets' executive talent pool.  He was the accountant for crying-out-loud.  Secondly,  I wish I didn't know who's decision it was to make Harazin GM and not Joe McIlvaine. Was it Cashen's idea or was that decision lobbied by.., by someone else?  How could this be?  Did Doubleday/Wilpon have a say?  Was that really Cashen's hand picked replacement?  I don't really know.  What I do know is that Al Harazin was an unmitigated disaster as General Manager.



Al Harazin is the genesis of when I believe Fred Wilpon first became gun shy about going out and pursuing free agents with vigor.  Al Harazin, in part because of the overwhelming backlash from the Mets not signing Darryl Strawberry, went out and spent all kinds of' cash on Vince Coleman, Willie Randolph, Bobby Bonilla, Bret Saberhagen et'al.  The only professional outta the motley crew Harazin signed was Eddie Murray (I'm sorry, and Willie; but an over-aged Willie).  Outside of Eddie Murray, 1992-93 was...Fuhgeddaboudit Horrendous.!



Those were two mighty dark years in Flushing:

* Doc Gooden couldn't stay clean
* Jeff Kent was always angry with everybody.
* Bonilla was threatening to show reporters "the Bronx".
* Vince Coleman was throwing fireworks at fans in the L.A. parking lot.
* Saberhagen using a super-soaker filled with bleach to spray down reporters.
* And manager Jeff Torborg couldn't keep his foot out of his mouth.

Oh my, how the media wrecked Jeff Torborg.!



Fred Wilpon deserved credit for showing a backbone and in a press conference declaring, "Vince Coleman will never wear a Mets' uniform again" over the fireworks show.  But it was from this time on, Fred Wilpon began his aversion with free agency until Omar Minaya came back in 2005 and convinced him to once again, up the ante a little.



Things went very wrong for the Mets in 1991-93 indeed.  And Wilpon seemed proactive in wanting a new direction.  Nelson Doubleday didn't say much about anything.  He was really backround'ish but he was the Board Chairman.  Nelson was the Big Daddy but Fred Wilpon was always the front man.  That was always odd.  But Nelson always knew how to let the Baseball people do their jobs.  Fred was always buzzing around.  The partners were fast becoming Frick and Frack.



The Mets, as mentioned, had executive talent on the books.  Bob Mandt seemed to be in the mix but seemed to top out along the way and slipped.  His expertise lied elsewhere anyway.  But he was under consideration once for the GM job.  Joe McIlvaine was the rising star.  Other teams knew it too.  But somehow the Mets GM chair went to Harazin.  Because McIlvaine was impatient and tired of waiting for the Mets job, he took the San Diego Padres offer in 1990.



Now, if Frank Cashen knew he was going to retire in another year.....then..? Why not...?  ...never mind.



That's one the Mets let get away.  But not for long.  Al Harazin was fired during that infamous 1993 season; unable to complete his second year on the job.  What happens next is lucky break number two for the Mets. The first was getting Frank Cashen in the first place.  This time, the Wilpons were lucky McIlvaine came back.



Fred Wilpon pretty much begged Joe McIlvaine to return to the nest.  Joe Mac obliged.  In addition to getting tired of waiting for the Mets job, he left in the first place, in part because of all the Mets' behind the scenes, Front Office in-fighting.  That usually meant between Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday. Yes, at times it was often ugly and public.



* JOE McILVAINE, METS' GENERAL MANAGER 1993-1997:


This is the last Mets GM who had a clearly defined rebuilding PLAN and put it into effect, post haste! Joe McIlvaine was coming in to completely rebuild this team.  It would be piloted by the firm but fair Dallas Green.  I was all for it.  I was in total agreement with everything McIlvaine wanted to do.  The whole plan was built around Generation-K.  It was gonna be great!  The new product was to be home grown.  From this era came a member of my very select Mets I call "MY GUYS" - TODD HUNDLEY.

The plan to rebuild the Mets was an utter failure.  GENERATION-K never took off due to injury to all of them.  Joe McIlvaine got fired in 1997 because he was a little thick headed.  Fred Wilpon always used to get on him for being away from the team too much and not keeping the owners in the loop or returning their calls.  McIlvaine just had his own way about him.  He was a bit of a Diva.  But the truth is he deserved to get fired because he stopped caring.  He would literally disappear for days.  When situations demanded his presence, he seemed to always be off scouting somewhere; or so he said.   Bobby Valentine, the manager at the time, started complaining about him out loud.  By this time, Steve Phillips was turning tricks in the back allies of the organization as a young up-and-comer.  Steve Phillips was biding his time, waiting for his chance too.

Jerry Hunsicker, another highly prized executive in the Mets' Front Office, also tired of sitting around waiting for his chance, and by 1996 went to become GM of the Astros.  Fred Wilpon's hand was forced by the departure of Hunsicker.  He then tapped on the shoulder of Cashen's last available pupil. McLlvaine was out, STEVE PHILLIPS the rising (porn)star was in.

* STEVE PHILLIPS METS' GENERAL MANAGER 1997-2003:

This is where all starts to go awry for Fred-A-Licious Wilpon - my fellow Brooklynite - the Dodger fan - the man who went to high school in my neighborhood like Lee Mazzilli, and John Franco before him - my team's owner who pitched for Lafayette H.S. in Bensonhurst while Sandy Koufax played first base.  That Fred Wilpon.



Whatever assessment you have concerning the years 1997 through 2000 (2001-2003 LOL!!!) if they're positive, attribute them to Bobby Valentine; do yourself that favor first.

Steve Phillips had been a part of the Mets executive pool since 1990.  He was the last of the personnel brought in by Cashen to work for the Mets.  Besides being horny, here's Steve Phillip's major achievement ~ Steve Phillips was the beneficiary of a Florida Marlins' fire sale.  The inability of the Marlins to retain their talent was the biggest reason behind the acquisitions of Mike Piazza, Al Leiter, and Dennis Cook.  After the Florida fire sale and the 2000 season,  his acquisitions were incredible failures and that includes the Melvin Mora trade.  You know the names.  Don't make me do it.

Steve Phillips did draft David Wright, whom would turn out to be the compensation for losing Mike Hampton to free agency.  He also drafted Jose Reyes and Scott Kazmir.  That's not bad work right there!



But Steve Phillips obliterated any respect he built for himself  up to the 2000 season.  He set his reputation as well as Wilpon's cash a-blaze with some acquisitions made between 2001-2003 which shell shocked Fred Wilpon even further.  For the second time, Fred Wilpon was stuck with one of the highest payrolls in baseball with nothing to show for it but shame, like in 1993.  This was bad for Fred.  He always had a delicate psyche.  He doesn't like bad press and controversy.  A guy named Steinbrenner loved it though.  But not Fred.



Back to Mike Piazza, only Nelson Doubleday knew enough to sign Piazza for his worth.  Fred didn't want to write that check and that kind of thinking drove Nelson crazy.  At this point, Fred Wilpon's partnership with Nelson Doubleday was falling apart like wet toilet paper.



STEVE PHILLIPS also had to take a leave of absence from the team because he was out and about being a slut.   No this isn't 2009 and ESPN I'm talking about.  He was an adulterous whore back in 1998 too.  Frank Cashen had to come in from the BULLPEN and temporarily take over while the Mets dealt with the first Steve Phillips Scandal.



Moving forward ~ After sitting by while Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn, Kevin Appier, Mike Bordick, Jeremy Burnitz and company stole his money, Wilpon, sporting the second highest payroll in baseball, was kicking around with a last place 2003 team, a bickering GM, and a rabies afflicted manager.



Fred Wilpon backed Phillips in his blood feud with Bobby Valentine and the manager was out.   It was a bad move but definitely the easier choice to make.  Valentine didn't hesitate venting frustration with the organization.  And with Wilpon, that's a no-no.  So, Valentine basically got to fill-out his own pink slip.  But Phillips also read the writing on the wall and knew Wilpon was tired of his act as well.  The Wilpons fired Steve Phillips shortly after.



By the time Fred limped into the 2003 off season, all direct remnants of Frank Cashen were gone and the resources he left behind were suddenly exhausted.  Additionally, Nelson Doubleday couldn't deal with his partnership with Wilpon anymore.  The sentiment was Nelson found Fred Wilpon  insufferable.  Nelson and Fred finally worked out a deal and Doubleday's half of the team would be bought by the Wilpons.   "FLOUNDER" had now lost BLUTO, D-DAY, OTTER and HOOVER.



The S.S. Wilpon officially became rudderless.  Doubleday left with the team's fortitude to gamble and dream big in tow.  Frank Cashen took away all the team's brains and know-how.   FLOUNDER was about to find out things can and would get worse....and more treacherous.  Fred Wilpon and the Mets made their first 10 degree turn towards the ICEBERG.  But what's a Wilpon to do?



Omar Minaya was previously brought into the fold by Steve Phillips via the Texas Rangers.  He was the Mets Assistant GM and Lord over minor league and international development since Sept. of 1997.   He left to take a precarious Expos GM job in 2002.  So with Frank Cashen's influence a distant memory,  Wilpon turned to another Phillips appointment, Jim Duquette.  It would be Fred Wilpon's first decision as a solo artist.  He was the only one around now.



Wilpon was UNPLUGGED.  Minority Partner Saul Katz was kicked up a notch from his position of obscurity within the ownership group, as the rest of us were all left thinking what the Son of 'Pon - Wilpon the Younger - Lil Jeff - really knew about Baseball.



At this point the Mets' fan base is about to get subjected to two Steve Phillips' imports; Jim Duquette and Omar Minaya.



* JIM DUQUETTE, METS' GENERAL MANAGER 2003-2004:

Ever since Fred Wilpon had to pay down the 2003 disaster of a season, his mandate became to do things second rate, and from a mindset shackled with timidity.  It's hard to argue against paying up for Piazza and Ventura and that over-achieving team of 2000.  But it was the Alomar's, Mo Vaughn's and Baerga's that made Freddie break out in a rash; just like Vince Coleman and Bobby Bonilla made him schizoid before that.  And this was the owner's mindset Duquette was inheriting.

You have to feel sorry for this guy.  Fate cut him a little slack by bringing in Art Howe to manage, and getting the era named after the manager (i.e. the Art Howe years).  Howe only bought Jim Duquette a little time, for Jim was determined to put his ineptitude on display for all to ridicule.  Somehow, pitching coach Rick Petersen got into his right ear and polluted Jim's, and Jeff Wilpon's judgement.  That meeting of the minds cost us Scott Kazmir.  Petersen thought he'd be able to get more out of Victor Zambrano.  Really?  Between Art Howe, Duquette trading Kazmir, poor play on the field, and no indication things were going to get better in the era under Wilpon's sole ownership, Met fans were stewing.

Fact is, since day one, Jim Duquette never had a chance.  He was manipulated by Wilpon like a Jim Henson Muppet the entire short time he was GM.  During Jim Duquette's very brief tenure, in a quite publicly known secret, he was ordered to freeze payroll.  The new Mission Statement called for Met Mediocrity.  Band-aids would plug the team's needs just long enough until the Wilpons could see if they could come up with a clue.



Wilpon sensed the discontent, and before even firing Duquette, he hired Omar Minaya.  No..., the Wilpons begged Omar to come back and work for the Mets, in effect creating a two-headed GM for the latter part of the 2004 season.  The appointment making Omar the official GM, and Duquette's formal dismissal from his position didn't officially occur till the 2004 season was over.  But the handling just wreaked of desperation by the Wilpons.  Regardless, the Mets had their man most Met fans were content with.



Wilpon is always monitoring what we're saying because he's that paranoid, not because he's that in touch with the fan base.  But with our increasing decibels of discontent, an idea was born. "I know - Let's ask Omar Minaya to come back ~ Because the bottom line here is, I don't know anybody else. Where's Frank Cashen when you really need him?"



Fred Wilpon used his third and last "Lucky Break" card.  Omar was someone who Fred Wilpon was familiar with.  Fear of the unknown is paralyzing for some..(Fred).  Wilpon had a comfort level with Minaya.  Omar had a good reputation.  But c'mon, the truth is Wilpon just couldn't pool together a well educated baseball brain trust since Frank Cashen left.  This organization is at the mercy of Steve Phillips' proteges now.  I do not believe the Wilpons have the industry insight to hire someone better than Omar.  So yea, here in this instance, Fred Wilpon lucks out; again.  Omar came back like Joe McIlvaine did once before him, both at Fred Wilpon's behest.



* OMAR MINAYA, METS' GENERAL MANAGER Sept. 2004-present:

Omar's record since 2005 is 427-383.  However, 2006, as the years pass seems to be the aberration.  The win totals each year are 83, 97, 88, 89 and 70 in 2009.  Ninety seven wins in 2006 seems to be standing alone.  Ever since Carlos Beltran watched that curve ball fall in during the '06 NLCS, it seems like this team put it's tail between it's legs and has been heading in the opposite direction since.  I'll be fair and take last year off Omar's docket.  Injuries crippled the team.  But from 2005 to 2008 the team is a plus six.  The '08 team was six games better than the '05 edition.  So you decide.  The book is still open with Omar.  We're all watching.  I wouldn't be telling you anything you don't already know.

But if Fred Wilpon fires Omar Minaya because he can't turn the S.S. Wilpon around, this team will be in a world of hurt, more-so moving forward than at the present time, and we'll head into the uncharted depths of Tartaros.  I mean it.  Duquette didn't leave any hand picked executives behind.  He was here for a cup of coffee really.  He was like a front office version of Stump Merrill.  SO, who else is there?




One of Omar Minaya's closest lieutenants, Tony Bernazard sizzled in a blaze of Binghampton MMA Bravado.  Then there was Omar's own Blubbering Flushing Meltdown at the press conference announcing the termination of said Tony Bernazard.  It truly was BIZARRO WORLD scene.  Another Minaya guy, Manny Acta took a managers job with the Nationals.  So who do the Wilpons look to if they relieve Omar?



Here's another concurrent problem folks.  Our minor league system has come to a grinding halt pretty much for the first time since 1965.  For 9 years now, I've watched my graduating Brooklyn Cyclones of NYPL sent to Binghampton AA and get stuck in the mud.  Additionally, there are no more prospective Front Office executives the Wilpons can tap into anymore.  They are all done.  Cashen started a line of executive hires that were all in-house.  At present they've all been exhausted by the Wilpons.




And now, Fred Wilpon is at a crucible.  This is the most important year of his entire time owning the Metropolitan BBC.




If he fires Omar Minaya, the next decision he makes could have cataclysmic and far reaching ramifications.  The dark ages are looming for this franchise.  I am a little thin on confidence the Wilpons will get this right.  I fear ICEBERG DEAD AHEAD.  There is still time to save this however.  There's plenty of time to prevent panic.  This operation is very salvageable.  Fred is not an imbecile.  Mawkish?  Perhaps.  Ignorant and dumb?  Certainly not.  Lacking baseball acumen, timid and paranoid?  You betcha.



Finally, I'd like to bring Joe McDonald back into the conversation.  Even though the Mets were miserable on the field between '77-'79 under Joe, the farm system was busy.  Get your knife and forks Met fans and dig into this.



Wally Backman, Jesse Oroscoe, Neil Allen, Mookie Wilson, Hubie Brooks, *Mike Scott, *Jeff Reardon were all getting farmed-up during that time.  Hubie Brooks allowed us to acquire Gary Carter.  Neil Allen allowed us to acquire Kieth Hernandez and Lee Mazzilli got us Ron Darling in return.  And then we reacquired Mazzilli.



It's fair to say that Joe McDonald directly and indirectly deserves credit for..oh...28% of the World Champion New York Mets of 1986.  Am I way off on that?  The only reason I point that out is if we're going to truly assess the body of work of this ownership group, it's imperative we know how they got to this very moment, attribute the credit where it's due, and examine what needs our attention.



Joe McDonald has truly been the gem of the Mets organization. He gets a bad rap for those late 70's teams. What was closer to the truth of the Mets demise back then was the dynamic between Joan Payson's husband and daughters, and the infamous Boris Kolaff of an executive, Board Chairman, M. Donald Grant.  He was the real reason Tom Seaver got traded.  He is where my childhood rage should have been directed towards back then.  He was the Mets' true Phantom Menace of that ERA.  But that's for another day.




Today, I'm worried for the future of the Mets franchise under Wilpon/Katz control moving forward.  If the last 6 years of Wilponianism UNPLUGGED is any indication, I wanna get put back in the Matrix.



This is the way I see it.  I'm not saying I'm right or wrong.  It's just how I see life going into Met Year 8 A.D.  "After Doubleday"


Thank you for your time tonight.



Mike

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