New York fans will tell you how great it is that their teams are built to win every year. About how the resources of the Big Apple are such that they allow for the expectation of a pennant race each fall instead of a string of meaningless games. About how their teams don't rebuild -- they reload. Well, there's a downside to all of those expectations, and it's a result of the very lucrative foundation upon which they're built:
Teams in New York, where fans expect winners year after year, have been brutalized when they overhauled their clubs. Shea Stadium turned into a ghost town for seven years after the Mets traded Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman in 1977 . . . The situation is different now for the Mets because they play in a new $800 million ballpark, not Shea Stadium, which was owned by the city. Like other new ballparks, the financing for the 41,800-seat Citi Field was based on the assumption that the team would have a steady stream of customers for its luxury boxes and premium seats, some of which cost $500 a game.
If Minaya and the Mets organization signal to fans that 2009 is a lost cause and that 2010 may be, too, ticket sales for the remaining home games will suffer. Fans with tickets, already struggling to resell them at face value because of the team's poor play, will be stuck with even bigger losses.
While winning is the best, there is something very rewarding and even exciting about following a team that is tearing it down and rebuilding from scratch. You get to see fresh new faces and are eager to read about prospects about whom you'd otherwise never give a second thought. Sure, you don't want rebuilding to last forever, but living through the process is like going through a rite of renewal along with the team you follow. If anything, one's bond to the team is strengthened as a result of it all.
How depressing, then, it must be for Mets fans to have the team's perceived business exigencies prevent them from experiencing the purifying renewal that comes with a well thought-out rebuild. And perceived it is, because if the Mets try to rejigger on the fly around big names as opposed to rebuilding, attendance and revenue and all of that will eventually crater anyway. Why? Because fans -- especially New York fans -- aren't stupid. They remember the early 90s and "The Worst Team Money Could Buy." Those rosters were built as a result of the same impulse -- win now! -- and with a total disregard for the notion that a house needs a foundation, not just window dressing in order to be livable.
Are the Mets really so ignorant of their own history that they'll listen to the bean counters and ignore the tired and true path to building a strong team? As a Braves fan, I sure hope so, but folks who like their Mets had better hope otherwise.
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Counterpoint: The Orioles. I think we're on the third generation of hyped prospects at this point. And while these guys (Wieters, Tillman, Matsuz, etc.) seem legit better than guys like Larry Bigbie and Matt Riley, it still gets pretty tired. Rebuilding doesn't always work, even for a team with a decently large budget like the Orioles have had in the past.
But, they completly overhauled their bullpen which was their major problem last year. Only Feliciano remains of the bunch. I think they did a great job. Nobody would have expected this injury situation.
They also started the year with Luis Castillo as their starting second baseman, Daniel Murphy as their starting left fielder, and Oliver Perez as a mid-rotation starter. Can you think of a reason that one of the richest teams in the majors would do that? At some point, Minaya needs to held accountable for his atrocious roster management.
Agreed on Castillo for sure. I can't understand why they ever signed him. The Mets paid a lot of money for their new bullpen, though. They can't be expected to buy new starting pitchers, second basemen, and outfielders as well. That would be something the Yankees would do. They don't have that kind of money - or if they do, they don't want to spend it like that. I don't have a problem with that.
by roster management, do you mean attempting to field the first all-latino team ever? (Omar, btw, we'd love it if you traded wright to the redsox to accomplish this)
On the Mets current 25 man roster there are 12 Latin players. That might change depending on who is switched out for Oliver Perez. There are 19 Latin players on the 40 man roster. I agree that Omar Minaya has not done the best job with roster management but please get off of the "All Latin" bandwagon. It's stupid, racist and false.
By the way, David Wright is not going to the Red Sox so stop dreaming.
its not a choice of having a steady stream of prospects otherwise you must nuke the franchise and rebuild. if the mets are allowed to run a payroll in the top 5 of MLB consistantly then they wont need to have the uber painful rebuilding years that smaller orgs will. pretty facile analysis, even for a braves fan (just kidding craig). the money makes it easier to cover for minayas blunders and there is a danger to slip into early 90's mode but i dont think even omar is that desperate or stupid. i have faith the wilpons will wisen up eventually. there are still several years of cheap wright and reyes and productive beltran and santana. thats 4 superstars you can build around. the fact that omar hasnt should tell you its time for him to go so we'll see what happens at the end of the year.
I am a 15 game ticket holder in the new stadium. I wished the Mets would have signed Derrick Lowe & Orlando Hudson, dumped Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo. The Wilpons, claimed they lost millions investing with Madoff. I believe they have an aversion against spending money on big time free agents because the have a tight budget. Over the last few years they have passed on Arod, Vladimar Guerrero. If they spent a little more money wisely, the playoff revenue would help pay their bills. Sell the team Fred or get us good players !
If not for David Wright, I'd given up long ago. With this rash of injuries and awful play, how come the (Manuel) Manager hasn't been brought to the accountability table? Omar has easily put enough talent in that dugout. Injuries and errors usually belong to the manager (Manuel). I do agree with all above that only a fool would have signed Castillo and Perez. That is Omar's big mistake for 2009. If he lets Manuel keep up this clown show, it will be his second.