In the New York Times, Ken Belson writes about the current dysfunction surrounding the Mets, adding:
“Perhaps, more significantly, Jeff Wilpon, the man in charge of the team’s off-field operations and the son of the club’s majority owner, has not been heard from in months.
“In normal times, a chief operating officer’s public silence would go unnoticed. On many teams, general managers do most of the talking because they are responsible for the team on a day-to-day basis. But when the problems spill off the field, higher-ranking executives often step in to clarify the team’s goals and project stability… This would seem to be one of those moments.”
Meanwhile, in a post to NY Baseball Digest, Mike Silva writes:
“Jeff Wilpon needs to stand up and take control of his team. Show the players, employees, and fans that there is actually some semblance of a chain of command. So far we have gotten a little spin and a lot of silence. That doesn’t make me feel like we will see the right decision made. That is a huge indictment on ownership and the future of this ballclub.”
…i actually agree with the team’s efforts to keep wilpon more behind the scenes, and out of the public eye… frankly, if he speaks, it would only make matters worse i bet, because media and fans love to pick him apart, so no matter what he says it will likely get ripped on…
…the problem, instead, is not that we aren’t hearing from wilpon, it’s that Omar Minaya looked paranoid and confused when he did talk to reporters the other day… had minaya controlled the message more, been assertive and made sense, nobody would care to hear from wilpon… from a public relations point of view, this is more polictis than business… its sports… its entertainment… though it is a business, and i’m sure their back accounts can prove it, from a perception point of view, it’s less GE and Exxon-Mobil and more Jon and Kate Plus Eight…
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Wow, I can’t believe you used a Jon and Kate Plus Eight reference, crazy. Does anyone really think that Jeff Wilpon stepping forward and speaking is going to do anything? If the Mets were winning like they should be, none of this other bologna would matter, it’s because they are decimated by inuries and losing, that all this stuff matters.
Matt – Can you stop making excuses for Jeff Wilpon??? We know you have to kiss his @ss cause you work for his network and struck a nice deal with them.
You and I both know that Jeff or Fred need to address the fans that are spending a fortune on this pathetic team! Jeff needs to tell all of us why we are charged ridiculous amounts of money for tickets to watch the minor leagues.
frankly, if [Jeff] speaks, it would only make matters worse i bet, because media and fans love to pick him apart, so no matter what he says it will likely get ripped on…
Perhaps that has less to do with the media and fans and more to do with the fact that Jeff Wilpon is completely unqualified to be the COO of a taco stand, let alone a major league ballclub. Everybody knows he’s there because of his father.
who is qualified? it is irrelevant what you or I think, he is the COO and for the first time in this teams history they have been able to be in on major free agents with Jeff being the talking piece for ownership.
As for Omar, he is a terrible public speaker, I knew that a decade ago, what I can’t understand is why the Mets even have a director of public relations in Jay Horowitz, my understanding is that he could barely operate a faucet let alone a fire extinguisher. Can’t he sit down with Omar and say here are the talking points? Of course he can’t because he never has been able to.
I agree with you on Jay Horowitz – the man should have been put out to pasture at least 10 years ago. It’s great that he’s been with the organization since year 1 and all, but it’s time to move on and into the 21st century.
Jeff Wilpon has demonstrated very poor judgement in my opinion. He was the driving force behing the Kazmir-for-Zambrano trade and what he sees in Tony Bernazard is beyond me. Plus, as he is the Chief Operations Office, he is primarily responsible for how the team operates – and it’s pretty clear that he’s been doing an abysmal job of it – from the farm system all the way up to the major league club. Sure, he may not be involved in the day-to-day minutiae, but the people he has chosen to handle those issues have clearly not been able to.
Obviously, I don’t follow other teams as closely as I follow the Mets. And yeah, there are clubs that are more of mess than the Mets (the Pirates and Orioles spring to mind). But the Mets are a major market team and I just don’t hear the same amount of nonsense coming out of other major market teams like the Red Sox, Dodgers, etc. Even the Steinbrenners have been relatively competent lately.
The dodgers were a mess of an organization up until they acquired Steroid Manny last July, and now everyone seems to be okay with that because they win games.
Jeff Wilpon was not the driving force behind the Kazmir deal that was absolutely false. Jeff played a limited role at that point in time and was far more involved with monitoring the development of the Mets minor league system Jeff was in fact used as a scapegoat by the imbeciles his father hired. The Kazmir deal lays on the feet of Fred for being myopic and Jim Duquette for having NO SPINE at all. Duquette should have said Fred if you force me to trade this kid I am giving my notice. But he played the fiddle.
Bernazard is Omar’s problem, he brought him on and it is turning out to be a page six headache.
The Dodgers made a lot of smart moves before Manny came into the picture. They have shown steady improvement since they lost the 2006 NLDS. The fact they they were still able to win ballgames without Manny this season is a testament to their overall strategy.
Just out of curiousity, how can you state with absolute certainty that all the reports about Jeffy being the driving force behind the Kazmir trade are “absolutely false”? Even if what you say is true, if the COO cannot convince his boss and father not to do the deal, what does that say about the confidence Fred has in the judgement of his own son?
The only reason Bernazard is still with the organization is that he is close to Jeff. Do you really think Omar would want to deal with this distraction given all the other things he needs to focus on at the moment?
If the Mets were churning out prospects like Ethier, Martin, Kemp, Billingsley, Broxton and Kershaw, people wouldn’t care if the front office was a mess.
Only reason there was turmoil was the owners listened to people like Plaschke, who ran DePodesta out of town.
btw i just read on mlbtraderumors that jon heyman said the mets bowed out of talks for halladay once fmart was mentioned….are u frigen serious? An injury prone prospect who looks like he was more hype then anything is untouchable for Roy Halladay?
Just out of curiousity what did you think Heyman was going to say after he blew the smoke about the Mets even being in on Halladay in the first place? Heyman said Monday that the Mets balked at Martinez, Niese, Parnell and Tejada – that rumor was soundly presented back as a farce, so there is nothing here anyhow.
yea…I would include Fmart for Halladay, but dont be giving up on the kid. More hype than anything is way to early to be saying. The kid debuted at age 20 and struggled…sooo, that means he’s a bust? I’m frustrated he can’t stay healthy, especially considering he’d be playing everyday for us right now but it takes time to hit at the ML, especially when you’ve never finished a full season in the minors. Not everyone hits right out of the gate. And except that one flop, he’s played very good defense.
if you want the Mets to start doing something positive stop going to the games, stop buying the jerseys and stop watching them on TV.
I know I can’t make anybody do that, but that’s what i’m doing and if you want real change that’s what mets fans should do.
i bet fred would definitely address an empty citi field. that is what needs to happen!!!!
CitiField seems to be emptying out already. And if I see no significant changes taking place during the offseason, they will be having one less ticket plan renewed.
its true…empty seats at Citi is how the fans can really express frustration to management. If the team is still making money with a full Citi, then theres less urgency,
Matt: Good point about keeping Wilpon behind the scenes. Guys like Minaya get the big bucks to keep the owners/officers OUT of the limelight. If suddenly, there is this great need for the owner/exec to step into the fray – then the Omar figure isn’t handling the task. Time to go.
bbhkf78: We’re a little concerned about the Jon & Kate reference, as well.
P.s… Ken Belson is always a good read, by the way – a dyed-n-the-wool Met fan.
Does any one really care anymore? Really at this point.
Hit them where it hurts…Stop going to games. Stop watching SNY. Then maybe we will get some respect.
There is no accountability. Its gross..
If Jeff Wilpon weren’t Fred Wilpon’s son, he’d be lucky to be an ineffectual middle-manager in an accounting firm.
He’s Jim Dolan without the drug habit and rampant arrogance. Nicer guy for sure, but no more competent to run a major league sports franchise.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a good interview with Omar. Evertyime he repeats the same thing over and over. Maybe it’s his english, but the guy has never come across as being a good speaker.
You don’t say? Honestly that is not what he is paid for. Steve Phillips spoke really well but was an imbecile. Jim Duquette spoke like a scholar but allowed Scott Kazmir to be dealt for a dung beetle.
Were he a good GM, people wouldn’t care.
But combine his ineffectiveness with the embarassing public face he puts on the organization and people care.
well that’s not a ringing endorsement for Omar…so now he can’t speak publicly or run a team? sounds great to me.
(a little exaggerated, but you know what I mean)
SELL THE TEAM PLEASE!!!!!
I disagree strongly that Omar is at fault for not presenting a clearer message or appearing nervous or shaky in front of the cameras. At this point, I think it’s become quite clear to everyone that follows the Mets that he does not have full autonomy to make baseball decisions, and that there are other people involved in the process. So I don’t think Omar is being purposely evasive in his press conferences; I think it’s because he doesn’t have the authority to say that “Tony will be fired” because other people (read: the Wilpons) need to approve the decision. This is like 2004 all over again, especially with all of the leaks that are suddenly springing up.
The Wilpons own the team, and if they want to play meddling owner, hey, it’s their right. But at least take responsibility when everything starts falling down around you.
Having lived through the past 3 seasons, I was willing to forget everything and start anew this season and go to Citi Field and watch every game. But this type of behavior and atmosphere that the Mets have created for themselves makes me want to stop caring about the team.
I can handle losing (and as Mets fans, it’s something that we’ve pretty much got down to an art), but I can’t stomach an organization that clearly is in disarray and out of touch much longer.
I agree that an empty Citi Field will force some action but even better would be signs and chants of Fire Omar and We want Roy.
Keep in mind Halliday wants to be on a winner so he could turn down a trade to the Mets but if you think about next year, having him teamed with Santana would definitely send us in the right direction. I wouldn’t though trade our remaining prospects for him unless it was a sign and trade situation. I have no problem trading Martinez but some of the other players talked of are going to be good.
Matt – Can you stop making excuses for Jeff Wilpon??? We know you have to kiss his @ss cause you work for his network and struck a nice deal with them.
You and I both know that Jeff or Fred need to address the fans that are spending a fortune on this pathetic team!
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