Jose Reyes debuted for the Mets in June of 2003 and brought hope to an organization that was in the middle of a three-year slump. He became the face of the Mets, the reason to go to the stadium and the main attraction of a team building toward what should have been a championship season in 2006.
In the injury–plagued, homerun–less and overall depressing years since the Mets moved to Citi Field, Reyes was the hope, the excitement and the draw of the team. The idea that he wasn’t worth six years and $106 million is a joke, because the Mets will lose that much in revenue.
The decision to let him go, in fact to barely pursue him, was an insult to everyone who roots for the team. The idea that the team will compete for anything this year, or in the near future, is ridiculous. There is no foreseeable way that they can finish in front of Philadelphia, Atlanta or Miami in the next few years without major acquisitions and very successful prospects.
Dropping Reyes was a mistake indicative of the worst ownership in baseball.
The Wilpons have proven their incompetence with their roles in two of the worst scams in modern history — the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme and the Jason Bay signing.
If they can’t afford to pay for a good team because of these two despicable deals, they should take mercy on the loyal fans out there and sell the team.
They’re bad enough when they’re willing to spend money on the team. Without that, they’re about as effective off the field as Oliver Perez was on the mound.
Maybe they’ll decide to sell, or maybe they’ll be forced to. Either way, the management needs to decide where they want this team to go.
They can either go for it now or give up and build for the future. The day the Marlins (yes the fucking Marlins) outbid them for their best player is the day that they gave up on the present. Start building.
With a solid crop of pitchers in the minors, the team has a chance to be good again before the next leap year — but why drag it out with Wright, Santana and some mid–range free agents they picked up to plug holes on a sinking ship?
The team needs to reset, and hopefully the Wilpons have to sell. And hopefully Mark Cuban is looking to buy.
