Mets, Inc. (By The Way, The “Inc.” Is Short For “Incompetence”)

By Taryn "The Coop" Cooper
Posted Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Followers of My Summer Family as well as those who are familiar with The Coop’s opinions on the Mets know one thing about her…okay, maybe two.

One is that I am very pro-Omar. This was detailed here.

The other is…I am a die-hard Mets fan who is critical and foul-mouthed.

In other words, I bleed Met blue.

In the last game of the sputtering season of 2007, an esteemed blogger told me I was “right all along.”

What was I right about?

The fact that the Mets not winning the games they were supposed to meant trouble down the stretch.

I hated being right. Now it looks like I am right again. And I don’t like it at all.

Let me explain. About two weeks ago, I wrote an insightful column (well, insightful to me) called “Full Autonomy, My Foot.” To rehash, back in 2004, when Omar Minaya was brought to the Mets to right the so-called ship that experienced some distraction on the high seas when Jim Duquette traded Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano, one of the factors of Minaya joining the organization was that he would do his job. Which was: run the baseball operations end of things; the Wilpons would just sign the checks.

Possibly, not since Seaver was traded for, well, basically everyone on the Reds in 1977, did Mets fans feel such a sense of betrayal. (Esteemed colleague Mike McGann spoke about that particular trade here). I reference this column because Dean Mike said something interesting about all Mets fans and their collective paranoia: “Today’s paranoia by some fans, even the 'Fred Coupon' jokes (after all, it was DeRoulet and Grant who really were cheap, not the Wilpons) can be traced directly back to that one day.” Needless to say, this paranoia has infiltrated several generations. My father cried when Seaver was traded…I was still in diapers.

With the trade of Lastings Milledge for a catcher (note: Mets traded for one last week, getting rid of Guillermo Mota in the meantime) and a left fielder (note: Mets exercised the option of Moises Alou to be the primary LFer for 2008), it has the Mets fan base asking one thing…okay, maybe two things.

One is – is this Scott Kazmir all over again (in other words, déjà vu)?

Two is – why do we even bother? As Mets fans, that is?

When Minaya was promised full autonomy back in 2004, this left Mets fans hopeful. And then when he went out and romanced Pedro Martinez, coming off a historical championship season with the drought-ridden Boston Red Sox, and Carlos Beltran, the crown-jewel of the free agent market who NOBODY thought the Mets would ever get…while throwing buckets full of money and years for both…it really made us believe that the baseball guys would do their job, the money guys would keep signing the checks.

Sounds good, from an operational standpoint.

But with the non-issue of Paul LoDuca (which, as a fan, I was not exactly torn up about) and the trading of Lastings Milledge, it leads me to believe one thing…No, know one thing.

I root for a bunch of bums.

I guess Fred Wilpon got his wish. After all, with CitiField being pretty much the modern-day version of Ebbets Field, and his known lust for the heyday of those crumbs from Flatbush, why wouldn’t this team operate the same way?

The problem with this issue is that…the Brooklyn Dodgers were actually run a lot better. But baseball of course was a lot different back then.

Wilpon & Co. are throwing this team back not only into the late-70s DeRoulet/Grant era, but seem to be much more concerned with image than with execution.

I’m sorry, but doesn’t the image of an incompetently run franchise leave you with the idea that maybe fans will be pissed off enough to withdraw their orders for season tickets or mini-plans, even with the prospect of a new stadium guaranteeing them preference for 2009?

To answer my earlier questions – the ‘Stings deal could potentially be on a level with Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano. In some respects, it’s worse, because at least Zambrano had a teensy bit of potential. ‘Stings is still so young and could top out in a few years and become a superstar. On the other hand, outfielders are replaceable. Can we get too worked up about it? Maybe not. I know right now, most Mets fans are angry about it.

The next question is – would the Mets franchise be who they are without the people who thought they knew better? If anything, the Kazmir fallout was easier to swallow since we were promised with better days ahead. And lo and behold, that was the truth! The Mets played over .500 for the first time in several years in 2005, went all the way to game seven of the NLCS in 2006, and was this close to winning the NL East two years in a row in 2007 had a bunch of clusterbombs not taken place for like the entire season.

But as for now, I cannot justify the trade of Lastings Milledge. Two years ago, Milledge was a centerpiece in any deal, for sexy names including Manny Ramirez, Roy Oswalt, or Barry Zito (which is up for debate, since I truly believe that was never discussed, just some fodder for New York media).

Now, we get two never have been, never will bes for who was perceived to be a crown jewel just two years ago?

To quote some folks in Brooklyn…get outta heeeeeee’.

Look, I am not a general manager, nor do I claim to be one on television or in real life. In my opinion though, I have been relatively impressed with the job Omar Minaya has done with the Mets, although some can argue he knows how to spend money on free agents and made trades that have caused the farm system to suffer for years to come. I personally liked the way he seemed to pick out diamonds in the rough that no one ever heard of and then turn them around for better deals at their highest value.

We could argue that he truly screwed up with the pricing of Lastings Milledge, since two years ago he would have netted a bona fide slugger.

But this time around, Minaya couldn’t address a need that the Mets truly have to fill? Two middle relievers I could have dealt with. Church and Schneider? I may eat my words in a few days or a few weeks, even a few months if Minaya makes some kind of blockbuster move (which is as rare a sighting as Sandy Koufax these days).

It’s 2004 all over again. Welcome to Mets Incompetence, version 2008. I can only hope for our sake as fans, my sake as a season ticket holder, and for Omar’s (and Willie’s) employment sake…something changes soon. And something that doesn’t reek of Wilpon interference.

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