I said I was going to take a break from writing today…and then I read Joel Sherman’s column in today New York Post. The quote at the end of the following passage blew my mind:
On consecutive years they received one of the great pitching performances of their history on the final Saturday of the season – John Maine last season and Johan Santana brilliantly on three days’ rest this weekend. Then they were so inspired both times that they lost on Sunday when victory would have forced a one-game playoff.
That galvanized this era’s Mets’ identity forever: The losers who could not win a series against the Marlins in the end in consecutive years. Owner Jeff Wilpon tried to soften this disappointment by saying, “I feel totally different this year than last year. Last year I felt we underachieved. This year I felt we overachieved.”
Overachieved? Really? REALLY?
You have a $140 million payroll and added Johan Santana to last year’s team that supposedly “underacheived”…and we all supposed to feel good about this year. Sorry Jeffie, I am not sipping that Kool Aid.
I guess Jeffie thinks that losing Billy Wagner is the reason why the Mets fell short this season. But it really came down to the same two things as last year:
No clutch hitting/killer instinct and a crappy bullpen (beyond losing Wagner).
The addition of Santana basically negated the loss of Wagner and it came down to the same crap as last year doing in the Mets.
Oh and BTW, Jeffie…your bunch of “overachievers” went 3-4 this week at home and with their own destiny in their hands. Two of those wins were courtesy of Santana, about the only guy on your team who can step it up in a big spot.
So please spare me this “underacheiving” nonesense. We are not stupid, Jeff.
Sherman adds:
By spinning a positive in general, Wilpon was signaling interim manager Jerry Manuel will be back. And Omar Minaya indicated he wants to keep the core intact, as well, which means retaining Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and David Wright. Yet an offense that had four stars at that level managed just five runs all weekend against Florida, going a combined 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Two straight seasons of this kind of regular-season collapse signals there is something wrong in the Met culture. Minaya – about to receive a four-year extension – must diagnose what that is.
In the aftermath of elimination, Wilpon and Minaya tried to project a positive vision, probably because their behind-the-scenes media guru told them it was the right attitude to protect business moving into that new stadium. But there was no camouflaging the stench yesterday with upbeat words. The curtain closed at Shea on a group of losers.
BINGO! Sherman nails it right on the head. This is all marketing and PR speak…lets put a good spin on things as we head into our new stadium with overpriced tickets.
Until the Wilpons sell the Mets, this is the sort of team that the Mets will always be…good, but not great. The Wilpons do not surround themselves with the best people and are loyal to a fault. They spend money, but don’t spend it wisely. They did not wait until the season is over to hand over 4 more years of control to Omar Minaya.
Beyond on the field, this team contuinues to be run like a joke.
The relocation process for season ticket holders has been a last minute botch job. The Mets managed to tick off a good deal of their best and most loyal customers by sticking them with overpriced tickets in a take it or leave it type offer. People were not given any opportunity to decide if they wanted to move to a different location.
The marketing of this team is an embarrassment. The TV ads, print ads, and in stadium stuff looks like a high school kid did it on his Mac.
Three different caps and 5 different shirts? Makes me want to vomit.
The Mets have a traditional pinstripe uniform that is supposed to be their main home uniform…and yet that they wear it so infrequently that you can count the times they wore them this season on two hands. The fact that they could not even have to decency to wear the pinstriped uniforms for the last ever game at Shea just blows my mind.
The Mets have the resources to be a top notch team but with the Wilpons, they will always be second rate.
Update: MLB.com has a longer quote from Wilpon.
“I think we underachieved last year, and I think we overachieved this year,” Wilpon said. “Look who our second baseman was. Look who our left fielder was. Look who was in our bullpen. No Billy Wagner, no John Maine. You can go right down the list of what happened.”
Hey Jeffie, your second baseman was a broken down Luis Castillo, that inexplicably Minaya signed to a 4 year, $25 mil deal. You probably had to sign off on that one.
Your left fielder was supposed to be Moises Alou. Your genius GM decided to go into the season with this old, broken down guy with Angel Pagan as the backup. More brilliance all around.
“Look who was in our bullpen?” The same crap as last year. Are you sensing a pattern yet? That’s also on Omar “Four More Years” Minaya.
Do you now know what needs to be fixed?
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Metsie 
I could not agree with you more, Metsie.
The more things change, the more they remain the same. Especially with the Wilpons.
Sure, I’ll continue to be a Mets fan; it’s in my blood; I can do nothing else, I’m afraid. But I will continue, like many of my fellow bloggers, to expose the folly of Wilpon ownership as often as I can, until every single Met fan out there gets it.
Why not stop being a fan – at least a PAYING fan – and hit the Wilpons in their wallets until they sell.
I won’t stop being a fan, but, like after the ’94 strike, may take 3 or more years to spend money on the Mets.
I don’t want to walk down 5th Avenue in a Mets shirt anyway – it’s like wearing a sandwich board that says “I’m A Loser” on it. Not spending money on Mets garb will be the easiest thing I’ve ever done.
Until we hit the Wilpons where they care, this mess will continue.
Preach on!