Can we depose the 'Pons?
They're destroying our team. Since Fred's gang took over from Doubleday, they've brought nothing but sorrow, stopgap signings, black uniforms, nepotism, cronyism, Ponzi schemes, Mo Vaughn, sex-addicted GMs, surreal press conferences, mock credit cards sewn into uniform sleeves, "Beer Money," Robbie Alomar, players with concussions playing at altitude, horrible roster management, a nearly barren farm system, pitchers with more psychiatric disorders than pitches, prospects as mop-up men, "Wild Card" banners, a medical blooper reel that would last for days, a new stadium designed as a shrine to a different team that caters to the disposable income of nonexistent investment banks, shirtless sleazes challenging our developing players to fights, a bunting fetish, Luis Castillo, a TV network that uses as its selling point that it provides Yankee scores, Art Howe, Willie Randolph, Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel. They're a second-rate, bumbling organization that doesn't even know how to spend money to paper over their mess.
Can the fans possibly be motivated to do what English fans of Manchester United and Liverpool have done and revolt? With enough "sell Fred, sell" chants, will the Wilpons be shamed into sneaking out the back door? Probably not, but sitting on our hands and watching our hitters bunt against pitchers yet to throw strikes, for example, sure doesn't feel like entertainment. We need our Mets back -- or, more specifically, back from the Wilpons. Thoughts on how to do this, short of just staying home?
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yes but it doesn't work
the protests of Manchester United and Liverpool fans have achieved absolutely bugger all – unless you count the prospect of Liverpool being sold to the Chinese government as a good thing (and that sale is mainly motivated by the financial problems of Hicks and Gillette rather than fan discontent). As long as they are still making money, bad team owners don’t care about fan happiness or winning.
hey give the Chinese some credit
I feel like they will spend to win. After all, they have a pretty much limitless supply of our taxpayer money…
2009 Did Not Happen
Actually, it's our credit card debt
Which is even more limitless
May you be locked in a battle of wits against Jerry Manuel.
by BobbyV_Incognito on Aug 7, 2010 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Honestly,
I dont see any other way. Going to games and screaming, and cursing and “Sell The Team” shirts still puts money in the Wilpons pockets, which wont help.
I would like to see the Mets sold to Mark Cuban, but I saw a piece on espn last night that the league will not approve of it anytime soon cuz he is over top and will spend way too much money(why this is a bad thing if its spent right i have no idea). We fans are screwed unless 2 things happen. 1) Wilpons sell or 2) the Wilpons get brain transplants from someone that gives a shit about WINNING and not the bottom line only.
by SFloridaMetsFan on Aug 6, 2010 11:32 AM EDT reply actions
The thing with the League and Cuban
is that they can only avoid considering him a serious candidate for so long. They’ve already stepped in when he showed interest in the Cubs and his bid was rejected even though it was the higher of the two for the Rangers (both fine in isolation, but there’s a trend forming). The whole situation is very similar to the Jim Balsillie/NHL thing.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
no cubans group didn't put in a third bid
apparently they had reached a pre-set limit.
but it kind of shows the difference between the nba and mlb. the nba is smart enough to know they need rich ass owners even if they’re a little crazy and to step in when Dolan is running a team in their biggest market into the ground because better teams in big markets means more money for everyone. MLB is so obsessed with keeping things within their old school baseball guys, or whoever they deem worthy, they’ll let teams in two of the biggest markets, the cubs ,and while the rangers aren’t a big market team but they’re in a massive market and have potential to be a big market team, go to guys who will probably have an inferior financial ability to run the team. It’s mind boggling. Cuban probably could have rebuilt the cubs to the Red Sox of the NL or turned the Rangers into a team people at least kind of care about. Instead mlb would rather they all toil in mediocrity (though I don’t think Nolan will let them toil as president I do wonder how much his finances will be able to support), as long as they toil under their guys.
mediocrity thy name is Wilpon- jdon
No, I thought Cuban had the higher bid as well.
It wasn’t a significant difference, though – less than $20 million. And Ryan/Greenberg’s deal didn’t have to include the fees they would have been owed if Cuban had won the bidding.
May you be locked in a battle of wits against Jerry Manuel.
by BobbyV_Incognito on Aug 6, 2010 5:54 PM EDT up reply actions
yeah you're right
the deductions from Cubans last bid dropped it down to 583, so I guess he had the highest prior to that. But it wasn’t like he had a bid totally valued higher and they chose Ryans group.
mediocrity thy name is Wilpon- jdon
Yeah, the difference was small enough that he can't claim any malfeasance on the part of MLB
May you be locked in a battle of wits against Jerry Manuel.
by BobbyV_Incognito on Aug 6, 2010 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions
lol @ mlb.com writers
on ryan winning the auction
At one point Greenberg’s side tried to get the auction postponed so that contested issues could be resolved in front of Judge Lynn, who has overseen the bankruptcy proceedings.
But as we now know, instead, this unforgettable red-eye, back-and-forth, high-stakes process, played out to its conclusion, adding what we’ll call a “no-quitter” to Ryan’s Hall of Fame career.
mediocrity thy name is Wilpon- jdon
Oh yeah, what about the Dodgers
Forget about the Rangers auction, the way the Dodgers were sold to the McCourts was completely ridiculous. IIRC, MLB essentially provided collateral for the sale so the McCourts didn’t have to put up money for it.
May you be locked in a battle of wits against Jerry Manuel.
by BobbyV_Incognito on Aug 6, 2010 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions
lol i didn't know that
that makes their current insanity and financial doings ever awesomer.
mediocrity thy name is Wilpon- jdon
All we need to do is set-up a Ponzi Scheme and get Fred to invest about $800 million
Then turn around and buy the team after he is insolvent. Easy peasy.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
by AnthonyR on Aug 6, 2010 11:33 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I think we are missing something here
People can get a pack of gum without buying it. They just steal it.
People can get jewelry without buying it. They just steal it.
People even get cars without buying them. They just steal them.
So we can get the Mets without buying them. We can just steal the team!
Gas prices today are a lot like a pitcher's ERA. Anything under 3 is amazing, under 4 is pretty good and anything 5 and up is something you want to avoid.
by Bobby Baseball on Aug 6, 2010 1:03 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
We could try screaming
I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore
Drink a lot of water
Warm salt water will soothe the irritation in your throat from the screaming.
by tmu on Aug 6, 2010 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Bags over heads
Classic protest. Tends to shake things up. Just make sure whatever you had in the bag before smelled decent.
I suppose I'll play Devil's advocate
I get that you’re going up the ladder with this, but how much is it simply a matter of the Wilpons selecting bad GMs (or just not cutting ties with GMs who turned out to be bad)? Jeff Wilpon didn’t trade for Luis Castillo or sign him to a four-year deal. As far as I know he didn’t insist on giving Alex Cora a $2 million vesting option or Francisco Rodriguez a $17.5 million one. Did Fred Wilpon demand that Oliver Perez get a three-year, $36 million deal when there were no other obvious suitors for his talents? The Wilpons insist they aren’t involved in day-to-day baseball operations and I think they’re probably telling the truth.
What I know for sure that the Wilpons have done is built a wonderful ballpark and basically opened their wallets whenever Omar Minaya has asked. The team payroll has been among the highest in baseball year after year. Can we reasonably object that they won’t spend $200 million annually as the Yankees have? Are they cheapskates for merely spending $130-$140 million?
I get that folks are upset about the last couple of seasons, but how much of that is on the Wilpons and how much is on Omar Minaya and/or Jerry Manuel and/or underperforming players? Would you rather have the Marlins ownership group, who had to be forced by MLB to sign John Johnson to a long-term deal? Or the Rangers, who just went through a ridiculously messy bankruptcy process? Or the Twins, who have consistently had among the league’s lowest payrolls despite an owner whose bank account balance numbered in the billions?
I don’t know where you draw the line of culpability between ownership and baseball operations, but my guess is that if you’re placing it strictly at the Wilpons’ level that you’ve drawn it a bit too high.
by Eric Simon on Aug 6, 2010 1:38 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs
Wilpons/Omar
Its all the same, no idea how to run a good team. And that goes for all 3. If the Wilpons would eat the bad contracts that Omar has handed out, I bet the mets are in a much better position. Also, if the wilpons would hire a a well rounded GM, not just one that is good at one thing and bad at the rest and stayed away from the baseball side, the Mets would be run much smooother.
Those teams that you mentioned, the Twins are in the playoffs almost every year, the Marlins have been a big reason the Mets werent in the playoffs in 07 and 08. And screw the Rangers.
by SFloridaMetsFan on Aug 6, 2010 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Oh
And the Marlins have been in the league less than 20 years and have just as many world series’ as us.
by SFloridaMetsFan on Aug 6, 2010 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions
More than that....
A senior manager cannot say “well it was my underling who did that.” It’s total, unmitigated BS. You are responsible for your underling’s decisions. You hire someone who fails to do the job and you fail to supervise them appropriately, it’s your problem. Of couse the owner is the owner, but assuming that winning is the issue, you can’t blame subordinates for the failure of the supervisor to supervise.
by MookieTheCat on Aug 6, 2010 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Wrong-o
Do you honestly believe that Fred (or, more likely, Jeff) “aren’t involved in day-to-day baseball operations”? Just because they say so? When Fred is sitting there in the room negotiating with Santana? With all of the reports about Jeffy’s involvement? And who has been repeatedly suckered by Omar, if it’s been obvious that Omar is an idiot? AT BEST, they’re absentee.
The Marlins group or Twins group comparison is a classic false choice. A New York team will never have to deal with a Marlins-type group.
This is also part and parcel with the fact that organizational culture counts. It counts as far as how the baseball side actually operates, and it eventually filters down onto the field. The corporate culture of the ‘Pons, as I understand it, is "let’s talk about it." Everything is a mushy, collaborative decision, with no clear lines of authority. Hence, you have courtesan-like sycophants like Bernazard undermining the manager, etc., and you get a lot of half-measures and hand-waving.
Ultimately, the buck stops with the guy writing the check. Someone has to make the call that Omar is failing, and failing miserably. If that’s the one, relatively simple decision they have to make, they’ve even failed at that. Sell and sell now.
by tmu on Aug 6, 2010 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
I should add
That I respect Fred Wilpon’s efforts on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Foundation IMMENSELY.
by tmu on Aug 6, 2010 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions
I hope he doesn't offer Ray Ramirez' services to that organization...
“The army has decided to withdraw from Afghanistan due to half the forces there simultaneously injuring their obliques.”
Sorry, I respect his efforts as well, but that was too easy.
by MookieTheCat on Aug 7, 2010 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions
I problem I find with the Pons
is not that they don’t spend money or if they are messing around with baseball operations (there’s no proof that they do), it’s their complacency with the way the team is mismanaged, from the medical staff disasters to the futility of the player development system and bad FA signings. How can they be satisfied by a FO that has managed to only make the playoffs once in 5 years when they’ve spent the most money in the NL over that period of time? Bottom line is that as a business the Mets gets the least bang for that buck they spend, and the people in charge of running business operations should have been canned long before this season. Like the other people here mentioned, the Wilpons seems to be satisfied by a .500 team that can compete for half the season. As long as they make a profit they couldn’t care less if the team does well or not.
by secret defense on Aug 6, 2010 10:06 PM EDT up reply actions
you're making a lot of very good points here, but some of this is ridiculous:
Would you rather have the Marlins ownership group…?
“Better than Jeffrey Loria” is not really setting the bar someplace reasonable, since almost everyone agrees he’s the worst, or at best among the very few worst, owners in baseball (maybe Peter Angelos contends for the title, too). And then, even allowing for how horrible Loria is, I bet a lot of Mets fans would still consider making the trade, organization-for-organization, straight up and just change the uniforms.
yea, since Loria took over the Marlins in 2003
the Marlins are 630-612 with a World Series title, the Mets are 618-624 with no titles.
You’d have to figure that if Loria owned a team with the Mets revenue stream, he wouldn’t have to sell off guys like Beckett and Cabrera, but even WITH selling them off, the Marlins are still a better franchise than what the Wilpons have presided over.
2009 Did Not Happen
The Marlins do have a much worse owner,
but they do have a better front office.
May you be locked in a battle of wits against Jerry Manuel.
by BobbyV_Incognito on Aug 7, 2010 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions
eh I think he might have
most of his crying about having to sell because of losing money is baloney. He’d probably run it similarly to the Wilpons. where he put JUST enough money in to maximize profit without excessive work.
mediocrity thy name is Wilpon- jdon
Question...
Where do Marlins go to die? New York.
nono
thats where the marlins go to kill mets fans hopes
I like Ike, I hate Jerry
Castillo. Delgado...
Shall I continue….
by MookieTheCat on Aug 8, 2010 10:36 PM EDT up reply actions
The only way that can happen
is for a large portion of the fanbase to boycott the team, by that I mean not going to the games, no merchandise, and no TV. Fat chance of that happening, because the Mets are not bad enough to have that many fans boycotting them.
It's not going to happen
But, if Eric is right, the real key is getting them to fire Omar (and extricate themselves from whatever authority they may have over decisionmaking.) I think you can do that without a full boycott. The attendance is sagging, anyway.
by tmu on Aug 6, 2010 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Call all you want
Fred didn’t care about anything except that it “looked like Ebbets Field.” It took a fragging fan revolt to get him to put up a couple banners here and there. It was jaw-droppingly brain dead.
by tmu on Aug 6, 2010 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions
You know that HOW??? Oh wait, you don't
I’m sorry, maybe it’s just my perspective, but when I went to a game last year, I did not get the feeling of “oh my god, it’s Dodgers stadium” I enjoyed watching a game there far more than in Shea.
Just because it somewhat resembled Ebbets Field doesn’t mean he was trying to rebuild it.
Emultating something nice from the past isn’t a horrible atrocity against man.
It’s a perfectly fine stadium, and people who say it’s Dodgers Stadium in NY are just looking for something to complain about.
There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ
The 2010 Mets- Hey, we may suck, but what did you expect?
Actually,
I know that because Fred was quoted as saying exactly that: “all I know is that it’s going to look like Ebbets Field.”
Thank you for your decree that we’re complaining for the sake of complaining. I will freely admit that if the other various humiliations listed above didn’t occur and this were otherwise a well-run organization, the stadium boner wouldn’t bug me as much. But it . . . but it . . but it DOES, says Mike Patton. Also, please find another stadium in baseball constructed to resemble another team’s stadium. Love to read about it.
by tmu on Aug 6, 2010 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I got the quote wrong:
From this:
“It’s going to look like Ebbets Field. I promise you that.”
by tmu on Aug 6, 2010 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Why does this matter?
He grew up a Dodgers fan, he loved Ebbets Field. Citi Field looks like Ebbets Field, and is generally wonderful. I guess it just doesn’t bother me that the stadium pays homage to pre-Mets National League baseball in New York.
I'm sure a lot of people don't particularly care.
by tmu on Aug 6, 2010 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions
There's homage, and then there's copies.
I’d much rather see genuine invention. Besides, as an architect, I see Citi as set design and not particularly good set design. YMMV a lot, of course. I should be clear that just because it doesn’t appeal to me, it doesn’t mean anyone else isn’t right to enjoy the hell out of the place. I just don’t see it, is all.
As for blaming the Poons more than they deserve, sure, that’s going to happen. It’s like a relationship that’s gone sour with someone who has disgraced themselves and lied to you.. If things are going well the way she sucks spaghetti between that gap in her front teeth can even be kind of cute, making the best of what nature gave her. When things are going down the toilet, though, it’s effing disgusting!!
I’m sure you know what I mean.
Correction: "Generally wonderful"
Except for the quality of baseball played there.
by MookieTheCat on Aug 7, 2010 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions
Ebbets Field was pretty awesome looking.
What’s the big deal about emulating a pretty awesome looking structure? And just because it shares some architectural features with Ebbets Field doesn’t mean it feels like Ebbets Field or plays like it (the 2 things that really matter IMO).
Save Jenrry Mejia!
I doubt he cared how it played
or much else about it. Which is kind of the point.
by tmu on Aug 6, 2010 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions
It plays absolutely fine
It was intended as a pitchers park, and its hard to know exactly how it will play out before games are played. Frankly, it seems pretty normal. It’s not like we have an early Coors Field-type deal where games are thrown entirely out of whack.
by yellomellojello on Aug 6, 2010 8:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't get this
Much as I hate the Wilpons and agree that they’ve fucked up the organization in certain ways, it seems like there’s no way for them to win here — half the time you’re bitching about them being too hands-on, the other half the time you’re ragging on them for being too hands-off. Which is it? Are they meddling micromanagers or uninterested check-signers?
it's like people (and there were a lot of them)
who on the one hand claimed W. was the most incompetent President of all time, but then on the other hand claimed that he had a plan in masterminding 9/11 and manipulating the whole world just so he could go to war with Iraq.
I’m not defending George Bush (far from it), just saying that if you’re going to complain about someone, pick a reason and stick with it. Don’t be contradictory to your own complaints.
2009 Did Not Happen
That's like hockey fans who claim Gary Bettman is an incompetent moron
yet think he rigged the league so Crosby and the Penguins could win the Cup.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
I think it's possible to be incompetent overall...
And yet with respect to a particular nefarious task, very good. For example, Enron was very good at rigging California utility rates and using their monopoly power to spike prices when they could. They were masterminds at it. However, they were not so good at running their business, in particular their natural gas option market.. Some might say that the focus on particular wrongdoing took the focus away from the overall mission. I don’t think there’s any inconsistency in the criticism.
That may be try about a corporation
but I find it doubtful for an individual person.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
True, a corporation has many different divisions, each overseen by different people
It’s entirely possible for one or more divisions to actually be run well. Also, I would considering that Enron made all of its money by illegal means, it’s just possible that they couldn’t actually make money in the energy business legally.
May you be locked in a battle of wits against Jerry Manuel.
by BobbyV_Incognito on Aug 8, 2010 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Enron did not make all of its money by illegal means...
It was a revolutionary idea when it came out and made a ton of totally legal money for a number of years. Then their traders started making bad bets and the macroeconomic situation changed and they covered those bad bets by illegally manipulating profits.
by MookieTheCat on Aug 8, 2010 11:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Madoff...
Good at gaining trust and utilizing that.. Bad at making good investments.
by MookieTheCat on Aug 8, 2010 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions
I disagree in a number of ways...
First, a baseball team is a corporation (or a LLC usually, but same difference). He who is in charge is responsible for the whole, and for any subset of a whole. Second, there are numerous examples of individual managers who are generally bad at what they do but are good at embezzlement or similar.
by MookieTheCat on Aug 8, 2010 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Shortly after it opened, I went there...
And I got the Dodgers feeling. I was with my dad and like history so I didn’t mind too much, but I get the criticism. Kind of like Bank of America building a building and calling it the Bank of Italy building (Bank of America’s original name).
by MookieTheCat on Aug 7, 2010 12:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Copied from elsewhere when I wrote this (again):
For those of you who have actually gone to Citi Field, as opposed to those of you who haven’t, but just like to parrot the comments of other people who have been there, for the sake of "sounding good", answer me a question: Where is there “too much” Brooklyn Dodgers, as opposed to “too little” Mets, in Citi Field? I hear this complaint ad nauseum, and having finally gotten to go there myself, and see the new stadium myself, I feel a bit confused.
Maybe I am blind, dumb, deaf, and stupid, but when I was at the stadium, I only saw two television sets, set to loop, in which the Brooklyn Dodgers were featured, mainly focusing on Jackie Robinson, and one banner in the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, in which Jackie Robinson sat in uniform alongside some of his teammates from the Dodgers. Other banners included Jackie Robinson at UCLA, Jackie Robinson out of uniform, and Jackie Robinson in his later years, when he entered into political activism. The plaques on the ground have to do with Jackie Robinson, and his values of teamwork, citizenship, and so on- only one or two mention the Dodgers by name. Can someone please share with me where all of the Brooklyn Dodgers emphasis is? The architecture of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda? It sure is nice to have something that makes the stadium look nice, and unique, as opposed to Shea Stadium, which looked fairly bland, having nothing particular that made it stand out, saving maybe the colors.
Now, let’s look at what Mets memorabilia is there. Going down the stadium’s perimeter down the first and third base sides are various pennant banners, depicting important figures in Mets history: Casey Stengel, Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Doc Gooden, Daryl Strawberry, Mike Piazza, David Wright, Jose Reyes, and innumerable others who I didn’t list, since I didn’t take pictures and record every single player. On the outside wall near the Left Field Gate, there is a massive banner that is, again, a collage of important Mets: Tom Seaver is featured most prominently. In front of the main entrance is the ‘Fan Walk’, which is paved with innumerable bricks with messages from fans, almost all of which are somehow tied to the Mets: "The McDonald family has always believed!" "The Joe and Pat will always remember the ’69 season!" "Let’s go Mets!" I happen to recall seeing a certain large apple in a turned-over top hat lying around. There’s a certain scoreboard over the "Shake Shack" as well.
Now, let’s compare all of this to Shea Stadium. What, specifically, asides for being the home of the Mets, and having memories (something that Citi Field now is, and will generate in the years to come) did Shea Stadium have, that perpetuated the stadium marking it as the home of the Mets? Well, there were those neon guys…Yeah, pretty generic. Well, the outside was nice to look at…Okay, that was pretty generic, too. The inside, then? Well, there were, periodically, banners that were put up on the inside, that depicted scenes from Mets history, like Tom Seaver pitching, or Mookie jumping over that ball, or everyone jumping into each other’s arms, at the end of Game 7 in 1986. There was, of course, the apple, and the scoreboard. But, Citi Field has both of those, however. And, banners? Citi Field has those, too. So, what was there at Shea that made the stadium itself- not the memories that were made there- feel like the Mets’ home? Negating the things that Citi Field has as well- banners, apples, and scoreboards, what are we left with? A bunch of generic neon people?
We already know that more is going to be done with Citi Field. There’s going to be that "Mets Hall of Fame", and apparently, there’s going to be some kind of "Mets Wall of Fame" as well. Seems to me that Citi Field does, and will be doing, more to make itself feel like the Home of the New York Mets than Shea Stadium did. But, what do I know, right? I’m still looking for all of those overt Brooklyn Dodgers homages. You know, the same ones that are blocking view of anything Mets…
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Aug 9, 2010 1:49 AM EDT up reply actions
This was May 2009, by the way
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Aug 9, 2010 1:50 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm happy to do my (admittedly very small) part and not spend money on the team.
I understand this won’t drive the Wilpons into bankruptcy, but I also think if a boycott (along with disgust and disinterest from general fans)catches on and attendance drops under 2,5 million for a stretch of years, the Poons may sell because they’re not turning much of a—or any—profit.
I mentioned in a recent thread that since the Mets are pissing me off instead of making the trip to Citi I’m enjoying Indy league baseball fifteen minutes from my house. For nine bucks I can get a seat on the first base line, front row. At a recent game I sat next to a ten year old boy who was at his first game, and with his mom. He asked me what I was writing and I told him I was keeping score. He thought that was pretty cool and asked me teach him, so I did. And our team won in a close slugfest and is on its way to the playoffs. Doesn’t get much better than that at a ball game. Oh, and a bowl of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream goes for $3.
+1
Except I don’t necessarily want the Wilpons to sell the team. At the very least, showing our displeasure by not spending money on tickets and merchandise should send a message that changes need to be made.
It’s astonishing to me that very simple (and obvious) suggestions to improve the team (which are posted all over the internet) do not make their way to Mets upper management. If plain-text messages do not get a message across, a revenue decrease should.
Having lived through the bad days of the 90s..
I can imagine that no revenue shortfall will cause motion in the near-term. These guys take at least 5 years of disgust to get moving. It has to get to the point where they are at a cocktail party and say “I own the Mets” and some very beautiful woman says “Oh” flatly and returns to her drink because even she knows it ain’t chic before they get the picture. Loss of money will not work in the next few years. Neither will our bitching. A loss of the prestige of owning a team because it’s in NY and sucks, may. On the other hand, the Knicks. And the Islanders.
by MookieTheCat on Aug 7, 2010 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Well
If there is no financial motivation for the owners to create a winning franchise, my financial motivation not to invest in that franchise still exists.
Hence, my personal boycott.
Think about how rich these guys are....
Making money is a sideshow.
Yet
taxpayers had to bail out the bank which holds naming rights to the stadium which itself cost $600M or so of borrowed money from the city.
Oh no disagreement...
The naming rights agreement was in place beforehand. Personally I think corporate naming rights for stadiums are crass and a little disgusting (name a stadium after someone who did good works, not whoever pays the most). I remember a few years back that someone on ESPN or some other MSM outlet did an analysis of companies that had paid for major stadium naming rights and found that these companies failed far more often than others. It suggested that managers who were more concerned with vanity items—such as stadium naming rights—than in running the business. While I had digressed and I feel that conflating naming rights with control is a little off-base, as is conflating city-issued tax-freee bonds with a loan from the city, I also feel that given the public input of money maybe private ownership of the team should be questioned.
I think that we're stuck with it until they can no longer make the payments.
May you be locked in a battle of wits against Jerry Manuel.
by BobbyV_Incognito on Aug 9, 2010 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions
There's probably a clause that the Mets can break the deal in case of really bad publicity.
But if Citi fails we’ll have a whole lot worse stuff to deal with than the name of a baseball stadium.
by MookieTheCat on Aug 9, 2010 10:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Of the many corporations that could have purchased naming rights,
I’m happy that it was Citi. City sounds like ‘city’, you see?
It’s much better than…RadioShack Stadium, Diamond Crystal Field, Black & Decker Park, and so on.
Only a few cities have corporate sponsored stadiums that work. Us, Colorado (Coors Field), St. Louis (Busch Stadium), Pittsburg (Something about PNC Park works), Tampa Bay (The Trop), and that’s pretty much it.
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Aug 10, 2010 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions
At first I didn't like it
but it has definitely grown on me to the point I like it quite a bit.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
Yeah, at least the name has a good homophone.
Just pretend you’re saying it with a ‘y’ instead of an ‘i’ at the end.
May you be locked in a battle of wits against Jerry Manuel.
by BobbyV_Incognito on Aug 10, 2010 1:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Technically, Busch Stadium
is not named for the brewery but rather for Gussie Busch. I know it can be easy to mix this up. But actually it belongs to family of parks (past and present) named for the owner: Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park I will never call it The Cell), Turner Field, Ebbets, Crosley,, etc.
What's the score, boys?
What did Bugs Bunny do?
What's with the Carrot League baseball today?
Did not know that.
But, it makes sense, with the Busch family lending their name to their company.
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Aug 10, 2010 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, in Japan the teams themselves are named after their corporate sponsor
then again Japan is a pretty crazy country
by secret defense on Aug 10, 2010 1:37 AM EDT up reply actions
I lobby Nippon Ham buys the team
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Aug 10, 2010 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions
I lobby Yu Davish, too.
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Aug 10, 2010 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions
*Darvish
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Aug 10, 2010 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions
And in Europe they have sponsor's names on their soccer shirts...
I don’t like that either.
by MookieTheCat on Aug 10, 2010 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
The hockey jerseys are even worse
Ads are on litterally every piece of equipment; jersey, gloves, pants, socks, helmet. And they’re all over the ice too, not just the boards.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
I can haz a violent overthrow?
2010: Year of the Grission...Or Not!
In My World, There Is No Such Thing As Off-Topic!
No need for bloodshed
We can simply smother them in their beds.
May you be locked in a battle of wits against Jerry Manuel.
by BobbyV_Incognito on Aug 7, 2010 12:18 AM EDT up reply actions
How about a picket line by the Shea Bridge?
The Wilpons don’t get any money, and you can still hear some of what’s going on in the game. All the protesters can assemble with signs and chants and propaganda to hand out and lunches packed so nobody buys from the Wilpons’ vendors.
by Nomenclaturist on Aug 10, 2010 10:43 AM EDT reply actions
Yep
Still need tickets to get it. Be better off protesting outside the rotunda. You’d get the most attention out there, since it’s the main entrance.
May you be locked in a battle of wits against Jerry Manuel.
by BobbyV_Incognito on Aug 10, 2010 6:35 PM EDT up reply actions

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