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05 December 2011

Go Away, Jose Jose Jose


Many fans of the New York Mets woke up this morning feeling as if their baseball world has been forever changed with the departure of Jose Reyes to Miami. While I can understand how some fans might feel that way, I have a different take – and that take is that this is Mets business as usual, nothing new whatsoever from a franchise that is an absolute and abhorrent disgrace not just to baseball, but to all of sports.

Here’s why. And I ask you to just think about what I’m saying here.

This has been an intriguing off-season in the National League East. The Phillies went out and got one of the best closers in baseball. The Marlins signed Heath Bell and now, apparently, Reyes. The Washington Nationals are reportedly aggressively trying to sign Prince Fielder to play first base.

And your New York Mets (and mind you, I am glad this happened) changed their uniforms back to the traditional orange-and-blue style sans black.

Think about this for a moment.

While other teams in the division are going out and making vast improvements to their rosters, the Mets have changed their uniforms.

This shouldn’t come as much of a shock to anyone who is a fan of this team.

In a rendezvous with season-ticket holders last week, General Manager Sandy Alderson, and his hack assistants, told the fans they should expect to see a very competitive team in 2012 at Citi Field, one that is, as Alderson stated it, “is extremely fun to watch.”

I’m not sure what’s more outright absurd: That Alderson made such a statement, or that he and his idiot counterparts made the statement in front of the few dopes who are still willing to shell out thousands of dollars for season tickets to a team built like a true AAA franchise.

Alderson has been very blunt. He’s made it clear he has very little wiggle room when it comes to salary with this team. And clearly, that comes from a directive from the buffoons who own this team – the Wilpons.

But it’s just another clear-cut example of how poorly run this organization is.

The owners of a team in New York City will have a payroll, in 2012, that is less than $100 million.

They keep on saying they’re in decent shape financially, despite all we’ve heard about the family’s so-called misfortune with Bernard Madoff and his marvelous Ponzi scheme. But if this day, the day Jose Reyes departs New York for Miami, indicates anything, it’s that again, this team is run by a family that is financially insolvent. It is run by a family that is completely out of touch with reality. This team is run by a family that just won’t ever yield a winner.

Now on to Reyes.

What the hell are you all upset about?

Think about the career of this guy for a moment.

What the hell has he accomplished whilst a member of this team?

In reality, he did two decent things. In 2006, he was part of a team that defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a National League division series. And in 2011, he won a batting title by pulling himself out of the final game of the season.

He epitomizes the word “loser.” He never, ever showed an iota of leadership in 8 seasons with this team. He showed so much promise, but never came through. He was to be the face a franchise – and he was – and it was the ugliest face in the team’s history. It was all about dancing in the dugout – about laughing in-between innings. It was about losing considerably more games than he won, in a period of nearly a decade.

While I’d certainly prefer to see this guy go to a team in another division – or another league – I’m happy he’s going the hell away. He was never a true leader. He never had any affection for this franchise and its fans. He is representative of a time most Mets fans would much rather forget.

So we say goodbye to the little lightning rod who was often hurt. We say goodbye to the man who spent 40 percent of his time with the Mets on the disabled list. We say goodbye to a man who just never knew how to win.

Hey Miami Marlins, good luck with that!

Maybe David Wright won’t be too far behind.

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