Surprised not to see any discussion today, officially David Wright Day in New York City. The sixth largest crowd in Citi Field history showed up. When the game started Wright ran out and the rest of the team stayed behind, clapping for him (as did the Marlins) before he called them out. His two-year-old daughter threw him the first pitch very adorably, and he took his place next to Jose Reyes for the 860th time. He came up with one out and Reyes on third in the top of the first and walked on a 3-2 count. He got a ground ball in the top of the second and threw out the runner. He then led off the bottom of the 4th and hit a foul pop up to first base on a 1-0 pitch. He came out for the top of the 5th and threw the ball around, and then Callaway came out to pull him. He saluted the fans to a standing ovation, with both teams clapping for him, hugged everyone on the Mets bench, and took a final curtain call, having played more games at third base than any player in New York baseball history. Through every interview before the game, during the game (he visited both the TV and radio booths), and after the game, his incredible class, dedication, and appreciation for being able to play for the Mets came through loud and clear. If any professional athlete in any sport ever wants to know how to play the game, all they ever have to do is look at his career, and how he ended it. Oh, the Mets won on a walk-off double by Austin Jackson in the bottom of the 13th, 1-0.
So I see that Jeff Wilpon totally threw Sandy Alderson under the bus regarding the team's problems in the last couple of years. Why did the team have a poor record? "Even thought the effort was there, the talent wasn't. That's something that the new GM is going to have to work on." Why does the team have a very small analytics department? "The people that are in place are what was asked for by the administration that was there." Why won't the team go after high-priced free agents? "That was a total recommendation [from Alderson]." But when asked if that means that the team will increase payroll, his response was "I can't give you an exact answer on that, but what I can tell you is we will have a plan that we will come back to you with and lay that out." And what about Ricco, Minaya, Riccio, and Callaway? "Would I like [Ricco, Minaya, and Riccio] to stay? Yes. From an ownership standpoint, I'd like them to stay. I'd like Mickey to stay. That's from ownership, though." Does anyone wonder why this team has problems? The owner is a fucking tool who doesn't want to be involved or risk anything, other than telling you who you're allowed to hire and fire, and if that doesn't work out, it's all your fault.
That guy is disgusting. If Sandy didn't hold on to Wright and Reyes for the Coupons to keep asses in the seats after the Madoff fiasco, when they were obviously not a good team, he might've gotten them over the hump at least once with a proper rebuild. Sandy basically lied for them to boot when he was selling that as a good competitive team in the beginning. Instead we get to have Wright and Reyes day while other teams celebrate championships. Guy is sickening. He sat there during Wright night like he did something tremendous. He sold Wright the whole time. Bottom line.
No idea how it will work out, but the Wilpons hiring a guy who has specialized in getting as much money as possible for players could be viewed as something to be optimistic about. Why would he want to go work for people who would destroy his reputation among players? He'll presumably go back to being an agent sooner or later.
Prolly talked $ the way the Coupons wanted to hear it. Jeffie making baseball decisions is like Woody making football decisions.
It’s a sad state of affairs for mets when top candidates don’t even want to come in for an interview. Billy Beans way of building a team with analytics has proven to work only enough to keep things interesting. Really not sure how an agent running the show is going to work out.
Apparently agents jumping to the other side of the table is pretty common in the movie/TV business. As in sports the agents have the right skillset for talent evaluation and the network contacts to make deals happen. It's just a question of how good this guy is and if he has autonomy underneath that failed abortion that is Jeff Wilpon
Outside of being a negotiator I’m not sure what was it about him that they thought yep this man is qualified for the position. Outside of that I can’t say much because the man doesn’t have a Resume outside of being a negotiator? Seems like a weird choice but I can’t get all up in arms because I don’t know the man. Maybe things will work out like it did for Golden State but MLB GM just seems like a much more intricate job. Gonna keep an open mind. The man is a blank canvas and just gonna wait & see what he draws up. Good luck dude!
This has John Idzik written all over it. Sorry but being a GM for any sport is a hard job, even when great players tried to do it their success was not very good and that’s having experience from the end users perspective. Some of these guys have plenty of exposure by being front office executives, what does this guy have? Mets are killing me.
I enjoyed the press conference. A new era has begun. Gonna be an interesting Hot Stove league. Dude looks like a sharp guy that is highly motivated and confident to succeed in his new career. They're shooting to win right away; They're enlarging the organizational infrastructure to Van Wegenen's spec's; Omar Minaya and Ricco & Co. will be involved; Callaway is coming back; and one last thing: the more Jeff Wilpon speaks the more stupid he looks.
Yeah this is what the fan base wants to hear Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen Doesn't Rule Out Tim Tebow Making Opening Day Roster
