Imagine the chief executive officer of a publicly-traded corporation bashing his best employees in a New Yorker article. Well, that's exactly what Mets owner Fred Wilpon just did.
The beleaguered owner of the beleaguered franchise told a reporter that Jose Reyes won't receive a grade A contract when his current one expires at the end of the year. He said rightfielder Carlos Beltran is only 60 percent the player he once was and called David Wright 'a good player, but not a superstar.' He also said some nasty things about first baseman Ike Davis.
When asked if the Mets were snakebitten, Wilpon mimed Beltran's check swing that ended the 2006 National League Championship Series and the team's chance at a World Series. In short, Wilpon totally bashed his own players and team.
Could you imagine a Fred Smith, Jeff Immelt or Mark Zuckerberg doing something similar? Actually, I COULD see Zuckerberg doing it. And, Steve Jobs was notorious for beating up his employees, but never in public.
The Mets are a complete train wreck, with a 'conductor' who doesn't believe in his talent. It's time for Wilpon to sell and a new owner to take over. It's tough enough to motivate a cast of characters who ARE overpaid and who DO underperform. I actually agree with everything Wilpon said about Reyes, Wright and Beltran. But, I'd never, ever say it on the record.
That said, have I told you my feelings about Ed lately?
A tip o' Repman's batting helmet to Chris 'Repman, Jr.' Cody for suggesting this post.
Quite the lengthy comment, PengelinNYC. The buck should stop with Wilpon and no one else. As JFK famously said after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, ‘Success has many fathers. Failure is an orphan.’
Negative I-Man. You were the Armando Benitez of Peppercom. You’d take over a safe account and somehow lose it.
What’s the problem here? Don’t you always advise clients to tell the truth?
Seriously, I read the New Yorker story last night and found it fascinating. I came away with a very different, almost sympathetic impression of Fred Wilpon.
I understand everyone’s animosity towards Fred Wilpon for the past 5-7 years worth of crimes against Mets fans, but I think this really is piling it on. The man is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.
Clearly, Horowitz and Co. told Wilpon to get in front of the message, which is “the Mets suck.” After all, the fans say it anyway. Bellyaching is part of being a Mets fan. Has the strategy backfired? For now, yes. In the long run, it may just work out. Once those players are in free agency play, doesn’t the reduced payroll make the Mets a more attractive buy?
But there’s another, more common story of a family business at work here. What that amounts to is that Fred Wilpon did a mostly good job of running the Mets since 1980 but Jeff Wilpon is not so good. That falls in line with the other “lucky sperm” types like Jim Dolan who are clearly out of their element.
The difference here is that the Mets will be sold. Politically, there’s no way a judge isn’t going to give Ricard some kind of victory for Madoff victims that will break Wilpon/Katz.
wasnt i once known as the jose reyes of peppercom? was that bc of my hustle? dreadlocks? being a lead-off kind of guy? please advise…
Steinbrenner was in a league of his own when it came to bashing his players in public. The Mets typically take a low profile when it comes to public bashing. I think that’s what makes Wilpon’s comments so unusual. Re: Ed, let’s just say Dick Moed didn’t name him after Ed Kranepool for his graceful style.
Thanks Sportsinfo101. Wilpon has the potential to be a latter-day Steinbrenner. As for Ed, he hustles like Reyes, hits like Beltran in the clutch and, just like Wright, is a sweet kid but no superstar.
Great question. Jay Horowitz has been PR director of the Mets forever. He’s obviously not even 60 percent of the flack he once was.
What I’d like to know is — Where the heck was the team’s PR rep during this train-wreck of an interview?
Absolutely amazing. Airing your laundry in the press is nothing new, but that is New York for ya. Itis funny because I just wrote about New York Media in sports Sports Business Blog, sportsinfo101.com
Now about that Ed comment…..
No. Tell us Repman how you really feel about Ed.
By the way, Yankee owner George Steinbrenner was no angel. Heck, he fired Billy Martin four times — only to re-hire him and even forced him to resign.
And he certainly wasn’t fond of Dave Winfield, either.