New York Mets: The Wilpon’s low-blow entire fan base about not getting Bryce Harper

The New York Mets will not be getting Bryce Harper. Normally, this is typical enough to be a story, but this time, there is so much more to the story and it is borderline sickening.

The New York Mets not wanting to sign Bryce Harper to a mega contract is one thing.

That makes sense.

I would not ask the Mets to make an insane commitment that could leave decades of negative effects.

Remember Bobby Bonilla?

Yes, the Mets need Harper. He is a star and I would be thrilled to have him. He is a player’s player, but I am being realistic, it is also not the point of this article.

Once again, the problem lies with the Wilpon’s.

What they said, their logic for not signing Bryce Harper rubs me the wrong the way, it should any baseball fan in general.

It is one of the weakest, lamest excuses I have ever read.

Here is what he said via Mike Puma of the New York Post:

"“I don’t know how many teams have two $30 million players, That’s a bit of the answer. [for not signing Harper] We went into this offseason and Brodie [Van Wagenen, general manager] knows exactly where the target is for payroll.”"

Okay, let’s break this down for a minute.

I totally understand that not a lot of MLB teams have multiple players who make a lot of money.

The Mets are one of few teams who have a player making close to $30M a year and his name is Yoenis Cespedes.

The same Yoenis Cespedes who is not tied into Queens forever (free agent after 2020) and will be insured because the guy is a walking injury.

He hasn’t been full health since 2016.

So, using the Cespedes contract as an excuse is awful.

We get he makes a lot of money, but to shut down the idea of signing a big name, generational player because of his contract is whack.

What is the most aggravating thing is that they are the NEW YORK Mets. This is not the small market team that is an actual problem for other cities.

There really are no excuses in regards to being cheap. They just do not want to spend the money. That has been the book and this is just another chapter.

This excuse, and regurgitated logic, is like low-blowing the entire fan base. It pulls the carpet right out from everyone.

But, this can even be used away from Harper. Does this mean the Mets are basically out on every big free agent signing for the next few seasons?

When Cespedes is off the books, what will be the next excuse to not sign anyone?

These statements are filled with a bunch of clichés too. Here’s what’s Van Waganen said:

"“When we looked at our roster and we tried to build our plan, we recognized we had multiple needs that needed to be addressed — not just one area that needed to be addressed,”"

There is even more:

"“I think the execution of our plan sort of shows what our intentions were of trying to fill those multiple positions. We needed to get better in the bullpen, we needed to increase our run production, we wanted to get better behind the plate, we wanted more right-left balance in our lineup and we wanted to create more depth.”"

He does raise some good points.

Their bullpen did need to improve and they pulled that off but WITHOUT spending a lot of money, they probably were closer to saving some money in the Diaz deal.

What Wilpon constantly says is like constantly low-blowing the fan base.

It hurts, it’s a coward move to use in any fight yet at the end of the day, the fans brush it off, get back up, and live their lives.

But the fact that it is only 2019 and I can already assume the Mets will be losing same other excuse or scapegoat for never even attempting to potentially sign Mike Trout in 2021 is appalling.

Even three, four, years out there is no free agent player to look forward to.

This also confirms all we need to know about the Brodie Van Waganen hire. Van Waganen came in like a bat out of you know what.

He ditched some bad contracts, brought in consistent players like Cano, Diaz, and Jed Lowrie.

It looked like it was going to turn out great. He was the breath of fresh air that the fan base needed to care again.

Of course, it still might work out.

Every Mets GM under Wilpon all has the same finish line to this stock car race.

Everyone has the same destination to the Commissioner’s Trophy, the same payroll problems, same exact budgets, rules, the same sanctioning body, etc.

Maybe Van Waganen has finally found the fastest way around the track and will use HIS skills to win the race.

But, the fact of the matter is it that he is still in the same race he is going up against every ex-GM who had the same tools.

He was not given any more freedom than anyone else, we learned that.

It is still the Wilpon’s who are calling the shots and holding back. Van Waganen is like the rest of them.

So even that has been taken away.

It is not that I expected any less either. I always knew the Mets were never going to get Bryce Harper, or even Manny Machado who the linked article is also about.

I just expected for Wilpon to work a little bit harder to come up with why he doesn’t allow anyone to spend the money.

If his job is to be the owner and try to money ball a team that plays in the most populated city in America, then fine.

He is free to do so no matter how much pain and suffering it causes.

But, if that is going to be the case, which obviously it is, then why can’t he make it his job to try harder to come up with unique excuses.

It’s not that I would rather be lied to, this whole thing is already deceptive because the moves they have made make it seem like they are spending more money this offseason but are not.

They literally pull the carpet out from the fan base day after day after day.

All the people who follow this team, the journalists, the bloggers, the super fans, casual fans, New Yorker’s, anyone who might remotely follow this team want the same thing.

For them not to be a joke.

For the Mets to not have flash in the pan World Series runs decades apart, but to actually win. Make a run each year and go for it.

That will never happen if they don’t get great players and constantly fill holes with duct tape themselves instead of hiring professionals to do it right.

They showed they are good at getting young talent, but as soon as that all comes together, it comes apart when they don’t pay anyone to stay.

Their solution to needing help in the outfield is to move infielders to the outfield like Dominic Smith last season of Jeff McNeil this year.

They think moving players, who are already still trying to acclimate to the MLB level at their natural positions themselves, to the outfield is easier than spending money on a for sure talent and building block.

The Mets should not have to pitch themselves to free agents either.

They play in New York City, have a loyal fan base, have been a team for over 50 years with multiple word titles, have Spring Training in Florida, and are the New York Mets.

Getting someone to play in New York is not exactly like pulling teeth.

But no, it is once again the same problem.

It is not that failure to land free agents who would change the franchise forever, it is the failure to even try to.

Players like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Mike Trout, Nolan Arenado, heck even Jacob deGrom do not get free often, and the Mets might mess that one up.

And knowing the Mets will never spend the money to get them is just whatever at this point.

But, Harper should have been the exception to the rule.

The Mets make these kind of excuses for not literally getting a guy like A.J. Pollock, who no offense to him, is no Bryce Harper

To use that same excuse for Harper, is just unfathomable.

To have a team have more than one $30M player blows the Wilpon’s mind?

Well to be a team in New York City and barely even have one blows mine.

Let’s just hope Brodie wins this stock car race.

If this team is terrible by August, then there will be nothing to look forward to for years.

At what point do the Mets start being sick and tired of losing?

And I am not writing this article to burn any bridges. I do not write this article to hate on the Mets. I do not write this to expose them as some kind of joke.

I write this, my heart felt opinion, because just like everyone else, I care.

I care about this team.

I care about the fans.

I care about the product.

I care about the legacy of this team long before and after I am gone.

It is just important that every once in a while we remind ourselves what the issue is. There you have it, a strange complacency with losing and having a legacy of failure at the very, very top every single day of the year.