Friday, December 21, 2007

Dysfunctional Public Relationship

From our friends at Metsblog: A very serious charge has been levied by a beat writer for the Star Tribune in Minnesota regarding the Mets interest in Johan Santana:
"I still hear that, unless the names Wright and Reyes enter the picture (and I doubt they will), the Mets have no shot. The word at the winter meetings was that the Mets kept their name involved for PR purposes."
Yeah. Relations between the Mets and the public are at an all time high right now ... only bound to get better with this revelation.

Now we shouldn't all go half-cocked and assume this is true out of hand. But the fact of the matter is this: the Mets have done this before. Anyone out there old enough to remember when Vladimir Guerrero was a free agent who had back issues? Well, if you're like ... eight years old then I guess you're old enough to remember, yeah. But in 2003 the Mets ... after weeks of saying "we're not interested" repeatedly hoping that they would believe it themselves ... came into the bidding like leeches when it was clear that nobody else was willing to take a chance on him with a silly, incentive laden contract as if Guerrero was some sort of has-been.

If they didn't want Guerrero because of his back issues, they should have just said so. Going after him later when the market was low not only made them look like bottom feeders, but the absurdity of the offer made bottom feeders laugh at them. And it only served to make me angry. Because nothing says "hey, we tried our best, but I guess our best wasn't good enough" like the thin veil of an incentive laden contract that had no chance of getting signed.

If this new chatter is true, then it's just proof that less has changed from 2004 until now than we originally thought. If the Mets think that Johan Santana costs too much in prospects and money, then as much as fans aren't going to like it ... they shouldn't do it. Go sign Kyle Lohse and Mark Prior and freakin' Rick Ownbey and get it over with. But feigning interest in Johan Santana to make people feel better about a huge September collapse combined with ... dare I say ... a 20% increase in ticket prices, to me is reprehensible. Telling your fans that you're going after one of the best pitchers of our generation simply to get their hopes up only serves to make them feel like it's September, 2007 all over again when you don't get him.

Of course, I qualify that with the phrase: "if this is true". Because no, I don't believe everything I read. But I believe in learning from history, which the Mets have been dubious perpetrators of lately.

***

But here's your good news of the day:
"They have a good mix here of experience and promising young guys. I'm going to get tape of all the starters so I can get something on paper, especially on guys we'll facing in our division." -Brian Schneider on the Mets
Yeah, Schneider can't hit. And the Mets got him in a somewhat dubious, somewhat unpopular trade. But he's willing to do homework to hone his craft. The Mets could do worse.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Plus...his wife is hot.

MP said...

Brian Schneider was a hell of an acquisition...as many shots of Mrs. Schneider cheering as possible please. Thanks in advance Bill Webb.

katherine said...

I'd like to even the score by making a lascivious comment about Brian Schneider, but (and I hope he is not reading this because he seems like a great guy and I welcome him to the team and I don't want to hurt his feelings) I just can't .....

Demitri said...

I tend to agree. It sounds all too familiar - a PR move to make the fans feel good, that has zero chance of happening. Bedides Vladimir, there was Zito and A-rod (twice).

Also- did the Bobby Bonilla signing (the first one) scar the mets for life from going after the biggest name? Even with Piazza, it was ownership that made that happen.

In other news, what the F did Sid Fernandez buy from Radomski in 2005? He hadn't pitched since 97, so what was it? I'm hoping its something Sid was enjoying in his bong in Hawaii.

katherine said...

Demitri, what's this about Sid? I didn't hear that.

Demitri said...

It was in Radomskis affidavit that was just unsealed.


http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3164232

Metstradamus said...

Some blogger I am ... I had to look up "lascivious".

Tom said...

while I agree about the past....this time if what he is saying is true....would you really want them to go ahead and trade wright or reyes? just speaking about this time not all the others....if that were try I would rather it be a PR stunt

Metstradamus said...

Tom,

I absolutely wouldn't want them to trade Wright or Reyes. And if that's the way it went down I'm fine with that.

But if there was indeed something to that about the Mets being involved just for P.R., whether they had a real shot at Santana or not, I think it's criminal. If it was a scheme to make people feel better about the Mets, then it's kind of like having a Red Bull. You feel great for the duration of the winter meetings because you think that the Mets have actual intentions of getting Santana at anything short of Wright or Reyes. But then when it doesn't happen, you crash.

I'd love to think that there was a genuine effort to look into getting Johan. But like I said, this franchise has played the shell game before with Guerrero.

Anonymous said...

At first I was kind of upset they traded Milledge for a 29-year-old "prospect" in Church and an aging Schneider for a platoon with Castro.

Then I saw his wife, and immediately, I felt somewhat better ...

Demitri said...

Ummm what's the deal with all the excitement about Schneider's wife?

Can she pitch?

katherine said...

I hope the efforts to get Santana are not strictly for show - that would be cruel. I woke up every morning this week and thought, maybe THIS will be the day we get Johan Santana! I will be so disappointed if we don't...

Secondly, I hope my earlier post was not interpreted as an insult to Brian, because I think he is very pleasant and friendly-looking, in a sort of Andy-of-Mayberry way.

And Demitri, re Mrs Schneider, why shouldn't people get what little pleasure they can from the Mets these days?