Someone has to put a set of rules together to list what the Mets ownership can and can’t do. At this point, however, it appears that the only thing that Jeff and Fred Wilpon can do to stop the avalanche of criticism they receive is to walk into one of the auto body shops that dot the landscape around Citi Field and, in a Stephen King sort of way, walk through a door in the back that’s actually a portal to another dimension from which they can never return.
You would think that Jeff Wilpon was a combination of Idi Amin and Saddam Hussein and openly laughing at the latest massacre he engineered (the Mets) when he made a harmless—and accurate—joke while the Mets were graciously honoring Mariano Rivera by saying, “Wish we could see you in the World Series, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen.”
Is this wrong? Is it mean-spirited? Is it something that should never ever be said?
Instead of the major point of discussion being the Mets dramatic win in which they beat the usually unbeatable Rivera, a percentage of time, energy and newsprint is being wasted on chastising Wilpon for making a lighthearted and dead-on self-deprecating joke at his and his team’s expense when no one on this planet or any other thinks the Mets have a shot at the playoffs this season. It was satire and it was true.
What would’ve been said if Wilpon had joked the opposite and said, “Maybe with a little luck we’ll see you guys again in October. You just have to do your part. Haha.” Or, “It’s still only May, we might see you guys in October. You never know.”
With the first comment, he’d be considered obnoxious, disrespectful, arrogant and stupid. With the second, he’d be considered delusional, ignorant and deranged.
Ask yourself this: Would the reviled, convicted, suspended, loathed, hated, suspended, less-loathed, less-hated, suddenly canonized as a “great” man when he was in actuality just an older version of the bloviating and blustery lunatic who was only placated by his team winning championships four times in five years to prevent him from blowing up the universe—none other than George Steinbrenner—have bothered to give a Mets player a gift and farewell if the situation called for it? He would only do it if he was convinced to do so after changing his mind multiple times and then okaying it at the last minute. It would have to be a Mariano Rivera-level player and person. That’s something the Mets and most other teams don’t have. The Mets do something nice and it turns into this.
Wilpon didn’t say, “Man, we suck,” as a vast number of fans in the fanbase say on a regular basis. He made a bit of dark humor while doing something gentlemanly for the crosstown rivals and one of their retiring stars, but like most things with the Mets, it’s used and twisted to put forth an agenda. The sad part about it is that there are still people who use it to fan flames that were more arson than incidental.
//
PAULLEBOWITZ.COM 
Yeah, the Mets suck. We fans know it; the owner knows it. It’s another thing altogether when (1) you’re kissing the ass of a crosstown rival who’s retiring; and (2) during the ass-kissing, gift-giving press opp you openly bag the season (before the halfway point, no less), telling the players in a back-handed way that the season is over for them. The Wilpons have the knack of saying and doing the wrong things at the wrong time. Play it safe, Jeff, and keep it zipped.
I don’t think it was that big of a deal. The Rivera honors was a no-win situation. People who don’t like it have ammunition since they did it. If they didn’t do it, they’d have been the only team not to do it. It was a harmless joke to me. I guess I can see why people would be offended by it.
It isn’t what he said , it’s that he said it at a public ceremony honoring a player who pitches for the opponent that evening. He has a history of promoting and celebrating other teams and players, while ignoring his own team, or at least the mess he’s made of it.
It’s been Fred who’s done the Brooklyn Dodgers stuff at the park and failed to honor the Mets history. The ownership has taken a mostly hands off approach since Sandy Alderson was hired. They’re really not all that involved. This current club is Alderson’s.
Ahh…people are so sensitive and can’t take a joke. The Wilpons still suck, but this isn’t a good reason to beat up on them. They give fans so many better targets, this one shouldn’t even register.
I don’t think it matters who the owners are. If the team’s playing poorly, the owners get the blame, rightly or wrongly.