Hope is Springing Eternal, But Not For All
Say it with your chest, anonymous rival MLB owners...
It’s that time once again. You can feel it in your soul.
Outfield grasses and infield dirt across Florida and Arizona are being meticulously prepped for a uniquely abundant amount of wear and tear over the next few weeks. Hitters are taking their hacks. Bullpen sessions are audibly popping.
That’s right, friends. It’s nearly baseball season.
Though, unlike most of the story plots we’ve seen develop through decades of futile offseasons, things feel quite a bit different than usual in Flushing these days.
I guess if you wait long enough and put enough time in, good things do eventually happen. Yes, you’d better believe the fan base has been shifting smoothly into this new gear of Mets baseball—and enjoying themselves thoroughly doing so.
Let’s take a brief inventory of where things stand for this organization. The New York Mets currently head into the season with a $373.7 million payroll, a roster littered with all-stars, and an organization-wide head full of steam focused on finally taking this train to the promised land.
Jacob deGrom is out. Justin Verlander and Kodai Senga are in. That’s what the kids call a glow-up, I believe. No knock on Jake, but hey, the show must go on. Thanks for the greatest hits album, all the best in retirement. Oh, wait. Sorry. That says Texas, not retired. Onward…
An offense that sported four hitters among the league’s top-30 in wRC+ (Jeff McNeil, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte) plus a shortstop with the sixth-best fWAR output in MLB last season (Francisco Lindor) are likely all itching to get back on their respective and collective grinds.
Buck Showalter’s revamped bullpen looks primed to keep things at bay with Adam Ottavino, David Robertson, Drew Smith, Brooks Raley, and *throws dart* Stephen Nogosek leading to Edwin Díaz in the ninth.
It’s a solid group and I’m excited about it. Apparently, not everyone is as pumped as we are for the Metropolitans Revival Tour 2023.
Per whispers passed along by ESPN’s Jeff Passan this week, rival owners are none too thrilled with Mets owner Steve Cohen’s newfound dedication to flying a World Series pennant in Queens someday soon.
As if these fellow baseball bosses don’t have the ability to spend to win. Pfft. Cohen (via Passan) took his peers to task in this regard and it quite literally lifted me off the ground as a Mets fan.
“I've heard what everyone else has heard: that (owners) are not happy with me," Cohen said. "I hear things from people who are maybe more neutral - that they're taking a lot of heat from their fans. I kind of look at that like, you're looking at the wrong person. They're putting it on me. Maybe they need to look more at themselves.”
"I'm not responsible for how other teams run their clubs," Cohen added. “That's not my job. And there are disparities in baseball? We know that to be true. I'm following the rules. They set the rules down, I'm following them."
Spoken as the owner of a sports franchise should speak. They laid down the rules, you’re playing the game.
When all roads lead to the Canyon of Heroes and the person who signs the checks has the ways, means, and a map to get there, it’s safe to assume your team is in a good place.
Spend away, Mr. C.; and do it your way. We are wholeheartedly on board for this trip.
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