Hi, too bad for this idea. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a Los Angeles Dodger and the New York Mets are still the Mets. After setting up a full press for the Japanese ace, giving him 115 percent, and leave everything on the ground, owner Steve Cohen’s efforts were reduced to squatting. Now we’re back to the drawing board, or as Mets fans more commonly call it, a dull and depressing existence sometimes highlighted by spurts of misguided optimism.
The club hasn’t done everything right since Cohen took over, but it was Cohen who was supposed to fix everything the Wilpons couldn’t. While the Mets may not yet have the basics, and who knows how long Cohen will listen to the logic of new front office David Stearns, they do possess a committed owner willing to spend amounts of money, a fan base dying for success, and a market big enough to attract big-name free agents.
At the risk of making fun of sports writing, what’s so different between the Amazins and the Dodgers? I know, I know, but without the organizational stability, player development and the last ten years of success, the foundations aren’t too different. What’s stopping the other team from New York from outsmarting their cross-town rival in the same way Man City usurped Man United?
“How much time do you have?” » asks the audience.
It’s also a little difficult to become Man City when the Dodgers have accounted for more than half of all money lost in free agency so far. That said, the Mets were the biggest spenders a year ago, and even though it blew up in their face like a novelty cigar, big market + hedge fund owner = success, right?
That’s probably a bit reductive and overlooks the nuance needed to build a contender, but the Dodgers might have set a new bar with the signings of Shohei Ohtani and Yamamoto. The number of billionaires and private equity groups with untold amounts of money is growing, and once they walk through the door, it becomes a problem for Aspen.
There is only a limited amount of real estate and eventually the multi-billionaire owners will force the millionaires out, or at least relegate them to the status of AFC Bournemouth. If you support a club whose ownership group is worth less than what the Dodgers paid this offseason, you could be really screwed. And that’s especially true in a sport without a salary cap.
This Cody Bellinger guy is pretty good and he had a positive impact on the Cubs locker room last season. Perhaps an overpayment is in order if it is not necessary. This is not to say that Cohen should spend frivolously like a shopaholic on a bender; overdo it with deserving players.
Take Jordan Montgomery for example. He’s already been kicked out of New York once, so that’s a red flag. I know Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander were suffering from dry rot, but maybe try giving money to a pitcher under 38? Blake Snell doesn’t suck, is technically still in his 20s, and won’t cost the Mets any prospects.
“And the money?”
Yes and so ? Pundits dismayed by the Dodgers’ hostile takeover of MLB clearly haven’t been paying attention to matters outside of baseball. Is it sustainable? Will this lead to the downfall of… something? No, yes, and it’s probably the poorest team.
And, at least it’s not the Mets, right?