For the first time in my entire life the word "competent" and New York Mets were put into the same sentence thanks to our new Uncle, Steve Cohen. The introductory presser for Steve Cohen on Tuesday afternoon was the most well run Mets event of all time. Besides Sandy Alderson mentioning 2011 numerous times in the beginning of the Q&A instead of 2021 (easy mix up for a 72 year old man) the afternoon could not have went any better. It is a press conference that gave a ton of hope to all Mets fans but as Red says in Shawshank "Hope is a dangerous thing"
As a Mets fan you know that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. We saw it with the Subway Series in 2000 when Timo Perez didn't run as he thought Todd Zeile hit a home run, we saw it with Beltran going down looking in 2006, we saw it with the epic collapse in 2008 that allowed Philly to win a World Series, we saw it in 2015 as the Familia blew 3 saves in the World Series, we saw it with the hiring and firing of Carlos Beltran before he even managed a game and again we saw it as the first attempt for Steve Cohen to buy the team fell apart in the final hours. So with this, I was extremely skeptical that anything good would ever happen to the Mets Organization. As my college coach would say, the Wilpons could screw up a one car parade, which we have all witnessed for way too long.
But in a year where all things in the world have went wrong, something for Mets fans finally goes right. Its as if every Mets fans prayers of "I don't care about anything else God, just let the Wilpons sell the team" has finally come true.
On paper, Steve Cohen seems like the ideal owner but as a beaten down Mets fan, I was extremely skeptical as to how this was all going to go. But yesterday Uncle Stevie said all the right things. He made great points, was humble and cracked some jokes along the way.
He said he would not spend like a "drunken sailor" and that you can't buy championships (shot at the Yankees). He said he wants to build a franchise that can win year in and year out and not just one championship. He said he would invest in analytics (although I am not a huge fan of them that's the way the games going). When someone asked about the other group he out bid we asked who they were, which made me very happy as A-Rod ripped my heart out in 2000 as a free agent and this was just a great display by karma. He also said he can't control what happens on the field but he will give all the resources necessary to build a winning culture and as a fan, that's all you can ask for from your owner.
HE EVEN SAID THE METS ARE A MAJOR MARKET TEAM AND IT SHOULD HAVE A BUDGET THAT SHOWS THAT! I MEAN COMEON!!
He did mention that he plans to win a World Series in the next 3-5 years which is way too aggressive for my liking. This seems like something I will hear about from my Yankee and Phillies fan friends in the coming years. It may take 5 years just to wash the stink out of this organization.
That being said I am very confident that he will be able to build a winner and that may future kids won't be cursed like I was for the first 29 years of my life.
It is important for the immediate future that the Mets sign some big time free agents this off season and that press conference yesterday should have put the Mets in a great spot to land them this winter. A catcher is a must and JT Realmuto would be an incredible fit plus starting pitching and some backend arms are key. In an off season when many teams are going to be afraid to spend due to COVID, Uncle Steve and the Mets can take full advantage. As we know Bobby Axelrod always takes advantage of these types of opportunities. HES ALL IN BABY! LETS GO METS!
Comments