For The Mets, It's TimeTo Clean House In Flushing

The time is just about right for a murder/suicide in Mets' Land. I’m not saying things are so bad that somebody should actually be killed (though watching the Mets offense these days is putting me in a coma and I’ve signed the appropriate papers for my wife to pull the plug if need be). I’m speaking figuratively here. The Wilpons should fire everybody (and I mean everybody), and then sell the team. There’s your murder/suicide.

It hasn’t been a smooth ride for Fred Wilpon and son Jeff (why does Fred’s son have to take after Fredo Corleone? Couldn’t he have had a Michael or Sonny instead? Or should we go with a Sheriff Buford T. Justice/Junior analogy here?). Did the wrong owner leave? The Wilpons listen to the wrong people, hire the wrong people, sign the wrong people, and meddle in the wrong places. In the last 10 years (well, maybe 47), the organization has the reputation as sensitive, thin-skinned and incompetent.

From Steve Phillips, the Jim Duquette/Rick Peterson/Victor Zambrano show, the Willie Randolph firing, the Brooklyn Dodgers love affair, and now Shirtless Tony Bernazard, it’s one embarrassing incident after another. With Li’l Jeff having more say with every passing day, let’s just say the fanbase isn’t exactly applauding the younger generation’s input. Oh, and let’s not forget the Bernie Madoff rip-off. There are rumors Fred lost up to $700,000 million. That’s some solid investment know-how (not that I would know, most of my money has been taken by Anheuser-Busch). You know the old saying: A fish rots from the real estate tycoon down. Sell the Mets, please. Please!

Omar Minaya’s time should be up, too. He’s had a five-year run, with the last three seasons being complete disasters. The team peaked in 2006. That was their year to win the World Series. They’ve been playing catch-up ever since. Minaya has made a few good moves since then (Johan Santana), but either did too little (winter of 2006-’07) or has made reactionary moves that were too late (the bullpen should have been fixed after ‘07, not ‘08).

For all his talk about building through the farm system, there have been way too many Moises Alous, Carlos Delgados, Luis Castillos, Livan Hernandez’s and Gary Sheffields. Where’s the young talent Omar was suppose to supply the team with? David Wright and Jose Reyes were already here. Mike Pelfrey, Bobby Parnell, and Daniel Murphy? Is that it? Do we have to mention Oliver Perez’s three-year contract? (Yes, we do.) Has there ever been a more inarticulate spokesman for a team? Minaya’s way of circumventing a coherent sentence and all his “you knows” and “umms” just leave you scratching your head. Minaya had five years. Time to go.

And bring your assistant, Bernazard, with you. The guy comes off as a complete nutcase. He’s an embarrassment, an angry embarrassment. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out (though he’s tight with Li’l Jeff, so we’ll have to wait and see on this one). Gather up the scouting department and fire them, too. Do you trust that any of the Mets prospects will be any good? I certainly don’t.

I usually enjoy Jerry Manuel’s antics and jokes, but this season isn’t really a joking matter. He has a way with gallows humor, but sometimes it’s just too much laughter when there should be anger. Of course the team is shorthanded and may lack the talent to stay in the division race, but Manuel’s in-game moves hurt the team more than help them. He is without question not inspiring the players to overcome adversity and step up their play.

In fact, the opposite seems to be happening. The team doesn’t hustle and they don’t play fundamental baseball. Though these have been problems for the Mets long before Manuel arrived. He hasn’t corrected the problem, though (nor has management). His crack about Sheffield’s injury may not have been taken kindly by the front office, but it was right on the money. Maybe the medical staff should go, too. And you might as well get rid of the coaches. I have no axe to grind with the bat boys, though, so I guess they can stay.

It’s time for Mets management to do something drastic. They should all just pack up and leave. The fans deserve better. I was around watching the Mets before the Wilpons, Omar Minaya, Tony Bernazard, and Jerry Manuel arrived. I hope to be here after they’re all gone. I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.