Fred Speaks: Why Must We Be Subjected To This Every Spring?

It is that time of year where Spring Blooms Eternal. Yes it does, when speaking of the Mets owner, Spring Blooms Eternal Balderdash!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it is that time of year where Fred Wilpon addressed the media, which has become a seminar of BS.

A few years ago it was about Madoff, and that it wouldn't affect the Mets baseball operation(s). Well, we all know how that turned out.

There have also been some years where he has said things about his own players (see David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Jason Bay).

Then there was that spring when he said the manager (Willie Randolph) was safe, only to have him fired in July.

Fred has a propensity for saying things that aren't true. I believe he thinks he can "hoodwink" the media and fans, which he cannot.

A small snippet of Right Said Fred 2012 shows that Mets ownership had nothing to do with Jose not being with the team. Sure, OK. Here is how he answered a few questions about the Mets, former Mets All Star Shortstop, Jose Reyes (thanks to Adam Rubin):

Is it fair to say the contract Reyes got from Miami was more or less a baseball decision as opposed to having anything to do with team finances? "It was clearly a baseball decision. Are we a little leery of six-year, seven-year, eight-year contracts? Yes. Is Sandy leery of it? You bet. I'm big-time leery of it. So, listen, others have done it. I don't want to criticize anybody else whose done something different. We did different also, and we were burned. That doesn't mean there won't be some player in the future that we think we would do something with longer term, but the history has not been very good."

How much has the payroll been affected by Madoff? Would Jose Reyes still be here? "I've said, no, because I don't think Sandy would have made the kind of arrangement that he was able to make elsewhere. I think Sandy offered $100 million if he stayed on the field and that he could earn. And the amount of time was less time than he got elsewhere. So that was Sandy's decision. Absolutely Sandy's decision."

Come on - according to Reyes, his agent, and Elvis himself, there was no official offer made to Reyes. Elvis chose to "wait to see what the market would bear."

I still contend that if the Mets had offered Jose 5 years $100M, that would have been enough to keep him #7 (not Geren) and on the team. FRED, THERE WAS NO OFFICIAL OFFER FROM THE METS TO REYES.

Another thing I found rather disturbing is how Fred doesn't address his players by their names. When speaking of the talent on the Mets, Fred said that Sandy had many calls for "our right fielder" and a number of calls on "the injured first baseman." He is the owner of this team, as he loves to state, can't he at least address Lucas Duda and Ike Davis by name? Many might not see it as a big deal, but to me, it's disrespectful.

The annual Mets spin-doctoring has begun. My one question is when Fred Speaks, why must we be subjected to this every spring?

Thanks to Adam Rubin for taking the time to transcribe the interview. Click on link to read the State Of The Mets Address in its entirety.