Say It Ain't So, Jose!

Hard to register my utter disgust with the Mets after they let Jose Reyes go to the Marlins. Remember when they traded Tom Seaver in 1977? I don't, but this is almost as terrible as that. As bad as when Strawberry left for the Dodgers. Say what you want about the length of the contract and the money. Yes it was too many years (6), and too much money ($106 million). Sure he gets hurt sometimes.

But can you imagine the Yankees doing this? What reason can the Wilpons possibly give for letting their best player walk away without even offering a contract? The Mets play in the most expensive market in sports. NEW YORK CITY. Not Kansas City, or Baltimore, or Cincinnati. They charge some of the highest ticket prices in the entire sport! If they can't afford to pay Jose Reyes or anyone else they should SELL THE TEAM.

Of course they will say the standard things they always say about remaining competitive and smart spending. They lost $70 million last year, Sandy Alderson said yesterday. I must say Sandy has excellent skill sets, and is the perfect corporate toady, with his potato face, thinning hair and serious, military tone of voice. He and the Wilpons insult your intelligence if you're a Met fan. They are liars, pure and simple.

Reyes is gone because the Wilpons do not have the money to be baseball owners. The Madoff suit is still not settled, and they still may lose the team, but will hang on to the bitter end. In the meantime they will gut the team and spend as little money as possible, because they don't have it to spend. There is no other believable way to spin this horrorshow.

This is no rebuild, Met fans. If the Wilpons do not sell, expect the Kansas City Royals of the National League for years to come. The Mets are entering a new era, one that resembles the mid-70s. Expect another AAA season in 2012. I hope the stadium is empty next year and Reyes wins multiple batting and stolen base titles in Florida. He's a great player and like all Met fans I'm sorry to see him go.