It's official, ladies and gentlemen. We live in a world where the Oakland A's have money, and the New York Mets do not.
In case you haven't noticed, Billy Beane has set the baseball world on its ear in the last 48 hours by signing Scott Kazmir to a two year $22 million deal, trading for one year and $10 million of Jim Johnson from the Orioles, trading Michael Choice for Craig Gentry, and trading Seth Smith for Luke Gregerson. (Maybe the Mets could have gotten Seth Smith for a reliever if all of their relievers weren't a hundred year old non-tender candidates.) Argue all you want about the future success of Billy Beane's moves … at least he's trying. This was the offseason that was billed as the one where the Mets were "open for business", with gobs of money to spread around on different players to fill a number of holes. Meanwhile, the A's have spent $30 million and completely remade their bullpen in 48 hours.
The Mets? They're asking their fans what snack they like to eat when watching Mets baseball. I myself am thinking of a cup of hemlock with some glass shards to give it a kick for next season. Or maybe I should just go with …
Xanax “@Mets: What’s your favorite snack to eat when you’re watching the #Mets?”
— Susana (@SusiMJK) December 3, 2013
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Shows the difference between a team never settling for modest success and a team content to be schedule filler for the rest of the league. Or the difference between an organization run like a baseball team and an organization run like a foreclosed house after the real estate bubble burst.
Flash forward to September 2014, when David Wright exasperatedly talks about following "The A's Model" for winning, one year after hoping the Mets follow the "Red Sox Model", and two years after talking about how maybe they can turn their fortunes around the same way the Baltimore Orioles did. Flash Forward to September 2015, when David Wright is wondering what dark force convinced him to sign long term with this cavalcade of nonsense.
Oh, and did I mention Doug Fister is with the Nationals and is ready to throw five straight shutouts against your favorite team? Kill me.
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