Bud Selig is on his farewell tour of the MLB, visiting all 30 teams during his last year as Commissioner of Baseball.
Some stops are more pleasant than others.
The Mets are currently 7 games under .500 and 15 games out of 1st place in the NL East. They might play in America’s biggest media market, but to most of the sporting world, the Mets are totally irrelevant.
Unlike the Cubs or Astros that have been hiding behind touting the arrival of prospects as their saving grace, the Mets are kind of just existing. Their payroll has plummeted from 140M+ to around the mid 80’s M. And majority owner Fred Wilpon is a little cagey when it comes to just how well he’s recovered from the whole Bernie Madoff scandal.
As you might have guessed by now, the presser for Mr. Selig’s trip to Citi Field didn’t go very well…
During his 19-minute session on Tuesday, Selig faced a barrage of questions about the Mets’ payroll, which has plummeted from nearly $143 million to about $85 million since 2011. Selig insisted that from his vantage point, “the way the Mets are doing this thing is correct.”
By “doing this thing”, I assume that the WSJ didn’t mean dry-humping air.
He also emphasized the importance of building a rich farm system, stressing that plenty of franchises win consistently without the luxury of a large budget. He singled out the St. Louis Cardinals, who seem to the make the playoffs almost every year without spending, as he put it, “like drunken sailors.”
Thanks?
I guess being Mr. Selig’s personal shield to deflect criticism of the Mets isn’t the worst thing ever. But it’s not helping the Cardinals PR outside of STL.
Photo: Next Impulse Sports
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