Hire Fred Wilpon's Analysis of the Mets

Wilpon calls 'em as he sees 'em. (NY Daily News)

Embattled Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon showed once again that hindsight is 20/20, based on comments he made in a recent profile in The New Yorker. At least he's (mostly) realistic about the state of his team, and for that his statements should be hired.

Wilpon said that he was foolish to pay OF Carlos Beltran "based on that one series. He’s 65 to 70 percent of what he was.” Wilpon refered to Beltran's 2004 playoff performance in which he hit 8 home runs, drove in 14 runs and batted .435 in 12 games.

It certainly seemed like the Mets over-valued Beltran because of that one amazing playoff run when they signed him to a $119 million contract the following off-season. At the time Beltran had never hit above .307 and except for the 38 homers he smacked in 2004, had never hit more than 29 in a single season. Beltran has since had individual seasons in which he hit 41 and 33 homers, but he hasn't topped 10 since 2008. He hasn't batted above .284 in a full season since he signed with the Mets. Wilpon seems to have learned his lesson on that, at least.

Wilpon may also have learned a few lessons from George Steinbrenner, who thought that publicly embarrassing his players would motivate them. Yeah, not so much. Wilpon said of SS Jose Reyes that "he thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money. He’s had everything wrong with him. He won’t get it.” Safe to assume Reyes won't be back in a Mets uni next season. Then came Wilpon's most surprising comment, regarding the face of the Mets, 3B David Wright. “A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.” Wright was certainly on his way to superstardom, at least until his power numbers and his strikeouts went in the wrong directions starting in 2009. Wright is, however, getting superstar money at $14 million for 2011.

Wilpon's comments indicate that he is frustrated with his team's performance (any owner with a pulse would be) and he recognizes that he screwed up with Beltran, Reyes and Wright on varying levels. This may all seem like pretty obvious stuff, but there are plenty of delusional owners (Mike Brown of the Bengals) and owners who won't admit their mistakes (The Boss). Criticism isn't a good motivator for the coddled psyches of modern athletes, so Wilpon might want to keep some of his rhetoric in check. But realizing one's mistakes is the first step to improving anything, so perhaps there is hope for the Metropolitans with Wilpon in charge. That is if he manages to stave off financial ruin and hold onto the team.