The Mets' recent
firing of the vice president of ticket sales is just the latest in a long
line of mistakes the organization has made, cementing its status as New York's
second team. Apparently, the dismissed
executive is to blame for the Mets' woeful attendance -- 27,036 per game this
season, a 31 percent drop from the club's Citifield high water mark of 38,941
in 2009 -- despite a poor 65-74 record.
This dismissal is just the latest in what has been a long
line of mishaps by the Amazing Mess, but from a pure baseball standpoint it
pales in comparison to the team's decision to keep first round pick Michael
Conforto at short season Brooklyn despite the former Oregon State and Team
USA star being far too advanced for the league.
Conforto, a left-handed hitting left fielder, slashed .331/.403/.448 in
179 plate appearances and proved early on that he was ready for a stiffer
challenge than the one offered by the mediocre pitching in the New York-Penn
League.
The Mets' justification for keeping Conforto confined to
Brooklyn was they believed the 21-year-old's presence would help the Cyclones
reach the playoffs (which it didn't). We
should also mention that the Cyclones are Mets owner Fred Wilpon's baby. He hails from Brooklyn and owns the franchise,
a set up that is uncustomary as most minor league franchises are owned and
operated by independent parties. So,
it's evident that the Mets owner has once again placed his personal agenda
above that of the big league club.
The Mets' refusal to move Conforto up the chain this summer
will clearly hurt both the club and the young slugger's development. In Kevin
Plawecki (Triple A), Brandon
Nimmo and Dilson
Herrera (Double A), and Gavin
Cecchini (High A), New York has a slew of exciting position prospects that
will all be ready to join the parent club's young pitchers at the big league
level by early 2016, at the latest.
Promoting Conforto to High A a month ago would have made it easier for him
to catch up with his organizational peers and accelerated the Mets' much-needed
rebuilding effort.
