USA TODAY International Edition
Mets’ new era begins with sky- high goals
You’ve got to love the candor, the honesty, the passion and, in particular, the freshness.
Steve Cohen is an MLB owner, the richest in the entire sport, but to Mets fans, he’s just “Uncle Stevie.”
You can talk to him. Interact with him. Joke with him. Even criticize him.
What other owner would reach out to his 195,000 Twitter followers asking how much they thought it would take to sign one of his players ( Francisco Lindor) to a contract extension?
What other owner talks about his weight loss on Twitter and solicits comments on the team jerseys? ( The black jerseys are coming back, by the way.)
And who else would come out publicly hours before the opener and dare predict the Mets will be in the playoffs?
“I’m not going to predict a World Series out of the gate,” Cohen said Monday, “but what I do think is that we’re going to be really competitive. And I do believe we’re going to make the playoffs. And once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen, right? So, I’m pretty optimistic. The team looks good to me, and I think the fans are really going to enjoy this team.”
Cohen has Mets fans believing it could be 1986 all over again.
Certainly, after missing the playoffs the last four years and acting like a team located in Milwaukee instead of New York, who can blame Mets fans for wildly celebrating the start of the season?
Cohen vowed in his initial news conference that he wasn’t going to come in and spend like a drunken sailor, and sure enough, he kept his word.
The biggest move was locking up Lindor to a 10- year, $ 341 million extension, which was officially announced Monday, but Cohen says he wasn’t about to sign him at all costs. If Lindor had stuck to his 12- year, $ 385 million request, he’d be playing out the final year of his contract, with Cohen offering 10- year, $ 325 million to another marquee free agent shortstop in the offseason.
It’s no different from their initial extension talks with outfielder Michael Conforto and ace Jacob deGrom, who can opt out of his contract after the 2022 season. The talks went nowhere. Conforto is a free agent at the end of the season. DeGrom will be a year closer to free agency. So be it.
If fans want to rip Cohen, no problem. He’s immune to the scrutiny with his day job as founder of a hedge fund.
What Cohen will promise is that the Mets will always be a big- time player in the free agent market, and if there are players they believe who deserve the big bucks, the Mets will have their checkbook ready.
The Mets’ opening- day payroll of $ 190 million is the largest in franchise history, ranking fourth behind the Dodgers, Yankees and Astros. It’s fine to have tons of money and resources, and win once in a while, but the trick is winning year after year.
“Our task not only is to win,” Mets President Sandy Alderson said, “but to win sustainably over a period of time. So sometimes decisions have to be made that reflect a longer- term view than a shorter.
“I think Steve has done a great job of navigating down these issues and, unfortunately, you often get measured by whether you sign a free agent or don’t sign a free agent. There’s so much else going on, you know, the iceberg below the waterline, where we’ve made significant progress, and I think will contribute to what we can do longer term.”
So the Mets’ new era begins, with Cohen and Alderson not promising a World Series title by October, but respectability by May.
They’re in the most challenging division in baseball where Atlanta has won three consecutive NL East titles, the Nationals are a year removed from a World Series title, the Phillies are back on the prowl, and even the Marlins are coming off a postseason berth.
But when the Mets’ biggest fan is their owner, and that owner has the deepest pockets in baseball, well, who would count them out?