Wednesday sure to be painful accounting for Mets, Steve Cohen
Mets owner Steve Cohen during a spring training workout on Feb. 19 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
With his Mets well on their way to becoming the most expensive failure in baseball history, owner Steve Cohen promised us two things Tuesday on Twitter.
The first was that Cohen would hold a news conference before Wednesday night’s game against the Brewers at Citi Field, a somewhat surprising development since he doesn’t do formal media briefings very often.
The second was a bit more pointed.
“You will get it from me straight,” Cohen tweeted.
Beyond that, the mega-billionaire hedge-fund titan didn’t elaborate on what the “it” would entail. So I’m here to help regarding what it needs to be. Considering that Cohen is now into his third year owning this frequently baffling franchise, and I’ve been chronicling the Mets’ follies for nearly two decades, I think I can provide some perspective.
Right off the top, hammer home the accountability factor, and that means putting GM Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter on notice. Deliver an unflinching assessment of management’s efforts. To date, this roster’s performance — which is costing Cohen $377 million and counting — is not only disappointing, it’s an embarrassment. Make no pledges about letting people finish out the year or granting them an extended runway to turn things around.
The vote of confidence thing never works out anyway. Instead, go with “Everyone’s status, much like my investment portfolio, will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.” Reserve the right to change your mind.
We understand why Cohen may not feel like firing somebody right this minute. He’s still relatively new at this baseball thing and doesn’t have quite the same wealth of knowledge to draw from as his hedge-fund gig. Plus, firing either Showalter or Eppler right now probably wouldn’t have much discernible benefit in-season, and likely throw the organization into further disarray.
Eppler voiced his support for Showalter in what amounted to Cohen’s opening act Tuesday afternoon, but that was expected. What the GM couldn’t do obviously was guarantee his own job security, and when I asked Eppler about his responsibility for this costly mess, he didn’t duck the question.
“I constructed the roster,” Eppler said. “We put this team together . . . Ultimately, this is the club we have right now, and I think we expect them to do more.”
Cohen can’t be thrilled that he’s paying more than $400 million (including what he’ll owe in luxury tax penalties) for a team that is now seven games under .500 (36-43) after Tuesday night’s 7-2 win over the Brewers.
If this were Cohen’s day job — as he likes to refer to the Point72 operation — it’s probably a safe bet somebody would be getting the axe for flushing that much money down the toilet.
That said, Wednesday is the perfect time for Cohen to admit the harsh truth: Winning a World Series, or even reaching one for that matter, is not as easy as writing some big checks. There’s no crime in Cohen saying that he tried to use his vast financial resources to create a shortcut to the World Series. Cohen’s fortune became the Mets’ greatest weapon once he took over from the Wilpons, but the baseball side is taking longer to catch up. The new mission is to convince us that will improve, sooner rather than later. We’ll be interested to hear how Cohen intends to make that happen.
“He gets frustrated,” Showalter said Tuesday. “He’s a very competitive man, trust me. He’s not afraid to ask why. And you’d better have those answers.”
And what about the unthinkable scenario — the Mets being sellers at the Aug. 1 trade deadline? We doubt Cohen wants to go there. It’s got to be a nauseating concept for him in late June, given the October goals. But Cohen is a numbers guy, His business is based on analytics. And the baseball projections suggest his team will be not be returning to the playoffs this season. Before Tuesday’s game, the Mets had a 12.6% chance of making the postseason (it drops to 0.1% for winning the NL East).
Has Cohen braced himself for that reality? And if so, how much of an appetite does he have to eat cash if it means a better prospect return at the deadline? Are we talking tens of millions? We’re skeptical the Mets would have any hope of shedding the massive contracts of a Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander — despite their tempting rebound potential for a contending team. But if the Mets continue to crater, will Cohen make the hard decisions that could enhance their future?
Everything needs to be on the table. And Cohen, as much as anyone, should be able to recognize when it’s time to cut your losses on a bad investment. Even so, this has got to be a massive blow to Cohen’s ego. He was welcomed as a conquering hero by this franchise’s long-suffering fan base, liberating them from the cash-strapped Wilpons, and was affectionately dubbed “Uncle Steve” in the process.
Cohen is not going to enjoy Wednesday’s line of questioning, but we’ll give him credit for sending out the invitation. As the guy footing the bill for this Flushing catastrophe — and the only one who can’t be fired — we agree with Cohen that he’s got some explaining to do.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
