I really hope that Fred Wilpon is a big fan of the classic movie Major League.In that movie, the Cleveland Indians new owner attempts to put together the worst team she can find and then constantly mistreats and disses her players. Her goal is to lose as many games as possible and minimize fan attendance, which in turn will allow her to move the team to her ideal destination. But the plan backfires when the Indian's players find out that their owner hates them and rally to win the pennant.
The only explanation I can think of for Wilpon's strange decision to belittle his own team is that he recently watched Major League and thinks the plot can happen in real life.
Think about it: Wilpon, by his own admission, puts together a "sh*tty team" with the likes of Jason Bay, Willie Harris, Chin-lung Hu, Scott Hairston, and several other outcasts. This results in a losing baseball team and a major drop in attendance at Citi Field. Then Wilpon publicly disses his three best players despite the fact that two of them (Reyes and Beltran) are carrying the team and the other (Wright) has been it's most consistently good player. And although Wilpon has not threatened to move the Mets, he does seem intent on turning them into the Dodgers.
So now Wilpon has his team right where he wants them. His players hate their employer, the fans their favorite team's owner, and the team stinks in general. And if Major League is accurate (and Fred must think it is), this is the perfect recipe for success.
Now the Mets players have a cause to rally around. They will do everything they can to win baseball games, simply to prove their non-believing owner wrong. They will band together a segregated clubhouse. They will shock the world and make the playoffs. They may even construct a cardboard cutout of Fred and remove an article of clothing after each win.
Yes, it all makes sense now. Fred watched Major League and a light bulb went off in his head. Such a great movie can't have it wrong, can it?
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