New York Mets under Friendly Fire

If anybody has the right to criticize a ball club and its players, it's the team owner. And with what looks to be another disappointing season in Queens, Mets owner Fred Wilpon is doing just that. After signing a string of players to lucrative contracts and little success to show for mainly due to injury, Wilpon has expressed publicly just how harsh he's being on not only the players he signed, but also himself for investing in them.

Referring to Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran who had a historic Postseason while a member of the Houston Astros in 2004 where he belted 8 home runs tying a single Postseason record before signing with the Mets, Wilpon told The New Yorker magazine, "We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series. He's sixty-five to seventy percent of what he was." Following his impressive run in Houston which ended after losing in the World Series to the Chicago White Sox, Beltran garnered the attention of Wilpon as a free agent who signed him to a 7-year, $119 Million deal which at the time was the richest contract in franchise history. Little did he know, much of Beltran's tenure with the ball club would be plagued by injury as he's missed portions of both the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Making matters worse, Beltran underwent knee surgery last season which the Mets claim was without their consent.

However, Beltran wasn't the only player targeted by Wilpon, as he also had some not so nice things to say about third baseman David Wright who's been the face of the Mets franchise since being called up in 2004. "David Wright is a really good kid, but not a superstar," Said Wilpon. As for Mets shortstop Jose Reyes who like Beltran is in a contract year and has also had his share of injuries, Wilpon told The New Yorker, "He thinks he's going to get Carl Crawford money. He's had everything wrong with him. He won't get it." For Reyes who's currently in the final year of a four-year extension signed back in '06, the 27 year old speedster is hoping to return to form as he's been among the elite at his position when healthy.

Despite going public with his strong disinterest in how his team has performed over the past few years, Wilpon does have something to be mad about. Coming into the 2011 season, the Mets owned the seventh highest payroll in the league with much thanks to the recent spending of players like Johan Santana, Jason Bay and Francisco Rodriguez. While both Santana and K-Rod have performed as expected thus far in a Mets uni, Bay has so far failed to meet expectations as his name will most likely be added to Wilpon's list in the near future. To avoid overspending and falling in a similar hole, Wilpon says he plans to slash the Mets payroll by as much as 30 percent next season. Luckily for them, first base will be among the few positions they won't need to address as they've got a promising young talent in 24 year old Ike Davis.