Franchise Malpractice Is Common In New York

One of the most horrid things that could possibly happen to a Sports Franchise is malpractice. Malpractice is, by definition, improper, illegal, or negligent professional activity or treatment, especially by a medical practitioner, lawyer, or public official. Mostly involved in the medical field, the running term, “Franchise” malpractice, is when management/ownership commits similar actions towards their respective teams. Many franchises in today’s sports are doing just that and most true die-hard fans know it.

Fred Wilpon, the owner of the New York Mets, has been majority owner since 2002. He took over a team that had 2 championships, 4 pennants, 4 divisional titles and a pair of wild-card berths. In the 17 seasons since Wilpon was taken over, The Metropolitan’s made the playoffs 3 times. Sounds putrid? I know. Teams in the biggest sports media markets in the World should feel added responsibility from that attention to be successful. I mean hell, the crosstown New York Yankees have 27 titles! So how does this happen? Why haven’t the Mets been able to simulate the success of their crosstown rivals?

See, the problem is that Fred Wilpon has historically afraid to spend, which makes it almost impossible to create a winning team. Few franchises can win with a minimum salary. Teams in the MLB today such as the Tampa Bay Rays, or the Oakland Athletics back in the early 2000’s. You have to create a face, a system, what is the strength of your team. Power pitching? Home Runs? Speed and base stealing? How about a strong and deep bullpen? There’s so much to go about things and so much to intricate and very few teams can succeed that as well as not pay players. No matter what sport you watch, stars around the world get paid big bucks. I understand why the Wilpon family won’t spend money like that, they were the biggest player in the Madoff Investment Scam, and they lost a TON of money. But the League gave over 50 million in aid to help the organization so knowing how much money teams make a year, and the large fan base the Mets have? Shouldn’t even have to worry about finances. “Scared money don’t make no money”, is a popular quote in business, and that describes ownership for the team out in Queens.

A farm system is something that protects each franchise. MLB has dozens of teams in their minor leagues. Hundreds of players within each organization. Class A, AA, and Triple A. Labeled and scouted prospects who are being developed to be MLB ready. Some never make it, others get traded away for star players, some make it to the top and stay there. The problem with the Mets is, well, they never have any elite prospects up and ready to go. The Mets always get rid of their prospects, or never develop their talent. The last great Met that was a lifetime franchise player was David Wright, signed developed and was the captain of the team for years, until injury bugs held him back and he never came back to full form. Do you remember the last time the Mets had a franchise player?? Ed Kranepool. His career tenure was from 1962-1979, enough said. Yes they won in 1986, Dwight Gooden and Daryl Strawberry but they never stayed with the team. Johan Santana came from another organization and got hurt. Pedro Martinez, the star for the Boston Red Sox before being a Met. Jose Reyes, a speed demon for his early years playing shortstop, gone. One can go on and on about players but if you look at the big brothers in the Bronx, they have Hall Of Fame players who’ve spent most, if not their entire career with the pinstripes. Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle, Jorge Posada, Yogi Berra, Mariano Rivera, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Roger Maris, the list is limitless. The New York Mets will forever live in purgatory and always will be the little brother to the New York Yankees, if they don’t correct their mistakes and create and keep talent.

My blood bleeds Orange and Blue, I’ve been a fan since 1998. Five years old my dad took me to watch the Knicks play the Raptors at Madison Square Garden. Boy did I fell in love with the game of basketball and became a die-hard fan of the Knickerbockers. Two titles in 1970 and 1972, the ’90s were nothing but action and championship hopes. But JESUS CHRIST have we been bad since 2004. Now I know we had a nice little run from 2010-2014 but sadly it only led to great moments and no title. Now that its 2019 we finally have a system in play, a culture, identity and most importantly, VISION! But my problem is, why the hell did it take 15 years for this team to have a new path?

Sometimes the best thing to do is reset and rebuild. Some call it tanking, others call it cleaning the slate. This year the Knicks have reset and are ready to grow and become a powerhouse team in 2 to 3 years. One of the reasons is that ownership has let go of power. When you own a business, being hands-on is very important. But there are also times when you can be too hands-on and end up ruing things, just ask Knicks owner James Dolan.

In the past Dolan brought in people who were “Yes Men” and not the ones who were most qualified for the job, you can go from Isiah Thomas as General Manager for a perfect example, great player, Hall Of Fame player, not fit for management. He traded away so many draft picks for aging veterans, Stephon Marbury, in essence, was a great signing, hometown kid coming home to lead his childhood team. The bad moves was also signing Jalen Rose, Steve Francis, Jerome James, Jarred Jefferies. All while giving away pick, after pick, after pick! In today’s NBA you can’t give away future assets.

Rebuilding takes time, and when you’re on the fringe of being great sometimes you have to pull the trigger on things. Late in 2010, we saw Carmelo Anthony become a Knick via trade. We made moves and had a few playoff runs, some incredible moments, all for nothing sadly. But after 2013, the Knicks kept trying to restock the roster and make moves to stay relevant, meanwhile, the team wasn’t going anywhere. Phil Jackson moved players in and out and brought in players who didn’t fit what the core was and neutered the team. Sometimes, you have to know when to clean house. Luckily Dolan stepped in and fired Jackson before everything got worse than it was. Looking at the team now we are capable of getting the first pick in the draft this year. *Insert Zion Williamson here* and possibly landing two max stars. * Hello KD and Kyrie* and the best part? If all falls down we still have a plan to continue forward on a positive not. BIG PLANS AHEAD FOR KNICKS NATION!!!

Oh Big Blue! The New York Football Giants, what the hell is happening over at East Rutherford.. it seems like eons ago that the Giants won in 2011. But in football years, compare it to dog years. Because that is pretty much how NFL players age. Eli is afraid to get hit, the line is looking like the turnstiles in Times Square, and good lord where did the defense go?