Marxist Mets

The title of this entry might fool you. I don't mean that the New York Mets have gone Communist, or that they seek to control the means of production. Let's face it, they have not exactly being doing a good job of producing anything. Or controlling anything, for that matter.

What I mean is that the Mets' story is getting to be like Karl Marx' view of history: Repeating itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.

As Lisa Swan of Subway Squawkers pointed out in an article, it was never Fred Wilpon who took a joke franchise and made it champions from 1980 to 1986. It was Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday and Frank Cashen.

Whereas when it was Freddy the Freeloader and his son Jeff making the decisions, well, it's been a different story. To continue the Marx analogy, Met fans have nothing left to lose but their lunches. By the Wilpons selling the team, Met fans have a World Series to win. Metheads of the world, unite! Occupy Citi Field! Not the seats -- the Wilpons' offices!

But in spite of several learned observations, Lisa makes one mistake. Let's clear one thing up: Jose Reyes is getting more money from the Marlins than he'd be getting anywhere else, except the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Angels (who've now splurged for Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson) and maybe the Phillies -- none of whom showed any interest in Reyes, at least not publicly.

Whoever can be counted among "the victims of Bernie Madoff," Jose Reyes is not one of them. He might be one of the few people who benefits from the whole Madoff schmeer.