Fred Wilpon Apologizes to David Wright, Says he ‘Misspoke’

Mets owner Fred Wilpon gave one of the oddest interviews by a sports executive this side of David Kahn when he ripped into his own players and team. In his interview with The New Yorker, Wilpon took aim at Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and David Wright. Oh yeah, he also called his team “sh***y” and “snakebitten” for good measure. I’m surprised he left franchise icons Tom Seaver, Keith Hernandez, Doc Gooden, and Darryl Strawberry off his hit list. Could he not find anything wrong with Mr. Met?

Anyway, if there’s anything worse than tearing your team to shreds while leaving nothing behind but the rotting carcass, it’s apologizing for your comments with phony excuses. Check that, it’s clearing things up over speakerphone, then apologizing with phony excuses.

Speaking on Friday, David Wright addressed Wilpon’s apology. “He called to say that he misspoke,” Wright said. “And that he appreciated the response and that he loves the team and the organization and he’d never do anything to try to embarrass us.”

Hmm, so what does that mean? That Wilpon was drunk during the interview? If “he’d never do anything” to embarrass the team, THEN WHY DID HE DO IT?

Not only does his excuse not make sense, but his remarks were flat-out wrong.

I don’t know what kind of money Jose Reyes thinks he’s going to get, but I agree that he won’t get Carl Crawford money.

As for saying David Wright is not a superstar, that’s a subjective issue that depends on your definition of “superstar.” However, there is little doubt that Wright is an excellent all-around ballplayer. His power went down when the team moved into Citi Field, but he still plays good defense, runs well, and hits well.

Lastly, Wilpon couldn’t have been more wrong about Carlos Beltran. Did anyone plan on him injuring his knee? Of course not. But saying Beltran didn’t deserve the contract is not only insulting, it also ignores how well Beltran played for the Mets before getting hurt. Beltran earned the contract and outplayed it. It’s bad luck he got hurt, but don’t say he didn’t deserve it.

If you’re going to run your mouth like that Wilpon, just because you’re in a bad spot financially, then don’t apologize later. You only come off as phony.