Since their inception in 1962, the New York Mets have been mostly laughable. They stunned baseball by winning the 1969 World Series and won another in 1986, but most years, the Mets have finished out of the running and have been consigned to being the "other team" in New York.
In 2007 and 2008, they lost out on a playoff berth in the final weekend of the regular season and have not finished over .500 since. They have gone through three managers in the last four seasons.
Yet, in this, their 49th year of existence, the Mets have reached new lows. Where once they were a bad joke on the field - manager Casey Stengel once asked in exasperation: "Can't anyone here play this game?" - the jokes are now about off-field matters.
Fred Wilpon, the team's majority owner, lost hundreds of millions of dollars as part of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme and stands to lose that much or more in a suit filed against him by a trustee for some of Madoff's bilked victims.
Wilpon has denied accusations of fraud, maintaining he was unaware Madoff was doing anything illegal. That leaves those to wonder whether Wilpon was naive or ignorant.
Last week, Wilpon found a partner to buy a share of the Mets and infuse the club with operating capital. But first, Wilpon publicly criticised his three best players: Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright.
In an interview with The New Yorker, Wilpon said Beltran was only 65-70 per cent of the player he once was; said the oft-injured Reyes has had "everything wrong with him," and is sure to get less on the free agent market this winter than he anticipates; and labeled Wright as a good player but not a superstar.
Wilpon may have only been venting his frustration, but his comments hurt his franchise further.
"What did hope to accomplish with that stuff?" asked a baseball executive. "All he did was de-value players [general manager Sandy] Alderson may be looking to deal later this year. He made a bad situation worse."
The Mets had been playing better than expected. But after Wilpon's comments were made public, the Mets skidded to three losses in their next four games.
Wilpon apologized to the players he maligned, but the damage, it seems, has been done.
This week in the MLB
Players of the week
• Carl Crawford, Boston. For the first six weeks of the season, Crawford was a massive disappointment and was dropped as far as eighth in the batting order. Not any more. Crawford has come alive. For the week, he was 12 for 28 with two doubles, two triples and two home runs.
• Jason Giambi, Colorado. The 40 year old belted five home runs in eight games, including a three-homer game. He is the second-oldest player ever to enjoy such a feat.
Teams of the week
• Baltimore. The Orioles went 5-1 to reach the .500 level. That was only good enough for fourth place in the AL East, but the O's are showing they can hang in with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays.
• Milwaukee. The Brewers ripped off six victories in a row. Naturally, they all came at home, where the Brewers have been superb. On the road it is another story – Milwaukee is 9-17 in away games.
Dud of the week
• Jo-Jo Reyes, Toronto. The Blue Jays pitcher has gone 28 straight appearances without a victory, tying a major league record. He has not won a game since June 13, 2008.
Games to watch this week
• Texas at Tampa Bay, Monday-Wednesday. A rematch of last fall’s AL Championship Series, won by the Rangers. This will represent a good test as the schedule hits the one-third mark of the season.
• Florida at Arizona, Monday-Wednesday. The Diamondbacks are one of the game’s biggest surprises, sitting second in the NL West and showing lots of improvement under manager Kirk Gibson.
sports@thenational.ae
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
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BRAZIL SQUAD
Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
