George Steinbrenner, he is not.
The first year of the Steve Cohen era was a wild ride, but the wildest part might have been an owner of a professional sports franchise taking to Twitter to express his displeasure as often as he did. Fans took this to mean he was going to run the Mets like the late Steinbrenner ran the Yankees, with deep pockets and little tolerance for losing. But Cohen isn’t The Boss and he’s not a ham-handed Wilpon either. He confirmed that Wednesday by publicly backing manager Buck Showalter and general manager Billy Eppler in his first press conference since Opening Day.
“I’m a patient guy,” Cohen said Wednesday at Citi Field. “Now, everybody wants a headline. Everybody says, ‘Fire this person or that person,’ but I don’t see that as a way to operate. If you want to attract good people to this organization, the worst thing you can do is be hostile.”
Eppler publicly pledged his support to Showalter and the rest of the coaching staff one day prior and Cohen only reaffirmed his commitment to Eppler and his staff. With the Mets in the midst of a historically expensive losing campaign, the team believes they need to stay the course because shaking things up right now might hamper their long-term goals of turning the club into a juggernaut.
However, that doesn’t mean that changes won’t be made by the Aug. 1 trade deadline. The Mets are on notice.
“We came in higher hopes than making the last Wild Card of whatever, but that’s where we are and the season is not over,” Cohen said. “I’m preparing my management team for all possibilities. If we don’t get better, we have decisions to make at the trade deadline. And that’s not my preferred end result, but I’m preparing all contingencies.”
The Mets are nearly halfway through the 2023 season and entered Wednesday sitting fourth in the NL East, 16.5 games game behind the Atlanta Braves and 8.5 games back from the final NL Wild Card spot. The odds are not good: FanGraphs gives the Mets a 0.1% chance of winning the division and a 1.1% chance of winning the World Series. Their chances of making the playoffs are only 13.3%.
The owner and CEO is far from satisfied with these numbers, especially considering the Mets are spending over $400 million (including luxury tax) on payroll alone this season.
“It’s been incredibly frustrating,” Cohen said. “I watch every game. I see what’s going on. And if you asked me if I had expected us to be in this position at the beginning of the season, the answer is no. But here we are.”
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