The Mets Museum is….gone.

Presumably this is so the store could be bigger?   Who knows what Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen are even thinking this off-season.  Every decision seems to be awful.

Please tell me they didn’t ruin the museum.

This looks kinda afterthought to me.  “Where can we stick them?”

 

PLEASE TELL ME YOU DIDNT RUIN THE MUSEUM TO HAVE A BIGGER STORE

DON’T TELL ME THEY DESTROYED THE MUSEUM

THEY DESTROYED THE MUSEUM!!!!!

 

The Interpreter

INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT – DAY

Steve is standing triumphantly in Jerry’s apartment, taking advantage of a rare opportunity to boast about his decision-making skills, especially in light of recent events in the baseball world.

STEVE: (proudly) See, Jerry? I’m the smart one now. Did you see that Ohtani betting scandal? Dodged a bullet there.

JERRY: (nodding reluctantly) Yeah, maybe you were right not to call. And what about Yamamoto?

STEVE: (smirking) Gave up five runs in one inning. Tell me I don’t know how to run a baseball team.

As they’re discussing, Kramer bursts into the apartment, sporting a Dodgers cap, which immediately draws puzzled looks from both Steve and Jerry.

JERRY: (confused) Kramer, why are you wearing a Dodgers cap?

KRAMER: (beaming) Because, my friends, I am Ohtani’s new interpreter!

STEVE: (disbelieving) But you don’t speak Japanese.

Kramer responds with a surprisingly fluent sentence in Japanese, leaving Jerry and Steve momentarily speechless.

KRAMER: (proudly) Picked it up from watching sumo wrestling on TV. It’s all about immersion, my friends.

JERRY: (sarcastically) Right, because sumo wrestling and baseball have so much in common.

STEVE: (still skeptical) This I’ve got to see. How do you plan on interpreting if you only picked up a bit from TV?

KRAMER: (waving off the concern Language is about feeling, about emotion. I’m not just translating words; I’m translating the soul of baseball.

JERRY: (teasing) Well, let’s hope Ohtani’s soul doesn’t get sent to prison

Scene: Press conference room. Shohei Ohtani is at the podium with Kramer standing next to him as his interpreter. Reporters are gathered, murmuring.

Reporter 1: Ohtani-san, what do you have to say about the allegations of your involvement in the betting scandal?

Ohtani: 私はこの問題には一切関与していません。疑惑は全くの事実無根です。 (I am not at all involved in this issue. The allegations are completely unfounded.)

Kramer: Uhh, he says… he was betting, but just small amounts! You know, to make the games more interesting. No big deal.

[Reporters gasp and scribble furiously. Ohtani looks confused and alarmed.]

Reporter 2: Did you ever place bets through unofficial channels or bookies?

[Ohtani replies in Japanese, shaking his head.] Ohtani: いいえ、私は一度も賭博行為には手を染めたことはありません。 (No, I have never once engaged in any gambling activities.)

Kramer: He’s saying, yes, he placed a few bets through this guy Vinny. But Vinny’s a stand-up guy, real professional!

[Uproar from the reporters. Ohtani tries to interject but Kramer keeps talking.]

Kramer: Ohtani’s not too worried though. I mean, who doesn’t bet a little on the side, am I right? Keeps things exciting!

[Kramer chuckles and playfully elbows Ohtani. Ohtani looks horrified. Reporters start shouting questions. Ohtani grabs the mic.]

Ohtani: (in English) No no, that not what I said! I never bet, never!

[Ohtani glares at Kramer. Kramer shrugs sheepishly.]

INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT – DAY

Jerry, Elaine, and Steve are gathered in front of the TV, watching the aftermath of Kramer’s bizarre foray into baseball “interpretation.” As they absorb the spectacle, Steve’s recent offseason moves—or lack thereof—suddenly seem less disastrous in comparison.

STEVE: (pondering) Do you think anyone’s actually buying this?

JERRY: (dryly) If by “buying,” you mean wondering if this is some sort of avant-garde performance art, then yes.

ELAINE: (teasing Steve) Hey, compared to this, your offseason doesn’t look so bad. Maybe missing out on some of those free agents was a stroke of genius.

STEVE: (half-smiling) Yeah, who knew Kramer’s antics could put my decisions in a better light?

JERRY: (laughing) You know, if baseball has a betting scandal, you’re never going to get that casino you’ve been dreaming about.

STEVE: (sighing) One crisis at a time, Jerry.

On the TV, Kramer, still at the press conference, has now begun using baseball metaphors to explain unrelated topics, further confusing everyone but doing so with his characteristic enthusiasm.

JERRY: (quipping) At least he’s sticking to baseball. He could be giving out your trade secrets next.

ELAINE: (laughing) What secrets? How to not pick up the phone?

STEVE: (reluctantly amused) Well, I guess there’s a silver lining here. At least people are talking about something other than our offseason moves.

 

Report: Mets have laid off about 25 members of its business operations staff

Front Office Sports reports the Mets have

… laid off about 25 members of its business operations staff Tuesday, sources confirmed to Front Office Sports.

The personnel moves mark the latest in an extended series of dramatic events for the team in the last eight months as Steve Cohen (above) has poured unprecedented resources into the franchise, but he has yet to see the full returns of that expenditure and ambition.

The layoffs are not a direct result of New York’s 75–87 finish in 2023 that was far below the World Series expectations of many pundits, were not dictated by Cohen, and do not extend to baseball operations. Rather, the moves were led by M. Scott Havens, the Mets’ new head of business operations, who, after arriving in January, conducted an extensive review of the team’s staff and then made the cuts. The layoffs represent a single-digit percentage of the Mets’ overall business-side personnel.

“Over the last several years, many of our departments have grown well beyond sustainable levels, and larger than our peer group with Major League Baseball,” Havens said in a staff memo obtained by FOS. “While I understand this type of change is difficult and impacts all of us, these decisions were a necessary step in helping us evolve as an organization, and more importantly, to set us up for long-term growth and success.” (Via Front Office Sports)

Oh, just one more thing.  If the Wilpons didn’t sign Ohtani, laid off 25 people, were clearly rebuilding but not admitting it, and were mainly focused on building a casino on parkland, how would that go over?

Also, don’t solely blame Steve here.  Most press release refer to Mets owners Steve & Alex Cohen, so she’s on the clock too.