Stevey and the Mets

Steve Phillips is pathetic. By now the story of Phillips' affair with 22-year-old ESPN assistant Brooke Hundley has been widely reported, and Phillips looks bad in so many ways it's hard to know where to begin. It's clear by now - considering Phillips admitted to several affairs in 1998 while working as GM of the Mets - that this guy has some major self-control issues where sex is concerned. After he broke off this recent affair, Phillips said Hundley engaged in erratic behavior that made him fear for his family's safety.

Guess what Steve? You took advantage of a young girl who you probably pretended you cared about, and she she got upset when you tossed her aside. This is your fault, and any fear you had about your family's safety was a result of your actions.

Phillips is an easy target right now. Actually, he's always an easy target. But being a Mets fan, this incident has me more disturbed than ever, if that's possible, about the way this franchise is operated. Steve Phillips ran the Mets from 1997-2003. Six freakin' years. We know Phillips has some serious personal issues, and when you add the ridiculous and inane comments he makes practically every time he's on ESPN, it just makes you wonder what the Mets saw in this guy that made them say, "This is the guy we want to lead the way."

Now I'm not going to go into all the dumb things Phillips has said and done. I won't bring up stuff like trying to trade Jose Reyes to the Indians instead of Alex Escobar or the time he said he'd take Nate McLouth over Carlos Beltran (yes, really).

In all seriousness, how could the Mets have let this guy make their decisions for SIX YEARS!? He's a moron and a bad guy to boot. Are they so completely lost that they couldn't tell this guy is a total disaster? (Rhetorical question, the answer is clearly yes.)

As bad as Phillips looks right now, the Mets look worse. As a fan, I have absolutely no confidence that ownership has any idea what kind of people to look for in any job throughout the organization. Jeff Wilpon promised fans things would get better starting next year, that the Mets wouldn't cut payroll and would be aggressive going after players in trades and through free agency. But if Wilpon and his underlings are totally inept - which the evidence is beginning overwhelmingly to show they are - does it really matter how much money they spend or who they go after?

As a Mets fan, until I see some evidence to the contrary, I'm going to continue to assume that any hire they make at any level is probably a bad one. They've given me no choice but to believe that.