In a move that’s being described as cost-cutting, convenient and pragmatic, the Houston Astros and New York Mets will sit out the upcoming Major League Baseball season. With the terribly non-talented state of the Houston roster and the Tommy John surgery that is sidelining Mets ace Matt Harvey for the entire 2014 season, it was an easy decision for the front offices of both teams.
This effort isn’t unprecedented in the MLB, as the Mets have requested forfeiture of each of the last seven seasons, ever since their brutal loss in the 2006 NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals. Commissioner Bud Selig didn’t approve any of those forfeit waivers for New York, but with the debilitating injury to Harvey–who is literally the only legitimate hope for the Mets and their fans–it’s likely he will this time.
On the other hand, Houston is nearly a shoo-in to be approved to sit out the 2014 campaign. The Astros are stuck in the very tough AL West and haven’t won more than 56 games in a season since 2010, so Selig is expected to budge with regards to their request.
“This is absurd,” said Sandy Alderson, general manager of the Mets. “Without Matt [Harvey] able to play this year, we have no shot to win more than 70 games and be somewhat competitive in the NL, let alone our own division. That’s why we shouldn’t have to even play at all in 2014. If both us and Houston drop out for 162 games, then the MLB will have 28 teams, allowing interleague to not have to take place every day of the season. It just makes sense!”
