I used to enjoy the Hot Stove season. I really did. But it’s pretty clear that as long as the Wilpons own this franchise, the only meaningful offseason news will be about whether or not Yoenis Cespedes is willing to accept another lowball, short-term contract from the Mets. The news we all expected came out yesterday. Yo plans to opt-out of his contract and the Mets are “pessimistic about their chances of re-signing him”.

If Cespedes told the Mets he wants to test free agency no matter what and see what offers are out there, then I respect that decision. But if the Mets have a legitimate opportunity to lock him up with an extension and are voluntarily passing on that exclusive window then they are a complete joke of a franchise. Let’s be real. We all know that it’s scenario number two. The Wilpons love their wait and see bargain hunting BS. It’s disgusting.

I can’t believe there are Mets fans that 1) Defend the Wilpons and point to last offseason and say “well the wait and see approach worked last year” and/or 2) Don’t want Cespedes. I’ve actually had conversations with people that think retaining Yo is a mistake. If you think the Mets should let Yo walk then there’s no way you watched the team play without him in 2015 and 2016. Or maybe you like when teams can’t score runs and lose all the time. I suppose there are some masochists out there that enjoy when the team loses. And if you think the Mets would let Yo walk over money and then replace him with some other combination of high-priced free agents on long-term deals like Justin Turner, Ian Desmond, and Kenley Jansen then you are delusional.

Honestly if they let Yo walk to any other team, the Mayor or Governor should step in and ban the Wilpons from the city. Strip them of all their New York lands and titles. Letting an international superstar who relishes the New York spotlight leave the city and take his talents elsewhere is a goddamn disgrace. We’re going to let a 31-year-old star leave the financial capital of the world over money? And where the hell are the Wilpons anyway? Where’s Sandy Alderson? We lose to the Giants in the NL Wild Card Game and every member of the organization disappears like Keyser Söze? Have they all taken a vow of silence until the Cubs break their championship drought?

I’m guessing the Wilpons are secure in their Citi Field panic room. I’m sure Sandy is there trying to convince them to pony up the dough. I’ve always been willing to accept the reality that Sandy is generally opposed to long-term contracts and prefers roster flexibility. But I will never accept the bogus notion perpetuated by the media that Sandy doesn’t want to retain the most valuable player in his organization.

Banning the Wilpons from the city is pointless anyway. We’ll never be able to get to them once Yo leaves. They never make public appearances to speak to the media. Plus we all know that when they built Citi Field they created underground tunnels to escape to Connecticut in this exact type of situation. Hopefully the architects of Citi Field botched the design of the tunnels like they screwed up the insane original outfield dimensions and the Great Wall of Flushing height. With any luck the escape tunnels lead to an exit at the bottom of Flushing Bay.