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In the world of baseball, hope and expectations often mingle, leaving fans with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

For the long-suffering followers of the New York Mets, most of that excitement ultimately leads to massive disappointment.

After an impressive 101-win season, the team entered 2023 with World Series aspirations, thanks to the deep pockets of their owner, Steve Cohen, who spent a staggering $400 million on improving the roster.

The infusion of financial power under Cohen’s ownership breathed new life into a franchise that had suffered under the ineptitude and obtuseness of the previous father-son ownership duo, Fred and Jeff Wilpon.

Cohen’s approach brought respectability and a willingness to invest back to the Mets.

However, much like James Dolan of the New York Knicks, Cohen’s Achilles’ heel lay in his choice of personnel to run baseball operations.

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Dolan has always been willing to spend money at the World’s Most Famous Arena, but decisions by executives like Don Nelson, Isiah Thomas, and Phil Jackson, quickly soured any hopes Knicks’ fans may have held.

Both Cohen and Dolan have attracted executives who squandered their financial resources and failed to deliver championships.

Enter Cohen’s current general manager, Billy Eppler, who previously worked for another deep-pocketed owner, Arte Moreno, of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Big spending but little success marred Eppler’s time in Anaheim.

His trades and signings resulted in losses, eventually leading to his dismissal.

Unfortunately, history is repeating itself with the Mets.

While Cohen doesn’t shy away from spending money on the team, his selection of Eppler to run baseball operations has proven disastrous.

The most recent move that left Mets fans scratching their heads was the trade that sent star closer David Robertson to the low-payroll Miami Marlins. With one costly transaction, the Mets’ long-shot playoff hopes evaporated.

The team received two prospects from the Marlins, but their impact won’t be felt until at least 2026, leaving fans wondering why the Mets didn’t wait for a better deal closer to the trade deadline.

Afterall, Robertson was the best reliever on the market, and most general managers in Eppler’s spot would have waited until the deadline to drive up the bidding.

The Marlins deal couldn’t have been the only one, and as the Padres seek to get a good return on Josh Hader, the Mets have again shortchanged the team and demoralized a brow-beaten fanbase.

As Mets fans recall heartbreaking moments in their team’s history, like the 2000 World Series loss to the Yankees or the near misses in 2006 and 2015, they are growing increasingly frustrated with the franchise’s direction.

Most assuredly, they have no confidence in Eppler, who seemingly has topped last year’s deadline disaster.

Eppler gave up a solid bullpen piece for Daniel Vogelbach, a DH with little power and no position. Perhaps worse, he surrendered J.D. Davis and three solid pieces to the Giants at the 2022 deadline for Darren Ruff, an aged veteran who returned to San Francisco this year only to be cut.

The Robertson trade has only added fuel to the fire, leaving fans disillusioned and questioning Eppler’s ability to make prudent decisions for the team’s future.

Eppler’s moves have some fans unfavorably comparing him to Brodie Van Wagenen, an agent turned Mets general manager who mortgaged much of the team’s future by trading some of the franchise’s top prospects for aging and unproductive veterans.

With the deadline still a few days away, Mets fans are holding their collective breaths to not only see who’s next on the trading block, but what underwhelming return Eppler might extract from the far superior general managers calling.

Fans have already turned their attention to the offseason, hoping that Cohen will make the right call and bring in seasoned baseball minds like David Stearns or Theo Epstein to lead the team.

After all, Cohen’s success in running a hedge fund suggests he has the potential for Steinbrenner-like assertiveness.

However, as losses and missteps pile up, fans are growing impatient.

The Mets’ journey has been one of a few highs and too many lows, and it seems they are currently stuck in a downward spiral of mismanagement and missed opportunities.

While the team’s payroll remains one of the highest in baseball, it’s becoming apparent that throwing money at the problem won’t solve it – at least not with Eppler at the helm.

The Mets need a clear and practical vision for their baseball operations, and that starts with hiring the right people to lead the way.

As die-hard Mets fans reflect on past glory and endure ever-present disappointment, they are left wondering when – or if – their team will finally break free from this cycle of failure.

Until then, hope lingers in the hearts of the Mets faithful, hoping their team will rise once again to claim victory in the baseball world.