PORT ST. LUCIE — If you saw the giddy look on Fred Wilpon’s face, captured so perfectly in a photograph on the front page of Tuesday’s Post, you know how exactly how the Mets owner felt about the outcome in court following the settlement in the messy Bernie Madoff case.
Now it’s on Wilpon to put that same look of delight on the faces of his fans by placing his focus on delivering a deeper, more talented product on the field that will differ from the perennial pretender it’s been for too long under his watch.
Now that this formidable financial cloud has been lifted from Wilpon and the Mets, perhaps he will do something to lift the franchise from the depths of three consecutive losing seasons and little hope for 2012.
If Wilpon is able to do that successfully, he’ll reverse the disturbing trend of apathy that has set in among his dwindling fan base.
The declining attendance at Citi Field has been understandably commensurate with his team’s performance, dipping from 3.15 million when the park opened in 2009 to 2.35 million last year, the team’s lowest home total since 2004 when it was still playing at outdated and dingy Shea Stadium.
In the wake of Tuesday’s developments in New York, there was a palpable vibe around Mets spring training Tuesday that better things are bound to come now that the Madoff situation issue behind ownership.
“There is finality,’’ general manager Sandy Alderson said. “(We are) putting something behind us that has been an overhang for the franchise for well over a year.’’
Alderson said, “The overall perception of the franchise was significantly affected” by the Madoff mess.
“The fact is we lost quite a bit of money over the last couple of years,’’ he said. “We have to create a more sustainable operation and that relates to putting a good product on the field … and ultimately that means winning.’’
That will not be done with a payroll that’s shrinking the way it has from $142 million at the end of last season to about $95 million currently, though. It can be done only with Wilpon, liberated by the financial relief that came his way with Tuesday’s result in court, spending smart money again.
“It’s totally misguided, this notion that fans have about the Wilpons and their desire to win,’’ Alderson said. “Until very recently, they were putting out top dollar for players and there’s no reason to believe that their passion for winning has changed significantly. I don’t believe that.’’
Yes, but Wilpon has to make his fans believe that, and he can do so only by increasing his spending, not decreasing it.
When I asked David Wright if he hopes Tuesday’s court development frees up ownership to spend more money to bring in more talent, he offered as politically correct and pragmatic an answer as he could muster.
“What we have is what we’ve got, and that’s what we need not be worried about, not what could happen,’’ he said. “Time will tell as far as that (more spending) goes. There’s no sense in worrying about who’s not here (Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran) and what could have been or what might happen. These are the guys we have and we need to make this work.’’
It can only work with more help from the top, where it all starts.
“Stick with us,” Wilpon told reporters after the settlement Monday.
Whether Mets fans do that or not is on Wilpon. It’s batter up and he’s in the box. Will he swing freely or keep the bat on his shoulders?