The Mets have thrown in the towel

Wow. I had a feeling the Mets fire sale would start soon. But I didn't think it would happen while players were still lingering around Chase Field in Phoenix for post All Star Game festivities.

Beltran and Reyes better get back to Queens fast before they are shipped out!

Francisco Rodriguez is now a Milwaukee Brewer. And while I don't trust him in post season play any further than I can throw him, but he does pile up saves in the regular season and now those late inning leads will go to someone else.

And the domino effect is going to happen in that bullpen and it won't be pretty.
Beltran is next. If they can get a package for Reyes, why not?

When I talked about my lousy predictions for the season, one of my readers pointed out that I didn't mention my prediction that the Mets would lose 90 games.

I'm standing by the prediction. I think this team is about to be dismantled. And they will be essentially fielding an expansion team for August and September... and the mood will get from bad to worse.

Yes I know they are a game over .500 now after their first 91 games.
And to reach 90 losses they'll have to double their loss total in just 71 games.

I've seen teams unravel fast.
They could go 26-45 the rest of the way. 6 of their next 7 games are against the Phillies and Cardinals.

The Mets have series involving the Reds, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Braves and Brewers in August. They also have a bunch of games with the Marlins and Nationals who are playing better.

In other words, losses could pile up fast, especially if morale is bad.

Now keep in mind one thing:
I think the Mets are doing the right thing.
They are dumping bodies off the sinking ship and will have some growing pains with the new crew.

They SHOULD deal Beltran. And if anyone can take Bay do that too.

Read this carefully Mets fans:
I think the Mets will be a major contender in a couple of seasons. I trust Sandy Alderson and sometimes it is a good thing to hit rock bottom.

And Met fans, go to a game at CitiField this year. Nobody will ever question your loyalty to your team after this season.

Albert Pujols will be a Dodger or a Met… and I predict a conspiracy theory

A bizarre and round about series of events and coincidences have made it clear to me that Albert Pujols will almost certainly not be a member of the St. Louis Cardinals next year.

Before Pujols files for free agency, two large market franchises will change ownership and be in position to bid for him, and I believe Bud Selig will be manipulating the whole thing to help preserve his legacy.

That’s right, I am predicting a conspiracy before there are any facts or events to back up my theory. I admit that is no easy trick. But I think I am on to something.

Follow me…

Bud Selig is retiring in 2012. With the steroid era evidently behind him and if baseball avoids a work stoppage (and the NFL and NBA have one) then he will be able to claim that he left the game clean and thriving with labor peace.

But there are four gigantic messes he needs to clean up before riding off into the sunset.

Two won’t be covered here, but I will mention them: The Rays and the A’s stadium disasters. Neither team can last in their current dumps and nor have a viable solution for survival, especially if the Giants can block the A’s move to San Jose. But that is another post.

The big BIG mess is the state of the Mets and Dodgers, two of the flagship franchises of the National League. According to USA Today, only the Yankees and Red Sox are worth more than the Dodgers and those teams plus the Cubs are the only ones worth more than the Mets.

I don’t think it is stretch to call New York and Los Angeles big markets. And guess what? They are both in financial chaos.

The Dodgers have been mismanaged to the point where MLB had to take the unprecedented steps of essentially removing the owner from power. (We’ll see if Frank McCourt surrenders the power of the team.)

And the Mets should be on notice. If the twisted finances of the McCourt divorce can make Selig and company take over the Dodgers, then being swindled by Bernie Madoff (and not being sure what they knew in advance) should be even a greater cause for MLB to step in and take the car keys away from the Wilpons.

In the very least, the Mets should be forced to sell.

So that would mean the Mets and Dodgers would have new ownership going into the 2012 season. And also have a disillusioned fan base, declining attendance and a natural division rival playing well (the Phillies for the Mets and the Giants for the Dodgers.)

Whomever is going to run the Mets and the Dodgers will need to assure their paying customers (and TV viewers and sponsors) that not only are the bad days behind them but glamorous superstar days are ahead.

The Giants were in a similar boat when Peter Magowan took over the team in the wake of the proposed move to Tampa Bay. He found the quickest way to get the fan base energized: He signed the best player in baseball, Barry Bonds.

Which brings us to Albert Pujols. He’s a free agent to be. He has nothing left to prove in St. Louis when he finishes this, his 11th season. He has given the Cardinals a championship, post season heroics, MVPs and done so with class and a flair for the dramatic. And, as I said in a previous video, Cardinal fans can NEVER boo him.

Pujols could need a new challenge in his life, the biggest contract in baseball history and a chance to be a hero in a brand new market.

(See Rose, Pete. See Jackson, Reggie. And Albert is better than both of them!)

And if just so happens that the Dodgers have an opening at first base. I may not be 100% sure how VORP works, but I can guess that Albert Pujols replacing James Loney is an improvement.

And the Mets have Ike Davis, who is a nice player. When you have the chance to get one of the great offensive players of all time, you might think about sacrificing a nice player or two!

Both the Dodgers and the Mets will have new owners, money to spend and a city to impress. And they will BOTH bid on Albert Pujols.

Why do I say that with such certainty? Because Selig will make sure of it. Captain Bud will not let an owner take over the Dodgers nor the Mets unless they were intending on trying to sign Pujols.

It makes sense for the Dodgers to win back their fans and show there is a new era in Chavez Ravine.

It makes sense for the Mets to turn the page on the Wilpon fiasco (and no doubt Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins would welcome Albert’s arrival.)

It makes sense for labor peace as players making big contracts is always looked on fondly by the Players Association.

And it makes sense for Selig as he leave the game with franchises other than the Yankees and Red Sox bidding over the biggest free agents.

And which ever team can’t land Pujols will have a nice consolation prize in Prince Fielder.

Think Selig is above this sort of backroom dealings? Or perhaps not clever enough?

PUH-lease. I am not going to even go into the whole “Used Car Salesman” past of Mr. Selig.

This was the guy who maneuvered the ownership of the Expos, Marlins and Red Sox around so his hand picked successor would take over in Boston instead of the McCourts.

This was the guy who claimed to have no clue about the steroid culture, even though allegations were made public as far back as 1988, when Peter Ueberroth was commissioner.

This was the guy who was part of the owners group that ousted Fay Vincent for not doing their bidding and installing himself as owner/commissioner. It was supposed to be temporary. That was 1992.

This was one of the many owners found guilty of collusion in the 1980s.

Shady wheeling and dealing are right in Bud Selig’s wheelhouse.

So a nudge here and there and making sure the new owners come with an aggressive eye on Albert is not as outlandish as colluding, kicking the commissioner out and not noticing that the players all were bigger than the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

You heard it here first on Sully Baseball.

I am declaring it a conspiracy before it actually happens.

Colluding is and always will be part of Bud Selig’s legacy.

The Mets are 10% of the way towards making me look right

I took a lot of heat from Mets fans when I predicted their team would lose 90 games.
I have nothing against the Mets, but they weren't good last year and they are older and have the financial stink of the Madoff scandal hanging over the team.

They might dismantle at any moment.

Well, I was called all sorts of names... my sexual preferences were questioned... my weight was pointed out... my IQ was mocked...

And as a Red Sox fan, I really shouldn't be throwing stones about bad starts. But STILL!
After the Mets dropped 4 games at home to the Rockies, the first 3 by one run, the Mets are at 9 losses.

8% of the way through the season and they are 10% of the way towards 90 losses.
That means they can improve their rate of play and still hit 90.

Yeah, I know the Red Sox have 9 losses as well. There's a difference between a bad start and a bad team.

90 losses.
They are 10% of the way there before our taxes are filed.

Spiderman... Mets fan

I bet you didn't know Spiderman was a Mets fan.
It makes sense. I think Peter Parker was from Queens and he had that unlucky Mets quality to his non superhero life.

In this clip from The Electric Company, he takes a break from crime fighting to catch a game at Shea. There he meets up with the super villain "The Wall", whose diabolical plot seems to be to create cheap home runs for the other team.

So Spiderman comes down to the field to help the Mets and is berated by Morgan Freeman.

Folks, that was the single greatest sentence ever written in the history of mankind.


You'd think the Mets would try to make a clearer link to Spiderman.

Maybe instead of constantly honoring the Brooklyn Dodgers, they could have a Spiderman day or have wall for kids to climb up.

If Spiderman were real, no doubt they could sign him. The Mets could pay him more than the Daily Bugle.

But they'd probably find a way to mess it up and they'd have to eat HIS salary too.

I wonder what "Gumbo" Grace Ivy would be making today. (No doubt the "Tom" he is referring to on the mound is Mr. Seaver.)

Enjoy.

I admire this young Met fan in Miami

It's going to be a long season, Met fans.
I said it... 90 losses.

89 left after today. It's going to be a year where players like Josh Johnson are in your division. And the Phillies had a great comeback that will be "Standard Operating Procedure" for the Mets' biggest tormentors.

But this kid clearly cares. He clearly WANTS to the Mets to be good. And he has no memory of 1986. I doubt he remembers the 2000 World Series. Heck, he is young enough that maybe the 2006 might be vague. His only clear memories of the Mets could very well be the collapses of 2007 and 2008 and the non factors of 2009 and 2010.

He is being brought up in the post Madoff mess and still cares.
Folks, THIS is a great sports fan. Keep this ticket stub, pal. Show people "I was THERE when things looked bad for the Mets."

Someday the Mets will be damn good again and you can smile knowing you logged in the pain before the pleasure.

This my dear readers is a GOOD fan!

Is Mike Hampton the least popular New York baseball post season hero ever?

Usually post season glory in New York means immortality and a permanent place in the hearts of a passionate fanbase. Somehow that has eluded Mike Hampton.

He retired today. Yeah, it's the same Mike Hampton. This isn't like Mike Stanton where one retired and the Marlins got another one.

This isn't a Steve Ontiveros situation where somehow two people named Steve Ontiveros made it to the majors.

And it isn't the Mike Hampton who played in the Reds farm system in the 1990s.

The same guy who was a stud for the Astros in the 1990s hung up his spikes today. Last September I was stunned to see Hampton was still cashing a check as a member of the Diamondbacks.

So a big league career that began in 1993 with the Mariners ended in the Diamondbacks spring training camp today.

Of course he had incredible injury issues that forced him to miss two entire seasons and he famously (and expensively) flopped in Colorado. But he had a good solid career with a few terrific seasons sprinkled in there.

Along the way, he made a cameo with the 2000 Mets. The Mets sent Roger Cedeno and Octavio Dotel packing to the Astros after the 1999 season to get Hampton, who finished second to Randy Johnson in the Cy Young vote and won the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year award.

He was no slouch with the bat either, batting .311 with a .806 OPS for the Astros in 1999.

He was a free agent to be, but the Mets had a World Series run on their mind and adding Hampton to the rotation could have been just what the doctor ordered to catch the Braves.

He may not have been a Cy Young contender in 2000, but he won 15, pitched 217 2/3 innings and let up the fewest home runs per nine innings in the league.

He out pitched Andy Pettitte in a July 9th win against the Yankees.

The Mets finished a game behind Atlanta but made the playoffs as a Wild Card team. They defeated the Giants and advanced to the NLCS with revenge on their mind for their heartbreaking 1999 loss to the Braves. There would be no rematch as the Cardinals unseated the Braves.

Hampton pitched 7 shutout innings to win Game 1. Then, with the Mets up 3-1 in the series, took the ball for Game 5. The bullpen took the night off as once again, St. Louis couldn't score off of Hampton.

He went all 9 innings and the Mets won the pennant.



The image of Mike Hampton being lifted off the ground in triumph should be a cherished moment in Mets history.

Mike Hampton was awarded the NLCS Most Valuable Player Award for 2000.

He is the ONLY Mets player to win that award. (They didn't have an MVP for the 1969 and 1973 NLCS and Astros Mike Scott won the award in a losing effort for 1986.)

So he is a beloved Met, right?

At least a Met you'd give a standing ovation to, right?

When I wrote my Home Grown Vs. Acquired series a few years ago, I put Hampton on the All Time Acquired Mets Team. My rationale was I tended to honor players who had post season glory. And I didn't expect to get much flak from Met fans about honoring a guy who pitched the team into the World Series.

It was almost unanimous that I was dead wrong.
While the name calling didn't get as bad as this week's barrage from Met fans, they couldn't understand why I was heaping such praise on Mike Hampton.

"He won two games. Big deal!" One guy wrote to me.
Um, the clinching game of the League Championship Series IS a big deal! Or so I thought.

Most people thought I should have included Johan Santana based on his then one season with the Mets. (I wonder how many would still include him.)

But I have yet to hear from a Met fan who shares my praise of their lone NLCS MVP.

Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he beat the Cardinals and not the Braves that made his achievement lack any resonating emotion. (Beating Whitey Herzog's Cardinals in the 1980s would have been bigger.

Maybe it is because he pitched poorly against the Yankees in the World Series that any enthusiasm for his LCS triumph was muted.

Of course he made no friends in New York by leaving after one season and claiming his desire to go to Colorado had more to do with their school system than the fact that he got the biggest contract for any pitcher at that time in history. ($14 million a year should pay for tuition at a good private school.)

Either way it is unfortunate. For one season he pitched well for the Mets and joined a very short list of pitchers who clinched a pennant for the Mets:

Nolan Ryan, Tug McGraw, Jesse Orosco and Mike Hampton.

That should be worth some love.

As for Mike Hampton, I salute you.
16 big league seasons, a Cy Young runner up, 148 wins, 2 All Star Game appearances, a Gold Glove, a 20 win season in 1999, 5 Silver Sluggers, a post season MVP and the experience of being the pitcher who gets mobbed after a clinching game are all things to admire.

$124 million in cashed checks is something we would ALL want.

Money might not be able to buy you love from Met fans... but we here at Sully Baseball will show your greatest highlight.

Sorry Met fans... I am writing another post about your team

I've not made many Met fan friends recently... partially based on the passing around of my "Better use of $18 million" post. But forgive me, I need to write something else.

I said the Mets are going to lose 90 games.
From the responses by Met fans, you would have thought I said "The Lakers are going to miss the playoffs."

After many comments about my weight, intelligence and sexual orientation, the consensus was that I am an idiot for thinking a team that lost 83 games last year will lose 90 in 2011.

Mainly because some of their players MIGHT come back and some others COULD have comeback years.

Now I have already covered the facts that the Mets improvements are cosmetic and that the Phillies, Braves and Marlins all have better starting staffs... but folks, I saw an article today that made me think "Oh boy... this is going to be a worse year than I thought for the Mets."

REPORT: METS LOST $50M IN 2010; 2011 MAY BE SAME

Yup. The Mets who play in New York and have a brand spanking new stadium and their own TV network could lose a combined $100 million bucks in two seasons.

Revenues are down and so is attendance.

And with the Madoff scandal hovering over the team (sorry folks, that elephant will be there until the team is sold) the Wilpons are almost certainly be forced to sell the team at one point.

So what do teams do that are on the verge of financial ruin, tangled in national scandal and will be forced to sell?

Do they make improvements to the team?
Do they acquire players to help them win the pennant?
Or do they start chucking bodies overboard?

Guess what?
If Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, Jason Bay, Francisco Rodriguez, Taylor Buchholz, Chris Capuano or D. J. Carrasco are healthy and productive in 2011, they will be shipped off for minor leaguers and smaller price tags.

Think David Wright won't be traded?

It's not probable, but we are currently treading in uncharted financial waters.

You can't look at this team like a typical rebuilding process. A New York team should never be in "Tampa Bay mode" and looking to shed its stars because of lack of revenue. But that is what we are looking at with this team.

Any player a Met fan is looking at as hope for improvement will probably be used to relieve debt.

It is not going to be a pretty year, Met fans.
Go to the games. Prove your loyalty.

And in 5 years when Donald Trump owns the team and they are contenders again, you can point to all the bandwagon Met fans and say "Hey! Were YOU at CitiField when they were crumbling under the Madoff scandal?"

Welcome to the Nationals Mr. Perez

He is a lock to win 15 games with the Nats!
And he will be a bargain at $414,000 for Washington (and just $12 million for the Mets.)

I evidently struck a nerve with Met fans

Yesterday I posted a tongue in cheek Sully Baseball entry where I tried to figure out better ways for the Mets to spend $18 million other than paying Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez to play elsewhere.

Yeah it was sarcastic and not 100% serious... and the result (partially thanks to links on Mets Blog and Amazin' Avenue) was I had more visitors in a single day to Sully Baseball than any other day in my existence. WOO HOO!

And by the comments and e mails I received, most of them were Met fans who now hate me.

I must say, Met fans can be kind of sensitive. It could be the fact that they are surrounded by Red Sox, Yankee and Met fans who have all had a World Series title to celebrate since Carlos Beltran saw that called third strike.

It could be the collapses of 2007 and 2008 and the Madoff scandal and the losing teams with an elite payroll have taken away their sense of humor.

Later tonight I will address my favorite comments I received.

Whatever you do, when a team with a top 5 payroll coming off of back to back losing seasons that virtually nobody is picking to have a .500 season is involved in one of the great financial scandals in decades, NEVER insinuate that they are poorly run!

Madoff and the Mets

How appropriate is it that Bernie Madoff ripped off the Mets? There is something sadly appropriate about his mid 2000s hustling of the other team in New York with the Mets fortunes (or lack thereof.)

Lots of big promises were made by Madoff and the Mets.
Lots of money changed hands.
Lots of people had images of glory dancing in their heads.
And lots of people felt ripped off when it was all done.

Whether it was an elaborate Ponzi scheme or the brutal contracts and the false promise of the 2006 season, both Ponzi and the Mets squandered lots of money and the ripple effects of it will be felt for a long time.

I thought it was funny how the Wilpons kept insisting that the Madoff scandal didn’t affect their bottom line. But now they are starting to sell off parts of the team… a team filled with expensive yet worthless contracts.

I think the time is perfect for someone out there with a nice pile of money to become a new famous big shot in New York. Think about it. A billionaire who wants fame and adoration can come in, take the Mets way from the Wilpons and before long could be the person to turn the team around.

Then again maybe adding ANOTHER billionaire with big promises to New York isn’t the way to go right now.

Wondering where some of my anonymous critics are now

I was reading through some old posts of mine and I checked out the Mets Home Grown vs. Acquired entry I did back in December of 2008.

For whatever reason it is my most read post ever. And had the most spirited debate in the comments section.

And I noticed something interesting. I pointed out that I felt that Billy Wagner's injury caused the Mets to overpay for Frankie Rodriguez and J. J. Putz.

And I was consistent in that analysis because I felt buyers should beware of K-Rod and I felt Putz was nothing special. Evidently not everyone agreed with me.

Well let's just say I got some nasty e mails and some anonymous posts from angry Met fans.

My favorite ones:


Anonymous said...

overpay for rodriguez and putz>....wow, you really are red sox fan cause you have no clue what you're talking about.


Anonymous said...

you have to be a putz to say they over payed for putz, and k-rod for that matter.

Anonymous said...

Now, my basic Mets' prayer has been answered: we picked up KRod and JJ,



I can't help but wonder where those critics are now.

How do you like K-Rod beating up the elderly?
Or Putz pitching so badly that the Mets gave up on him after a year.

I wonder if I still don't know what I am talking about... being a Red Sox fan and all.

Ah well... enough gloating.

Met fans... please don't get too excited

Yes, I know the Mets just swept Philadelphia.

That's always a cool thing.

I know the Mets are only 2 back and look like world beaters right now. I beg of you, Met fans... don't get too excited.

Seriously, it isn't going to end well.

And in fact I think the two nice runs the Mets went on this year will in the end hurt the team... because they NEED to make a big move like dealing Santana when his value is at its best, and they won't do that when they think they are a contender!!

Just enjoy this fluke and don't start making October plans...

UNLESS...

There was one factor in today's game the team should take into account.

Once again my rocker friend Jaime Fallon was in attendance... and as I wrote before, when she shows up, the Mets win.

It hasn't failed yet.

The Mets should just give her a season pass, and then get ready for October ball.

(Seriously, Jaime's attendance is the only reason I can think of for the Mets good fortue.)

Reasons for the Mets slump...

This afternoon in Cincinnati, Orlando Cabrera homered in the 10th inning to give the Reds an walk off victory against the Mets.

The Mets played a gritty game but in the end it was the Reds who were celebrating at home plate.

What the hell happened to the Mets?
When April ended they were the hottest team in baseball... stunning everyone with a 10-1 stretch to end the month... including a whuppin of the Phillies.

May arrived? They are 1-4... and if not for a 9th inning rally last night they would be winless.
And they've lost in all kinds of ways. Blow outs, letting up walk off homers and seeing their ace Santana implode of national TV.

My cousin Dave blames me for jinxing them when I credited my rocker friend Jaime Fallon
with cheering the Mets to victory.

Of course Jaime couldn't make the trip to Philadelphia and Cincinnati, so maybe her lack of support could be the culprit.


Maybe it has to do with the fact that the Mets just aren't very good.
I thought this was a 100 loss team going into the season... which means I expected them to win 62 times.

Maybe they are getting their wins out of the way now.

Either way, I still think it will be a long long year in Queens, no matter how hard Jaime cheers.

The Only Logical Explanation For The Mets Winning Streak

To quote the great Slim Pickens in Blazing Saddles, "What in the wide wide world of sports is a going on here?"

The Mets are in first place?

AFTER Tax Day?

And you can't just attribute it to them playing slumping teams like the Dodgers and the Braves.

The Mets beat the Phillies last night...and it wasn't close... and they were in Philadelphia.

And guess what? With the Phillies loss, the 2 time defending NL Champs and 3 time defending division champs fell to third behind the Mets and Nationals! Is this the National League or the Bizarro League.

It doesn't make any sense.

No player is being a dominant slugger.
The Nationals rocked Johan Santana.
They started the season 3-7.

I called the team a Car Wreck.
I compared the team to Two Girls One Cup.

And now they rattled off a 10-1 since the arrival of Ike Davis.

But is Ike Davis really the reason for such a turn around?

Is it Mike Pelfrey's surprising season that sparked this team?

Was it the 20 inning marathon?

Nope, the explanation lies elsewhere.

Specifically the explanation lies with my friend Jaime Fallon.

A member of the rock band The Ex-Debutantes and creator of the site Mart Brooklyn.

My former colleague from The Daily Show has started frequenting CitiField and chanting The Mets Really Are The Amazin's.

A simple chant.

Simple but effective.

She wasn't chanting it before her first Mets game this year in Mid April.

And what has happened since she started?

The Mets have won 10 of 11 and went from being irrelevant to suddenly an exciting team.

My Met fan friends are filling up my e mail box. And wins against the Phillies are always worth stockpiling (did someone say 2007?)

And Jaime is the only explanation I can think of. Seriously, it isn't the personnel. It isn't the management.

I say it is because of Jaime.

So Met fans... Go to Mart Brooklyn.
Download some music.

The more you support Jaime, the better the Mets will do.

(Hey, that makes just as much sense as any other analysis I can do about the Mets!)

Hope and Change in Queens

I got an e mail today from my cousin Dave, who is a huge Mets fan.
The subject was "HOPE."

Now Dave is a lifelong Republican, so I doubt it was an Obama e mail.

Nope, his e mail simply said "Ike Davis, 1st ML AB, base hit.
Hope."

The Mets are FINALLY taking my advice and going with young kids.
I'm not saying Ike Davis is the new Albert Pujols... but the idea of a young kid coming up and getting a hit has got my Met fan friends (and family) more excited than the Jason Bay signing.

And it will be a memorable first day at the office for Ike.

He gets a pie in his face the first day and the first uniform number he wore was #42

Hope indeed.

The Ulti-MET insult to Milton Bradley

So Oliver Perez got ROCKED again... by the Washington Nationals no less. And one of the worst contract signings in history rages on in Queens.

And a terrific Met fan, the brilliant Emmy nominated comedy writer Andres Du Bouchet posted as his Facebook status update "Ok Mets. Please release Ollie and eat his salary. I'm begging you. You can replace him with a T-ball tee."

So I remembered my insane Blockbuster Trade post from last winter. Essentially it was my 9 team, 11 player swap as viturally every jaw droppingly bad contract was swapped for each other.

I had the Cubs getting Carlos Silva for Milton Bradley... which of course happened.
But in my trade, Bradley was sent off to the Mets for Oliver Perez. (The Mets actually DID pick up Gary Matthews Jr, who was also in my proposed blockbuster.)

But remembering the Perez for Bradley part of the deal, I wrote to Andres.

"Would you trade Perez for Milton Bradley?"

He responded right away "No."

OUCH!
Remember, Andres had just established the fair market value of Perez to be a batting tee!

So by THAT logic, Bradley's trade value is LESS than a batting tee. If the Mariners called a team and said "We'll send you Milton Bradley and we want a batting tee in exchange" the second team would say "You need to sweeten the pot!"

I can think of no bigger insult.

Now please enjoy Andres in a sketch from The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. He is in the Arab outfit.