Fred and Jeff Wilpon tried mightily to erase the sting of the awful 2002 season by bringing in new personnel, but all they ended up with was a repeat in 2003: a team of high-paid underachievers led by a manager who, if you listened to the pundits at the time he was hired, was not up to the task, and a general manager who would finally pay the price for moves that did not work. The end result: another last-place finish, nine games worse than 2002.
