Fred Wilpon told a New Yorker reporter in crass terms that the Mets resembled excrement in a recent interview, and the 74-year-old team owner was widely criticized for the comment. He apologized to the players yesterday, and then the Mets were clubbed 11-1 by a bad Cubs team to suggest Wilpon's initial assessment was correct--at least for one night.

Ronnie Paulino contributed the most self-inflicted damage on the Mets last night, with two errors and a passed ball. Only five of the Cubs' 11 runs were earned off Mets pitchers. At the plate, the Mets managed to make Ryan Dempster (6.29 ERA) look like an ace, striking out five times and going 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

Chicago shortstop Starlin Castro led a team effort in the Cubs' 13-hit barrage, driving in two runs with two singles and a triple.

Earlier in the day, Wilpon spoke with manager Terry Collins about the sentiments he was quoted as saying in the New Yorker piece. Collins recommended that Wilpon speak directly to Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes, two of the players singled out by Wilpon in his derogatory comments.

Wilpon blasted three of the best players on his team in a May 30 article, saying Reyes thinks he's going to get Carl Crawford money ... he won't, calling himself a schmuck for giving Beltran his lucrative seven-year contract in 2005, and asserting that David Wright was not a superstar.

Beltran and Reyes will be free agents this winter, and the Mets have a club option on Wright for 2013.

The 74-year-old owner also asserted that Beltran was 65 to 70 percent of what he was, and said Reyes has had everything wrong with him. The statements could complicate negotiations with the three players, and it may signal their departure from the team in the offseason.

Yesterday, after the conference call, Beltran said, I don't feel 70 or 65. I feel 100 percent.

Reyes said, He's the boss. He can say whatever he wants to.

Major league baseball