Mets Nation Sending In The Marine

An article by Joe Spector    4 Comments

I have to admit I didn’t really want to write this. Don’t get me wrong I appreciate every opportunity I’m given to write for MMO. I just tend to find it difficult to write about, well, nothing; or at least rehash what the general consensus is.

Ok, that’s probably a bit harsh not to mention encroaching on mamby pamby land – especially considering the positive events of the last few days – but I’ve had it up to you know where with slick talk lately. Perhaps it’s because Tuesday is Election Day and if I see one more political ad telling me how evil or unscrupulous every candidate is I may have to hurt someone.

Seriously, is anyone in the public arena redeemable at all? What can I say I prefer action to talk, as I feel most of you do, but occasionally I too can be swooned over by the moment.

First off let me say this, I am genuinely impressed with Sandy Alderson. He was unveiled to the New York media with as much pomp as a high profile free agent signing this past Friday at CitiField and begins his first full week as General Manager.

Be it his impressive resume, especially his attention to organizational detail. Or his equally savvy mastery of the English language with his ability to provide detailed answers to just about every question handed him, Alderson seems incredibly hard to dislike.

He’s a graduate of Harvard Law School and a former Marine who served in Vietnam so in my book, he could pretty much run my daughter’s future pre-school and I’d be fine with it – preferably after she’s potty trained – just saying.

The New York media is characteristically unforgiving and Mets fans for all of our collective loyalty are pretty much running on empty when it comes to team pride. Seeing Alderson up at the podium taking the reigns was at it should be – one of the finer moments in the history of the franchise.

But before you get that Chris Matthews, “ I have a warm tingling feeling running up my leg”, lets try to keep some perspective without becoming too crotchety. Yeah I snuck the word crotchety into an MMO post, yay me.

Over at Metsblog Matt Cerrone said this, and I’m sure we can all relate,

“…the day Mike Hampton was acquired, that I would gladly allow Steve Phillips to dictate every decision in my life. What’s worse, I printed In Omar We Trust t-shirts for Metsblog after the 2006 season, because I was so confident in where that path was headed as well. So, I mean, I do have a history of overdosing on hope and optimism. But, that’s only because I love this team, and I am desperate to see them dominate, be respected and be fun to watch again. Also, I always hope for the best, and so I tend to latch right on, hook, line and sinker, the minute I feel any kind of confidence.”

We’d all be hard pressed not to share in Matt’s emotions, God knows I certainly do. It’s a shame that as a Met fan as I read that I thought our motto over the last few years should have been, “Hope for the best, but expect the worst”.

That’s the culture Alderson is up against. It’s no small task for anyone let alone someone trained to improvise, adapt and overcome. Hoorah. But if anyone is up to this challenge it’s Alderson.

It’s ironic with Election Day being Tuesday that American’s have their chance to voice their opinions about the direction of the country. Here we have Sandy Alderson preparing to change the direction of the Mets culture in a way that will affect each and every level. His first and perhaps most defining decision will regard hiring the next manager.

It seems that Alderson, the product of the laid back West Coast style’s of Oakland and San Diego, understands the purpose a manager holds for his team. Unlike the published reports that he would look for – let’s just call a spade a spade – a tool for a manager – we learn that the media was wrong.

Stop the presses. Really? No in fact Alderson isn’t looking for a puppet for a manager, in fact quite the opposite as he see’s the innate value having a manager who isn’t tied to his hip.

He does appreciate the theater that some managers tend to bring along with their personalities – such as going toe-to-toe with umpires. Of course that should make Wally Backman fans beam. In fact here’s an example (caution: Wally Backman cuss’s…I know…shocker).

Whoever Alderson selects to manage the Mets will, along with him, become the new faces of leadership of the franchise for better or worse. Therefore here’s to hoping that no decision is rushed and as Alderson who’s generally known as one of the progenitors of sabermetrics, here’s to hoping that every conceivable statistic and evaluation comes into play, not only for deciding who manages the Mets, but player personnel as well.

Let no stone be unturned, no idea or stat or opinion dismissed. You don’t go into battle telling your soldiers they can only use muskets. It’s safe to say for the first time in his career, Sandy Alderson is in a place where he WILL be given the resources, we hope.

My calling to Mets fans is to be happy, we’ve earned the right to feel good about this team again. However before we demand the bronze plaque of Sandy Alderson to be ensconced in the Mets Hall of Fame, let’s see how this play’s out.

Definitely give the man a chance, one he deserves and has earned it and the respect of his peers, and two, we the fans – beleaguered, beaten and disheartened, need it more than ever. Here’s to hoping for the best and expecting the…

Let’s Go Mets!

“It’s a funny thing, but, as years go by, I think you appreciate more and more what a great thing it was to be a United States Marine… People will tell me what a shame it was I had to go back into the service a second time, but I’m kinda glad I did.. Besides, I am a U.S. Marine and I’ll be one till I die.”   Ted Williams