23
2011
MMO Interview With Baseball Digest’s Mark Healey
An article by 
Yesterday, Mark Healey was kind enough to answer a few questions for me on the state of the New York Mets. For those of you who don’t know, Mark is the Online Editor for Baseball Digest and also hosts, BD Fantasy Baseball on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio.
Among his many other projects, Mark is the Co-publisher and Executive Editor of Gotham Baseball, an online magazine that is a must-read for any baseball fan.
For all you Mets fans out there, you have to read his eye-opening piece on Nelson Doubleday. If only Nelson had bought the Wilpons out instead of the other way around, things would be so much different today.
Anyway, here’s the interview and please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments thread.
Joe – I was shocked about ten ten days ago, at how quickly the Mets Twitterverse exploded seconds after Dino Costa tweeted that Jose Reyes had agreed to a deal with the Marlins. What did you make of the tsunami of raw emotion by Mets fans who got incredibly hot and even uncomfortably vile until the rumor was finally shot down? How in the world will Alderson address this negative tide if Jose Reyes were to really end up signing with another team? What can he possibly say or do to calm what looked like a mob mentality for the space of about 90 minutes?
Mark – Jose Reyes is one of the most popular Mets of all time. It’s that simple. The thought of him wearing another uniform is anathema to most Mets fans, especially the ones who suffered through the Art Howe era waiting for him to make the big club. The fact that we have all watched him grow up in the blue and orange makes it even more difficult to contemplate.
The other reason is that Reyes has become a symbol of the ongoing battle between different factions of Mets fans; the Moneyball / sabermetrics crowd that abhors sentiment, narrative and the mythical, and the more traditional fan, who wants homegrown guys kept on the team, regardless of cost. Then there’s the “break up the core” crowd, who maintains that Reyes is somehow emblematic of the team’s struggles. All of these factions have a point. But I’m never surprised to see explosions of emotion on Twitter when it comes to the Mets. I’ve been involved in a few of them.
As for what can Sandy say, as far as I am concerned, the less he says the better. Ed Ryan of the excellent Mets Fever blog wrote a superb post recently, illustrating the double-speak of the club’s stance on payroll. The fans want action, sooner rather than later. Either tell the fan base that Reyes is simply too expensive and the club is moving on, or make him a real offer. They won’t do that of course, but outside of winning 90 games next year, Mets fans are not going to be swayed by rhetoric.
Joe – In the aftermath of potentially losing Jose Reyes, it sounds like the plan is to keep the approximate $20 million rather than reinvest to upgrade at shortstop or shore up other various needs. That would lead to a likely scenario of Ruben Tejada at shortstop and Daniel Murphy at second base to start he 2012 season. First, your thoughts on that, and second, please comment on the decision not to reinvest on the roster or improve the product on the field.
Mark – Given the lack of real depth in the middle IF positions in the Mets system, the potential SS-2B combo of Tejada and Murphy is problematic, given the former’s inexperience at the MLB level and the injury history of the latter. Still, both are likable and homegrown, so there’s some upside there. Murphy has a great work ethic and hits when he’s comfortable. But Tejada is an unknown as a starting MLB player, and its silly at this point to expect much. I mean, when you hear that Jack Wilson is being considered as a potential FA pickup, it doesn’t exactly scream confidence for the status quo.
As for the growing possibility that the club will not reinvest the savings from a Reyes departure, the Mets had better get off to a really, really good start or things will get ugly rather quickly. Reduced ticket prices or not, people in this town will not sit still for Wal-Mart baseball.
Joe – The Mets made the odd decision to shorten the renewal date for season ticket holders this offseason – essentially giving them a month’s less time to decide and asking them to make that decision before the hot stove season even warmed up. Talk to me about the strategy behind that, whether or not you believe it was a smart move on their part, and lastly if it was effective?
Mark – I think it illustrates how desperate the organization is for operating capital. As I tweeted on Tuesday — which started one of those aforementioned Twitter battles — I don’t understand how any Mets fan could spend any money on season tickets for 2012 — partial or otherwise — when the ownership is clearly a complete and utter mess.
There is a severe lack of transparency. If the team is not going to reinvest the money left on the table with the loss of the Reyes, Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo and other contracts, where is the ticket money going? To pay off the MLB loan? Supporting the team is one thing, enabling dysfunction is quite another.
Joe – You have been involved with writing and speaking about the Mets for a long time. You brought back Baseball Digest, the oldest and most venerated baseball periodical of all time. You’ve seen a lot. Where do you see this Mets team today? The overriding sentiment seems to be that we are heading in the right direction, that the Mets will be relevant as soon as 2013, and that we are on a path to sustainable seasons of championship level baseball. Do you agree with that?
Mark – Thanks for those generous words. Baseball Digest has been around a long time, and 2012 is going to be our 70th year of publication. When I agreed to bring BD to the internet and become Online Editor in 2009, the idea was to make sure future generations of baseball fans would be as lucky as us to have a link back to the greatest game ever.
I would love to tell you that I think the Mets are on the right track, but I don’t know if that’s the case. Many people praised the hiring of Sandy Alderson as GM, and the eventual hiring of the front office “Dream Team” of J.P. Riccardi and Paul DePodesta. In fact, when it appeared all but certain that Omar Minaya would be out as GM during the latter part of the 2010 season, I went as far as to nominate DePodesta as the guy I would rehire to reboot the Mets.
But I think that as long as the long shadow of the Mets debt to MLB is in place, it’s hard to envision the Mets being relevant. Why?Because while I think that while DePodesta and Riccardi are working hard to rebuild the mess that former Player Development VP Tony Bernazard left behind,
I have no idea what Alderson’s endgame is. Is it to make the Mets champions? Or is to minimize / monitor the mess that ownership has created? Ask me again on Opening Day, as thie next few months could change that answer a bit.
Joe – The Mets are going to tender Mike Pelfrey and Angel Pagan at a combined cost north of $10 million dollars. Would you call that exploiting market inefficiencies or something else? I’m getting the sense that we are simply handcuffed again. Last offseason we blamed Omar Minaya for the lack of flexibility, but with about $60 million slashed in non-returning contracts ($75-$80 million if you count not re-signing Reyes), who will be this offseason’s scapegoat? Where do you see Mets payroll heading in 2013?
Mark – Pelfrey and Pagan are guys I have covered since they joined the club as minor leaguers. Pagan in particular is a favorite of mine, as he was the first Brooklyn Cyclones player I featured during my stint as the “Clones beat writer for the Brooklyn Skyline newspaper from 2001-2004.
That said, if it means building depth in the bullpen, adding a veteran cacther to help Josh Thole and even adding another starter with a little more upside than Pelf, I would let both leave.
As for a scapegoat, blame ownership. This is their reality, not some grand design to rebuild the team. Anyone trying to sell that nonsense — or who really, truly believes it — I know a money guy who’s never wrong about the market.
Joe – There’s a lot of excitement swirling around all of the NL East teams right now. The Marlins with their new stadium and a $50 million dollar boost to their payroll, the Nationals GM telling his fans 2012 is going to be their breakthrough season, the Braves with that incredible young starting pitching core, and of course the Phillies fresh off a 105 win season and already beefing up their roster this offseason with Jim Thome, Ty Wigginton and Jonathan Papelbon just for starters. Pardon that run-on sentence if you will, and tell me what Mets fans should be excited about this Winter and what they can expect in 2012?
Mark – I’ll have a clearer picture of the state of the NL East once the Winter Meetings are upon us, because that’s when we’ll learn if the Fish are actually going to sign anyone. A new ballpark is always awesome for a long-suffering fanbase, and despite the worst uniforms this side of the Mercury Mets, tickets are selling well. However, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports recently wrote a great article about Marlins ownership and I think it’s far closer to their intentions for 2012 than most national media have chronicled. The Braves have some great young arms, but have plenty of question marks as well, including how they respond to their collapse down the stretch. The Nationals are a very weird franchise. On the one hand they have young talent like Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, but on the other, they spent $126 million on Jayson Werth. I’m curious to see how they augment their club.
This will annoy Mets fans, but I love how the Phillies do things. Trading for Hunter Pence at the deadline, signing Jonathan Papelbon to kick off their offseason, and then dealing for one of my old favorites, Ty Wigginton is how you get a fan base excited. Will it come back to bite them in a year or two? Probably. But it’s been a great ride.
As for the Mets? IF Johan Santana is healthy enough to make 32 starts, the Mets rotation should be solid. R.A. Dickey, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee are a competitive foursome. If Pelfrey stays he gives you innings and health, but not much else. The bullpen is the horror show.
If Sandy and Co. can make a little magic here, Mets could very well play at a higher level than they have the past two seasons. Offensively, health (again) will play a huge factor. The Mets did a much better job of getting on base on 2011 but have to find a way to score more runs. Maybe the new dimensions at Citi Field will allow Jason Bay and David Wright to provide the type of 1-2 bunch that Mets fans have been waiting for since Opening Day 2010.
And to excited about?
Maybe, just maybe a #7 under the tree on Dec. 25. It’s nice to dream, even the pipe kind.
What I love about Mark is how passionate he is about his feelings for the game and the Mets. His descriptors of “Wal-Mart Baseball” and “enabling dysfunction” do seem to resonate for me.
You can follow Mark on Twitter at @BaseballDigest9.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
Last updated: 06/19/2013
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Wow, great job joe, this man was spot on. very good, thumbs up.
Mark is a great person. He really is. He is very respectful, and very professional. I haven’t told anyone really other than Bayonne Mets Fan, but I will be featured in the Winter 2011 issue of Gotham Baseball. I am very excited to see how the article comes out, and I am very excited to see what you guys think.
Well brandon, now that you mentioned this, i will say, you do a good job here, you along with satish and petey have come up big times. is really good to see writers like you and some others do good, you guys imo do a great job for MMO, we have lost some good writers here and hopefully this new crop of writers continue to develop and keep up the good work, is nice to see articles about the mets and their situation instead of articles of lovefest to sandy and urinals, i am happy for you, happy thanksgiving to you and yours my friend, keep up the good work
Believe it or not, the article will be about the Mets Brain Trust…. I am not going to go into specifics because that would spoil the whole thing, but its going to be good. I promise.
Anyways, thanks for the kind words Alex. I appreciate it. Happy Thanksgiving man!
brandon, looking forward to read it, no problem bro. keep up the good work
Good article. While I disagree with a few things he says,he makes a well reasoned case for them. He knows his stuff and wants to forward inteligent discussion.
I just take issue with one part
“‘The other reason is that Reyes has become a symbol of the ongoing battle between different factions of Mets fans; the Moneyball / sabermetrics crowd that abhors sentiment, narrative and the mythical, and the more traditional fan, who wants homegrown guys kept on the team, regardless of cost. Then there’s the “break up the core” crowd, who maintains that Reyes is somehow emblematic of the team’s struggles. ”
This kind of pigeon holes people. He kind of just applies labels that aren’t that accurate. It only goes towards dividing people more.
It is just a small thing really and I don’t think he did it intentionally, probably just a product of the medium of Twitter. I just think it is something we should all be mindful of.
LOL they are TOTALLY accurate it’s just you don’t like the labels because they apply and are appropriatly being used on guys like you!
I’m also with him about the Nats. They seem to be stuck in this strange limbo the Mets get into as well where they are torn between strategies of building the system or spending big to make a splash and win now.
Funny but the Nats right now are where you expect to be in 2014 with the Mets current plan.
Got a couple of kid pitchers but not enough behind them to win anything!
Where are all these Deep Statistical Analysis Gems we kept hearing about Sandy and DePo bringing on board?
what I don’t get is the insinuation that anyone that either supports something Sandy does, or recognizes the reality of the financial situation (budget constraints) somehow has to be a “saberhead” of some kind.
That, and using moneyballer to describe the same people.
From looking at comments, there are maybe 1-2 people the post here that could reasonably be labelled as saber followers. Most of the others so branded at most know what some of the saber stats are, and consider them when looking at players along with everything else.
Just because you actually know what WAR is supposed to represent does not mean you know nothing about the nuances of BB, only care about spreadsheets, or have no emotional attachment to any players.
Just because you actually know what WAR is supposed to represent does not mean you know nothing about the nuances of BB, only care about spreadsheets, or have no emotional attachment to any players”
ahhh, throw in or read a book about stats… and you got yourself thumbs up from this guy.. you nailed it here on this one, that is why the core wish you and yours a happy thanksgiving.
He’s spot on here and at least he doesn’t mince words.
He even says the issue with Sandy is all the Mincing of words and statements regarding intentions is one of the problems!
I totally Agree if Sandy came out and said we are not in any position to resign Reyes from the get go I could have accepted it a little better than this subterfuge crap about appearing to want him without really doing anything to keep him!
If the goal is to just cut the salary then say so!
Stop insinuating you have a long term plan, Stop lying about your intentions to compete and stop complaining or make a statement involving how little money you have whenever a question of a player comes up!
Just tell the world we are not buying, we are not winning and that won’t change until 2014 or later!
And if money is such a problem I suggest saving that 8-12 Mil he intends to spend on Scrubs trying to sell the lie that we are trying to be competitive!
He is not spot on, and was wrong on many levels.
Aren’t you one of those who always complains about not spending? He’s suggesting that Mets fans not buy tickets which will only lead to an even lower payroll next season. If you want to stop buying tickets, then don’t complain about a lack of spending.
The Reyes situation is hardly a battle being fought on two fronts, there are hundreds of opinions and I for one love sabermetrics and WANT the team to re-sign Jose Reyes. One has nothing to do with the other. No sabermetrician would tell you that Ruben Tejada has more value than Jose Reyes.
About the only thing I agree with that he said was to blame Wilpon for this mess.
I don’t think Healey is saying to stop buying tickets altogether. I think he wants the Mets to give the fans more insight as to what they are investing in (because that what ticket packages are).
“Aren’t you one of those who always complains about not spending?”
No Nester…I’m one of the one who complain about us not spending to keep the good players we have.
I have never ONCE suggested we go and buy this player or that!
And I certainly don’t see why we should not spend the 20 Mil on Reyes when the intention is to pay 10 scrubs 2 Mil apeiece instead.
I’m all for wise spending! When I see some I’ll let you know!
Spending only 2 Mil isn’t wise it’s just cheap! And we are getting what we are paying for!
If we are going to spend 12 Mil then get 3 GOOD players and not 6-10 scrubs!
And he did not say we should stop buying tickets only that we WOULD if he lets guys like Reyes go, Wins less and doesn’t do anything to make us want to go see the team.
And if that happens I wonder who he cuts to get into the black then?
How much salary is left to cut?
30-40 Mil?
Wright Santana and Bay will be it after Reyes goes!
And THEN where does he get the money to spend Wisely?
Another loan from the MLB because Crickets get into the stadium for free?
Sandy needs to fix attendance and if he can do that without spending then great lets see him do it!
But so fall all he is doing is digging the financial hole deeper, so deep that by 2014 we won’t be able to climb out!
And if you think the WIlpons are going to sell at that point instead of firing Sandy as scapegoat then you really don’t know your Wilpons too well!
They will be happy to have a 30 Mil payroll, blame it all on Sandy and then hire someone else with skill sets they can blame when he can’t get out from 6 feet under of Fan Approval!
If you REALLY want to see Wilpon go then YOU should be asking them to spend and spend big!
Thats the only way to get rid of them!
Alderson works for the Mets. Sterling Mets are broke. It’s that simple.
In fact, they’re beyond broke, they’re heavily in debt. All this posturing by the FO is nothing more than trying to work within the confines of aiding the Wilpons into holding onto the team. It’s an exercise in futility, if you ask me. But one that’s going to make the next few years very painful to watch for us Met fans.
Excellent interview, but it kind of leaves me feeling angry about this team. It stinks when you have to make decisions based on what’s the cheapest way out rather than basing decisions on the good of the team.
Again,
For the life of me I can’t understand why you can’t try and compete and be as creative as you can to try and field a team that you think can fight for the post season next year WITH the budget you have. It’s a BUDGET.
If you’re going to tell me that the idea is to save more money on top of that budget than i’m sorry I can’t accept that. That is NO WAY to do business in New York, it’s no way to do business when you have a roster that can BE competitive if you get it some help, it’s no way to do business and it’s unfair to the other players on the team who as athletes want to WIN – and the Mets can, and it’s no way to do business if you want to generate fan enthusiasm in turn creating more ticket sales.
Doing your best to field the best team possible with whatever money you have is the BEST way to generate more cash for this team.
Sandy Alderson is striking out on ALL of these so far and in my mind the man has been an absolute TERRIBLE General Manager for this team. So far he is in line for being one of the worst GMs to ever run the Mets with that type of philosophy if that’s what he’s doing and 20 years ago he would be raked over the coals in the Daily News
The reason you might not be able to understand it is because you have no idea what the operating budget is. None of us do. For all we know, it is tops $95 million for next year but the Wilpons won’t allow that tidbit to get out. So Alderson is left holding the bag trying to spin the fact the Mets are broke w/o saying the Mets are broke.
Not much you’re going to be able to do with that considering the holes we have.
Until someone shoots straight on just how much the Mets have in their pockets to spend, it’s just all speculation.
IMO, Sandy is going to spend what he is given (with the caveat of possibly holding back a modest amount for the trade deadline). I really don’t see him refusing to spend more just to be able to pocket it.
If this is true, then it has to be Alderson has less money to work with then he originally thought back in Feb. We went from hearing quotes of about 120-130 MIL all the way down to 95 MIL now.
Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be giving thanks to the Wilpons as owners of the Mets at my Thanksgiving table….
I get where Bayonne is coming from. If the budget is X, then Alderson had better use it all and wisely. That does assume that there is money in the first place to sign Reyes. Basically what you are saying SRT. So, uh, yeah, good post.
Well, using it wisely in my book is still signing Reyes – if it’s not some CC type contact.
I’m still holding out hope…I might be delusional but there you have it!
fingers and toes crossed, for sure.
I need to get Sandy on the horn. I have the deal for Reyes that should satisfy everyone. Maybe I’ll just send smoke signals in the shape of a boxscore and he’ll come running.
Sandy only responds to texts and Facebook invites…even if you’re in the same room as him.
Noted.
I agree with srt. The Wilpons right now are so stretched for working capital, that Sandy can’t even sign the number of minor league free agents he needs to sign to fill in spots for the Mets AAA, AA and High A teams which is sad.
“Dr Braintrust, I need an emergency appointment, can you squeezae me in?I just read Mark Healey’s comments about the Mets and I am very depressed, can you help me please, I don’t know what to do?”
“MetfanLou. I ‘ll get to you as soon as I can. My next opening is March 15, 2013. There are 24,000 Met fans ahead of you. I’ll give you a valium prescription till then. Hang in there and stay away from Citi Field in the meantime. I don’t want you to throw yourself over the railing.”