#2 – There have been many explanations here of how they work. Not all are done the same way, use the same methodology or structure.

#3 – The Smartest decision is the one that gets the fans to put FAITH in the direction the team is going, That convinces them we are not just making a great team to own but a great team to go see as well. That solves all the money issues once Attendance starts paying the bills and turns a profit that can be used to get more players that get more attendance.

#4 – Moneyball was about cheap players not market inefficiencies. It was about how they FOUND those cheap players and what they looked for to say this cheap player is the guy we want DESPITE the fact the Sabers we used say there were 10 Players better than him on the list the Sabers came up with. I.E. Oakland found OBP to be the undervalued Metric. Of the guys they signed based on that determination how many were in the top 10 of the league in that metric?
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/10/r-i-p-moneyball.html

#5 – No what you have seen here is a classic tearing down and Fire Sale…A CLASSIC REBUILD doesn’t start until your team is the worst team in baseball has no place further down to go that people can say your worse and your due to have the top overall pick (or near it) for a few years that will serve as the BASE of your young CORE that as they get closer to being MLB ready are SUPPLEMENTED by trades of your star players that remain to get more than anyone could possibly draft in 5 years time. And when that core is about a year away from promotion, in a classic rebuild you start to get the few pieces you could NOT DRAFT to fill around the core so they are not put into a situation where Kids have too much pressure on them.

#6 – It’s not smart to say because I didn’t get to the playoffs I should tear the entire team down. It’s about as dumb as saying I have a hole in the living room wall I should tear down the house and start over.

We WERE a 3rd place team in one of the toughest divisions in the NL. On June 22nd we were 2.5 games out of first and in 2nd place…Above the Braves. If you think that is a team that needs rebuilding then your a person who is rebuilding EVERY YEAR until you get to a playoff and then the second your out your playing the Marlins and having a firesale again…How can you rebuild anything If your going to tear it down the second it’s built based on playoffs. You will be chasing your tail for the rest of your life.

# 1
Where do I get the 12-14 % interest these days I have seen mentioned on this page – unless I invest in junk bonds that have a high likelihood to default ? I would like to get that interest on my money as well – but with minimal risk please…

# 2
Does anyone have knowledge about how those deferred payments work ? Is money put aside today, invested in some sort of fund – and then paid out with a guaranteed interest at a later point ? With the employer (i.e. Mets) taking the risk that actual interest is lower and having to make up the difference when payments are due and vice versa benefitting from higher actual interest ? Which of course was a great strategy as long as the Madoff money printer worked. Or is this merely a guarantee of future payment and no cash has to be set aside today ? Because the difference is significant: Either you only have to spend 70 to 75 or so million $ in 2013 and are free to do whatever you want with the 25 million or so that you have deferred to the future. Or you need to set aside a big chunk of that 25 million and invest it to be able to meet payment guarantees once they´re due and may only have, say 10 to 15 million to spend on 2013 purposes.

# 3
Regardless of whether the Mets currently have 5 million or 25 million $ available to spend on upgrading the 2013 roster, what is the smartest decision ? Is there any difference maker available that will make this team significantly better and be a good fit going forward as well who is actually worth the money ? Because what you spend today won´t be available tomorrow. For example, signing Michael Bourn to a 4-year, 40 million $ deal may be ok if you believe Bourn ages well. You get a Gold Glove CF at below market value and help your young pitching by improving defense. If you need to pay him 5-years, 75 million, then it´s probably not a smart move as now you´re potentially clogging future payrolls – besides giving up your 2013 1st round pick. In any case, the Mets could – hypothetically – sign every remaining free agent on the market, yet probably still wouldn´t be likely to win 85 games in 2013. Does signing Bourn today improve the odds you are better in 2015 significantly ?

# 4
I don´t see what the current strategy has to do with “Moneyball”. Moneyball was about exploring market inefficiencies to sustain a winning team in spite of not being able to keep all the core players by targetting undervalued assets that were available on the cheap.

# 5
What I have seen here is a classic rebuilding – albeit one step short of an “all out clearance” sale. The Mets have targeted top prospects in key trades that have the potential to be longterm building blocks and significantly lowered payroll in the process to get a fresh start once the young talent traded for, signed and developed is ready to win. What is “Moneyball” about that ??? It´s merely the try of laying a groundwork for a longterm winner and a change of action compared to the MO over the past 20+ years where “quick-fixing” the major league roster was usually the way to go – whether it made sense or not, with a special regard of making the fan base happy by frequently adding a “big name” or two to boost ticket sales.

# 6
And whether the current rebuilding was mainly implemented due to cash flow issues or because of believing it was the right thing to do, it was the right call to make IMHO after 4 straight non-playoff seasons with the existing core and the previous strategy having led to a grand total of 3 playoff appearances (and 3 close misses) in 20 years, in spite of being among the biggest spenders in Baseball. Now, one can certainly argue about that opinion. And one can certainly wonder what would have been possible with a more financially potent ownership group.Or whether the value of each asset was maximized.

A company X which has a cash flow problem also has a supplier who can’t afford to lose Company X as its customer since as it does over 50% of sales to company X. The supplier knows that Company X just got a govt. contract and a cash stream through billings to the govt will begin soon. The supplier defers payments knowing Company X will be able to pay within 6 mos.

Why did I go all through that? The Mets supposedly due to bond obligations and dwindling attendance are cash strapped. It was to DW and Bays advantage to defer payments BUT not for tax reasons as in Bonnilla’s case. Bay to get a new start and DW so the Mets could have some cash flow flexibility as the supplier did with Company X. Is the increased cash flow by deferment flexibility being used ? NO WAY Jose’

That is why I am starting to turn on Sandy with this pathetic OF.

As an example a player defers 5 MIl for 5 years…
They put 3 Mil into an investment and collect the interest until the account hits 5 Mil mark…

Team actually didn’t pay the 5 Mil they really only paid 3 in that case…

Another would be They put all 5 Mil into an account Pay the player spreading the deferral over the next 5 years (1 Mil per) after 5 years whatever is left they get back….If they invest in the right fund they could get away with paying him only 2 Mil of thier own money or none at all!

Lots of ways to handle deferred payment….
The worst ones (where you do get screwed) are the ones where the team invests the money in itself…Hoping they are going to make so much money by the time it’s payment is due it won’t matter….

This team is not in any position to deferr money that way….

Cause for most it’s not about what happens it’s about the FO thought proccess getting there….
This is all about Philosophy and the excuses are just time buying till this success they think thier philosophy will bring happens….

Thisis different than taking funds at present value and investing it to pay a future commitment when earned such at the serial payments each year of John Santana’s contract which is not due yet. Santana’s salary due in 2014 is not a deferral but a commitment to the 2014 Budget.

Sandy has never dealt with a press and city like NY…

You might be able to get away with fudging numbers and budgets even stretch the truth in places like Oakland and cities like Sand Diego…

But NY is the financial capitol of this country if not the world….
They can smell bull like this a mile away!
And so too can anyone who lives here….

I’m not totally enamored with Pence…He is MILES ahead of anyone we have and lets face it we are in no position to say NO to that where we stand now….

But I don’t know he has the numbers to be a good leader, maybe he does maybe he has the mindset for it (I don’t know his personality type enough to say)..
But he seems more like a good guy to have around to back up a leader than a leader himself…

Murphy has the same heart just none of the credits to lead….

Another guy I’d bring in here that’s a future FA? Pence. Always been a fan of his, and watching the documentary of the Giants run through the postseason on MLB Network earlier today, his leadership would be another plus. Outside of his usual .270-.280, 20+ HR seasons, gotta admire his heart.

I just can’t see them letting him go and if they did it would be over Bill James’ dead body as he just LOVES that guy and gushed over him in the top 10 2B program on MLBN.

Now that doesn’t mean anything as he is just a consultant and not the GM but I think it would be a longshot they really let him go….

If they do I would definitly go for him though.

1) Tulo’s contract expires in 2020.

2) Pedroia & Felix? Gotta open the wallet for them. I highly doubt Pedroia will remain in Boston until that contract expires with them wanting to do a “youth movement” transition over there. He’s the kind of veteran leader this team needs as it’s been repeatedly stated by Metsie about Valdespin getting his shit together. You bring a proven winner like Pedroia here? They (future FA’s) will come, wanting to “play for a winner”. The Pedro Martinez effect, if you will.

On top of that he did it with a top 5 MLB payroll and when the well ran dry he split.

I think it was Edgar Allan Poe who said, every good legend is based on a good lie.

You can say what you want about Omar and the barren farm system, but in his six seasons, he inherited a team that had three straight losing seasons and had four winning seasons and still managed to draft Davis, Murphy, Pelfrey,, Duda, Kirk, Parnell, Niese, Harvey and Gee. He also was able to pick up Pagan and Dickey.

People get on Omar for the collapses in seasons 3 and 4 after being a hit away from the World Series in Season 2. When do we get on Alderson for not even fielding competitive teams? Season 5 or 6?

I realize that this is apples to oranges as Alderson literally doesn’t have half the resources and had to agonize over signing Scott Hairston for what Omar could pay Julio Franco. But Omar was not a terrible GM. He wasn’t a great one either and should have been fired after 2010, but if the Mets don’t field a competitive team after 2014, Alderson should be shown the door as well.

How many times has Sandy’s method gotten more than a playoffs huh?

LOL, are you really that uninformed? You really were born yesterday. HE WON A WORLD SERIES as GM! And he’s been to the playoffs more than Omar has.

Geesh. It’s like talking to a rock.