Thoughts from Joe D.
I didn’t get a chance to weigh in on this yesterday and just wanted to post a quick summary after his interview.
We’ve heard Fred and Jeff Wilpon say things like this for almost a year now. Ever since they avoided that billion dollar lawsuit and averted bankruptcy, I said at the time that the team was on the rebound financially…. And they apparently were…
They cut spending drastically, charged Alderson with reducing payroll to manageable levels, cut staff and even one of their minor league affiliates, and pretty much played everything exactly the way I thought they would.
At the end of the 2012 season, there was a light at the end of that dark tunnel for them. Real estate values were on the rise, their assets, including the Mets and SNY, were gaining value, and as I said at the time, the All Star Game and everything associated with it, would put them over the top.
Sandy Alderson has told us privately and has said publicly as well that he could spend since last season ended. You can choose to not believe him, or even the Wilpons for that matter, but it doesn’t change the facts.
The coffers are getting full again as I said they would. They navigated through the dangerous tidal waves and turbulent waters…
Sandy had by estimate an additional $15-20 million to spend that he opted not to last offseason. He has maintained that stance all along. If you believed he seriously wanted Justin Upton or Michael Bourn as he said, there’s your proof…
I thought when Wilpon said he felt that this was taking longer than he thought, it was very telling… There’s thousands of passionate Met fans who might agree.. And that number is growing everyday…
Here’s where I’m going with this…
The honeymoon is over.
Three years is a long time to rebuild for a New York Market team.
In three months, when this season ends, everything will all be on Sandy Alderson.
He will be held accountable for the results which he’s mostly managed to avoid any accountability for all this time and he knows it…
Marlon Byrd will be a big test for him. Will he trade him for more prospects? Or will he keep him and even retain him for another season?
2014 has always been the year when his rebuild was supposed to bear fruit and bring some results.
Not the speculative results that you hear all the time from overly enthusiastic fans drunk on prospects, but measurable results that are will become apparent on the major league roster and in the NL East standings.
A winning season is the price for continuing on this crusade of his… Otherwise, there will be talk of another purge in this town… His own…
The clock starts right now, and I’m waiting and watching for what his next move will be…
That could happen before the trade deadline… Buyer or sellers? Competing in 2014 or punting? If my hunch is right, we’re about to find out in the next two weeks…
I hope he makes the right moves… Good or bad, it’s the final countdown…
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Original Post 7/15
Jeff Wilpon Says Sandy Alderson Has No Payroll Constraints
Mets COO Jeff Wilpon was a guest of Mike Francesa on WFAN today and said that GM Sandy Alderson is under no constraints whatsoever to add payroll if he wanted to, and that and Sandy’s not being charged with reducing payroll.
Additionally, Wilpon said that he believes Sandy will trade players ONLY if they bring back someone who can help the team right now and and in future seasons.
Regarding Alderson’s progress since taking over the team in 2010, Jeff Wilpon feels that the team is a “little further behind” than he expected, but believes in Sandy and that the future looks bright.
He made one comment that seemed like more a direct message to Terry Collins when he said he wants to see the team continue the same style of play of recent weeks during the second half of the season.
One thing that stood out for me was that he felt it was time to show some of the team’s young players how to play winning baseball in the second half, citing that “it’s important to teach these kids how to win.”
He believes the future of the team rests with the bounty of young arms that are still to come and that we may see a few more of those arms before the end of this season.
He wants all fans to know that he and his father live and die with the team.
“It’s our life and our business.”
