As we all know, the final candidates for the next Mets general manager are Josh Byrnes and Sandy Alderson.  Some have said there could be an announcement by the end of this week as to which of them will get the nod. Personally I hope the next GM is Alderson. I don’t like some of what I’ve read about Byrnes, but which ever one becomes the new GM, the one thing that person must do is come up with a plan and a vision and stick to it!

When Omar Minaya was hired in 2004 I remember the Mets promising us that the organization was going to turn around.  They didn’t say anything about being a championship caliber team immediately.  They promised that the team would play better baseball and that it would take time to build this team back to a contender. 2005 was much better than 2004, the Mets were in the Wild Card race until the last week of the season and baseball was fun again in flushing.  The Mets promised to be more active in the free agent market, but Omar and the Mets also said that they were committed to building a solid farm system and would not rush their younger players like the club has done in the past.

2006 was a great year to be a Mets fan, at least until Beltran didn’t take the bat off his shoulder. It also changed the plan that the Mets came up with.  Suddenly the team was more in a win now period and was rushing prospects to the majors. The slow approach was out the window.  Look at players like Milledge and Pelfrey.  Both were rushed to the majors.

There’s no point going over Omar Minaya’s mistakes again, but I sincerely hope the team learned from them. What the next GM needs to do is come up with a plan and a vision and stick to it. Be honest with the fans like how Omar and the Mets were in 2004.  If 2011 is a great year, don’t stray too far from the original plan, you obviously made that plan because you thought it was the way to run the team.  Don’t promise a championship caliber team next season and then not deliver, that’s the absolute worst thing the new GM could do. We’re willing to be patient if that’s what it takes.