There are times when you see a very distinct line drawn in the sand between Mets fans. Often times, both sides misunderstand something about the other side, and things get out of control.
People who agree with things Alderson are doing are not tired of the same old tricks that never seem to work in NY, and are not tired of bad contracts and overpaid players underperforming. They are Sandy apologists.
People who are not into sabermetrics, or think Brandon Nimmo or Zach Wheeler aren’t good young prospects aren’t old school baseball fans, they are uneducated on the new ways of the game.
It’s never going to end. After Alderson, it will be somebody else new. There will always be differing views on how and why certain things need to be done in New York.
For me, I don’t apologize for Alderson despite what some of my loyal readers say. I accept Alderson. I accept that for 25 years and almost my entire life, being a Mets fan has been a punch line. I accept that people who root for other teams either mock the Mets, or pretend to root for them as if they are the little engine that could.
I accept that in 2005, I was fully bought into the Omar Minaya regime. I defended him even at his worst with regard to the Adam Rubin situation. I accept that in 2006, when Endy Chavez made that catch, I felt like my whole sports world was about to change.
I accept that in 2007 I was angry and disgusted with people like Willie Randolph, and Tom Glavine. I accept that in 2008, the Mets made sure that if the broken heart was healed, they broke it again.
I accept that injuries happen, and bad luck plays a major role in the success or failure of a team.
But I also accept that in order to fix the problems of the past, you need to change the way you do things. Since the 1986 World Series victory, the Mets have been operated by candidates stemming from a Frank Cashen tree. From Harazin to McIlvaine to Phillips to Duquette to Minaya.
It’d be like voting for a 6th President who was in a tree of failing Presidents rather than listening to the guy with new ideas.
When you think about it, Alderson is the first outside candidate since Frank Cashen. The closest they got was hiring Minaya after he had left the Mets to GM the soon to be extinct Expos.
To me, something has to change. That is why I accept Alderson. He’s different from everybody else this franchise has seen in my lifetime, and considering there hasn’t been a championship since I was 4 years old, I’d say change has to be good.
As I began to detail in a post written by Joe D, it is my belief that the plan for Sandy Alderson is much deeper and manipulative than some of us have been thinking.
I believe that Bud Selig had two messes on his hands simultaneously and found it in his best interest to forcibly clean up one of them, and clean up the other behind closed doors.
Major League Baseball is better when the Dodgers and Mets are profitable and competitive. The problem for Selig is, both were untrue at the same time. Having two of the sport’s biggest franchises up for sale by force does not look good for the league and for how Selig will be viewed in years to come.
So I believe, lucky for the Wilpon’s, they had a better relationship with Selig than Frank McCourt (obviously), so Selig got his guy in Alderson to join the Mets, while he can focus on getting Frank McCourt out of office.
Some folks like to focus on the $25million loaned to the Mets by MLB, but I think that is a waste of time for Selig to focus on getting Alderson in office just so he can get the league his $25million back. Getting the loan paid off, and the team still in shambles does nobody any good.
I believe that Alderson is here because he, along with Ricciardi and DePodesta know what it is like to work under strict financial constraints. I think saying any front office can do that is foolish. There are people like Brian Cashman who I believe would never be a good GM for a small market team.
I feel that Alderson and his team are here because while Selig is focusing on getting the Dodgers sold, the Mets need to be primed for a new owner. They need to be prepared to take multiple bids, and rest assured the league will have a role in this sale.
By slashing payroll, and grooming as much young talent as possible to be brought up within 2-3 years, you’ve created a cost effective yet exciting potential for a new owner.
A cost efficiency that allows a new owner to come in with excitement about their core, and spend money to put those players in the best position possible to win. That is what is best for everybody in the situation except the Wilpon’s obviously.
Answer this question honestly.
If you were a prospective new owner, would you prefer to buy the Mets following the 2010 season or would you prefer to invest your money into a new generation of Mets players in 2013, 2014?
Why in the world wouldn’t you pick the young core over the high priced aging roster with a track record of losing? It doesn’t make sense. Would you rather inherit a $130 million payroll or an $80 million payroll with the ability to spend your own money wisely to fill in the roster?
Is it a conspiracy theory? Maybe. But you can’t tell me that this is an impossible scenario. You can’t tell me that priming the Mets franchise to be a more attractive sale item isn’t in MLB’s best interest right? If you agree to that, then you can’t tell me my theory is impossible. Is it what is going on? I have no idea, we’ll have to see how it plays out.
So this is why I accept what I see today. I don’t have a choice right now but to root for the 25 men in uniform on Opening Day. So what I do, is I look to the future for my hope. I don’t blame Sandy Alderson for the current state of affairs here. It’s not his fault. I blame ownership, and I blame Frank McCourt for not getting divorced sooner or later!
But in all honesty, I look to this in hopes that all of this is happening for a reason, and that reason is to focus on the sale of the Mets franchise after the Dodgers sale is finalized.
So I ask you, (my loyal readers), if all of this, the 2011 season, the current winter, the loss of Reyes, the trade of K-Rod, the discussions of sabermetrics etc., occurred and the end result was a majority sale of the NY Mets… would everything that happened leading up to that day be worth it to you?
