First things first, I want to thank Joe D. for the opportunity to share my work here on MMO. We’ve known each other for a long time, and I have a great deal of respect for him and I look forward to being part of a great team.

I wanted to join MMO because I have always believed that the best outlets should cover a team as an organization, rather than just a 25-man roster.  The writer will have a fuller understanding of the decisions the major league club makes and can relate those decisions to the fans.  Like the professional ballplayers they cover, some writers gain this type of perspective by starting their careers in the minor leagues, covering the Single-A to Triple-A clubs of the team they will eventually cover.

Why more writers aren’t trained this way, I’m not sure, but here at MMO, that’s how it’s done.  That’s why I love it. Because that’s how I started, by covering the Brooklyn Cyclones, starting in 2001, the club’s inaugural season.

You get to know the infantry of an organization that way, the scouts, the roving instructors, the coaches and the various front office folks whose job it is to monitor the kids. Over the last two season, those troops have been missing some key leadership folks, and that’s why some believe the system should be better than what it is.

A person that puts it best once worked in the Mets minor league system, and has dealt with them on an adversarial basis since leaving a few years ago.

“Do they have good players in their system? Sure. (But) having talent is only one part of the equation. Developing that talent … getting it ready for the majors — and preparing the kids for life in a big city with a team that is expected to win are others. The Mets have to prove they can do that on a consistent basis.”

It’s why I recently lobbied for Gary LaRocque to be the next General Manager of the New York Mets,

Better communication between the front office and the major league staff enhanced and cultivated instruction at the minor league level, a dedicated partnership with the minor league on-field personnel is just part of what is needed as the Mets search for new General Manager.  

The problem with Sandy Alderson’s front office construct is that there were certain analytics people in high positions who held field personnel in low regard, even as it became clear over the last two seasons how poor the instruction and communication was. 

Yes, I am talking about people like Wally Backman, who despite a contentious relationship with Alderson, was praised for his ability to get kids ready for the big club.  I’m also talking about Jack Voigt, a Triple-A hitting coach who did wonders for players like T.J. Rivera, Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto.

End of the day, the Mets can’t be bringing players up to the bigs and have coaches try teaching them how to bunt up here.