I just read the complete transcript of Sandy Alderson’s press conference last night courtesy of ESPN New York. I feel like I’ve been sandbagged. Although I have a problem with a lot of things he said last night, my biggest issues were with these two items…
What would be the message to Mets fans about 2012 if they watch what the Marlins are doing, what the Nationals are projected to do, and the strength of the Phillies and Braves?
“Well, I don’t believe Mets fans will be surprised if these reports are true, that Jose may not be back.”
This response really baffles me… Why shouldn’t Met fans be surprised? After all, for the last few months Sandy kept emphasizing that re-signing Jose Reyes was his top priority. He also told us that he understood the special bond between Reyes and the fans over and over and over again.
Alderson also opted NOT to trade Reyes for whom he would have gotten a boatload. Look at what Beltran netted? So when you consider all of that, why would Sandy Alderson think that the majority of fans wouldn’t be surprised that Jose Reyes is now a Marlin?
He sent out us all the right signals and then played us like a harp from hell.
Can you explain why you drew the line at less than the Marlins’ offer?
“Well, you have to draw a line somewhere. And based on our experience — not just with Jose, but with multi-year contracts generally — and not just with our multi-year contracts, but all multi-year contracts generally, we decided that there were some conceptual limitations to where we would go.”
If you’re hesitant to do big contracts to start with, can any of this be interpreted as being happy this player is leaving?
“No, I wouldn’t say that we’re happy that he may be leaving. But I think as a practical matter, one always has to look at these situations and these types of contracts and recognize there are constraints to be able to sign them and acquire or retain a player. But there’s a substantial amount of risk associated with that.”
Make no mistake that Sandy Alderson has an aversion to longterm contracts… ANY longterm contracts. In fact, even if Wilpon had given Alderson $145M to spend for 2012, the result would have been the same. Alderson still would have let Jose Reyes go.
I argued this point with three different people last night and they just couldn’t grasp it. This is not on Wilpon, it’s totally on Alderson. All the payroll budget in the world wouldn’t have changed Alderson’s philosophy one bit, and if it did than Alderson is nothing but a fraud in a cool sweater vest. Sandy Alderson is not a fraud. He has his principles, he has his ideas about things, and he has his way of doing business. Sandy Alderson does not do longterm contracts. This decision had nothing to do with Madoff, money or Wilpon.
I’ve lost a lot of confidence in the GM in the last 24 hours. I don’t know if I can take anything he says at face value. We have a conference call with him on Thursday night and everything is hunky dory, and then 72 hours later all hell breaks loose. He told me how Reyes was a franchise player and how every attempt would be made to re-sign him, and then last night he says he knew for 72 hours that he and Reyes were probably not going to get something done. I don’t know what to believe anymore.
Last night when Sandy Alderson was asked if this virtually assures that David Wright is as good as gone, he responded, “Right now we don’t contemplate trading David Wright”.
But why should any Mets fan believe anything that comes out of his mouth? I wouldn’t doubt that he’s already discussing the parameters of a Wright deal with 2-3 teams already.
On Thursday, Sandy said that payroll will be same with or without Reyes. Does anyone believe that?
What did I tell you guys two weeks ago after Sandy Alderson confirmed that payroll would be $100 to $110 million? I said payroll would probably be closer to $85 million. You believe me now?
