Spring training is in full swing, and so is the accompanying media blitz. Spring training offers unparalleled access to the players', coaches' and even team owners' views on the beginning of the season, and already the Mets cunning owner Fred Wilpon has come up with this gem. (Emphasis added, full story at The Bergen Record.)
"When [Sandy] came in [he said], ‘I want to do some things; I want to have some flexibility and I want to have flexibility in the four or five areas you can have flexibility in.’ And that’s what he’s doing. I don’t remember a time where we’ve turned down [our baseball department] when a general manager and the manager and the people wanted certain people. Look at our history. We had a lot of payroll for a period of time. Some of it wasn’t well invested.”
Hah.
Ha ha ha ha. Hah.
So we have a supposed real estate mogul who is currently caught up in the legal trappings of the biggest Ponzi scheme in history talking about making wise investments in a baseball team. That is too rich.
I'm actually glad Sandy Alderson appears to be behind the decision to cut payroll. It's a lot like one of those reality shows where Gordon Ramsay shows up to a failing resturant, swears a bunch, throws out a ton of things, and then starts over with his own menu. I hope that's what's going on here, because so far all the Wilpons have done to distinguish themselves is hand out some confusing t-shirts and admit that they make bad investments. Clowns.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Play Ball!
Alright friends, winter is coming to an end and baseball activities have officially resumed. A lot of fans are already phoning this season in for the Mets, but I'm not one of them. For one, baseball is totally sweet and I'm exited for its return in general. Another reason is that I saw the movie Moneyball last year and it inspired me to believe that a team lacking in so-called "star power" can still win. Perhaps the strongest reason that I'm exited to watch this Mets team play is that I read the book Moneyball as well. I realized that the same people in charge of that floundering, backwards, cash strapped organization are now in charge of this floundering, backwards, and cash strapped organization and that gives me great hope.
Sandy Alderson seems to be a very smart guy, and I think he has something up his sleeve. I think Terry Collins is in on it too. The quote "we are going to be better this year than a lot of people expect us to be" has a certain air to it, a tone that these guys know something that the rest of us don't. If I had to guess, I would say that the secret weapon is Lucas Duda. I expect a monster year from him, as well as an offensive spark that the team has not seen since Carlos Delgado was healthy.
Another point of interest to be taken from Moneyball is that we should not expect the opening day roster to look the same as the roster after the All-Star break. I expect Sandy Alderson to capitalize on opportunities to make the team better in ways that Mets fans have not seen before. This year's off season market was relatively thin and supremely overpriced, and Sandy simply didn't bite on the big players. I can respect that, especially considering the current state of affairs was partially caused by Omar Minaya's offseason spending sprees.
I highly suggest reading the book Moneyball if you have not. Doubly so if you are a Mets fan, because if there is ever going to be a sequel, then the source material will come from what is happening right now. The philosophies explained in that book definitely cast a new light on Sandy's actions and non-actions this offseason. All the noise and outrage over not making a big move, even not retaining Jose Reyes, is ridiculous. I understand the fan sentiment, but the Mets entire history has been defined by spending big on free agent busts. It's time to move away from the conventional wisdom and try something new. Sandy is the man to do that, and this season we get to see what that looks like.
I'm not going to talk a lot about what happened this winter, because there's not a whole lot to report. We lost Jose. We have a ton of young talent eager to make its mark. We have a former ace starting pitcher returning from injury. Most importantly, I think, is that we have a plan for the future and I'm excited to see those seeds get sown this season. Let's play ball.
Sandy Alderson seems to be a very smart guy, and I think he has something up his sleeve. I think Terry Collins is in on it too. The quote "we are going to be better this year than a lot of people expect us to be" has a certain air to it, a tone that these guys know something that the rest of us don't. If I had to guess, I would say that the secret weapon is Lucas Duda. I expect a monster year from him, as well as an offensive spark that the team has not seen since Carlos Delgado was healthy.
Another point of interest to be taken from Moneyball is that we should not expect the opening day roster to look the same as the roster after the All-Star break. I expect Sandy Alderson to capitalize on opportunities to make the team better in ways that Mets fans have not seen before. This year's off season market was relatively thin and supremely overpriced, and Sandy simply didn't bite on the big players. I can respect that, especially considering the current state of affairs was partially caused by Omar Minaya's offseason spending sprees.
I highly suggest reading the book Moneyball if you have not. Doubly so if you are a Mets fan, because if there is ever going to be a sequel, then the source material will come from what is happening right now. The philosophies explained in that book definitely cast a new light on Sandy's actions and non-actions this offseason. All the noise and outrage over not making a big move, even not retaining Jose Reyes, is ridiculous. I understand the fan sentiment, but the Mets entire history has been defined by spending big on free agent busts. It's time to move away from the conventional wisdom and try something new. Sandy is the man to do that, and this season we get to see what that looks like.
I'm not going to talk a lot about what happened this winter, because there's not a whole lot to report. We lost Jose. We have a ton of young talent eager to make its mark. We have a former ace starting pitcher returning from injury. Most importantly, I think, is that we have a plan for the future and I'm excited to see those seeds get sown this season. Let's play ball.
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