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Looking for this guy's history in the 'Pool, I stumbled upon this 2003 column. None of his ideas were that out there, but the Mets, for better and for worse, followed them pretty closely.
<blockquote>How Do You Fix the Mets? Here's How.
Jon Heyman
May 11, 2003
The Mets made the right move putting a first baseman's mitt in Mike Piazza's hands. But let's just say they didn't handle the situation very artfully (pun intended). Art Howe learned the lesson that when you say something on a broadcast medium - that's radio or TV - people know about it right away. Oops.
So they get a 50- percent rating for that move. Good idea, bad execution.
It's bad when Rey Ordoņez has more RBIs than any Met, so here are a few more ideas to repair the mess that is the Mets (followed in parentheses by what the team most likely will do.)
1. It's Jose Reyes time. The top prospect is everything the Mets are not: energetic, exciting, defensively capable. He's stealing bases like crazy - 19-for-21 - a sign not only of speed but interest, two more things badly needed. He couldn't hurt p.r., either. (The Mets want to see him get through his first bit of hitting adversity, but he should be here very soon.)
Ed.: Reyes debuted exactly one month later.
2. It's no longer Rey Sanchez or Roberto Alomar time. Neither one would be a good influence on Reyes; Sanchez with his constant excuses and makeshift barber shop and Alomar with his half-speed effort. If they do the sales job of the century, perhaps they could trade Alomar. Maybe the Red Sox would take him. Sell the other team on the idea that New York and the National League are the cause of Alomar's troubles. Who knows? Maybe it's the truth. (Mets people weren't as troubled by Hairgate and are likely to move Sanchez only to second base if they can unload Alomar, who's very likely to be traded.)
Ed.: Alomar was dealt six weeks later for a package that was ultimately unproductive, but more intriguing than perhaps we had hoped. Sanchez, by then, had gone two days earlier.
3. Keep Mike Piazza. On May 23, he becomes a 10-and-5 player and can veto trades. If there's a temptation to send him to an American League team, where he could DH, resist it. If Piazza can play first base, his value rises significantly. But even if he can't, he's still by far the most productive and popular Met. Even if he was disturbed to have heard about his first-base tryout through the media, he has thrived in New York and genuinely enjoys being a Met. Unless he can be dealt for Alex Rodriguez, don't even think about it. (Piazza is not likely to be traded.)
Ed.: We kept his ass until the end of his contract, having found that he could not be dealt for Alex Rodriguez.
4. Overhaul the major-league scouting department. There obviously are some deep problems here. Besides Mark Guthrie and David Weathers, it's hard to name a major-leaguer they've acquired recently who has met expectations.
Mo Vaughn, Alomar, Jeromy Burnitz and Roger Cedeņo were the big mistakes but not the only ones. Someone saw Scott Strickland as a potential closer. Yeesh. The Mets never really saw the value of Omar Minaya, whose Expos are outplaying them again. They need to stop making executive hires based on friendships and find proven scouting talent.
Ed.: It took until the end of 2004, but they hired Minaya back and gave him the keys to the shop --- which could be portrayed as making an executive hire based on friendships, but they followed Heyman here.
How about Lee Thomas, a keen eye for the Red Sox? Or David Wilder, who helped the Braves and Cubs find big talent? Or Bill Livesey, who drafted Derek Jeter? Next year, Burnitz, Alomar, Pedro Astacio and Armando Benitez come off the books, and if they collect insurance on Vaughn, they could have up to $50 million to spend. They need to spend it well. (They're reviewing everything.)
Ed.: Bill Livesley, hired December of that year. I think he ultimately was axed in the aftermath of the Victor Zambrano deal.
5. Concentrate on the future. They've always used the excuse that New York fans won't accept a rebuilding team. But a rebuilding team has to be better than this. If they don't see wins, New York fans want to see effort. The strength of this organization is Reyes and the other top prospects, righthander Aaron Heilman, catcher Justin Huber and third baseman David Wright. If they made one right call last winter, it was not to deal these players. (The new emphasis on youth is obvious. Word is, new COO Jeff Wilpon closely charts their top 30 prospects; at one time, the Mets were lucky to have 10.)
Ed.: By the end of 2003, the Mets had one of the rookiest teams they would ever field, with Reyes, Ty Wigginton, Jason Phillips, and Jeff Duncan filling out the lineup card every day, Jae Weong Seo in the roation, and a bullpen where Feliciano had become a cog and Heliman and Cerda and Big Red were creepign in on the fringes. Foolish veteran ideas from the start of the season like David Cone and Pedro Astacio had long since been filed away.
6. Don't ignore the defense. One scout said "the Mets are the worst fielding team" he's seen in 20 years, barely beating out this year's Red Sox. (Mets people have noticed.)
Ed.: Aside from this being shit of the bull (20 years? Puh-leeze), they would not only add Reyes and Wright (and take a painfully long look at Jeff Duncan), but go out the next offseason and get defenders like Mike Cameron and Kaz Matsui (multiple diamond glove winner, yo) and add Richard Hidalgo as well in the midst of 2004. DEFENSE!
7. Stop consulting players and media members. The collegiality thing has gone too far when they ask writers which manager they should hire and ask players which friends of theirs they should sign. (Mets people don't see this as a problem.)
Ed.: Well, clearly here they fell down, because they did everything Jon Heyman told them to. But if there was any truth to the notion that they over-valued the imput of Al Leiter, he clearly fell out of favor eventually. Unfortunately, he was allowed to engineer (or whatever) the Zambrano-Kazmir deal first. Boo, too slow in listening to Heyman.
8. Give Steve Phillips until June 15, because that's when retooling time begins. If the Mets don't resemble a contender by then, it's time to change general managers, to give assistant GM Jim Duquette a chance. If they do retool, Phillips can't do the retooling. (That they're "evaluating" can't be a great sign for Phillips.)
Ed.: Pretty damn close. Phillips was fired either June 12 or June 13.
9. The retooling should begin with Benitez. Presumably, they won't bring him back next year, so they should deal him. His overall numbers are stellar, so the guess here is someone will take Benitez. He needed Bobby Valentine's stroking and protecting him. Now he needs to get out. Boston and St. Louis are better spots. (The Mets will consider it.)
Ed.: Dealt August 6 to the Yankees for Jeff Nelson.</blockquote>Jon Heyman, jeen-yus.
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