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A Glass Half Full View

MFS62 Sep 08 2009 12:45 PM

At least according to Peter Gammons. Not sure the link will work, I've had problems with the "message" on the new board. sports.espn.go.com/mlb/notebook?page=bbtn its nice to read some positive articles regarding 2010 as opposed to just the doom and gloom that has become so trendy amongst the media lately. according to Gammons.... "This is not hopeless. Johan Santana and Carlos Beltran should be fine in 2010. So should David Wright. So there are three of the top 15 to 20 players in the National League, and that's before even beginning to try to figure out what Jose Reyes is at this point in his career. And they're not going to be able to restock the franchise by trading any of the above. That doesn't happen these days, as the Twins found out when they traded Santana. However, here is some advice for the Wilpons: Hire a really strong, competent, forceful CEO with a widespread understanding of the business, development and people. The list should start with Sandy Alderson, and as he becomes the face of the organization, he should begin with these promises: 1. They will not allow the commissioner's office to determine whom they draft, and use their market and SNY television network advantage to acquire talent through the draft and the international stage. 2. Stop worrying about comparisons with the Yankees, because in the Hal Steinbrenner/Brian Cashman Era, they are not fading. An Alderson or Pat Gillick or Gerry Hunsicker can help Omar Minaya assemble all he needs in terms of the organization. Then they address their needs. 1. One quality starting pitcher. Santana should be back. As we saw with Mike Pelfrey on Sunday, it is there. Jonathon Niese looks to be a quality back-end guy, as does Bobby Parnell. So go try to sign a front-end pitcher. John Lackey wants close to CC Sabathia cash, which may be tough to do with the Santana contract. They can do what Colorado did, find a Jason Marquis; in this case, it could be to accept Bronson Arroyo's contract … there are ways, and the bullpen should be fine. Maybe Brad Holt and/or Jenrry Mejia can help by June. A big key is sitting down with Scott Boras and forcing Oliver Perez to get serious about his future. 2. Catcher. They may be tempted to take a short-term solution like Jason Varitek, but more likely they will make a deal for a younger catcher like Arizona's Chris Snyder, the Angels' Jeff Mathis, Colorado's Chris Iannetta or Cleveland's Kelly Shoppach. 3. One corner bat. Even with Carlos Delgado's contract off the books, going above $15 million for Jason Bay or Matt Holliday and taking on a free-agent pitching contract may be tough for the Wilpons right now. So they will have to be creative, using Daniel Murphy at first or in left. Jeff Francoeur may continue to make strides and deserves every opportunity. With Holt, Mejia, first baseman Ike Davis (.905 OPS between Single-A and Double-A), Fernando Martinez, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Ruben Tejada (who led the Eastern League in chances and double plays) knocking at the door, the farm system is nowhere near as bad as has been colored. Beltran, Wright and Santana are core players; heck, Luis Castillo has a .397 on-base percentage. They need Reyes, they need Pelfrey, they need Perez, and it's not hapless and hopeless. The Mets need work -- a lot of work -- and they need someone at the top like Alderson to channel the talents of Minaya, John Ricco, et al. The Wilpons have to realize that, as Bobby Knight always said, if you listen to the guys in the stands, pretty soon you'll be sitting up there with them." Not sure I agree with everything he says, but at least he doesn't seem to share the doom and gloom of the other folks at ESPN. Later

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 08 2009 12:49 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

Most of the coverage is way off base but if anything I like the effect it has of tempering expectations. I think to an extent the Mets under Omar have been guilty of buying their own hype. SNY has not helped in this regard one bit.

metirish Sep 08 2009 12:53 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

I'd be game for someone like Alderson coming in but then I would see no need for Minaya , if they brought someone like the senior men mentioned would that person be taking one of Jeff's titles? John Lackey wants close to CC Sabathia cash So do I but it ain't happening.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Sep 08 2009 01:01 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

Lackey isn't worth Burnett money, never mind Johan/Sabathia money. That said, he at least looked at the minors, and offered some quasi-credible-- if misguided, in my mind-- ideas. Do you guys think that the Mets get the hack treatment in terms of national/regional coverage more often than most other teams? It just seems like our favorites make for an easier subject-- with more bogus readymade column topics, thanks to tabloid megaphone-ry-- than most when we're bad.

metirish Sep 08 2009 01:08 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

I think being in the same city as the other team makes for an easy to make comparison for the bashers. What's happened the last few Septembers adds to it. The espn skit they did of the top ten mets errors a while back sticks out as something on a national level , still I doubt the West coast version of Lupica cares about the mets.

MFS62 Sep 08 2009 01:21 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

IIRC, when ESPN started, they were accused of being "East Coast centric". I guess they since have bent over backwards to try to undo that perception. Since there's nothing they can really say bad about the Yanks, they are taking it out on the Mets, who have recently been a target-rich environment, both on the field and off. Later

Frayed Knot Sep 08 2009 01:44 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

[quote="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":37raqq5l]Do you guys think that the Mets get the hack treatment in terms of national/regional coverage more often than most other teams? It just seems like our favorites make for an easier subject-- with more bogus readymade column topics, thanks to tabloid megaphone-ry-- than most when we're bad.[/quote:37raqq5l] Being in a big market, the good and the bad are both going to be over-played. And when you stack a untimely playoff exit, followed by a historic September collapse, then a smaller collapse, and then a catastrophic season of injuries and losing one could argue that all the negative attention has been earned - even if not all of it is fair or accurate. These types of things are cyclical too. I've been noticing lately, for instance, that the year-long trashing of the farm system is turning around to the point where quotes like Gammons' above of "nowhere near as bad as colored" are becoming common if not almost mandatory. IOW, when a team that is up (folks tend to forget that SI had them going to the WS this year and BP pegged them for 93 wins) starts to crash and burn there's no shortage of those willing to rush in and either explain why or (more likely) to say how they saw it coming all along. The flip side is that now that they're down it'll almost become a contest in some circles to see who can predict the comeback first.

Edgy DC Sep 08 2009 01:54 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

When was the last offseason when there weren't calls to add "one quality starting pitcher"?

metirish Sep 08 2009 01:56 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

I like this one too 2. Stop worrying about comparisons with the Yankees, because in the Hal Steinbrenner/Brian Cashman Era, they are not fading. I read that a lot from media guys who then go and stir that pot .

Valadius Sep 08 2009 02:06 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

They need someone at the top to keep Jeff Wilpon from screwing everything up.

Edgy DC Sep 08 2009 02:36 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

I'll disagree.

Edgy DC Sep 08 2009 02:37 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

[quote="metirish"]I like this one too 2. Stop worrying about comparisons with the Yankees, because in the Hal Steinbrenner/Brian Cashman Era, they are not fading. I read that a lot from media guys who then go and stir that pot .

After-effects of the aneurysm.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 08 2009 02:41 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

[quote="Edgy DC":3fw0tjfu]I'll disagree.[/quote:3fw0tjfu] Yeah, I know that everyone loves to bash Jeff Wilpon, but I'm really not sure why. What screwups has he been responsible for? As far as I know, his main job the last few years has been overseeing construction of Citi Field. And while the place may not be perfect, it's hard to say that he's botched it at all. It's a nice ballpark.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Sep 08 2009 03:36 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

[quote="Benjamin Grimm":24vbg8nv][quote="Edgy DC":24vbg8nv]I'll disagree.[/quote:24vbg8nv] Yeah, I know that everyone loves to bash Jeff Wilpon, but I'm really not sure why. What screwups has he been responsible for? As far as I know, his main job the last few years has been overseeing construction of Citi Field. And while the place may not be perfect, it's hard to say that he's botched it at all. It's a nice ballpark.[/quote:24vbg8nv] Some might say that the unabashed, unequivocal support of Omar-- including oddly-timed extensions-- has been a major management error. (Going wider-focus, you could argue that the Wilpons have been supportive-to-a-fault of a lot of folk who deserved such support less than Omar.)

Edgy DC Sep 08 2009 03:55 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

Everybody owner is supportive of their general manager until the day they fire him. Wilpon didn't injure anybody, and the notion that the ownership strategy created some sort of particular vunerability to injuries is hard to prop up and was a theme noticeably absent before the season.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 08 2009 05:54 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

And why the distinction between Fred and Jeff? If any Wilpon should be blamed, shouldn't the buck stop with Fred? I think Jeff is unfairly painted as a no-talent child of privilege. (He may in fact be that, but I don't think we've seen any real evidence one way or the other.)

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 08 2009 06:28 PM Re: A Glass Half Full View

My issue with Jeff is "not getting it" as far as the fan experience goes. His remark about not bothering to set aside space for a Met HOF was astonishingly vapid. People who know would say he's got a better handle on the baseball end of things than Fred ever cared to.