Let's Hope Fred And Jeff Are Paying Attention
Congratulations to the Yankees on their 27th World Championship. It is very well deserved. They were the best team in baseball once Alex Rodriguez returned to the club in May.
The Mets? It has to be a tough day for the club and more so for their fans.Their season pretty much was done June 12th, when Luis Castillo dropped a pop up that cost the Mets a game at Yankee Stadium. Still, if you're a fan of this blog, you know that I officially "ended" the Mets season on July 17th. The only sound you hear at Citi Field is the wind howling past the Shake Shack. I got several looks, curious to hilarious, wearing a Mets cap today.
As the Yankees celebrate their title, I hope that Fred and Jeff Wilpon wake up and see that it is days like today, with fans rejoicing and media outlets going gaga over the Yankees (rightfully) that should spur them to make the right moves to bring a World Championship back to Flushing. Right now, the Mets are as relevant in the Big Apple as air conditioning at the North Pole.
But it doesn't have to be that way. It may take some time, but things can change IF:
1. You have competent baseball people. This includes scouts, medical staffs and management. GM Omar Minaya: Overhaul what you must. When Jeff Wilpon says after the season ended that EVERYTHING would be evaluated, that, if true, was a step in the right direction. There were TOO many injuries, TOO much turmoil-and you don't need that when the Yanks are winning nearly every day.
When I had medical issues during the summer, the Yankees were a tremendous help. Their people evaluate situations and make timely decisions. I cannot express enough gratitude to the Yankees' PR staff for all their help. Meanwhile, Jose Reyes was injured in May. All season we heard, "He might be back, he might be back.: Then in October, another injury AND surgery. Carlos Beltran was another (often unhappy with his progress) mystery regarding his knee trouble.
2. Conmmit yourselves to winning CHAMPIONSHIPS, not just being a playoff competitive team. That's Jim Dolan talk over at the Garden-NOT Steinbrenner talk in the Bronx. Players want to play for the Yankees because they KNOW every effort is made to win the Fall Classic EVERY year. Mets fans heard more about union carpentry workers and the Jackie Robinson Rotunda at Citi Field than long term success.
3, Spread out your money: You DON'T need a $250 million dollar payroll, but you DO need to get the "can't miss" guy every once in a while. Orlando Hudson, for example, was there for the taking in the off season. A few years back, A-Rod and Vladimir Guerrero. The Mets passed not only on obvious PR coups, but making the team better lfor the long term.
The Yankees get high priced players to excess. BUT they scout well, pump up prospects for potentilal trades (Randy Johnson comes to mind) and scout young guys all over the world. The Mets need to put young players around Reyes and David Wright, building a BALANCED team that can stay together for a long time-mixing in free agents AS NEEDED. The Yankees spend lots of money, but they STILL have 4 guys (Jeter, Posada, Pettitte and Rivera) who have been around for nearly all of the Yankees' latest run.
4. Hire people who will stick to fundamentals. YES, there were injuries. BUT: Why did it take so long for the club to see that Daniel Murphy had NO business being in the outfield. WHY are guys passing one another on the base paths? This team was decimated, no question. But common avoidable baseball mistakes could have been fixed, meaning 5-10 more wins. Obviously that isn't enough to be a playoff team. But it tells the fans that the team IS giving 100 percent effort and that management knows what it is doing. Fundamentals-and those that teach them MUST be stressed. Manager Jerry Manuel: THIS MEANS YOU!
Well Fred and Jeff-and Omar and Jerry- you have a lot of work to do, and plenty of holes to fill. Get to work.
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Comments: 1
Timely post, Bobby, as the Yankees celebration continues and we enter into Day 1 of the Hot Stove Season.
You make salient points related to our New York Metropolitans.
Here, I thought I was the only one getting curious looks while wearing my blue Mets hat with the orange interlocking NY. Not exactly the hat Jay-Z was singing about last week.
I think Jeff Wilpon hopes to be assemblying a staff of competent baseball men. The two most visable, Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel, are dubious at best.
Related to building a championship team and not just a playoff contender, this is where the Mets always seem to fall short. They always seem to stop short of putting their team over the top.
As for the money, it is not always how much you spend, but how well you spend it. Certainly, the Mets have spent money from time to time on the wrong players.
As for fundamentals, can we be sure that Jerry Manuel and his coaching staff will hold the player's accountable for their fundamental transgressions. Even healthy early in the 2009 season, we witnessed poor fundamental baseball.
This is a very important off season for the Mets. The Mets have become irrelevant in their own city. It could be argued that there is as big a disparity on and off the field between the Yankees and Mets as there has ever been.
Let's hope the stove stays hot and the Mets put together a championship caliber team for 2010.