A New Era in Citi Field

I woke up this morning feeling like today was going to be very important. Maybe it's because there was a Communications Internship Fair at Hofstra, a big deal considering I still need to get an internship to graduate. But that wasn't it. About 15 miles away from my Hofstra University dormitory, something big was brewing in Citi Field. The Wilpons were introducing a new general manager for the New York Metropolitans, the dawning of a new era that will

Mets fans like myself have suffered through four of the most brutal years the franchise has ever endured. If you have closely followed the team, you realize it's not as simple as wins and losses. It's about the culture that has surrounded the team, a culture of failure and embarrassment. It's about overpaying players that have underperformed or our old General Manager, Omar Minaya, just giving money to players who flat out didn't deserve it (Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo). It's about the way the Mets have lost, going from the emotional peak of reaching Game 7 of the NLCS in 2006 to pulling off back-to-back collapses and... well, you know the rest. It's about the off-field issues, turning the Mets into a perennial punch line of jokes from SNL to Letterman. It seemed that the Mets couldn't do anything right for almost four years.

So it was no surprise that the Mets fired Omar Minaya, whose tenure as Mets General Manager will always be remembered as a time of great promise, centered around stars like Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran, that never panned out like it could have. The Mets also let go of manager Jerry Manuel, ending a regime that began in embarrassing "Midnight Met-sacre in 2008 when Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson were unceremoniously fired.

Bringing Sandy Alderson aboard to be the GM of the Mets is more than just a hiring. It's a conscious effort by the organization to correct all the mistakes of the past regime, a task that will not be easy, nor will it be quick and painless. It represents a philosophical shift for this franchise. Sandy Alderson is a decorated individual. He is well known as the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics from 1983 to 1997, where he won four division titles, three pennants, and the World Series in 1989. But he is also famously known for shaping that franchise through youth, which unfortunately links him to the steroids era and his team, which included two of the biggest names to be linked to steroids: Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire.

Still, Alderson is a man who appears patient, with an incredible eye for young talent and a sound baseball mind. He left the A's for the commissioner's office during two different stints before joining the Mets (with some work within the Padres organization sprinkled in between). We need a man who has an eye for the bigger picture in Flushing, something Omar Minaya, in his best and worst times, never had. We can no longer employ a General Manager who will look for quick fix off-season solutions to appease a rabid fanbase, because simply put, the "win-now" mentality will not do us any good in the long run.

Sandy Alderson is a solid choice. I've heard many say they preferred somebody younger, an up-and-comer, and maybe Alderson won't be here much more than four or five years. That's alright. Sandy is essentially here to teach the Mets how to build a solid team. The Mets have proven they don't know how to do that. Five years is a long time, and if Alderson can implement a formula for building a strong, young team that the Mets can use in the future, his hiring will be a success. If the Mets cannot learn to make this formula work, than the hiring will be all for naught. The Mets, as it is, have never had a stretch of more than two consecutive playoff berths. That needs to change. With Alderson's help, the Mets may be on their way to building a team that can contend year after year.

The next step is a manager, and it will be an interesting search. Right now, who I think or anyone else thinks should be manager is a moot point. It's all on Sandy Alderson. He has been given the key to this organization by the Wilpons, assuming they are planning to do this right and give him the full autonomy they promised Omar Minaya but never quite trusted him with. From what I've read and heard about today's press conference, I am more than satisfied with the hiring and believe that Sandy Alderson knows exactly what he's doing and will make the most educated decisions for the growth of this franchise.

I'm excited. All Mets fans should be excited. 2011 may not produce anything more than a sub-.500 team, but it's not about next year. It's about 2012, 2013, the farm system, the new way of thinking in Flushing. In five years, we could look back and say October 29, 2010 was a day that changed the course of Mets history. I remember when Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph were the package GM/manager combo presented to us as the future, and for a couple of years it worked out very well. I expect more this time, and I truly believe that better days are ahead, hopefully in the not-so-distant future.

It's not often that a team signs a new GM and manager in the same off-season. There will be a lot "new" about the Mets next year. It will take time getting used to, but for the first time in a long time, the Mets are on their way to fixing everything they've messed up. Let's just hope they don't mess this up. There's only so much we can take.

2010 New York Mets: Moving Forward

The 2010 baseball season is over, at least for my beloved New York Mets. With few expectations going into next year, this season was a bit easier to swallow and endure. The Mets weren't quite as putrid as they were when they won a mere 70 games and suffered debilitating injuries almost daily in 2009. They also weren't the choke artists they were in 2007 or 2008. They were simply, for a good portion of the season, a .500 team that had the ups and downs of any normal average baseball team. At times, they looked poised to make a run, at times they couldn't get out of their own way, and the result is a 79-83 season as average as they come.

Since the season's basically been over since that nightmarish west coast trip (2-9) that pretty much eviscerated any chance of the Mets competing this year, the season's mostly been about moving forward and looking to the future. It's been clear for some time that Jerry Manuel will not come back as manager next year. While many of the team's failures were no fault of his, that's still little excuse for the bad managerial decisions he made day in and day out with the bullpen and lineups and such. His passion also seemed lacking at times and it appeared he didn't command his players like a true leader should. It's truly time for a change, and with his contract up, firing him won't cost the Wilpons a dime, which is sure to make them happy. Adios Jerry.

Then there's Omar Minaya, who is still owed $2.5 million over the next 2 years. Reports say he will most likely be fired, and deservedly so. Because of his lack of foresight, the Mets are now tied up next year giving bad money to Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran, and maybe Jason Bay (yet to be determined, I still think he can become a valuable asset to the team). Omar became part of the face of this franchise when he was brought in with Willie Randolph to be the team that put together a contender in Flushing. It's now time to say goodbye to the final piece of this puzzle. Adios Omar.

My immediate feeling is that Omar will not so much be fired as he will be reassigned within the franchise. The Wilpons are no fans of paying someone money to do nothing, so they will probably put Omar in a lesser role within the organization where he can't do much harm. The Mets need to establish a new hierarchy that will change the culture and motivate the fans to become invested again. I've heard names like Gerry Hunsicker, Sandy Alderson, Josh Byrnes from the D'Backs and I honestly don't know enough about them to say anything worth noting. What the Mets need to do, in whoever they hire, is bring someone in who can plan for the future as well as the present. They need someone who can see the long term, develop a top notch minor league program and not offer bad contracts to people even the fans notice isn't very good. I'd much rather the Mets bring in someone who has had experience before in building a franchise up from the bottom, which is basically what the Mets are up against right now.

As for manager, I have been a fan of Bobby Valentine forever. It seems almost too perfect; Bobby V is looking for a job and the Mets are looking for a manager. He didn't choose the Marlins and I've read that it could be between the Mets or Mariners, with an outside shot for the Marlins. I think Bobby V is perfect for this team; he has a proven record winning in New York, he was a national icon in Japan, and he is a hard nosed guy who won't accept the lollygagging that this team has been prone to in the past. The Mets cannot bring a bland, laid back guy to manage this team. They need someone with fire who will command attention, respect, and the best out of the young team the Mets are sure to have next year.

Other viable options are former Mets Wally Backman and Lee Mazzili. I think a dream scenario would be to put Bobby V as Manager and Wally Backman as bench coach. He can pick up valuable experience working behind a smart manager like Bobby so when it's his time to take over the club, we'll have the right guy. Unfortunately, Bobby V might not like the idea of someone looking over his shoulder and Wally might not like the idea of being simply second in command, so time will tell if this could ever work in reality. Still, it's intriguing, and if anything the Mets will never be boring next year.

As for the team itself, the Mets have to swallow their pride (and their wallet) and outright cut Ollie Perez and Luis Castillo. Enough of these two eating up a roster spot, no good comes of it. Luis will surely be replaced by youngster Ruben Tejada, or potentially even Reese Havens if he matures and improves quick enough. If I could do anything to this team, I would find a way to trade Carlos Beltran and replace him with Carl Crawford. Carl is made for Citi Field, he has gap power and speed and could lead the league in triples in a ballpark like Citi Field. Pairing him with Jose Reyes near the top of the line-up would be a deadly combo for opponents. Unfortunately, the Mets's payroll after raises and arbitration and such is projected to hit 130 million, meaning the Mets will make little to absolutely no player moves all off-season, save the occasional reliever and scrap heap pick up.

The Mets will most likely enter 2011 a young team looking to impress and prove themselves at the big league level. This could turn out to be very good for the Mets if all these young guys click in their first years, and could help the Mets fly under the radar and be a surprise NL team. More realistically, however, it will be a young team struggling to establish itself in the majors and lead the Mets to win between 70 and 80 games. There's no doubt that 2011 will be a transitional year, and the signs are pointing to another year without the playoffs. However, if the Mets bring in a manager and General Manager that fires up the fans and have a scrappy young team that makes going to Mets games exciting again, then I'm sure all us fans can deal with an average year one more time. It's all about the future now, but it's up to the front office to make it a bright one.

Opening Day 2011 Line-Up (Realistically):

Jose Reyes (SS)

Carlos Beltran (CF)

David Wright (3B)

Jason Bay (LF)

Ike Davis (1B)

Angel Pagan (RF)

Josh Thole (C)

Ruben Tejada (2B)

Mike Pelfrey (P) - (With Johan Santana on the DL)

LET'S GO METS!!!!