Hello, They Must Be Going...Part Three - The Blueprint

Let me start by saying that the role of General Manager in baseball – heck, in ANY sport – is one of the most thankless positions you’ll find. When you’re doing really well, it’s because of the players, the same players you signed/traded - traded for/developed; when you’re NOT doing so well, it’s ESPECIALLY because of the players that YOU signed/traded - traded for/developed! Either way, the credit/blame is doled out in amounts far from fair, but that’s the downside of what has become a very glamorous position. In a big market, like, say, New York, the spotlight can be so great that casual fans not only know your name, but can probably name 10 trades/moves that you made that they never agreed with, as well as another 10 you SHOULD have made; 30 years ago, only the most hardcore fans knew the name of the owners of the team, let alone who the GM was. Heck- 20 years ago, we had to scour the the newsstands for the issue of Baseball America that came out after the amateur baseball draft just to find out who the Mets picked; now, we can go online and watch the draft progress, round by round, in addition to the live coverage via MLB Network, and Mack will have already supplied us all with the info we need about every potential pick! Things change- that's the way of life. What doesn't change is the need for an organizational game-plan in order to affect positive change, whether you're running a breakfast joint or a major league baseball team. That means being able to make the tough decisions in the face of potential media and fan backlashes, in order to realize your goals. Again, harder to do so in New York, but the other side of that coin features fans that will be fanatically loyal once they realize that true progress is being made and will reward the organization with increased attendance, merchandise purchases and cheering in the stands.

Let's call a spade a spade- Omar is/was an excellent talent evaluator; Omar is NOT an excellent organization builder. If Omar had been working alongside a Pat Gillick or a John Hart, he would have had a hand building a quality organization and when the appropriate time came, a Gillick or Hart could have stepped aside and Omar's promotion would have been far more seamless, in much the way the Phillies/Rangers blueprint has been so successful. He didn't have that luxury, and now he's in limbo, looked at mostly for his team's failures, rather then the many inroads he made over the past six years. As a result, the new GM will be tasked with rebuilding an entire organization, and Mets' fans are on pins and needles hoping that they'll see longer-lasting success this time. Goodness knows, there's a TON more at stake, with a now 2-year old stadium that needs to be filled with (happier) fans ready to chow down on Shake Shack delights and wear multiple jerseys (until they do away with the dated black uniforms once and for all!!)

It's old news by now, but the Mets have already interviewed 5 candidates to fill the GM post, with a sixth (Toronto's Dana Brown) scheduled for a meet and greet today. Best guess, the decision will be made by late next week, and MLB will grant the Mets special dispensation to announce their decision during the World Series so that they might get their "house in order" as quickly as possible. We all know that Sandy Alderson has become the most popular choice, mostly because of the success he's had in building/rebuilding an entire organization, has proven to be an expert in finding/developing talented front office staff, and has the blessing of MLB and Commissioner Selig (NOT that that's of much value to some people). IF Alderson is the eventual choice, it will be VERY interesting to see whom, if anyone, he brings in to work under him in various roles. Could Omar be retained? Will he bring in a Logan White to be VP of Player Personnel? Will Alderson's relationship with Dave Duncan be enough to bring over the disgruntled savior of broken-down pitchers before he re-signs with the Cardinals?

Whomever ends up taking over the Mets, they will have to adjust to learning-on-the-fly, as the following areas need to be looked into and overhauled:

1.) The Medical Process: When Omar took over in late 2004, one of the first things Mets' fans prayed for was the implementation of a more successful medical process, from how/when injuries were addressed to how they were communicated to the press (and ultimately, to the fans). It was alarming that we could see footage from the front-lines in Iraq, but couldn't get the real scoop as to what was the true diagnosis of various injured players. Sadly, it not only never happened, but the entire "injury management" process seemed to get worse with every season. From mismanaged concussions to misleading diagnosis, the Mets have lost a lot of credibility with fans, the media, player agents and players themselves- think Carlos Beltran...Ryan Church...Jason Bay. Baseball is NOT football, where injuries are hidden until as close to game-time in order to effect the other teams' strategy. Baseball injuries happen- it's a given- and injuries happen in the "real world" all day long. It's embarrassing that the team can't give us honest info about injuries- which makes it harder to take their word about other issues, such as budgets, trades made or not made, etc. It's therefore extremely important, as the new GM goes about changing the culture of the entire organization, that more injury disclosure AND better treatment/diagnosis of injuries is a major, and immediate, priority.

2.) Organizational Coaching/Prospect Development: Roving Pitching Instructor Rick Waits was recently fired by the organization, which gives the new GM a chance to create their own take on what constitutes the "Mets Philosophy of Baseball," something Omar spoke often about but never seemed to follow to the letter of his law. It MUST start with Pitching & Defense, as all roads lead to CitiField, a park that obviously favors that philosophy. Therefore, from the lowest levels of rookie ball all the way through AAA, the team must focus on the hows and whys of pitching; basic baseball strategy (hit & run, taking extra bases, etc.); and defense and positioning. There will always be draft picks/signings who won't fit into the overall model (think- Lucas Duda), BUT, if there is a singular philosophy in place, minor leaguers, coaches and fans alike will know which the direction the team is heading in and no one will be surprised when the "basics" are emphasized. We've all read about the "Orioles Way" or the "Dodgers Way" of doing things; unfortunately, the "Mets Way" has been to "over-pay, over-promise & under-perform," a long-term road to disaster. With smart fans in place, the Mets have to remember that a "rebuilding" plan is NOT something that they will be averse to; as long as we all understand the direction that the team is going in, and genuine efforts are made to get there, support in the way of attendance, ratings, merchandise purchases and the like will all be there. Lie to this fan-base again, promise them things you can't/won't deliver, or continue to put together a team that is obviously NOT meant to play in the ballpark they built will result in more disinterest, disdain and downright distance then this team has ever seen before. So let's see "baby-steps" - hire positional experts, let them evaluate our prospects, and help them to maximize their potential in a way that works with their natural talents, not against them. If we draft/sign great talent, we want to SEE that talent in the big leagues- either on OUR team, OR in another organization as a result of a trade that brought back equivalent or greater talent. It sounds SO simple, and yet most of our greatest prospects over the past 10 years simply haven't panned out. Blame it on injuries; blame it on over-promotion (media-wise AND to the wrong level of play); or simply blame it on an organization that hasn't been known to multi-task well. No matter what else the new GM does, if an F-Mart or Flores progresses well under their guidance, as well as new draft picks/free agents, a lot of other things can and will be easily forgiven (and forgotten).

As to prospect development, all we need to do is look at the way Jenrry Mejia was handled - excuse me - mishandled - this past season to know that out of desperation came a lost season for the organization's top pitching talent. The outgoing regime has long been known for over-promoting their talented players, pushing them to play in leagues above their development levels. Players like F-Mart have never had that one "break-out" season, similar to other top prospects (Mike Stanton, Jason Hayward, et al) that would have served to either a.) increase their trade value or b.) give them the confidence that comes from producing high-quality stats. Additionally, the Mets always seem to have players playing out of position, not taking into account either the best position that player is suited for nor which positions the organization is most depleted at. This has resulted in a glut of talent at the outfield and middle infield positions, leaving pitcher and catcher practically barren in comparison.

Finally, there's been a ton of "potential" pitching talent that's come through the Mets organization during Omar's tenure, but most have either stalled in their development, regressed or seemingly have fallen off the map. Do the names Robert Carson, Brad Holt, Jeurys Familia, Scott Moviel, Brant Rustich & Eric Niesen ring a bell? All of them have suffered from some combo of being either rushed to a level above their development, suffered an injury and weren't handled correctly, or were asked to make substantial changes in their pitching mechanics; either way, all of these one-time prospects currently fall into the "suspect" bin right now, until time (hopefully) proves otherwise. (Note- Mack just informed me that Rustich is going to have surgery soon and hopefully he'll be recovered fully before Spring Training - let's hope he's up in the bigs no later than the All-Star Break in 2011!!) Obviously, drafting high-ceiling pitching talent has to be a top priority for the organization immediately, so these issues have to be rectified immediately. The new GM will find himself with a lot of critical decisions to make in a quick fashion, but without a consistent plan in place to address prospect development, his tenure will end up more like Omar's then the one we are all hoping he'll emulate, that of former GM Frank Cashen.
3.) Drafting Philosophy: Jonathan, Mack & I have all agreed that it's beyond frustrating to see a team in the number one market with huge amounts of resources continue to draft in a fashion that rarely encourages a selection who will need to be paid "above slot." We hear all the time that the Mets are simply adhering to guidelines that Commissioner Bud Selig set in place, so as not to upset their friendly neighborhood "commish." Yet that hasn't stopped teams like the Red Sox & Yankees from continually challenging the system, paying over-slot in order to take a chance on a player who slipped below projections mainly due to sign-ability issues (either committed to going to college or playing a different sport) wherein additional money lands the team another potential top 10-like pick. Since trading draft picks is not yet an option, it behooves the new GM to take a chance at drafting over-slot wherever possible in order to land additional top quality young talent. If Sandy Alderson is, indeed, the Mets choice for GM, then he must put aside the fact that Selig highly endorsed his candidacy and do what's right in next year's draft & beyond!

A few years ago, when the Yankees realized that they were short of top quality pitching depth, they began drafting pitchers with high upside in the first rounds of the draft which resulted in the selections of Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlin, Phil Hughes, etc. Right now, the Mets must do likewise, as the return to prominence of the "pitching/defense first" philosophy (necessitated by first the crackdown on PEDs, and second due to the dimensions of their new ballpark) has to have, in order to be successful, pitching and defense!! The "defense" part is going pretty well; the "pitching" part needs lots of work, and the new GM needs to infuse all levels of the minor league system with more high quality arms. This years' draft yielded Matt Harvey, and the jury is still out on him, as to whether or not he'll end up as a starter or reliever. There is talent, but most of it currently resides in the lower levels of the minor league system, leaving the new GM with no choice but to uncover more pitching depth- and fast!! Emulating Yankee GM Brian Cashman's "quick fix" wouldn't be the worst thing a new GM could do in order to make a big bang!

4.) 40 Man Roster Management: One of the first decisions the new GM will have to make is the composition of the 40-man roster. We lost Darren O'Day and Shawn Bowman to bad decisions in recent years, and were fortunate to keep Nelson Figueroa as long as we did. Omar never seemed to be too adept at who to keep and who to waive, even though he got lucky on a handful of "keepers" (Dickey, Pagan.) It would really be a shame if, due to the new GM's brief tenure, he wasn't able to make the right decision on which players to add to the 40 man roster, and whom to expose to Rule V waivers. This is one of those areas where small decisions tend to end up biting you in the behind in a rather big way, and many of the best (Santana, Uggla) pick-ups come from taking a chance on selecting a player in this fashion- however, that also means that a team had to first LOSE these players as well.

5.) Manager/Coaching Staff Selection: Somewhat over-looked in the resolution to the Mets vs. K-Rod situation is the fact that the settlement makes it far easier for the new GM to bring in Wally Backman as manager without fighting cries of hypocrisy. Hiring a manager who has a history of domestic violence but trying to void the contract of a player who has the same might make for a bad public precedent, and these Mets certainly do NOT need anymore bad publicity. It's no guarantee that Backman will be the Mets next manager; the road has simply been paved a bit smoother in case the new GM decides that the ex-Met second baseman is, indeed, his first choice. Regardless of whom is chosen, the manager is going to have to emphasize smart baseball and hustle, things the current team has lacked in large quantities of late. I'm not here to push one candidate over the other - I've given up on hoping for Bobby V - but whoever IS brought in will inevitably, and irrevocably, be tied to their first manager in the same way that the pairing of Omar & Willie Randolph will never be forgotten. That's why this decision is not one to rush into, regardless of what other teams are doing, unless/until the GM's top candidate is on the verge of going elsewhere. I'd rather see the GM bring in a half-dozen candidates, including at least one "stretch" candidate, to ensure that the eventual manager will not be a "compromise" candidate the way that Jerry was, out of necessity. Managers like Ron Gardenhire and Joe Maddon may not have looked like A-List hires at the time of their hiring, but they've certainly repaid the faith their GM's had in them- I'd love to see a similar thing happen to the Mets for a change.

The coaching staff is also a huge concern, as neither Willie nor Jerry was allowed to bring in a staff that was of their own design. It's fine for a GM to have input into the staff make-up; in fact, it's expected. But if you're going to hire a manager to be in charge of a payroll north of $100 million, you need to let that manager bring on-board lieutenants who he can feel comfortable going into battle with. Joe Torre realized his greatest managerial success when surrounded with the likes of Zimmer, Stottlemyre, Bowa, Pena, etc...(it didn't hurt having Jeter, Posada & Mariano, of course.) Willie's only hire, hitting coach Rick Down, did a far better job then HoJo - but was fired, leaving Willie without a confidant to lean on. Depending upon your opinion, coaches' ability to influence players at the major league level are either over-stated or under-appreciated; either way, I'd certainly prefer to see a tried and true hitting coach (Clint Hurdle, Downs, Jamarillo) hired to join a high-end pitching coach (if Dan Warthen isn't retained) - think Dave Duncan, Mike Maddux or Leo Mazzone - because this way, regardless of opinion, hiring the best certainly can't result in any worse results!

6.) 25 Man Roster: I've grown tired of saying this- Mike Jacobs, Gary Matthews Jr, Fernando Tatis, Alex Cora, Frank Catalonatto, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Kelvim Escobar, Luis Castillo, Jeff Franceur, Sean Green &Fernando Nieve were to comprise 1/2 of the Mets Opening Day, 2010 roster if injuries hadn't taken Maine & Escobar out of the picture completely. Thankfully, Jacobs, Matthews, Cora, Cat, Green & Nieve didn't last all that long, but the fact that players like Carter, Evans, Parnell and Davis were NOT on the opening day roster, and the above-mentioned players WERE is enough to make composition of the 25 man roster yet one more area that will be deeply scrutinized, by the media and fans alike. It's one thing if the new GM wants to take a chance on a Justin Duchscherer, Brandon Webb or Jorge De La Rosa as the 12th pitcher on the roster; it's another entirely when a player like that (or a Brian Lawrence, Fernando Nieve, James Baldwin, etc) is counted on to be the SP4 or 5.

The new GM will have to create a roster that is far younger and more flexible then in recent years, and AAA should feature some recycled players that could be called on in an emergency, but whom should not be counted on to make a major difference on the major league roster. Finding an RA Dickey is NOT a regular occurrence, although we'd all love it to be. Injuries will happen, and that's where a Jesus Feliciano comes in handy; having to count on AAA-A players is NOT a plan for success!

7.) Marketing Plan: CitiField opened up in 2009, and most criticisms revolved around the fact that the ballpark didn't seem very Met-like in nature. There were few tributes to Mets teams of the past, and so the team suffered greatly in the PR department, especially when compared to the glistening new ballpark in the Bronx, laden with tributes to their history wherever the eye could see. In 2009 the Wilpons responded to the criticism and added a Mets Hall-of-Fame, in addition to numerous, high-quality improvements that made it more obvious that a fan was attending a game in the Mets ballpark. But this is only symptomatic of the bigger picture issue- the Mets have, for far too long, looked at as a bumbling, second class organization in the world's largest media market in the most famous city of all.

It was great to hear Omar declare that signing Pedro would restore cache and credibility to the organization when he signed him in 2004; unfortunately, all that ended up proving is that, if the money is right, any player will sign with any team at any time. The Mets remained a laughingstock in the eyes of many people; spending as much money as they have only served, in some quarters, to enhance that opinion. By bringing in a GM who can restore credibility within the game itself, the Mets will go a long way to restoring credibility with the media, who in turn will write stories that will convince the fans that the Mets are on the right path once again.

If the new GM can restore credibility within the game amongst the other teams, works well with the media, and doesn't lie to or distort the truth to the fans, the team will be able to weather any potential rebuilding process in far easier (and more profitable) fashion. If injured players aren't mishandled, and injuries aren't downplayed, the public trust is restored and the team will find that more people are willing to shell out the extra $$, even in bad economic times, to go to a ballgame, buy that new hat, or watch the team on television with more regularity. These are all vital components towards achieving something that the team has been sorely lacking in -

8.) Brand Development: In sum, if the Mets want to steer the organization onto the right path, then all of the above points will add up to improved brand development. If you asked the average baseball fan what the Mets represent, he/she will probably say something that equates to mediocrity. That's certainly not acceptable when the Wilpons have laid out hundreds of millions of dollars in the investment that is the New York Mets. Brand Development in the retail world has resulted in companies like Starbucks reaching their current status as the coffee of choice all over the world. Brand Development in baseball equates to what the Red Sox have achieved over the past 10 years, as "Red Sox Nation" has taken flight. I've lived in California for over 16 years now, and yet I've met hundreds of Mets fans and have been at Dodger games where more than 1/3 of the crowd favors the Metropolitans. There are fans out there, but many feel that it's just not worth their time and effort to root for them anymore. By developing the Mets into a first class brand, the rewards, in the form of improved revenue streams and better overall perception of both the team itself and the organization as a whole, will serve to take the New York Mets to the heights that have been realized only twice in the nearly 50 years of their existence.

Choose wisely, Fred, Jeff & company- this hire will prove to be THE most critical in the franchise's history!!

Coming this week - Part IV:Evaluating the current roster/pressing needs