Looking At Things From THEIR Perspective

I've done a lot of posting about what I'd do, or at least LIKE to do if I were running the Mets. I mean I've listed every solution from signing Reyes to going after Albert Pujols and back again. I think it might be more important to look at things from the perspective about the guys paying the bills.

Let us face some facts:

• Attendance Is Down
• The Team Isn't Winning
• They Either Participated In Or Were Taken By A Ponzi Scheme
• They Will Need To Pay Irving Picard Between $83 and $383 Million

Let us also remember that a year spent rebuilding without stars like Wright and/or Reyes means LOWER attendance, LESS wins and LESS revenue with which to pay Irving Picard. So... forgetting what is in the best interest of the team... what is in the best interest of the OWNERS?

Let us look at assets:

• David Wright, the face of the franchise, he's a homegrown talent with a large fan following. He's had a couple of rougher seasons now, and might net you more talent in a trade.
• Johan Santana, He's beyond the point where he's a draw for fans because he hasn't pitched in a long time and he's not the pitcher he was.
• Ike Davis, He's the future face of the offense which is fine, but he won't draw big box office numbers by himself.
• Scrappy Go-Getters, Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda and R.A. Dickey might all be fine players but they aren't getting fans into the seats.
• Generation 2K, You have a crop of TOP starting pitching talent in the farm but it could be over a year away and could fizzle like Generation K did.

If Alderson did nothing, and let Reyes walk there isn't enough there to keep the fans interested. The Wilpons WANT fans to be interested. They would love to bring in an Albert Pujols who could single-handedly bring in a slew of fans with his reputation alone. However, Pujols does NOT make sense for the Mets and their pitcher's park. So... what should the Wilpons do to keep fans in the seats for 2012?

The Fan Plan:

• Re-Sign Jose Reyes - (It's a good-will gesture to the fans that you are not going to play it cheap in a big city like NY. It says, "Yes, we can afford to keep our home grown talent.")
• Lock Up Wright - (Does he live up to the marquee billing? Maybe not, but he's the face of the team and you need to maintain the face of your team until you can establish a new one. Think the Yankees with Jeter into Cano.)
• Let Alderson Find His Gems - (I'd love the Mets to anti-up and get a Yu Darvish or C.J. Wilson but that is a little much. Instead let Alderson take low-risk chances on guys like: Chris Young, Scott Kazmir etc...)
• Get A Legit Closer - (For a short-term deal. I'm starting to feel like Francisco Cordero is the best fit because he can come in with a 1-2 year deal, do his job... then retire.)

If the Mets did those things they could stay relatively competitive in 2012 and still start promoting the crop of young talent from 2012 to 2014. This way you aren't sacrificing the future but also not giving the fans reason to panic and/or abandon ship. It is in the Wilpon's best FINANCIAL interest for Alderson to spend SOME money.