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1/30/15

The Morning Report – 1-30 – Q and A: If I Owned The Mets





Rachel asked –

          Hey Mack. First of all, you run a great site. It’s one of the top three I visit every day and I think you have the best writers on the internet.

On to my question…  you’ve said in the past that you don’t like to predict things and speculate and all that, but I’m really curious if someone gave you the money that was needed to buy the Mets, pay off all the debt, and star anew.
What would Mack do?

          Mack – Wow. Now there’s a great question and I’m happy it came on a day I’m working a little ahead of schedule and near the end of the week. It gives me the time to think about this and address it properly.
Hmm…   no debt… current team… current front office.

  1.   I assume I still have some money left over to pay out some existing contracts. For starters, I’d make some changes in the front office. I would remove Terry Collins as the manager of the team. I’m not exactly sure who I would offer this job to, but it would be someone much younger and someone that respects the players more than I believe that Collins does. I would consider one internal candidate… Tim Teufel. Past him, I would go outside of the team.

  2.   This one could be sticky and might not happen. I assume that Sandy Alderson isn’t going to be happy that I removed Collins and I understand that, but this is my dream, right? I would offer Alderson the opportunity to stay for the remainder of his recently signed contract, but he would have to accept that I am going to make decisions like the one I just made about TC. I would also make it clear that I will take an active role a la George Steinbrenner in many of the duties that Alderson had under the Wilpons. If he has problems with this, he also can leave.

  3.   Sadly, there’s very little I can do about all the baseball players that have signed with other teams. What I can do is throw some more money around and show the baseball world that things have changed in Flushing. This would start with aggressively pursuing and offering what it takes to secure the services of Cuban outfielder Yoan Moncada. No Mets fan on this planet is going to hold it against me if this kid turns out to be a bust.

  4.   Next, I do not want to rush either Noah Syndergaard or Steven Matz. To me, they will both be part of my 2016 rotation, not the 2015. Regarding this year, I would keep Jonathan Niese on board as SP5 and add Rafael Montero as my emergency 6th starter/injury relief/long man out of the pen. I would then offer a super-duper one year contract to SP James Shields as an alternative (for him) in case he wants to push this whole free agent business back a year. If he passes, I add Montero to my rotation. The Mets already screwed up the draft (in a light draft year) so losing another pick isn’t going to kill me.

  5.   I would DFA both Dillon Gee and Bartolo Colon and take what I can get for them, even if it’s just international bonus money. As I said above, I want to make a fresh start here even though neither of these guys really did anything wrong

  6.   I would double, possibly triple, the amount of scouts I had working the international market. There’s no place in baseball where you can sign a high end, high ceiling, prospect (at 16-years old) for really reasonable money. It’s high risk though, but other teams have proven that a steady input of these kids get you more than just a future shortstop.

  7.   I’d make one more shot at a blockbuster trade with Colorado. I want both Tulo and CarGo and, if I was able to get them, this whole post should be throw away and I would start over. I would offer two things… a decent and flexible group of prospects/established players that would include Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda (I’d play Cuddyer on first), Wilmer Flores, Brandon Nimmo, Cory Mazzoni, and even Rafael Montero. The other part of this trade is I would offer to pay 100% of both their existing contracts. Again, I really want these guys (if doctors clear them) and I want to show the baseball world I mean business.

Past this, there’s not much more I can do this year. I would probably start to sniff around for a replacement for Curtis Granderson in 2016, and I’d make myself a promise that I’m never going to sign another long term deal with someone unless he was a superstar in this game. Lastly, someone has to start the process of attempting to sign Matt Harvey past his free agent date so I’d make the first phone call and invite Scott Boras for a salmon lunch.


How’d I do?

20 comments:

  1. I would sign either Tim Bogar or Joe mcEwing as my head coach with Wally as my bench Coach.

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  2. Nice plan, Mack...the job is yours, sir.

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  3. Somebody find a job for Doc Gooden to work with the pitchers..... not sayin current guy doin a bad job, but I love Doc, and he knows pitching.

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  4. Ernest, I'd rather have Frankie V as my pitching coach

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  5. Mack got my vote when the first thing he said he'd do is put us all out of our misery by showing Terry Collins the door.

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  6. IMO, you are thinking too small, Mack.

    I'd make a huge splash -- spent a lot -- grab the headlines -- and target revenues. I'd aim to take back NYC from a sagging Yankee franchise.

    I'd look at this lame business, 2 million fans, and set out to grow it to the 4 million a year. And, yes, I'd recognize that a team needs stars for that to happen.

    The Dodgers are selling out the stadium at a regular basis. I'd want that type of energy and excitement in my ballpark. I'd remember that this is an entertainment business, and that I was competing with Broadway when it comes to fan dollars.

    I'd shoot for winning the division. I'd spend big. That does not I'd forego the farm system by any means. I'd compete for the big international free agents.

    And, yes, I'd have a SS. And a top LH in the pen. And I'd be 100% focused on winning now.

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  7. James -

    Remember, I'm being asked this question on Jan 30th and I'm starting real late in the free agent pool this year

    I did forget about Frankie V would would definitely be my pitching coach

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  8. Knicks made a big 5 year, $100MM splash on Amare Stoudemire.

    But why bring up basketball when one can bring up Santana.

    Sometimes the big splash can be like a splash of acid, when a big name, big bucks deal craters. To go all out bucks-wise on an older guy is a high risk gamble.

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  9. You mean like Michael Cuddyer, Bartolo Colon and Curtis Granderson? :)

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    Replies
    1. All three players combined will make 100 million and be off the books in 3 years. In two years they'll be just 15 million left. Thosr deals won't kill you and certainly should negatively affect a NY franchise.

      You also have a better chance of success hitting on one or two of those deals and saying it was worth it than the mega 6/7 year deals that are the going rate for big time superstars.

      The only reason the Knicks were killed by Stadamaire's contract is because of the cap. The Knicks have enough money for ten max contracts. They're just handicapped.

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  10. Mack

    Careful, some may think you are a Yankee troll having all of these thoughts that are counter to the current way of doing things......... (haha joking)

    Seriously though, I see you have obviously invested considerable thought into how you would run things.

    I would like to mention that I would have faith in you to not have to resort to DFAing Colon & Gee. I am sure that you would be able to trade both without having to resort to DFA either of them.

    One addition I would suggest, dig into your Macks Mets community and bring Reese along for the ride with you as an assistant gm.

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  11. Bob -

    Good point about Reese -

    Also, Stephen could be head stat head

    As for DFAing Colon and Gee, I bet my phone would ring more than Alderson's ringing right now?

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  12. I would bite the bullet and go with what you have for the first three months of this season. At that point, the big shifts take place: Matz and Thor join the Rotation; Herrara takes over at 2B; Trade Colon, Gee (earlier) Niese, and Murphy for the best available upper minor talent or a good reliever. Thor joins the rotation in June to establish big league time and used as the primary trade chip (or Wheeler/deGrom) to obtain either Russell, Profar or Boogerts, so that SS is finally settled. Choose the best one and sweeten a Thor package to end this once and for all. Replace Thor with Montero and live with a Fab Four and a Guy. Next offseason, go whole hog on Heyward; let Cuddyer/Grandy platoon in LF for 2016 until Conforto is ready to replace.
    -jettison the old and in with the new
    -part with one of the Jewels to get a top shelf, long term and cost controlled SS
    -settle for 4 studs and not 5
    -use freed up money to sign Heyward to play RF
    -Grandy/Cuddyer platoon in LF until Sept 2016, when Conforto comes up

    I think the team takes steps forward in 2015 and may sniff a wild card.
    2016 SS, RF holes are filled, with young rotation in place- they should have as good a chance in the NL as anyone, but you never know what others do. If they answer SS and RF with five years solutions, this team will compete over those five years and the team will be watchable immediately
    Anon Joe F

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  13. Not a bad plan going into the season, Joe F. A lot will be clearer come June/July.

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  14. I'm going to be contrarian.

    If the question had been, "If you were GM and had a hands-off owner, with infinitely deep pockets (who held them open for your hands), what would you do?" I'd be all in with your moves. (OK, maybe I'd ship out Granderson now, for whatever--I think he would rake in Baltimore--and play Ceasr & den Dekker in RF for 2015).

    But you sound like an OWNER from Hell. Who could you get as a GM (or manager, for that matter) who has every player/game decision questioned or made for him/her?

    Me? As philanthropic owner I would give my GM carte blanche with W-L as his bottom line. I might on my own, buy up some MinL franchises, say Savannah & Charlotte, for my pipeline and have my GM held accountable to feed them too.

    And oh, I want to build a Met Museum as park of the CitiField complex. It;s highlight would be a virtual reality Met experience. You put the goggles on and watch any Met game ever played from the vantage point of anywhere on the playing field.

    So there. :-)

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  15. Hobie. I just read your post with goggles on.

    Make those goggles rose-colored and only allow winning games to be shown!

    For those who can spend the entire weekend, there should be a montage of all trips to the mound by Terry Collins. Too long - make it a 3 day weekend.

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  16. Hobie -

    BILLY... YOU'RE FIRED !!!

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  17. One more move for you.

    Marco Scutaro was released by the Giants yesterday. Sign him (we only owe him league minimum) and use him for the infield bench guy. I'll bet he's still got one more good year of baseball in him.

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  18. The problem with this thread is that Mack and others answered as if they were the GM, not the owner.

    If you owned a baseball franchise in the largest city in the country, and you had the resources to legitimately run that club, how would you operate that business? Key word: business.

    James Preller

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