Mack - DePodesta and Ricciardi

Q and A from Bob Gregory -

Great to see you posting your Friday morning reports. I hope you are doing well and are finding your physical/mental/ and emotional health improving daily. I also hope you are finding a renewed joy in the reports that you publicize on Friday.  From what I have read, comments to your morning reports demonstrate much more appreciation for your thoughts, insights, & comments.  I am glad to see this to be true.

I am not sure if you remember but shortly before your stepping back from the daily grind I sent you a question by email. I was looking forward to your insight regarding the hypothetical differences and similarities in how DePodesta or Ricciardi would have handled this past off season compared to Alderson?

This is of course if Alderson did not resign as GM or promoted himself to a president type position and one of the assistants were promoted.

If you are capable And still interested I would love to read your best "Mack-View" of how this would have played out.

Of course I also understand if this is something that is not destined to see print.

Wishing you all the best. Bob.

          Mack – Thanks for the question, Bob.

          Your question is an interesting one and let’s address it on two levels.

First, and sadly, I really haven’t had much one-on-one contact with anyone in the Sandy Alderson era. My health and age, coupled with the loss of my press credentials, prevented me from extending direct contact past the Omar Minaya years. This alone prevents me from speculating how either DePodesta or Ricciardi would have handled the situation without Alderson being with the Mets.

I will say this… I don’t think they would have remained in the Mets organization. They were brought in by Alderson and seem to operate as his almost silent assistants who never make the final decision in anything.

Anyone that knows anything about the inner workings of the Mets know that everything that is finalized and executed by the Mets, in every operational area, has the final stamp of approval by Alderson.

Lastly, I do think the makeup of the 25-man squad would be different. No one could have said ‘no’ to as many trade possibilities as Alderson probably did. My guess is Noah Syndergaard wouldn’t be a Mets if either of these guys were in charge. It would have been too tempting to deal him off for a new shortstop or a better choice in the outfield than Michael Cuddyer.