There’s an old joke that comes to mind when you consider the
way with which Sandy Alderson goes about trying to improve the team:
John, who was in financial difficulty, walked into a church
and started to pray. ''Listen God,'' John said. ''I know I haven't been perfect
but I really need to win the lottery. I don't have a lot of money. Please help
me out.''
He left the church, a
week went by, and he hadn't won the lottery, so he walked into a synagogue.
''Come on, God,'' he said. ''I really need this money. My mom needs surgery and
I have bills to pay. Please let me win the lottery.''
He left the synagogue, a week went by, and he didn't win the
lottery. So, he went to a mosque and started to pray again. ''You're starting
to disappoint me, God,'' he said. ''I've prayed and prayed. If you just let me
win the lottery, I'll be a better person. I don't have to win the jackpot, just
enough to get me out of debt. I'll give some to charity, even. Just let me win
the lottery.'' John thought this did it, so he got up and walked outside.
The clouds opened up and a booming voice said, ''John, would you meet me halfway and at least buy a fucking lottery ticket?''
Wishing and hoping is not a strategy. Having a clear plan is. Modifying the plan when it’s not working
is. Taking action is. Recognizing weaknesses and addressing them
is.
So far as the players dropped like flies the Mets have
acquired castoffs Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Bautista, Chris Beck, Buddy Baumann and
Scott Copeland. These “powerful”
additions came after the off-season acquisitions of such luminaries as Jose
Lobaton and Jose Reyes. The big bucks
acquisitions were a return of Jay Bruce (who apparently no one else wanted), Todd
Frazier and his .224 batting average, and a rather expensive middle reliever
named Anthony Swarzak with two positive seasons in an eight year career to the
tune of $14 million over two years.
Quantity is rarely a substitute for quality. While it’s always easy to play Monday morning
quarterback, the fact is that none of these moves was met with champagne and
caviar celebrations – more like White Castles and generic cola among the few who
were happy. Personally I was screaming for additions like
There are no easy fixes given the weak farm system and the
lack of intestinal fortitude it would take to do a proper rebuild from the
ground up. For 8 years now Alderson has
had two seasons of relative success.
That’s a .250 batting average – below replacement player level. If he at least tried to improve the club
instead of the continual over-the-hill and scrap heap band-aids, then perhaps
fans would show the patience necessary to see it’s a marathon and not a
sprint. However, like the man John in
the joke, would you at least buy a fucking ticket?
5 comments:
They got rid of Terry Collins just when his lifetime allotment of bad decisions and bad luck had been used up - what a mistake!
The Mets got "Vargassed" last night by another expensive, old incompetent player.
Try younger guys. Any younger guys.
It's a young man's game.
For unknown reasons (money?), I don't think winning is the goal. At least that is what it looks like from the outside.
Mike -
you are starting to figure this out
Oh is over 40. Its not so much a question of age as it is about evaluating talent properly. How much did Frazier being an ex Yankee factor into his signing? Swarzak, too.
Is there a Buddie Boom Boom Baumann fan club I can join somewhere?
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