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11/6/18

OPEN THREAD - Brody Van Wagonen



In my opinion, it's hard to find anything wrong yet about this guy.

He's first taking look at the internal organization and shuffling around the pieces. 

The hitting coach is gone while the others have been either reassigned (play out their existing contract on the bench) or shifted positions.

For the first time in ages, the Manager had full import on who his coaches would be.

Omar Minaya has been named the Director of What Comes Out Of The Islands, which the other two members of the troika's future remain undetermined (I will say this... Ricco is very close to the Wilpons and does an awful lot of internal corporate stuff in the past, reporting directly to them, I expect him to survive).

Some of you are already calling for his head if he keeps certain players at certain positions (a recent comment about our current third baseman created this post). I disagree with rushing into player decisions.

Case in point.

I was in the radio industry (yawn). I went into a new GM job with one approach... I wanted to get to know my divisional managers, get a gut feel on both their ability and loyalty, and then begin a confidential search for any replacements needed at those slots. I had to have strong middle management before I started to thing about hiring either salespeople or disc jockeys. 

The best example was when I went to WYKZ/WBEU which served Beaufort SC, Hilton Head SC, and Savannah GA. 

The sales manager their was a man named Robert 'Jet' Angel. An internal dinner with him, as well as a couple of outside inquiries to key advertisers, told me that he was the most qualified for the position. So I kept him, but I also gave him the task of finding the 'best available' salesperson for all three markets. 

Jet determined that someone on our staff (Linda Morlan) was the best in Beaufort. He then determined that Bill Scott, who worked at a rival radio station on Hilton Head Island, was the best for us to cover that territory. And lastly, he determined that the best available in Savannah was a lady named Lou Ten Eyck

Jet (not me) made those decisions and he proved out to be as good a 'scout' as he was a sales manager. In one year, we became the number one revenue producer in both Beaufort and Hilton Head.

Our new Mets GM is following a similar path. Clean it up inside, get new, younger brains to head critical positions, and if the Wilpons want to add old bones to the Terry Collins/Tim Teufel old guard down in Florida, that's fine. They can sit around the Duffy's bar and tell old stories of failed teams.

Your thoughts?




9 comments:

  1. Valid points - I also liked BVW response about Alonzo & service time . Hopefully this wasn’t just lip service

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  2. Very Good Comments, Mack. It's so easy to be negative and find fault with everything, even before it happens.

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  3. What I find interesting is that BVW supposedly was the only candidate to tell the Wilpons
    the truth, as opposed to what they wanted to hear during the GM interviews (i.e. the team had lost
    the respect of the industry).

    I am guessing that opened their eyes a little bit? When you are insulated and you surround yourself
    with folks that simply agree with you, you end up thinking that everything is fine (i.e. an echo chamber). I am glad that
    they picked someone who WANTS TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

    Hell, yes.......he may crash and burn, but it is better to take a new approach, then to try the same tired act over and over, while expecting a new result. That point was so obvious while reviewing Reese's recent series on Sandy's tenure.....specifically allowing Terry Collins to keep coming back as manager.

    I picture Jeff Wilpon standing next to a hot stove, while repeatedly touching the burner and exclaiming "ouch that's hot", but failing to change his conduct.

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  4. Nobody wants a winner more than Fred.

    They own a bunc of properties to keep them busy.

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  5. Here is something different for the Mets.
    OPEN THE WALLET and sign someone like Machado. Shock the fans with a good off-season for a change. Dare to spend like a big market club.

    Or a the very least, fix the BP with good arms, not the dumpster kind.

    Sign deGrom and Wheeler to extensions.

    Grandal was given arbitration so signing Ramos is a no brainer now.

    Omar, go find us great international prospects.

    Find another home for Bruce, any home.

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  6. Brody was a mistake until he proves otherwise.... no this organization does not deserve the benefit of the doubt and going out side the box is not something This organization should do...

    Stay in the box as in do whatever successful organization do... Bllom was successful , young , a yale grad for Pete’s sakes...

    Wrong choice ....
    could it work yes but with this team it’s not half glass full or give any benefit of the doubt.... it’s prove it ....if trout was acquired no one would be saying it’s a bad thing
    So choosing someone who was not a no brained was the wrong move

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  7. Fair enough, Eddie......I simply disagree with you, but I get your point.

    Bloom would have been a good choice, too.....but, he is unconventional in his approach when
    compared to the "old way" the Mets have operated. Granted, not as much as going with
    BVW, but still a bit off the path.

    I am celebrating the apparent changes in thinking, since the status quo was not leading to sustained success.

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  8. Because a Stamford grad is soooo terrible

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  9. In the Panama City airport awaiting the first of three flights home. I have a lot to catch up on since departing for Central and South America. I did see the soccer stadium in Panama City was named for Rod Carew.

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