Reese Kaplan -- Sometimes Silence Really is Golden

Several years ago, in the 1980s and 1990s, I used to have an ongoing debate with my mother who would exclaim with exasperation fairly often, “The world is so crazy today!”  Being the curmudgeon that I am, I took issue with this assertion, positing instead that the world itself wasn’t necessarily any crazier, but that the media coverage was so much better that you got news about things sooner and thus it would create the impression that things were indeed more bizarre or extreme than they were earlier in her lifetime.

Now flash forward a few decades and it seems that what I’d suggested back then was merely the tip of the iceberg.  We live in the age of the Twitterverse where everything is instantaneously distributed globally from the tap of a key on one’s smartphone.  Consider, for example, the recent stories that took over the Internet regarding the Astros sign-stealing scandal and the Gabe Kapler coverup of misdoings of Dodger organization players.  Maybe I’m showing my age, but didn’t it used to be that we had to wait for something called facts to emerge and investigations to take place? 

The current popular culture would have anything from sex scandals to politics to celebrity gossip become Internet memes and hashtags within seconds of the information being revealed.  That got me thinking about a positive aspect of the Brodie Van Wagenen front office which, regardless of whether you love him or hate him, which has to be acknowledged as an improvement. 

During the Alderson era and the Minaya era that preceded it, there were a multitude of media-related problems.  First there were the leaks…so-called anonymous sources that would feed stories to beat reporters rather than confronting the players or manager directly so that the writers could do the front office’s dirty work.  Not that I’m in any way defending the man, but look no further than the way in which Matt Harvey was handled. 

Then there was the way in which they would use the media as a sort of trial balloon prior to making decisions.  Stories would crop up about disciplinary actions, prospective trades or free agent signings seemingly to gauge what the reaction would be from the fans.  Everyone knew when David Wright was going to have his contract extended.  Everyone knew when the Mets engaged Jason Bay.  Everyone was well aware of the negotiations with Yoenis Cespedes.

Contrast this approach to some of what we’ve seen from BVW.  While people were aware he was interviewing Carlos Beltran, most of the media had the gig going to either Tim Bogar or Eduardo Perez.  The decision to terminate Mickey Callaway was done in a straightforward manner, promptly and without 2:00 AM knocks on out-of-town hotel doors.  Few knew he was going to trade for J.D. Davis, Marcus Stroman or sign Jed Lowrie.  Many know that Jeremy Hefner, Joey Cora and others are interviewing for coaching positions, but no one knows who the front runners are.

The one exception to this media blackout was the prolonged and complex transaction that brought Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano to New York.  That one was bandied about for some time in the media with names changing and dollar amounts being reported and subsequently corrected. 

I’m not here to debate the merits of that last transaction.  Suffice to say, it didn’t work out yet as expected and at best you’d give it an incomplete.  What I am pointing out is that the Mets are keeping mum about their plans and that is a better way to conduct business than has been done in the recent past.  As it is, the blogosphere goes wild with guessing and condemnations every time a hypothetical transaction takes place.  That’s perfectly fine.  What wasn’t fine in the past was the way in which the Mets used the media.  They are there to report and analyze the news.  They shouldn’t be there to help grease the skids to get rid of someone or to test market prospective personnel moves.