Mike's Mets - Waiting for What Happens Next

 

By Mike Steffanos November 11, 2020

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty great day. I listened to some of the Cohen/Alderson press conference live, then listened to the whole thing again last night. I've been a Mets fan for a long, long time, but caring that much about what was said in a press conference is a new phenomenon for me. I can't imagine listening to Fred or Jeff Wilpon talk for even a fraction of that amount of time without losing all hope for the Mets ever being more than a punchline. But today doesn't seem a day to dwell on the sins of owners past. This one definitely seems to be a keeper.

I believe that, in time, I will look back on yesterday's press conference as a stark dividing line between the New York Mets that came before and the New York Mets under Steve Cohen. We heard a lot of speculation on what Cohen might prioritize once he took control, but the words that came out of his mouth yesterday were, to me, an absolute best case scenario. Everything that I've been hoping for and writing about in this space seems to be part of Cohen's and Sandy Alderson's game plan.

Don't think that I'm not trying to portray myself as some sort of genius here. Everything — from investing in the team infrastructure, using the Dodgers as a model, placing a new importance on the farm system, implementing systems throughout the organization from the minor leagues right up to the major league level and more — was all of the things that made the most sense for a New York Mets club that was run by someone who had a clue. You kind of figured that Steve Cohen was going to be well suited to be that guy, but hearing him prove it made me almost stupidly optimistic for the future. Not that I in any way underestimate how very hard it is to win a World Series title, but because I believe that I will actually have a good chance of seeing one while I'm still around to enjoy it.

There's a lot of work to be done, of course, but I enjoyed Sandy Alderson's vision for the future. Sandy seemed mighty happy and almost carefree yesterday, like someone who had lived for quite a while under a dark cloud and has been freed now that the cloud only owns 5% of the team. I'm looking forward to seeing who the Mets hire next, so that we can start watching them in action.

I'm sure, like any good organization, the Mets will have hits and misses, but I expect that being a lot smarter will equate to many more hits than misses. I'm sure there's a segment of the media that will be very reluctant to part with the whole LOL Mets thing, but that meme already feels like it belongs in the past. LOL Mets belonged to an organization under an ownership that took itself very seriously but just plain failed to do the work required to fix all of the things that were broken, and make things right for one of the greatest and most stubbornly loyal fanbases in all of sport.

What a day for the Mets fan yesterday! It takes a special sort of person to stay loyal to a club that so consistently failed to reward that loyalty. It wasn't enough that the club was so bad and painful to watch at times, but the people most responsible for creating the garden where failure and heartbreak blossomed so spectacularly always seemed convinced they were doing things right. There was no room there for new ideas to take hold, or to honestly question what wasn't working.

As a fan, you could only watch all of this nonsense from afar with the same hopelessness that you felt watching the clueless blonde enter the dark room in a slasher pic. Or, to toss out another metaphor, whatever hopes you may have had as a fan were like the red shirts in a Star Trek episode, doomed cannon fodder to a storyline over which you had zero control.

So, what happens now? Probably not much, at least until Cohen and Alderson hire the baseball people they want to transition the Mets organization from bad joke to a well-oiled machine that is capable of producing talent and wins. Meanwhile, everyone is is guessing who the player targets should be, and Marcus Stroman has decided to return to the fold. Some thoughts:

Marcus Stroman: I thought that there was a pretty good chance that Stroman would take the qualifying offer. He has a lot to prove if he hopes to get a good-sized multi-year contract, and there won't be draft pick compensation attached to him after next season. I've never found myself embracing the guy, but the Mets need starters, and it's hard to lose on a 1-year deal. What will be interesting to see would be if Stroman can win back Mets fans who are, to say the least, somewhat skeptical about him after all that has transpired. And I'm not so sure the Mets would have been in on the guy for a longer term deal if he had chosen to decline the qualifying offer.

Trevor Bauer: It really did seem like the Mets have interest in the guy, and they certainly need more starters. If they were to sign him, and Syndergaard return strong from Tommy John, that's a pretty solid top 3 for a team to go into the playoffs with. Still, who knows how much interest there is in Bauer, and at what price? And does Stroman taking the $19 million affect the Mets interest in Bauer?

George Springer: I keep coming back to this guy as my best bet for who the Mets sign from the premium free agent pool. He'd give them a truly great right-handed bat in the lineup again, replacing the departed Yoenis Céspedes. He'd fit in for at least a couple of years as a solid centerfielder, and you wouldn't have the concerns that you'd have with J.T. Realmuto as a catcher aging into his 30s who has already supposedly expressed a lack of desire to play in New York.

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