Reese Kaplan -- Sandy Alderson Deserves a Graceful Mets Exit

When Sandy Alderson was brought in to help the Wilpons somehow tread water and recover from the whole Madoff mess that left them in a tenuous grip of the franchise and people wanting to tar and feather them for their mismanagement, it finally seemed as if there was an adult in the room. When you heard Sandy speak at press conferences or even just for quick hits with the team in less formal environs he always was calm, thoughtful and professional.

As the years rolled by with Alderson at the helm people started getting a bit less enamored of him personally and criticizing some of the decisions made regarding personnel he brought in and how money was being spent. Since none of us were flies on the wall who heard what the Wilpons said he could and couldn't do, it's difficult to ascertain how much of the uneven approach was due to financial limitations and how much was due to a poor approach to building a roster.

After the Wilpons hit the road with their multi millions from the sale of the team, folks were not sure about where exactly Alderson fit in for the future. He was still the team president and had served in both a GM capacity and then a more business-oriented one less directly involved in the day-to-day personnel matters.

Of course, he was part of the management crew that felt short-stay GMs like agent-turned-front-office=executive Brodie Van Wagenen. He was followed up with dirty picture sending Jared Porter who tried to land a female sports reporter and he was gone just one month into a four year contract for cause. His replacement was Zack Scott given the interim duties somewhat in desperation after the Porter push out the door. His Mets career was doomed after he attended a Steve Cohen event and got a DWI on the way home.

Now, to be fair, he brought in an experienced GM in Billy Eppler who has done a nice job with free agents but really seems to have swung and missed on most of the trades he's made. Eppler's presence helped the Mets land Kodai Senga this year as he had a reputation for bringing in Japanese talent in the form of Shohei Ohtani to the Angels while working there.

Alderson also has had more than a fair share of health problems, including treatments for cancer. At age 75 he's certainly not part of the future and does represent a link to the not-so-illustrious past. This week it was announced he is not being retained to be the club president. While it's always a shame to see someone leave who did more good than bad given his handcuffing by the former owners, it's obvious the team and Steve Cohen have a vastly different worldview and want to bring in brainpower of their own.

Word has filtered out that the Mets are looking more for a purely business-oriented team president than one who grew up from the roster-building GM side. Given the size of the budget of the team, the complexity of the tax rules, the revenue contracts for various ways baseball provides income to its owners and the overall budget to provide to the GM, it certainly makes sense to target an MBA-type of business leader.

For now the club will function without this role filled before they rush prematurely into filling the position. For now the team is caught up in the pomp and circumstance of Spring Training and filled with the optimism of a few season playing the game itself. Once underway, they will begin the process of identifying the attributes they want in the new president.

It's also possible the delay is to open up interviews with people currently employed by other clubs. No one is really sure and unlike the previous regime, the Cohen management team is better about not leaking such details to the media.

Right now Sandy Alderson deserves a pat on the back for the job he did under the trying circumstances which curtailed what he was capable of doing. Did he make 100% perfect decisions? No, no one does that. Was everything he did completely wrong? No, that is not possible either. What he did do was help pave the way for the Wilpons to leave and Steve Cohen to expand his former Board Member role into full ownership. For that alone he deserves not a kick in the pants but some genuine applause.