Mike's Mets - All David Stearns All the Time

 

By Mike Steffanos

Rumors about David Stearns and the Mets swirl non-stop. I'm into all of it, but this reminds me a bit too much of last winter's sad Carlos Correa saga.

When this season began, I thought my September would be consumed by the Mets' playoff push. Instead, I'm watching a club playing out the string on a disappointing season and hoping that I might see an announcement soon concerning hiring a new person to run the Mets' baseball operations. In last week's post, I mentioned a Peter Gammons tweet stating that the employees who survived the organizational purge felt that a PBO would be "named within two weeks." I was skeptical then that Brewers owner Mark Attanasio would allow David Stearns out of his Brewers' commitment early. However, we subsequently learned that Stearns' contract stipulated that he was free to negotiate with other teams after August 1.

So, Peter Gammons's timetable is now undoubtedly plausible. Multiple reports from various sources stated that the Mets were the favorites to land the coveted executive and that the Mets and Stearns were already "down the road" in their negotiations. The whole thing is becoming reminiscent of the debacle after the Carlos Correa signing, with the added significance that the Mets are playing a series against Correa's Twins team this weekend. Minnesota is currently in first place in the AL Central, while the Mets are barely clinging to fourth in the NL East. As I write this, the Mets have just dropped Saturday's second game of the set, ensuring a series loss to the Twins.

While the Mets seem to have an excellent chance to ink Stearns to run the club, it's undeniable that another club like Houston could spoil the party for the New Yorkers. This is why, with the memory of how badly I felt when the Correa deal fell through, I refuse to allow myself any level of excitement about Stearns, no matter how positively a particular pundit feels about the Mets' chances. The Mets' job should be attractive to the New York-born Stearns. Steve Cohen can undoubtedly write a big enough check to land the talented Stearns. But there will be no party here at Chez Steffanos until an official announcement is made. We've learned our lesson well.

In today's New York Post, Joel Sherman had a good column about why Cohen "must" land David Stearns, correctly pointing out that there is no real plan B choice for the Mets. It's undoubtedly true. With Cohen hoping to hire someone to lead his organization to the promised land of serial playoff contention, there really isn't an obvious choice if Stearns elects to go elsewhere.

The simple truth is that David Stearns will be banking a hefty paycheck no matter where he elects to spend his next few working years. If he decides on Houston — the city where his wife is from — he would be stepping into a mature, advanced baseball operation years ahead of where the Mets are now. The Houston media is much smaller, less relentless, and more positive than the New York crew. I don't write this to be purposely negative. It's just a fact that David Stearns can easily not be running the Mets in two weeks or, for that matter, at all.

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