The new President of Baseball Operations is officially on the job. Here are some quick thoughts on Day 1 of the David Stearns era.
We've been talking about David Stearns for a while in this space, particularly since the Mets announced on September 12 that Stearns would, indeed, be taking the PBO job. What was especially gratifying was that, after almost three years of constantly reading why potential targets were afraid of taking on the job, Stearns confirmed today that he was eager to accept the position. This is even though Stearns — a native New Yorker who grew up a Mets fan — understands all too well the pressures of the top job in this market.
If you're new to this site, you can look at my last half-dozen posts to see my hopes for what David Stearns might bring to the table running the New York Mets, in particular, my most recent. Regular readers don't need me to rehash those thoughts here again. Now that Stearns is officially in charge, I very much look forward to checking out the moves Stearns makes to try to fulfill the goals he articulated at his press conference: being immediately competitive while not sacrificing the long-term goal of sustaining winning. That mandate has been around since Steve Cohen purchased the ballclub. Having a talented leader like Stearns in charge makes that ultimate goal feel closer to attaining.
Of course, we won't see much in the way of moves until the playoffs end. If the World Series goes all the way to Game 7, that won't be until November 4 — and that date is contingent on not having rainouts push things a bit later. So David Stearns has a month to dive in as deep as possible on the Mets organization and prepare for free agency and potential trades.
For now, here are a few quick thoughts after watching the introductory presser:
- Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I thought this piece by Joel Sherman in the Post was unfair, particularly accusing Stearns of ordering a "hit job" on Buck Showalter while being "not present at its execution." As Stearns noted at the press conference, he was officially a Brewers employee until today and could not talk to Showalter. Stearns did reach out with a phone call today to Buck, although he has yet to speak to him. Decisions to let a manager go are part of baseball. I feel bad for Showalter, who seems like a fine man, but Stearns didn't act improperly here, and Joel Sherman has been doing this job long enough to know better.
6 comments:
An extended playoff will give Stearns an opportunity to look for an alternative to his good friend Councell
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We can only hope this time, the Gang That Can't Shoot Straight finally starts getting it right, right enough to achieve the goal of playoffs at least every other year.
Who would be acceptable as Plan B if Counsell is not destined to hang out in Queens?
Reese
I just don't know but I think Counsell is a lock
I know they have a chance at signing Counsell, but it wouldn't shock me if He wasn't showing openess to leaving Milwaukee to get more money out of them. I'm really curious to see where Stearns goes if it's not Counsell.
I agree with Mike about Stearns' role in Buck's firing. Steve has publicly said that the decision was his, and was made before Stearns' hiring.
Further, Eppler, as the man who hired Buck, was the appropriate one to deliver the news. And it was done in a humane way, allowing Buck to choose resignation as an alternate to firing.
And still further, thevtiming was perfect. By making the change before the final game, it gave fans, players and coaches to show Buck the love and appreciation he deserved. Had the announcement been made yesterday, it would not have had the same effect.
IMO it was as classy a way to let Buck go as I can think of.
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