Fanning Fandom’s Flames- Give Sandy Some Time! Part One

{Editor’s Note: This was written before finding out about the death of Sandy Alderson’s father- we all send our deepest condolences on the passing of John Alderson, war hero, veteran of 3 wars and a great American.}

By David Rubin

One of my oldest friends is a life-long Mets’ fan of over 40 years, like me. He’s seen it all- most of it not so great. He’s weathered various storms, whether over trades that shouldn’t have been made, trades that SHOULD have been made, managers hired that made you scratch your head, managers fired long after their time was up, and a number of “new regimes” that brought new hope, only to end in more frustration and promises broken once again. Through all of the craziness, he never wavered in his fandom, in his fervor for all things orange and blue; and now, as the Mets go through another major transition (not quite ready to label it a “rebuilding stage”), he’s lost a lot of the faith that he’s had in such deep reserves in the past. He’s questioned everything that’s transpired since Sandy Alderson took over, not even a month ago; he even wondered, in an email to me not 2 days ago, why Sandy was “wasting his time in Puerto Rico, and with Carlos Beltran.” Sadly, that’s what it’s come down to for most Mets fans- such a sense of skepticism after Omar Minaya’s tenure that even the simplest of tasks gets put under the microscope and this won’t change for many fans until the Mets are in contention once again. For many, it might not change until the Mets have won a World Series again. I'm asking my buddy, Steve, to cool his jets for a while, and give this new regime a chance to redo the organization in what we hope will be a far better, longer-lasting one laden with play-off wins and championship seasons. It begins one step at a time, so let's not curse the foundation until we see the finished product. In that vein, let's take a look at the issues at hand so far.

First and foremost on the minds of Mets’ fans is the current managerial search. Clint Hurdle, the candidate who may have represented the best compromise for Met fans and executives alike, has now been hired as the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. If Hurdle was the Mets’ top candidate, I’d have to think that they wouldn’t have let him go to the Bucs without at least an offer. Hurdle was an ex-Met, both as a player and minor league manager, and took the Rockies to the play-offs one time in 7 years. He’s a fiery guy and could be looked at as a cross between Wally Backman and Terry Collins. However, with Hurdle out of the picture, it’s looking more and more likely that Terry Collins will, indeed, be the next manager of the New York Mets.

Now we can over-analyze Collins as much as we want, and can get angry at his hire if you so choose; however, none of it means anything until after we’ve seen what he actually does on the field, where it all counts. Having intimate knowledge of the Mets minor league system, like Collins does, should provide dividends when it comes to knowing if someone like a Jennry Mejia is ready for a promotion, or would be better served to spend an entire year in AAA. Certainly, with Collins at the helm, we wouldn’t have to wonder as much as to why certain player promotions were made- you can bet that, had he been in control in ’10, Mejia would’ve stayed in the minors for an entire season. Furthermore, since it doesn’t seem like there’s going to be any huge, additional investment in this team on the major league level for at least another year, I think it behooves the organization to bring in someone who is not only knows how to nurture young talent, but who knows what the potential strengths and weaknesses of said talent is. Collins fits that role.

You can certainly make a case for either Tim Teufel or Wally Backman using that same criteria; the only difference is, in the eyes of the Mets organization, anyway, is that neither of those ex-Met second basemen have ever managed in the big leagues. Collins has, for good and bad, and therefore if he IS the candidate that the Mets’ management deem ready for the job at this juncture, then as fans the best thing we can do is give him a chance and not condemn the man before he’s even managed a game. We have to trust that Sandy and company do have a plan in place, and if Collins is the manager to begin that plan, then that’s the way it’s going to be. No amount of hand-wringing and foot-stomping is going to change it. Of course, I’d MUCH prefer Wally Backman as manager, but last I looked, my paychecks were not signed by either Fred Wilpon nor Saul Katz, making my say in the matter minimal, to say the least! Therefore, once the Mets decide, probably before Thanksgiving, who their manager is going to be, whether we like it or not, it’s not going to change, and we have to at least accept this person – Collins – and hope for the best. I tend to think, like most people who have learned from their past (starting with one Joe Torre), Collins will have a more successful run with the Mets then he did with the Astros or Angels. He’s bonded with a good portion of the teams’ minor league players, which already sets him apart from most people who’ve been involved in that part of the organization over the past 5 plus seasons. Collins certainly isn’t a “marquee hire” in regards to putting fans in the stands, but the last person who really fit that bill is one Alfred “Billy” Martin, and last I checked, he passed away quite a while ago. Hiring a “big name” such as Torre or LaRussa wouldn’t have been the way to go, as it would have meant paying huge salaries to a manager of a team that’s realistically a year to two away from competing in any meaningful or long-lasting way. That doesn’t mean we throw in the towel; it’s quite the opposite. We have to trust that Collins is going to task his players with playing fundamentally sound, heads-up baseball, and we also have to trust that Sandy and company are going to surround Collins (or any Met manager) with a staff of coaches who will row in the same direction as both Collins and the organization (should be one and the same.)

Finally, the imprint a manager of a baseball team makes pales in comparison to coaches in the other three “major” sports, basketball, hockey and especially football. That doesn’t mean it’s not an important position; it is. What it means is that the moves a manager makes has less of an impact on wins and losses then those in the other sports. We’ve all seen baseball managers who have come from losing pasts become “geniuses” when given the right group of players – Casey Stengel and Joe Torre come to mind. What matters most is that the manager follows through with the plans of the organization, and we’ve all heard Alderson discuss his thoughts on what a manager “should” be:

"I know there's been some discussion about the three paragraphs in Moneyball that relate to me," Alderson said. "I do believe, just putting it in a broader context, that a manager needs to reflect the general philosophy of the organization. That's important not just for a manager. That's important for a player-development system. It's important for every element of a baseball operation to have some sense of consistency of approach, of philosophy.”

Alderson did also say that they would consider both experienced (at the major league level) and non-experienced managers for the position, which is why there was hope that, finally, Backman would get the chance. Once new Vice-President Paul DePodesta was hired, any chance Backman had of being the leading choice vanished, as “DePo” is certainly enamored of Collins and what he brings to an organization. According to the following description, Collins certainly epitomizes everything Alderson, DePodesta and company are looking for in a manager:

DePodesta on Collins:

"First of all, he's done it before. I think any of us who have been in these jobs in various organizations learn a lot every step of the way. I've been through four organizations now. I'm hopeful some of the things I've been exposed to over that time will be helpful to the Mets, and I think the same could be said for Terry. He's been a major league manager a couple of different times. You learn an awful lot from that. He's been in the Far East. I think, again, he's had a lot of success in player development. So I think there are a lot of things about his experiences that are worthwhile. Everyone likes different personalities. I really like Terry's intensity. I think he's a tremendous organizational guy."

If indeed Collins is named manager, as it seems he will be, then the next step is the creation of the coaching staff, as well as naming a replacement for Collins. One rumor suggests a staff of Chip Hale returning as 3^rd Base Coach, Bob Melvin as Bench Coach, Dan Warthen returning as Pitching Coach, Tim Teufel as First Base Coach and Dave Jauss replacing Collins as Minor League Field Coordinator. That would leave hitting coach, and the hope for most fans is that they’ll go outside the organization to fill that role. This would leave Backman to be promoted to managing at either the Single A or Double AA level, and give him a chance to further grow and develop under Alderson and company’s watchful eyes.

Tomorrow, in Part 2, we’ll discuss the GM Meetings, players to watch, and review the major league team position by position. And I’ll “bring it on home” as to my old buddy needs to give this new regime a chance…