Met's Undergoing A Facelift

Every so often a brand or company needs to change things up because what they've become "Known" for isn't a positive. At this point it is better to DROP brand equity and RE-ESTABLISH a new and more POSITIVE image. Think of the big box pizza places:

Pizza Hut - Your favorites. Your Pizza Hut.

Papa John's - Better ingredients, better Pizza... Papa John's

Over a year ago Domino'ss decided to change things up. Domino's was and IS known for CHEAP pizza. You can eat your weight in bread, sauce and cheese for around $20. However nobody ever thought of Domino's as GOOD pizza. Last year they decided to change things up. They started to run commercials where they acknowledged their short-comings and promised to change things. What has followed is one of the most succesful ad campaigns in corporate history. Domino's has never been regarded more favorably by consumers and their sales numbers are way up from where they had been.

Why am I talking about pizza? It's a good question. So let's look at some big-market baseball teams:

New York Yankees - A Team of Legends

Philadelphia Phillies - The Greatest Rotation in History

What are the Mets know as? Lovable Losers? Plucky Underdogs? Choke Artists? Financial Fraud Criminals? The OTHER Team in New York? I'm betting that the Wilpons are looking to change the team and I don't think changes will be small. They started when the Wilpons signed a GM like Sandy Alderson. The Mets were not going to invest in bad contracts with over-achieving players. They were going to change things. Changing the very way we expect to see a New York team run.

Step 1: Clear House

The Mets have already expunged Omar Minaya and his cronies from the franchise. HOWEVER... it wasn't so much the front-office that needed to be cleared as the overall soul of that office's team.

I now believe (THIS IS THE GLASS HALF FULL GUY) that the Mets will be cutting ties with David Wright and quite possibly ALSO Jose Reyes. I think they'll try to trade Johan Santana and I think the Mets are gearing for a resurgent 2013 and a big run in 2014.

That doesn't make the Id of my inner sport's fan very happy, but it does appease my inner Super Igo. If I think logically, I think the Mets can build a winner in two years by cleaning house and starting from basically scratch. If they go other routes... spending money and trading prospects... I can no longer be sure that the Mets will ever break through the ceiling of the other teams in their division.

Step 2: Establish A NEW Brand

The Mets of the Omar Minaya era were headlined by Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, Johan Santana, David Wright and Jose Reyes (Jason Bay?). This was not the Steve Phillips Mets where stars went elsewhere. This was the team who went out and GOT the marquee players.

There is a new generation of Mets on the horizon and I TRULY believe they will make up the future of the franchise. Therefore the Mets will be known for nurturing a crop of pitchers up from the minors and creating a pitching team to rival those jerks who wear red and white.

Step 3: Win The Fans

Convincing me that I can win in two years if I let my favorite players go is one thing. Convincing fans to not abandon ship when the franchise stops paying for top talent this next season is another. The Mets are on the verge of alienating a HUGE percentage of fans. It's going to be rougher for the Wilpons than you might think.

If the Mets don't spend in 2012... attendance will dwindle, viewership will drop and ad sales will take a nose dive. So... the Mets need to give the Met fans a message to help them through. I'm not sure what that will end up being but I expect the slogan surrounding the team to be updated in the near future.

STAY TUNED: Tomorrow I'm going to write a piece on some rumblings around the organization and what it could mean for 2012 and 2013.