10/13/18

Reese Kaplan -- The Mets Employment Questionnaire for GMs



If you are evaluating potential candidates for a job opening, there are any number of ways to do so.  Many firms employ personality tests which reveal emotional tendencies, work ethic and employment behavior.  Some of them are kind of ridiculous because they ask questions to which the answers being sought are obvious, like, “Suppose you saw a co-worker with a bottle of alcohol in his desk drawer.  What would you do?”  Anyone with a functioning brain knows that they want you to say, “I’d contact the HR department or that employee’s supervisor since drinking at the workplace is unacceptable behavior.”

I got to thinking about what types of questions might Jeff Wilpon pose to prospective GM candidates who come into New York for job interviews: 




When going to business meetings representing the ballclub what accommodations should you book?

  1. A respectable hotel that will make a good impression on fellow baseball executives
  2. A hotel for which the club has a frequent-buyer arrangement to aggregate promotional points
  3. AirBNB and see who might rent out space on the sofa for you to sleep that night
  4. That's a trick question.  Use Hotwire.com to bid on a redeye coach flight back to avoid hotel costs altogether


In evaluating prospective ballplayers to bolster the roster, what are your primary concerns?

  1. Past performance is the best indicator of future expectations
  2. How well the person will fit into the existing clubhouse dynamic
  3. Advanced metrics to determine the player’s actual value including trend information
  4. See who has pecadilloes in his past that will suppress his current and future earnings


How should you approach the free agent marketplace to address identified needs?

  1. Understand that past performance is no guarantee of future results and don’t overpay for what happened 3-4 years ago
  2. Talk to everyone to get a holistic view of the marketplace as free agency only requires sacrificing money whereas trading sacrifices both player resources AND money
  3. Look for value priced free agents who don’t have flashy numbers but whose performance is trending upward
  4. Understand that good players are wanted by their ballclubs and anyone on the open market has already been spurned by his previous employer and should be avoided


What is your philosophy about enhancing minor league scouting and player acquisition?

  1. Prospects are just that with no proven track record and thus should be used as trade chips
  2. Developing younger ballplayers is far less expensive than acquiring experienced ones, so in the long run it makes sense to expand scouting and player development
  3. Identify undervalued assets on other ballclubs and be active in the Rule V draft
  4. If the ballplayers we draft are not knowledgeable about how the game is played and what they need to do to succeed, then cut them loose and try again with fresh bodies


How do you feel about the international marketplaces as a means of acquiring baseball talent?

  1. Lots of foreign ballplayers have failed, consequently it’s a risky proposition to invest offshore
  2. Many people in third world countries grow up in immense poverty and would be happy with whatever little we offer them
  3. The changing demographics of the baseball fan suggest you need to be open to acquiring and marketing ballplayers to fans of different cultures
  4. How are our fielders supposed to call someone off on a popup if they don’t speak the same language?


Suppose you have a direction you’d like to take and I disagree with you, what would you do?

  1. Acquiesce because you respect the chain of command
  2. Firmly and respectfully lay out your arguments for why we should support your ideas
  3. Kneel before me and kiss my finger where a World Series ring would be had we won one in the past 32 years
  4. Ask me to lower my trousers and turn around so you could kiss me somewhere else


I wish Mssrs. LaRocque, Watson, Bloom, Melvin and Ms. Ng luck in working their way through this employment personality profile questionnaire. Others have gone through worse and survived.  Think of it as a boot camp preparation for the job that follows this one.  





6 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Passing the questionnaire will be the easy part!

Reese Kaplan said...

Yes. Just choose the most Wilponian answer and go against your normal instincts.

Tom Brennan said...

"Sir, you want ME to use my own pocket change to negotiate with free agents? But sir...sir? (He hung up again!)"

Mack Ade said...

The 'blank stare' question would be:

Why do you WANT to work for the New York Mets?

Anonymous said...

What are the most pressing issues with the 2018 Mets team going forward and into 2019, and then beyond too?

A: They were seven games under 500% on the season and that is not good enough. Maybe their talent level could be a little bit higher overall. And there are everyday player holes to fill. Four actually, not to mention upgrading the bench to be more optimal.

There is deadwood to rid. Some of the Mets players cannot stay on the field no matter how hard they try. The Mets need more power batters inserted into the lineup for balance.

Start here: First Base

To me, there is no question that Peter Alonso should be the everyday starting first baseman. I don't support the notion to trade him for anyone because Alonso looks like a true kid power batter to me, and these kind of young players don't show up every season. If correct, we will kick ourselves in the backhind for letting him get away like we did Nolan Ryan all those years ago. But Mack was right when he said that the first Alonso game could come a bit later in the season Apr/May due to the length of time the Mets would than have Peter under contract. He will be a rookie next season, obviously. I also think that Wilmer Flores(although just 26) could easily become a growing health risk with two arthritic knees to contend with. Arthritis does not just surprisingly get better, it is a result of a compromised immunity system with genetic implications often. I heard the Nats may be interested too in Wilmer.

As far as Dominic Smith goes, the last few weeks of the season, when he played, I thought that he showed good knowledge and skill level at first base and his hitting was relatively consistent too. So most likely here, with Alonso being held back a few weeks for rookie contractual reasons, I think the Mets are looking at a Jay Bruce and Dominic Smith platoon at first base right out of the shoot. All three can hit homeruns, so this isn't a major setback really.

(Second and short should be all set heading into 2019)

Third base:

Todd Frazier maybe, with either Andres Gimenez getting some time there or my idea of trading Gimenez for Boston's Michael Chavis.

The outfield to me is set, especially if Yo' can get back whole to start the season.

Now the big question of all, the catcher position.

A few ideas came floating through my head a minute ago. Here goes: 1. Punt like he// 2. A trade for Gary Sanchez and then mind control him 3. Danny Jansen (Boo-Jays trade for Halloween) 4. JT Reallymuto (good luck with that one, but absolutely worth a try anyway) 5. Travis d'arnaud atop Kevin Plawecki's shoulders behind the plate. Maybe in this way Travis won't get so badly hurt as much. 6. Wilson Ramos but with new cadaver knees and a smaller head.

There done. Did that. Simple. Add in another lefty starter and this whole thing goes viral I bet you!



Anonymous said...

Truly great and fun ALS and NLS series. Very close. I am thinking both series could go to seven games.

It's funny, I watch these games and I think that the Mets rotation is better than all four of these teams. We just need two more big homerun bats flavored into this mix. And bingo! Cha-ching!