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Fixing the Mets
Being a Yankees fan in the New York area, it is impossible to ignore the level of success the team has achieved over the past decade. Development of the farm system, intelligent trades, great personnel decisions, and of course money have made all of this possible.
On the flip side, living in the area, it has been impossible to avoid the disastrous state the Mets have been in. Other than an inspiring run at the end of the 2001 season, the Mets haven't done much right. This all started with the failed courting of Alex Rodriguez after a World Series season in 2000. This is the move many believe could have put them over the top. It was never made and A-Rod signed his record deal in Texas. As if this wasn't bad enough for the Mets, three years after they failed to get him, Rodriguez went on to sign with the Yankees.
After a disappointing 2001 season, the Mets went on the offensive, bringing in Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn, Roger Cedeno, and Jeromy Burnitz. The city was buzzing. ESPN.com's Page 2 called the moves one of the ten best decisions of 2001.
The problem was that all four of these floundered in their own way due to injury, age, weight, pressure, etc., and the Mets finished in last place. Page 2 called the moves one of the ten worst decisions of 2002.
The Mets finished in last place in 2002. Then in 2003 during another last place campaign, the team cleared a lot of dead weight moving Alomar, Burnitz, and Armando Benitez. Mo Vaughn is injured allowing insurance to pick up most of his contract. In the winter Cedeno was traded.
The winter came. Vladimir Guerrero was the prize of the free agent market. Owner Fred Wilpon declared his team was in the bidding. Then he offered Guerrero a deal which only roughly half was guaranteed. Guerrero signed with Anaheim. A-Rod was now with the Yankees.
Many Mets fans complain about the Yankees payroll and how it is unfair that they have so much more money than anybody else. Coming from any other fan there would be a kernel of validity in that statement. However, Mets fans should look at their own ownership and ask why this is so.
The answer has to be how the team runs its business. They play in the exact same market with the exact same base for potential customers. They charge roughly the same for a ticket. Now here's the difference. Would you rather spend your money watching Giambi, A-Rod, Sheffield, and Jeter or Phillips, Garcia, Cameron, and Piazza? The last Mets player I mentioned is a legit superstar and the others are quality players, but pale in comparison to what is in the Bronx.
Mets fans may not want to hear this, but they need somebody like George Stienbrenner who gets what his team needs. He understands you have to spend money to make money. The better product you put on the field, the more merchandise you sell, the higher you can charge for tickets, the more you can make in cable, the more tickets you sell, etc., because these are all in high demand. The Wilpons don't take such risks and are happy to sit on the profits they make without maximizing what they could have.
As much as people criticize George, in this regard he is a great business man.
This is where I come in. I'm proposing an aggressive plan to make the Mets a playoff team in 2005:
Trade Jose Reyes in a package for Tim Hudson:
Pitching is what is most important. It's what carries teams, and Hudson is the real deal. The A's have great pitching, need offense, and Hudson will be in his contract year which means they most likely will not be able to afford him. Reyes will be an outstanding player, but Hudson can be the anchor of the team's rotation for a decade.
Trade Scott Kazmir in a package for Alfonso Soriano:
Soriano is entering his prime, and is one of the dominant offensive forces in the game today. Kazmir is a prospect, but that doesn't always translate (See Generation K). Trading a prospect for one of the top players in the game is a no-brainer. Added Bonus: It would steam the Yankees.
Sign Pedro Martinez to a deal worth about $15-18 million per:
Yes, he's hurt too often. Yes, his best days are behind him. Yes, he's a pain in the rear end to have on your team. Nevertheless, not many are better than he is. If he is in the price range I mentioned, the Mets should go after him. The way things look at this point they would need to outbid the Red Sox. They should not go muchhigher than this rate, but they might not even need to go this high. Another alternative is to split the money to get both Derek Lowe and Russ Ortiz.
Sign Jose Vidro and/or Nomar Garciaparra:
Signing Vidro means shifting Soriano to the outfield. Nomar means moving Kaz Matsui to second even though he was told he could play shortstop. That was under the old regime. Sacrifices need to be made on a winning team. Nomar would help ease the pain of losing A-Rod and give Mets fans their own Hall of Fame shortstop to hang their hats on. Vidro is one of the top second basemen in the game. Depending on how much my other moves cost, there might be enough to afford both, and use Matsui as trade bait, if he can perform this year on the level he is supposed to.
Move Mike Piazza to first and Jason Phillips to catcher:
The time has come. Piazza has his valued catcher homerun record. His body takes a beating, and his defense doesn't warrant him taking such a beating. This will help to keep him fresher.
Now obviously there are many problems with these moves. I'm not sure that I would be able to get everybody I wanted at the price I wanted to. Depending on Al Leiter's situation, I would consider making Steve Traschel my closer, as many quality starters have proven they can become outstanding closers. I might also take a shot at making Jae Seo my set up man and groom him as the closer of the future. Say hypothetically my entire plan is executed. It would not end up costing much more than the 2003 Mets spent on their team. The money is probably there to make these moves. The Mets have a lot to play with, and with my moves more cash would be coming in. The Mets made about $40 million last year with about a $110-120 million payroll. This year the payroll is about $80 million. That leaves much to spend to make the moves I suggest.
Now I know it would be tough to make this all work as I wanted, and this team may not be a playoff team, but at least it has a vision and is a plan to put a team New York can be proud of and make the rivalry with the Yankees a competition.
Written by georgecoztanza Blog about this entry |
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