By now you’ve read the missive sent out by our GM, giving us a floor plan of Alderson Collins Boot Camp and after reading it I stress as I did before, if you’re a Mets player heading to St. Lonesome next month, don’t even bother bringing the golf clubs, as it sounds like the Alderson Way will take up a lot of your time and energy.
Let’s take a closer look at the letter from Sandy:
Yesterday, we wrapped up two days of meetings in Port St. Lucie where we went over organizational philosophy and how to implement it throughout the major and minor leagues. It was also the first opportunity for Terry Collins and his staff to sit down and discuss the mechanics of Spring Training and determine how they will emphasize fundamentals, mental and physical preparation and hard work. As Terry has said, the driving force will be playing the game the right way, which will lead to more wins.
I think Alderson has gotten the message that this team is known for weak fundi’s, not being particularly sound of mind and body and generally a bunch of lazy bastards. That’s going to change.
Over the past two months, we have followed our plan of filling out our roster with reasonably priced players who have significant upside potential. As I have said before, our payroll – which will be among the highest in baseball – gives us limited flexibility, but we do have money to spend. We have acquired players who we think can thrive at Citi Field and complement our existing group of players.
I guess Alderson has to keep repeating to the naysayers that the payroll is high and will not go much higher. Now most say it’s due to the Madoff loses or the cheapness of the Skill Sets and for the longest time I was in that camp but the more I hear and read statements from Alderson, I get the impression that he feels there is no free agent out there worthy of big money. We heard his mocking of the Jayson Werth contract with the Nats and his outright telling the fan base from the jump that the club would not even talk to Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford. One of the things I admire about Alderson is he could not give a rat’s ass what the fans want. I think it has something to do with age for as I get older I don’t give a rat’s ass what people think of me either. It’s like Alderson feels if you can’t put a pennant contender together with $130+ mil you shouldn’t be in this business (I’m looking at you Pee Wee Cashman) Just because a player is a one-time big name doesn’t mean he’s worth big money. Sometimes No Frills is a good as premium.
As you likely know, earlier this week we signed pitchers Chris Capuano and Taylor Buchholz. Chris is a former All-Star and 18-game winner who last year came back from his second Tommy John surgery. We are confident he has the ability to re-establish himself as a dependable starter who can excel in our ballpark. Taylor has fully recovered from elbow surgery and has the potential to be a solid arm out of the bullpen.
Every year players come out of nowhere to become success stories. Look no further than R.A. Dickey. He signed a minor-league deal last January, became a fixture in the starting rotation in May, and finished the season with 11 victories and a 2.84 ERA. I believe some of our offseason acquisitions can be this year’s version of R.A.
Classy. A tip of the Mets hat to Omar for Dickey.
We are excited about 2011. We have a solid core group of players who we expect will make significant contributions to making the Mets a success. As we have said all along, we will put ourselves in the best position possible to succeed both in the short and long term.
Last year at this time I would tell whoever would listen that the Mets looked like a last place club to me and would finish there if not for the Nationals. Unfortunately I was right. This season? Maybe it’s the regime change to the guy I wanted as my first choice and maybe it’s because there seems to be a real blueprint on how to turn this team from the butt of jokes to one that demands respect but I can’t wait until opening day as I just want to see if all the winter buildup of accountability and demands on the players are more than lip service to a cranky fan base.
There will be an exciting brand of baseball played at Citi Field this year that matches the passion and intensity that you have for the team.
Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to seeing you at the ballpark.
Nice little tribute to the Mets fan for the loyalty and vigor of our support to the team.
