Who's gonna be the General Manager?

[Benjamin Grimm]

There will be a lot of rumors over the next few months.

Let's start with this:

Nick Cafardo, The Boston Globe wrote: Ben Cherington is being mentioned often as a top candidate for the Mets' GM job. He hasn't been eager to jump back into the fire, enjoying his role in Toronto. Is the Mets' job the one to jump at? One of the problems candidates and those who work with the Mets have mentioned is working for the Wilpon family. The Mets don't appear to be considering Omar Minaya, John Ricco, and J.P. Ricciardi, who are running the baseball operation as Sandy Alderson undergoes cancer treatments. Also mentioned for the job are Orioles GM Dan Duquette, former Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, and former Red Sox scouting director Jared Porter, who is now with Diamondbacks.

[Lefty Specialist]

One of the problems candidates and those who work with the Mets have mentioned is working for the Wilpon family.

Says it all. Baseball people know what a shitshow this franchise is. They won't want to get involved. I'm sure they'll find somebody dumb enough, though.

[Edgy MD]

Tommy Tanous!

Josh Byrnes!

LEIGH CASTERGINE!

[Guest d'Kong76]

My only early guess is it will likely be someone from the B list if not C.
No one from the A list is going to come here without a solid big-market
budget to work with and full autonomy. Like Big Bill said, you want me to
make the dinner you have let me buy the groceries.

[Edgy MD]

He may have had his arm twisted by MLB, but it's hard to view Sandy as anything but an A-lister, and he certainly didn't have the banks open for him when he arrived.

I think any number of people will be interested. The jobs are too hard to come by and no few of them will come with smaller budgets than the Mets throw around. And I imagine heavy handed owners and presidents abound also.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Things are different now, open up the wallet or get out of Dodge.

[Ceetar]

Edgy MD wrote: He may have had his arm twisted by MLB, but it's hard to view Sandy as anything but an A-lister, and he certainly didn't have the banks open for him when he arrived. I think any number of people will be interested. The jobs are too hard to come by and no few of them will come with smaller budgets than the Mets throw around. And I imagine heavy handed owners and presidents abound also.

I don't think we've actually gotten clarity on that first part have we? We knew about Madoff but the lawsuit and frozen assets and the like didn't come until after Alderson was hired. Maybe he knew, maybe it ended up being worse than he thought.





I mean, the Mets are roughly 12th. They spend 150 million or so, which is what, 70% of cap? They've got a lot of money coming off two years into the new GMs tenure, plus certainly the possibility they'll spend more in the interim. There's no reason someone wouldn't want that job.

And sketchily written grammar about working for the Wilpons? What does that mean? All GMs have to work with the owners, and many are much less susceptible to good pitches than the Wilpons. Like, you know they've been convinced to sign all manner of players like Beltran, Bay, Santana, Wright, Cespedes, etc. Maybe some of those are bad signings, but a new GM would simply think "well, if they can be convinced to sign some of these guys, if I make the case for X good player, they'll surely come around."

And beyond that, you'd obviously ask in the interview. If Jeff says "we'll see where we are in 2021 after Wright and Cespedes are off the books, in the interim try to be creative with 150 and midseason acquisitions with Wright/Cespedes insurance money if they don't get activated" then you can decline the job, but you'll still listen.

Too many Mets employees seem to stick around and or come back for it to be that toxic a work place.

[batmagadanleadoff]

The Mets aren't 12th. They're bottom third. Insurance is covering a huge chunk of Wright's and Cespedes's salaries and quite frankly, I'm not even sure that what the Mets are actually paying out is more than $100M. Now if you wanna pretend, like Jeff Wilpon does, that there's no insurance for those players, then yeah, the Mets are 12th. 12th for America's largest market.

Wright and Cespedes are pretty much off the books right now, as I write this post.

[Ceetar]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: The Mets aren't 12th. They're bottom third. Insurance is covering a huge chunk of Wright's and Cespedes's salaries and quite frankly, I'm not even sure that what the Mets are actually paying out is more than $100M. Now if you wanna pretend, like Jeff Wilpon does, that there's no insurance for those players, then yeah, the Mets are 12th. 12th for America's largest market. Wright and Cespedes are pretty much off the books right now, as I write this post.

1. That money counts against the salary cap and they do in fact have to pay it, and hope to recoup some of it, later on.
2. They SPENT that money with the intention of, you know, paying it. Being able to spend said money is what we're concerned with when discussing a GM.
3. That money is not 'off the books'. Cespedes could be back by the all-star break. I know we pretend Wright's dead, but he's not, and is actively trying to play again.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I guarantee you that the Mets will in fact recoup that money. And I hate to be the one breaking it to you, but Wright's never coming back. First of all, this attempted "comeback" is probably half a charade at least, because maybe Wright's kind of a naif who isn't as hardened as he should be and might actually be worried that there might be people out there who think he took the money and ran. And even if by some miracle, he might one day be able to plausibly play, there's no way the Mets let it happen if it risks their insurance coverage just so that Wrjght might suck for a few games and have to shut it down again.

And stop sticking up for the fucking Wilpons, you maniac.

[Ceetar]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I guarantee you that the Mets will in fact recoup that money. And I hate to be the one breaking it to you, but Wright's never coming back. First of all, this attempted "comeback" is probably half a charade at least, because maybe Wright's kind of a naif who isn't as hardened as he should be and might actually be worried that there might be people out there who think he took the money and ran. And even if by some miracle, he might one day be able to plausibly play, there's no way the Mets let it happen. They're not risking their insurance coverage so that Wrjght might suck for a few games and have to shut it down again. And stop sticking up for the fucking Wilpons, you maniac.

I'm sticking up for the damn facts and the search for the real ones, not knee-jerk conspiracy reactions that aren't based in reality.

So let's throw aside your "Jeff will personally Misery David Wright before letting him play again" conspiracy and think about it. He's legitimately on the baseball field doing baseball things. If you believe that David really does want to play again (and if you don't, have you not been watching him ever?) he can force that issue. If he gets medical clearance the CBA basically demands that he be activated after 30 days of rehab. The Mets are not going to barricade him a closet and assert that he had a setback without his consent. I'm not going to pretend to know what his prognosis is from my couch.

He's standing on field now, is it really that much of a stretch to believe he could play for a few innings at a time in meaningless September games on an expanded roster even if he's bad at it? They recoup 75% of his DL time, but if he plays three weeks at the end of September that'll cost 'em a million or two more maybe? They might even recoup some of THAT via ticket sales if people are interested in a Wright swan song?

Regardless of your confidence that neither will ever play baseball again and it's all sunk money that insurance will recoup, that's not how budgeting works. They have to outlay that money. I don't know what the process is for the insurance (noone bothers asking) do they get it back in a lump sum at the end? do they submit insurance paperwork every pay period with "Wright out 15/15 days" and get a refund? That's the best case, because if means if you get to Spring Training and Wright is not even pretend-healthy and can sorta budget that first 5 million of April/May without risk. But you never know what magical cure/steroid/cream/injection Wright could stumble upon to come back and play. That's not how budgets are made. you don't have to like it, agree with it, but that's how it is. It still counts against the salary cap, and arguing about that money is pointless, you can scream about the 60 million inbetween the cap and the Mets payroll though, so stick with that.

[Edgy MD]

There's a salary cap?

[Benjamin Grimm]

I think he's referring to the point where the luxury tax kicks in.

[Ceetar]

Indeed. If the top teams are going to salary dump to get under it, it's basically a salary cap.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Luxury tax/salary cap, Wilpons won't sniff it no matter what one labels it.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Unless they call it the "Jackie Robinson Limit".

[seawolf17]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Unless they call it the "Jackie Robinson Limit".

BOC

[smg58]

I'm sure the Mets, like every team, have lost more money over the years on insurance policies than they've collected. Otherwise, what's the point in insurance companies selling them? The policies protect you from big salaries going out the window in the short term, but they don't turn a profit for anybody in the long term other than insurance companies.

[smg58]

And they probably lost a chunk of it getting Cespedes to play that one game.

[Fman99]

[MFS62]

Here's a candidate that checks off a lot of boxes.
1) Front Office administrative experience
2) MLB/ Commissioner's office experience.
3) "Minority" candidate (TWO EEO boxes checked)
4) Fred Wilpon's love for everything Dodgers
5) Highly respected
6) Probably will take a low salary to just get a chance
7) Has been discussed here before

Only thing is, not much experience in the player part of the job.

A candidate worthy of serious consideration?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Ng

Discuss among yourselves.
Later

[Ceetar]

smg58 wrote: I'm sure the Mets, like every team, have lost more money over the years on insurance policies than they've collected. Otherwise, what's the point in insurance companies selling them? The policies protect you from big salaries going out the window in the short term, but they don't turn a profit for anybody in the long term other than insurance companies.

meh, those insurance companies are probably also insured.

[Benjamin Grimm]

In the nascent stages of the Mets’ general manager search, Gary LaRocque’s name is among those receiving consideration. LaRocque, a key component of the Cardinals front office for the past decade-plus, is hardly a whiz kid at 65, but is well respected within the game and would fit the profile of what the Mets are thought to be seeking in their next GM.

Full article:

Cardinals executive on radar in Mets’ GM search

[Edgy MD]

That would be an interesting back-to-the-future move.

He was the scouting director when Reyes and Wright signed.

Among, you know, other things.

[bmfc1]

There is thought among team officials that perhaps the Mets became too analytics driven in recent seasons under Sandy Alderson’s watch, and a veteran leader with a pure baseball background would help shift the organization toward the center.

Dear God.

[seawolf17]

There is thought among team officials that perhaps the Mets became too analytics driven in recent seasons under Sandy Alderson’s watch, and a veteran leader with a pure baseball background would help shift the organization toward the center.

TOO ANALYTICS DRIVEN!?!?!?!

/flips table
/points to Jose Reyes' name on roster
/flips table again

[Ceetar]

Don't get angry at random allusions Mike Puma of all people is making. That sentence is such bullshit considering Alderson fits the second better than the first.

Was it Puma that reported the guy complaining about not knowing who he was reporting to when the Mets brought back Minaya?

[ashie62]

We will likely get am analytics robot as GM.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

incredible but incredibly unsurprising article by Jon Heyman reports Fred wants Omar and Jeff may not. also, the decision to bring back Omar -- very unpopular with the current FO, was all Fred and came against the recommendations of Alderson, who wanted Ben Cherington for that role. This is why the succession is so screwed up-- Fucking old man Fred cannot stop himself from screwing up the club.

[smg58]

There shouldn't be a problem with the analytics per se, but you can make the argument that Alderson was married to Moneyball 1.0 and the analytics have evolved (particularly in regard to how to pitch and defend against all-or-nothing swingers).