A look inside the Mets' GM search

The Mets are currently playing their own version of the dating game, trying to find a new soul mate to occupy their top executive position. Although the Wilpons, and the Mets organization in general, have botched so many situations in the past, Mets fans are hopeful. We’re not hopeful because the Wilpons have a great track record in hiring talented executives. We’re hopeful simply because the Mets are actually interviewing candidates. Over the last 13 years the Mets have bounced around from one GM to the next, never conducting a full vetting and interview process. In 1997, Steve Phillips was made GM when his superior, Joe McIlvaine, was fired. When Steve Phillips was let go, Jim Duquette, a member of the Mets front office, was made interim GM and then was given the full position. Finally, in 2004, the Wilpons raced to hire Omar Minaya. It’s time for the Mets to finally enter the dating pool and see what the GM candidates out there can offer our little ball club.

Jeff Wilpon has announced that the Mets will choose their new GM by the World Series. (Perhaps the Wilpons are hoping that Mets fans will be so thrilled by the prospect of a new GM that they won’t notice that it’s been a decade since they watched their own team in the World Series?) The Mets are currently pursuing a courtship with five different bachelors: MLB executive and former Padres CEO Sandy Alderson, former D-backs GM Josh Byrnes, former Royals GM Allard Baird, current White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn, and Dodgers assistant GM Logan White. (Just as an aside, if you haven’t noticed, all of these candidates are white. This seems strange considering Los Mets have been heavily Latino over the last few years.)

Even though the Mets have quite the group of candidates, the Wilpons have their eyes set on the great state of Texas. Rumors have been swirling that the Mets’ Plan A involves Rangers GM Jon Daniels, a former New Yorker who grew up a Mets fan and whose parents currently live in Bayside. I LOVE the idea of a GM who is a Mets fan. I especially love the idea of a GM who has led his organization into the playoffs (with the added bonus of forcing Yankee fans into the fetal position). However, the Mets seem to be wasting their time and energy on Daniels.

First, the Wilpons have announced that they will choose a GM by the World Series. Daniels’ team is playing in the World Series. If the Mets truly want him, they will have to delay their timetable and wait until after the World Series to even start to talk to Daniels. Second, do the Mets really think that Daniels is going to leave Texas after the season he’s had? Daniels has an opt-out clause in his contract that allows him to leave the organization if the Rangers change owners. However, Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg has already stated that he wants to sign Daniels to a contract extension. When times are so good in Arlington, I can’t imagine that Daniels will jump ship, even to his hometown team.

The Mets are considering five other candidates, but there’s really only one who can be the Mets’ Plan B if Daniels doesn’t come through: Sandy Alderson. Allard Baird has a history of making bad deals and has little success in the draft. Rick Hahn has little scouting experience, and although he’s a negotiator-extraordinaire, the Mets already have John Ricco as their negotiation guru. Logan White is great at scouting…and that’s about it. Mets fans don’t need a Minaya Jr. The Mets didn’t invite any of these courters back for their second round of interviews.
Sandy Alderson’s current “competition” for the Mets’ Plan B choice is Josh Byrnes. Byrnes had his second interview with the Mets on Monday. Ask any Diamondbacks fan about Josh Byrnes and they’d probably start seething at the mouth (pretty similar to Mets fans’ reactions to Minaya). On the plus side, Josh Byrnes is a cheap date. Byrnes still has 5 years left on his Diamondbacks contract, which means the Mets could get a new GM for a “reasonable” amount of money. The Wilpons, with their current financial woes, may be intrigued by Byrnes and his low price tag.

Alderson represents a tried and true baseball executive, but Byrnes is one of the new breed of statistic-driven evaluators. At 35 Byrnes was considered one of baseball’s rising stars. Under Byrne’s leadership in 2007 the Diamondbacks had the best record in the National League. However, Byrnes left the Diamondbacks with the team in last place and 12 ½ games out of first. The Mets need a GM who has experience, not an executive who was able to simultaneously evoke hatred from both players and fans before he was fired in July. For the Mets sake, lets hope the Wilpons think with their heads rather than their pocket books.

And then there’s Sandy Alderson, whose resume includes the following: GM of the Oakland A’s (4 playoff appearances, 3 AL pennants, 1 World Series Championship), former CEO of the Padres, and Vice President of Operations for Major League Baseball. Talk about overqualified.

I can’t imagine that Alderson would want to deal with owners like the Wilpons. Can you see Jeff Wilpon telling Alderson what to do? No way! Alderson would put Jeff Wilpon over his knee and spank him like the child that he is. Perhaps that’s why Alderson is even considering this position. He knows that even the Wilpons won’t try to mess with him.

Some would argue that Alderson is qualified to run the entire league, rather than just one team’s baseball operations. But maybe Alderson is looking for a challenge? If so, he’s found the right team. Welcome to the New York Mets, where the locker room doubles as a jail cell for the team’s closer, executives think that ripping off their shirts is the best way to communicate with their players, and the fans have taken baseball operations into their own hands by trying raise $12 million in order to buy out one of their pitcher’s contracts. Is that enough of a challenge for you, Mr. Alderson?

I have to admit, I don’t really care who wins the World Series. For Mets fans, the 2010 World Series is meaningless. Our season ended at the All-Star break. All we care about is who the Wilpons decide to propose to before the World Series.