New York Mets: Looking Ahead at Ownership and Management

By Steve Contursi | Aug 12, 2016

The New York Mets and their fans are shaken by the turn this season has taken. But, what changes can be made to do better next year?

With the New York Mets included, all major league franchises are constructed the same way. At the top, you have ownership and management personnel. This includes, the principal owner( the Wilpons), the General Manager (Sandy Alderson) along with his staff including the scouting department, and then what we’ll call dugout management headed by Terry Collins and his staff. Following that and separate are the position players and pitchers.

Today, we’ll take a look at the ownership and management of the Mets in an attempt to evaluate what (if this season the Mets go south as it appears to be the case) should happen starting now and continuing into the off season this winter. Over the next two days, we’ll tackle the remaining two components, position players and pitchers doing the same.

As owners of a baseball franchise, the Wilpon brothers have never been highly looked upon by anyone. Their ties to Bernie Madhoff, however, innocent they might have been, resulted in a budget crunch that has lasted even up to today.

Nevertheless, when it comes to ownership of a team it pretty much is what it is. So, any look ahead regarding the makeup of the Mets next year and beyond has to include the stipulation that the Wilpons aren’t going anywhere unless they choose to, and that doesn’t appear likely.

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However, the rest of the management team is another matter. Starting at the top with Alderson, the talent here is ripe for change. Despite his previous success with the Oakland A’s where he generally is given credit for doing a lot with so little (in terms of payroll and overall budget), the fact remains that the core of the team he inherited in 2010 was a gift from his predecessor, Omar Minaya.

Matt Harvey, Lucas Duda, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Jeurys Familia, Hansel Robles, Daniel Murphy, and even Wilmer Flores were scouted and signed by Team Minaya.

Alderson has done a credible job of adding talent like Noah Syndergaard and Addison Reed via trades, and of course the now infamous addition of Yoenis Cespedes. But the nagging question remains, “What have you done for me lately?” And with the exception of recently added Jay Bruce, Alderson has fallen far short of what may be required to overhaul and streamline the Mets.

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In sum, if there’s a scapegoat to be had to explain the Mets bumbling season this year, Alderson could easily fit the bill. Not to be underestimated either is the fact that the Mets rank a dismal #16 in the ratings of team farm systems, the usual barometer in judging the future of any franchise. Plus, it would appear that Alderson has lost both the energy and creative skills that it takes to run a franchise on a day to day basis. Dump him and move on.

This brings us to the most likely scapegoat candidate, Terry Collins. As we know, the easiest and most visible change a team usually makes when things go south is replacing the manager. And, with the Mets being the Mets, Collins could very well be sent packing.

Don’t do it. Collins is the glue that has held this team together through a very heart wrenching season. As the face of the team in daily pre and post game press conferences, he’s been genuine and honest. He’s also supported Alderson almost to a fault. Maybe most importantly, after toiling for decades in less responsible baseball positions, he’s found his niche with the Mets.

Tomorrow, we’ll run down the position players with an eye towards strengthening the team for next year.

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