The Hiring of New Mets GM Sandy Alderson Brings Optimism to this Citi

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It’s a new beginning for the Mets with the hiring of Sandy Alderson as general manager. It was a great choice – he is a strong leader and disciplinarian, which is exactly what this team needs.

New beginnings are always nice – they always bring hope, optimism and promise.

The Mets Recent Endings

It’s been the endings that have been troubling for Mets fans over the years. In fact, the endings have been especially painful, going back more than a decade.

There was Kenny Rogers throwing ball four in 1999.

There was Carlos Beltran taking strike three in 2006.

There were the Marlins celebrating after eliminating the Mets on the final day of the season in both 2007 and 2008 (ruining the final game ever at Shea in the process).

And then there was 2009 and 2010, when the Mets played out the string in complete irrelevancy.

Mets fans have been though enough painful endings. I didn’t even mention that the Mets’ best showing since winning the World Series in ’86 was going to the World Series in 2000 – and losing to the Yankees. Successful? Yes! Excruciating? Very!

The Mets Newfound Optimism and Hope

So it is with hopeful optimism (that most beginnings bring) that I say that Alderson is a good choice for the Mets. Alderson, a former Marine, said all the right things at his opening press conference.

His first major job as GM is to help select a manager. Here’s hoping the Mets go with Wally Backman. The Mets need someone on the field with the fiery personality of Backman to light a fire under them.

Also, Alderson needs to get rid of Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo. It was inexcusable that Perez was on the roster last year – he made the team look like a rag-tag organization. He has to go, as soon as possible. If Perez is on the team in 2011, I think the fans will tear down beautiful Citi Field.

Alderson won’t be able to do much in the free agent market, but that’s not really his fault. The team has too many bad contracts. The lineup will have to remain intact, more or less, with the Mets organization and fans hoping that Jason Bay, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran can be productive and injury-free. The Mets can then spend some dough before the 2012 season. This is about long term success for this team (with the hope of improving next season).

What Needs to be Done

Mets 2B Ruben Tejada photo by Icon SMI

Once they get rid of Castillo, they need to play Ruben Tejada everyday at second base. There might be growing pains, but the Mets need to find out what they have in Tejada. The Mets also need to continue the development of such young players as Ike Davis, Josh Thole and Lucas Duda.

The pitching is a bigger problem with Johan Santana out for a major part of the 2011 season. Their rotation hopefully will include Mike Pelfrey, Jonathan Niese, R.A. Dickey and Jenrry Mejia. Alderson needs to find someone else the same way the Mets found Dickey last year. They will have to live with K-Rod as their closer despite his awful behavior this year.

Alderson said he believes the Mets can compete next season – and he’s right. The Mets could be a decent team if they stay healthy and get a few breaks. Of course, the offseason is all about optimism and hope. We’ll see if that translates into more victories in 2011.