Alderson: 2014 Is About Winning

“2014 is not about individual story lines. It’s not about rehabs. It’s about winning.”

This is a direct Sandy Alderson quote, taken from the SNY Hot Stove show last week. I hope it's true. In a week where somebody at New York Magazine dipped into the eggnog a bit too hard and labeled Alderson the best GM in baseball, it's important to remember Alderson's penchant for saying what is convenient or what plays for the best sound bite. I was going to list a couple, but as I researched it a bit, I found that Blogging Mets did a pretty good job summarizing some of his mistruths here. One of the biggest that sticks in my mind, however, is, "No financial restrictions."



All I can say is I hope he really means this one. This team has been unwatchable for the second half of the last few years. He is certainly acting on his words this time around. The Mets have doled more out this offseason than the past few combined. The acquisition of Colon speaks most strongly to me about the commitment for this season to be different. An older player, signing Colon is not laying the groundwork for the future. It's about getting more wins this year. That's important.

Watching Alderson rebuild this franchise from nearly the ground up has been a learning experience. As a fan, I've spent more time the last couple of years learning some of the ins and outs of structuring a team, using options on players wisely, extracting talent from other teams in need near the deadline, and other arts Alderson has perfected than I have learning about baseball. It all looks terrific... I just want to see it translate to wins.