Let’s face it, the Mets did not pick Sandy Alderson, MLB did. They picked him because he is smart and frugal and isn’t a free spender. Sandy didn’t want the job. Sandy took the job because his boss, Commissioner Selig, asked him too. Don’t forget how close Selig and Fred Wilpon are.
The Wilpon’s are businessmen. They’re loaded and it’s because they’re good at their job. They made a mistake investing with a conman, and are paying the price. However, as businessmen, they understand you have to spend money in order to make money. I would think at this point, they’d shell out the money if Sandy said it was worth it. Sandy is not that guy though. He’s not a risk taker. The biggest signing he made when he was the GM of the Padres was Brian Giles. Otherwise he did nothing in terms of bringing free agents there. When he got to San Diego, he inherited a team with a payroll of $62.8 Million (17th in MLB). The team overachieved and won a weak NL West division 2 years in a row. They had just moved into a new stadium. A new stadium + playoffs should equal revenue. Increased revenues should equal increased investments to your roster…right? Wrong. By 2009, the Padres payroll was $42.7 Million. Good for 29th in the league.
Sandy Alderson does not like to give long term commitments or to overvalue players. Sandy thinks he is smarter than the game of baseball. He didn’t come here with long term visions of winning. He came here to stabilize the financial footing of an ownership desperate to hold on to their baseball team, and is backed by the commissioner. And frankly I don’t think Sandy gives a shit if they win or lose. You can tell in his interviews he’s fed up and doesn’t seem to care. He’s likely going back to the MLB offices next year to take over for Selig when he retires. Sandy probably is looking down the road and doesn’t want to have to deal with this situation again. He can avoid it by saddling the Mets with long term contracts. And once he leaves, it’s not his problem.
I’m not saying the Wilpon’s are not responsible for this. Up until this point, I think they were more of the problem. I just think after 3 years of hearing the same song and dance from Sandy, that he may have more control over the Wilpon’s purse strings than they do. I know I have said before to be patient until the meetings, and I still stand by that. It just seems that all you hear out of Mets camp is who they won’t be spending money on instead of who they are trying to spend money on.
The above post is purely speculation not based on any facts at all. Hit me up on twitter and tell me what you think @GetsThruBuckner
