Never underestimate the power of a straight-shooter, which is something New York Mets fans undoubtedly appreciate more than most nowadays.
Team president Sandy Alderson’s press conference on Monday disclosing the club’s pivot in their front-office construction — abandoning a president of baseball operations hire and looking solely for a general manager — provided something that had been such a foreign concept to the fan base: Transparency.
It’s a simple concept when judging the character of a peer, but it’s as rare as anything when it comes to professional sports. Mets fans know that first-hand.
For two decades under the Wilpon family, the Mets’ plans were shrouded in mystifying vagueness — the club’s brass spending more time beating around the proverbial bush rather than supplying its supporters with a clear, contrite message.
The act was predictable and, obviously, grew tiresome as the Wilpon family pretended that they were interested in piecing together a contender to sell tickets rather than compete for a World Series.
A well-documented blemish of Fred and Jeff’s time at the helm, surely, but one that is further exposed with the arrival of new majority owner Steve Cohen.
A press conference like the one had by Alderson on Monday would have been an astonishing showing under the last regime. Now, it’s commonplace.
And it didn’t end with Alderson’s disclosure of their front office plans, which included the revelation that the Mets have already interviewed six GM candidates.
“I don’t think we’re a player away,’’ Alderson said when analyzing his team’s chances of contending for the postseason. “I think we’d need more than that. Do we have a good foundation? Yes, I think we have an excellent foundation. But I think that our needs are multiple at this point and that we’re more than a player away.’’
No more feigning contention, no more relying on hypotheticals to fuel a postseason run, just an honest ascertaining of a team that needs pitching help — both in the rotation and bullpen — a starting catcher and a natural center fielder.
Now with an additional $20 million to spend following Robinson Cano’s suspension, the Mets are showing every intention of actually spending it instead of pocketing it.
“It does provide us some additional flexibility,’’ he said. “The flexibility comes not only financially, in our abilities, it also gives us some additional roster flexibility, as it turns out, in terms of the players that we have and where they’re best utilized. We have a number of holes to fill.’’
Transparency is such a simple concept to uphold, in theory; just by exercising that, the Mets’ new leadership is only endearing themselves further to a fan base that’s already in love with them.
