Joel Sherman of the New York Post continues the media onslaught against the Mets this winter with an article claiming the Mets can still salvage the off season. Can someone please point me to the page with the off season standings. I can’t find it. I didn’t realize baseball is being played now. I thought it didn’t start till April.

Okay, I’ll put the sarcasm aside. I understand the fans’ frustration and the media’s insatiable appetite to sell newspapers by writing negative stories (the Post is owned by Rupert Murdoch you know).  And the perception is the Mets will be just as bad as last year. 

Let’s be realistic and put our emotions in check for a couple of minutes.

If the Mets return to New York healthy they will be better than last season. With basically the same cast of players in 2007 and 2008, the Mets won 88 and 89 games respectively.  In ’07, there were eleven teams with worse records and in ’08 there were twelve teams worse.  Take away the star players and last year is what you get. So if the star players come back healthy and there is every reason to believe they will (even though Beltran will be late to the dance), the Mets should play at least as well as those two winning seasons. I understand ’07 and ’08 get overlooked because of the horrible way in which those seasons ended. You will get no argument from me in regards to that. However, at least with a healthy club, the Mets should be able to play to a winning record again.

Now of course the question remains, can this team make the playoffs? Yes they can and no they can’t.  If the talent comes through, the Mets can and should make the post season. But if the question marks, and there are many of them, prove to be answered in the negative, than they will not make the playoffs further frustrating Mets fans. By the way, the Mets are not alone in this category. Most teams have question marks, some more than others.

The Yankees have question marks too. Their outfield situation may prove to be problematic but winning the World Series does a lot to ignore that and other questions. Now don’t get excited, I am by no means comparing the Mets situation to the Yankees. I’m merely trying to prove a rational point that the Mets have a lot of company when you consider question marks this early in the year.

Do I wish the Mets could have improved the team more than acquiring Jason Bay? Of course I do but except for not obtaining John Lackey, who could they have gotten that would have made a huge difference?

Are Mets fans actually upset they were not able to sign Bengie Molina? Are you kidding me? Did you see that clip they kept showing over and over of Molina rounding the bases carrying an extra half person with him? Please, the Mets would have had to overpay for Molina then we would be complaining how the Mets don’t spend wisely.

We can argue the merits of not signing Joel Piniero or Randy Wolf or Ben Sheets but signing any one of these pitchers does not reduce the number of questions, it only increases them.

I’m not trying to defend Omar Minaya. Frankly I have become to believe the Mets have a lot of issues in the front office and they may all start with Jeff Wilpon. And if that’s the case where do you go from there? However, I am actually hopeful for this season and here is why.

Accept for the acquisition of Bay and some bench players, this is the same team from the last three seasons. Now it is up to them to prove something as it always has been. We can blame Wilpon and Minaya all we want but neither of these two suits gets a single at bat or throws a single pitch. Imagine you are a player on the Mets hearing the ranting of Mets fans, sports talk show hosts, bloggers, and newspaper writers. I would hope all that negativity inspires Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver Perez, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Daniel Murphy and all the others to have great years. These guys have the talent. Now it’s a matter of proving something. With gritty Jason Bay in the midst of these Mets players, I expect big things this year.

It’s hard to predict what will happen. At the beginning of 2006, every Mets fan would have signed on the dotted line to have the Mets eliminated in game seven of the NLCS. Last year at this time, no one could have predicted what would unfold due to the massive injuries.  So rant and rave if that’s what you want and need to do. I am taking a more positive approach because you just never know.

Now that the Super Bowl is over, we can begin to turn our attention toward baseball. After all, in just a little over one week, pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Port St. Lucie. And while the stories all winter have focused on a dysfunctional Mets organization incapable of making a major move this winter (hmm, I guess Jason Bay for 66 million wasn’t a major move), you know we will all be focused on everything going on in Florida once players don their uniforms once again.

But before football becomes a memory, I must point out some differences between the two sports. First off, baseball does not need to hype its championship for two weeks before the event finally arrives. Baseball also does not depend on a large amount of the audience to tune in to see the television commercials. And can you imagine the outcry if after the fifth inning, The Who played a twenty minute concert.

That’s why I appreciate baseball. For all its commercialism, baseball does not interrupt its game with TV timeouts or other forms of entertainment. I realize the World Series does not draw the television audience that the Super Bowl does but that’s fine by me. Leave the gimmicks to other sports. Let’s keep baseball as pure as possible.

So back to baseball…

In case you missed it, Mets prospect Fernando Martinez who is just 20 years old (seems like he has been around forever) was named the Caribbean World Series MVP. The young outfielder, playing for the Dominican Republic, hit .348, slugged two home runs, and batted in four during the six games.

Hopefully, this experience will help Martinez gain the confidence he needs to become a very good major league player. However, Martinez must prove that he is a durable player. He has yet to play a complete season of professional baseball as he is often injured. And with the Mets acquisitions of Jason Bay, Gary Matthews Jr. and the incumbent Jeff Francoeur and Angel Pagan, the youngster will be ticketed for Buffalo where he needs to get more experience.  Carlos Beltran will hopefully be back before June meaning the Mets will have a very full outfield. Martinez can prove something to the Mets by playing well and healthy at triple A in hopes of contributing at the major league level come 2011.

It was great to see Jose Reyes running without trepidation last week as he rehabs on Long Island. Reyes feels great, has no pain, and can’t wait the get on the field. He will be key to the Mets offense but he cannot do it by himself. David Wright must have a bounce back year as well and Beltran must come back healthy. All in all I think with the addition of Bay, the Mets offense will be fine. The only question will be with their pitching staff. It’s time for Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, and John Main to step up. Call me crazy but I think they will.

The Sporting News baseball preview magazine is on the shelf. They pick the Mets to not make the playoffs but to finish in second place behind the Phillies. That’s a safe prediction. I believe the Mets will have a bounce back year and finish with a record above .500. However, I think if things fall right and the Mets stay healthy, they could even make the playoffs. The writers at TSN are seeing it the same way but are not committing to the Mets. Instead, they are giving the wild card to Colorado. TSN really went out on a limb predicting the Yankees will defeat the Phillies in the World Series. I guess besides the Mets, there will be no surprises in 2010.

New Ballpark News

Target Field will be the only new ballpark to come online in 2010. The Twins’ new ballpark is yet another design work of Populous (formally HOK Sport of Kansas City). Populous began the retro ballpark craze with the construction of Oriole Park in 1992. The latest parks to open prior to Target Field, also created by Populous, were Citi Field and the new Yankees Stadium that opened last season.

Unlike the Metrodome, Target Field is an open air stadium. I’m sure most Minnesota fans will be happy to watch a ballgame outside in the warm weather especially with such long winters in that part of the country. However, I wonder how much fans will like it if the Twins were to play late into the post season. It gets pretty cold in Minneapolis in late October. Early April is no picnic either.

Target Field is an intimate ballpark, seating just 40,000 with the majority of seats in the lower bowl. Like Citi Field, the seats are green and are very close to the field. The concourses are wider by an average of 18 to 22 feet. There is a lot of glass on the outside with brick work reflecting 1950s era architecture. The field is asymmetrical and like all new parks, the place will be loaded with fan amenities.

The ballpark should favor the hitters but the left field line is a long 339 feet while right field is shorter at just 328 feet. The left and right field power alleys are 377 and 367 respectively while dead center field is 408 feet from home plate. 

Officially Target Field will open at 3:10PM Eastern Time on April 12th against the Boston Red Sox. However, a two game exhibition series will be played there against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 2nd and 3rd.

The next ballpark to open will be the Florida Marlins new home that is currently rising on the site of the old Orange Bowl. The Marlins’ park, opening in 2012, will have a retractable roof and will seat 37,000 people. Once the Marlins move in, they will be known as the Miami Marlins as part of the deal with the city to fund the new stadium.

Ball Park Renovations

Citi Field, in its second year of service, will have some new features. The bullpen has been completely reconfigured to appease complaints from visiting bullpens that it was almost impossible to see the field.  The pen has been split in two with pitchers now warming up throwing toward the field instead of the two level pen where pitchers threw parallel to the outfield fence. Also, the white tarps will be removed since pitchers will now be able to sit under the bridge to protect them from inclement weather.  Fans over the bridge will have a much better opportunity to view (or heckle) the bullpen pitchers.

The Mets also are preparing a new Mets Museum to be where the Mets Team Store was off of the Rotunda on street level. The Museum is being built in response to many Mets fans outrage that not enough Met centric items were in place when the ballpark opened last season. In addition, the stairwell walls have been painted with Mets colors and there will be more Mets signage and pictures around the park. The Team Store will be moved further down the first base line and a new bar will also be open year round with entrances from inside the park and from the street.  There was talk of altering the fence height in center field but there has been no official word on that.

The new Yankee Stadium heads into its second year also. The noticeable change will be that the old Yankee Stadium next store will be nearly completely demolished or at least it should be. I’m not quite sure how Shea Stadium was deconstructed in just a few months and it’s taking the Yankees over a year to bring down their old ballpark.

The Dodgers are reviewing plans that will modernize and upgrade classic Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers in recent years have replaced all the seats returning to the pastel colors of when the stadium first opened in 1962. The park will be updated with a grand new entrance, a fan gathering plaza, and more modern amenities to make the ballpark economical for the next 50 years. Dodger Stadium was designed by the same firm that developed the now defunct Shea Stadium in New York.

After yesterday’s news that J.J. Putz never received a physical after the trade was made with the Mariners last year, you only can shake your head. What in the world is going on within the Mets front office? I have been a defender of the Mets for a long time, trying to be objective, trying to always see both sides of the story. But lately I have begun to believe that many Met fans that have been ranting and raving on blogs, radio call in shows, and in newspaper’s comments sections may be right. The Mets are a mess.

When you combine Putz’s comments, how injuries were handled last season, the Tony Bernazard soap opera, and Carlos Beltran’s recent surgery, you have to ask why is Omar Minaya still in charge of baseball operations. The answer to that question is that Omar is not in charge and has not been for a long time. The person in charge of the Mets is Jeff Wilpon.

There is enough circumstantial evidence to assume this is true. Reporters have written about it. Nelson Doubleday talked about it when he sold controlling interest to Fred Wilpon. He warned (and I’m paraphrasing) to “Watch out, the boy wonder (Jeff) wants to run the baseball team”.  Since Doubleday did not produce the plethora of championships I had hoped, at the time I took his remarks with a grain of salt. I just assumed this was a bitter man who was ousted by a hostile takeover. But perhaps Doubleday was correct.

It’s not the first time Jeff Wilpon has been accused of meddling where he shouldn’t. And it has been reported in the past that Fred himself was a quiet meddler. On the other hand, they do own the club. Who is to tell these people not to meddle?

Just because ownership is involved more than they should is no reason to assume there is no hope. But these stories coming out does not help coming off of such a bad year.

If the Wilpons want the public relations nightmare to go away, they are going to have to find a talented person to run the baseball operations. They need to give that person a budget and then let this person do their job. That is exactly what the Mets did during their two most successful runs in their history. From 1969 through 1973, Johnny Murphy was the GM and Frank Cashen was the last word during the 1980s.

The Mets need to find a talented baseball executive to run the baseball operations. That will be the first step in righting what’s wrong with the Mets. Obviously that will not happen now. Spring training is days away. The Mets have made all their moves. It’s almost time to sit back and watch the show. And it will be quite a show you can bet.

The one thing that is true is that the Mets are bound to be entertaining. If everyone comes back healthy and have the years the backs of their baseball cards say they can have, something special might happen. But if before long we see Jerry Manuel doing his version of a vaudeville act after each game, then the Mets become entertaining for a whole other reason.

Something has got to give. Mets fans have spoken. Ticket sales are not where the Mets would like them to be. You know the house across the river will be packed every game. The product over there is second to none and they will be raising the World Championship flag for the twenty-seventh time. Ah… that’s twenty-five times more than the Mets have done so.

During the nineties, the Mets lost a generation of fans to the Yankees. That could happen again if Mets management doesn’t wake up and realize they need an intelligent, articulate, and savvy baseball person to front the organization. They need someone who knows how to run a baseball team, handle the media, and for heaven’s sake, manage injuries. Until that happens, you can expect the Mets to be nothing more than an interesting side show. But what makes this Mets team different from other bad Mets teams of the past is that despite all the negatives, there is enough talent to give this club a shot to win.

While the New York sports writers continue to bash the Mets right up till spring training, let’s turn our attention to other baseball matters.

While it is Superbowl week, there will be live baseball on television all week long. For those of you, perhaps like me, who are tired of replay games and all the other baseball programming from MLB Network, SNY, and Yes, and who crave the real thing—well here it is. Starting tomorrow, the MLB Network will be airing the Caribbean Worlds Series. The four team round robin event will run through February 7th.

Winter League baseball in the Caribbean has been going on for many years. Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico just completed their playoffs that ran from late December through January. The regular seasons for these countries is about three months long starting in October and ending around Christmas. Puerto Rico is the exception. Their league does not start until November and concludes in early January before the playoffs begin. The winner of each country’s winter league will now compete in the Caribbean World Series that will take place on the Venezuelan Island of Margarita.

Two games a day will be played and all will be televised on the MLB Network. Check your local listings for times. Twelve total games will be played in the round robin tournament and all will be played regardless of their necessity. Teams will fight for pride over second and third place.

The teams competing will be INDIOS (Indians) de MAYAGÜEZ from Puerto Rico, LEONES (Lions) del CARACAS from Venezuela, LEONES del ESCOGIDO from the Dominican Republic and NARANJEROS (Orange Growers?) de HERMOSILLO from Mexico. All four of these clubs won their respective league championships.

Mets ballplayers on the rosters of the competing team include pitcher Elmer Dessens (Mexico), Pitcher Tobi Stoner (DR), Pitcher Roy Merritt (PR), and outfielder Alejandro Machado (VZ). Josh Thole played for Caracas but left the team a few weeks ago to rest up for spring training.

The Mets have a lot of issues and most of them are in the front office. Is Jeff Wilpon involved in more baseball related activity than he should be? Is Omar Minaya a lame duck GM. Is there anyone person in charge or is it run the team by committee? These are the stories that tend to dominate the headlines regarding the Mets.

There is a group of people that can change the focus. There is a group of people who can channel the headlines into something more positive. And it’s high time they step up and do just that. I’m talking about the players who make up the New York Mets.

If this were the 1978 Mets with Willie Montanez and Lenny Randle, I would have little hope and expectations for 2010. But the fact is this current Mets club has a lot of talent.

Of course with all the injuries last season, there are many question marks.  But during the minicamp just completed in Port St. Lucie, there is reason for optimism. Johan Santana through off a mound and said he felt better than he has in a long time. He was able to fully extend which he was not able to do last season. And Oliver Perez says he feels great too. Pitching coach Dan Warthen said he had not seen the ball come out of Ollie’s hand with such pop in a very long time.

More than these hints of things to come however, the Mets players must decide that this is the year they prove that they can win. It’s time for each and every one of them to look in the mirror and make a personal commitment to themselves and each other that this will be the year it gets done.

The Mets should not be about Jeff or Fred Wilpon, Omar Minaya, John Ricco, or Jay Horowitz. None of them could field a ground ball or lay down a bunt. The future of this team depends upon its players and their players are good enough to win when healthy.

How many teams would love to have David Wright and Jose Reyes? Johan Santana is an ace that many teams simply do not have. The Mets have a star closer in Francisco Rodriguez. They have newly acquired Jason Bay in left field who is one of the guttiest players in the game. Say what you want about Daniel Murphy, but no Met player has more desire to win than he does. Just ask David Wright who recently said he wishes he had 24 Daniel Murphys on the club.

Because of all the injuries, there are countless question marks. Carlos Beltran’s surgery did not help Mets fans feel warm and cozy coming into the new year. But if he heals and he is expected to, the Mets have the best center fielder in baseball for the majority of the season.

The talent is there but the Mets must step up and prove to everyone that they can be a contending team again.  I think they will. When everyone seems so convinced the Mets will be irrelevant I think they will be very relevant.  Just call it a feeling.  I’m sure these players have heard all the negative talk. Their competitiveness will make them want to prove all the geniuses wrong.  That’s why I think the Mets will win this year.

Win what, the World Series? I’m not dumb enough to make such a prediction. It is very difficult to predict who will win. The Mets were predicted to win the Series last year. Shows you what the experts know. What I mean by win is the Mets will contend. They will win more games than they lose. They might even make the playoffs. Truthfully hoping for anything more is a fool’s folly. If winning the World Series is the only thing that will make you happy, I would consider a new hobby.

Can the Mets win the World Series? I think they can. But for that to happen, everything must go right. They must have a season that is the antithesis of the injury plagued campaign from last year.  David Wright must return to form. Oliver Perez and John Maine must get back on track and get to where they were prior to their injuries. Mike Pelfrey must prove that he is ready to be the pitcher that everyone hoped he would.

It won’t be easy but we will see what kind of character these players have. We will see if they can turn the page and prove that the Mets are an elite team.

Ken Rosenthal paints Mets management as a ballclub not run in a traditional manner. I have no reason to doubt his comments. One look at some of the soap opera at Citi Field over the last year backs up his remarks. But is it really that bad that the Mets did not sign Ben Sheets, Joel Piniero, Jon Garland, or Bengie Molina?

It’s not as if they let CC Sabathia or Albert Pujols get away. This year’s free agent market was weak to say the least. The big complaint from Mets fans with so many question marks in their rotation, how come they did not get one of these available pitchers? I have to admit to wondering the same thing. However while Rosenthal paints a picture of the Met not being able to make a decision, could it be that they simply do not want to add any more question marks to a rotation already loaded with them.

Craig Carton, this morning on Boomer and Carton, was railing about the Mets not getting Ben Sheets. Seriously, I’m glad the Mets did not guarantee 10 million dollars to a guy whose arm could blow out in the middle of April. It’s a no-brainer for the A’s who had revenue sharing money to spend anyway.  Sheets could be a wonderful find for the A’s but it was simply too risky for the Mets whose entire staff appears to be a health risk.

Joel Piniero would have been a nice fit. But many feel without pitching coach Dave Duncan, he might revert to the inconsistent pitcher he once was. Just what the Mets need, another Ollie Perez.

Jon Garland is an innings eater and might have been a good acquisition for the Mets but he was not the answer to getting to the post season. And Bengie Molina? I find it laughable that writers look at not signing Bengie Molina as a negative. Molina is an overweight rally killing catcher who would have only helped to fuel Mets fans anger.

I do not disagree with Rosenthal’s assessment of the Mets front office. Jeff Wilpon has his hands in things he likely shouldn’t have and Rosenthal’s comparison to the Yankees of the 1980s is accurate. But this idea that the Mets are having a bad off season is a bit overstated. They did sign Jason Bay for 66 million. They got catcher Henry Blanco who will help the pitchers and play a solid defense at catcher. The fact that the free agent class is so bad this year is not the Mets fault.

Now we get to the argument that if the Mets are so concerned about question mark free agents, why in the world would they sign John Smoltz who is 42 years old?

The simple answer is the price. Smoltz is not going to cost the Mets ten million dollars. He likely will be signed for an incentive laden deal. I think the Mets thought process is that Smoltz can contribute as a starter and in the pen plus be an outstanding mentor for many of the young arms.

I actually am glad the Mets have not overpaid for the available talent out there. I know fans are angry and wonder how the Mets can possibly get to the playoffs without making significant moves. It’s an understandable thought. But I have come to realize that the Mets will not likely make the playoffs with or without these moves fans are screaming for.  They are better served to wait till next off season when there will be significantly better talent available.

I would rather see the Mets take a chance and hope their many question marks come through this season than over spend for mediocrity that will likely make no difference. Lower your expectations this year. It will do wonders for your blood pressure.

The Mets will open a minicamp today through Wednesday at Port St. Lucie. A lot of the players will be there and so will the coaches and manager Jerry Manuel. I would feel a lot better if the Mets had a new manager coming in.

I guess it’s not fair to put all the blame on Jerry Manuel for what happened the last season and a half. But he cannot be let off the hook either. A lot of the hope fans feel during the spring is based on perception. When you consider Manuel going into the season as the face of the franchise, optimism is not easy to come by.

Manuel took over for Willie Randolph in Anaheim, California back in June of 2008. At the time, fans were glad Randolph was fired and a new manager was in place. After all, in 2007 Randolph presided over the worst collapse in baseball history when the Mets squandered a 7.5 game lead with seventeen games to play.  Fans wanted Randolph fired immediately. Fairly, the Mets kept Randolph around assuming the problem was with the players, not the manager.

But the Mets got off to a bad start in 2008. There was speculation that Randolph was in trouble, the clubhouse was fractured, and there were some in the organization plotting against the manager. Finally, after being assured that Randolph was safe after leaving for California, he was fired the next evening.

Manuel was tested immediately when Reyes looked uncomfortable running to first and was pulled out of the game. Reyes threw a fit and embarrassed the new manger. But Manuel did not take any grief and made Reyes sit down. At least at the outset, Manuel looked like he would take no crap from his players.

Perhaps it was Manuel’s influence or the players being relaxed since things had come to a head. Whatever the reason, the Mets starting playing better and got back into the race. The Mets built a three game lead in September with 17 left to play. But once again, on the last day of the season, the last of Shea Stadium’s history, the Mets lost and were denied a post season berth for the second consecutive year against the same Florida Marlins.

Then came 2009 when the gods of injury swooped down and destroyed the Mets season. Manuel was left with bench players to fill in and help a mostly healthy David Wright and eventually Jeff Francoeur try and get to the playoffs. To no fault of Manuel’s, those bench players showed why they are not starters. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand what happens when non-star players are exposed day after day. In a nutshell the season was lost with Manuel left to tap dance to the media after every game.

Really, what else could he have done? But much of the negativism and bad media relations can be traced to the fact that the Mets head into a new season with the same cast of characters running the show. From a perception perspective, it’s easy to understand Met fans’ trepidation. Ticket sales are down and rightfully so. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times and what are you kidding me?

While I have defended Manuel and to a lesser degree Omar Minaya, I would have a better outlook on 2010 if the Mets had a new manager and a new General Manager. Perhaps the Wilpons should be commended for their loyalty or maybe they should be criticized for their stubbornness. I’m not sure. But one thing is clear. If the Mets get off to a poor start this season, Minaya and Manuel will be in trouble.

Most Mets fans want a world championship, nothing less. I would simply like to see the Mets contend again. After last season, I think that’s a more reasonable expectation.

For roughly the same money, Joel Pineiro chose to sign with the Angels instead of the Mets. The same can be said for Bengie Molina who was ticketed to be the catcher at Citi Field but ends up with the Giants again on a one year deal. Neither one of these losses should be evaluated as major disappointments for the Mets. In fact, yours truly is glad both are not coming. Molina looks more apt to play in a softball beer league this summer and it’s hard to predict if Pineiro will be as good without Dave Duncan by his side. 

I’m glad the Mets did not blow away either of these players with ridiculous money and years. This to me indicates a change of thinking in the front office—I hope. But the decision not to choose the Mets makes me wonder if these players think the Mets are a dysfunctional team. With all the negative things that have occurred over the last couple of years, who could blame them?

When you look at the handling of injuries, the bizarre situation last summer with Tony Bernazard, and the recent miss communication with Carlos Beltran and his agent Scott Boras, you can see why some players might be scared off. But Jason Bay did sign with the Mets which simply proves if you pay them, they will come. Or perhaps it means if you overpay them, they will come.

Again, for around the same money, Joel Pineiro chose to play in sunny California with a team, the Angels, who make the playoffs often. Why would he play in New York under the microscope, for a team that made the playoffs twice in the last ten years?

Molina probably wanted to stay in San Francisco anyway. Good. He belongs there not in Flushing.

But the Mets do have a public relations problem at the moment. The perception is that the Mets are a dysfunctional organization. If a free agent is offered the same money and years from both the Yankees and Mets, you know they are going to the Yankees. Now if a free agent is offered the same money and years as the Mets and any other team, the free agent is likely headed elsewhere. This is not a good thing. What can the Mets do to change this perception?

I think back to the 1980s. The Mets enjoyed their most success during this time period. From ’84 through ’90, the Mets averaged better than 90 wins per season never finishing below second place, made the playoffs twice and won a World Series. Had there been a wild card then, the Mets would have been in the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons. Since then, the Mets have had fits and starts, bad for a few years, good for a few then bad a few more.

What made the Mets good in the 80s in part had to do with the structure of baseball operations.  Frank Cashen was hired as General Manager when the club was purchased by the Doubleday group in 1979. He was also the head of baseball operations. Cashen made all the baseball decisions. Doubleday did not and neither did minority owner Fred Wilpon. Joe McIlvaine handled the minor leagues and Al Harazin handled the business. The buck stopped with Cashen.

When other clubs spoke to the Mets they knew who was in charge. They knew Cashen was the man who would pull the trigger on a trade, a free agent signing, or a player to be named later. There was no question regarding his authority when it came to baseball operations. I’m sure Cashen had to deal with ownership in terms of budget and progress but ownership stayed out of baseball decisions and correctly so.

Today by contrast, who really runs the baseball operations of the New York Mets? Is it Omar Minaya, John Ricco, or Jeff Wilpon? I don’t think anyone on the outside knows for sure. And that is a big problem for this club.

I have read that the Mets hierarchy is run in such a way that everyone gets a say. That may be nice in a democracy but in the baseball business it’s not the best idea. It leads to factions and confusion. That’s a huge problem when dealing with player personalities, the media, and the very knowledgeable fan base. They are not fooling anyone.

A perfect example was how they handled the Carlos Beltran situation last week. The Mets were rightfully upset that they were left out of the decision for the star centerfielder to have surgery.  But the way they handled it was comical. The Mets were not concerned about the public knowing they were upset as much as they were trying to save face once again. The press conference held over the phone appeared to be an attempt to prove the Mets were not at fault.  They are a very sensitive bunch, no doubt about it.

If Cashen were a younger man and running the ballclub today, he would have released a press statement indicating that Beltran had surgery—period. That would have been it. Sure he would have elaborated that Carlos was feeling pain and that surgery was the best option. Then behind closed doors is where he would have had it out with Scott Boras, not in public.

I’m not trying to paint Cashen as the perfect GM, he wasn’t. As great a job he did to build the ’86 Mets, he tore them down just as fast too. But in the arena of baseball management, he was miles ahead of Omar, one of the best in the business.

Moving forward, the Mets must find a good strong respected baseball person to run the team. Fred and Jeff need to pull back and stay out of baseball decisions. Only then will the perception of this team change. Only then will players favor coming to the Mets when the offers are equal.