As the Texas Rangers get ready to host the New York Yankees for Game 1 of the A.L.C.S. some reports buzzing around N.Y. is that the Mets may seek permission to speak to Daniels after their post season run is over if they haven’t decided on a GM yet.
If the Yankees beat the Rangers this week the Mets could conceivably ask to speak with Daniels at worst the following Monday Oct 24th if they go 7 games. Now if Texas just happens to advance to the W.S. the Mets would probably have to wait at least until Nov 5th to seek permission and by that time the Mets most likely will have made a decision.
So here is the question. As a Mets fan would you rather lose a chance at interviewing and possibly having Daniels as the Mets GM if it meant that the Yankees would not advance to the W.S.?
65 comments
rustyjr
10/15/2010-10:11am at 10:11 am (UTC -4)
That’s a tough one but I would have to be selfless and say rangers to the world series ! Remember jeffy said that they might still might be without a gm until after the ws ends
CaseStreet
10/15/2010-10:43am at 10:43 am (UTC -4)
Texas to the WS because I’m a Yankee hating Mets fan and Daniels’ resume doesn’t impress me when compared to guys like Alderson, Hahn or Baird.
Mr North Jersey
10/15/2010-10:47am at 10:47 am (UTC -4)
I just found out in a Newsday Article that Daniels traded away “Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young to San Diego for a package highlighted by pitchers Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka in January 2006. Gonzalez now is a Most Valuable Player candidate for the Padres; Eaton and Otsuka are out of baseball.”
I guess it put a lil blemish on his resume.
CaseStreet
10/15/2010-11:00am at 11:00 am (UTC -4)
Yeah, that’s gotta hurt. President Alderson and GM Hahn, please.
Prismo
10/15/2010-10:47am at 10:47 am (UTC -4)
Between the two options, I would choose to interview Daniels. I don’t think who’s in the playoffs should affect the Mets operations, if they can help it.
However, if the Mets *love* someone they’ve interviewed, I understand if they’d rather just hire someone now rather than wait 3 more weeks to interview new candidates.
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-10:54am at 10:54 am (UTC -4)
Given the flawed roster and flawed salary structure of the Mets, Takahashi’s unique contract situation, and the new rules that allow less time between the end of the WS and the beginning of FA, I think it’s important for the Mets to have a GM in place before the World Series so that person can get started on setting up their staff and prepare for free agency.
If Daniels is unavailable prior to that, oh well.
Mr North Jersey
10/15/2010-10:58am at 10:58 am (UTC -4)
Also not seeing the Yankees in the W.S. would be nice, right?
Prismo
10/15/2010-10:59am at 10:59 am (UTC -4)
Very good points Grave.
However, I wonder how in-tune Alderson is with the current MLB roster. I mean, for several years now he’s held jobs not directly aligned with MLB. Does he have to rescout each free agent and trade available player, as opposed to Daniels already having a firm grasp of who’s available and what they might have to offer?
I know they have teams to work on these issues as well, but I wonder how much of an issue this typically is for someone out of MLB for a few years getting a GM job. Just curious.
CaseStreet
10/15/2010-11:05am at 11:05 am (UTC -4)
That’s why I like Alderson for President to run it all and Hahn for GM running the day to day baseball side.
kistics
10/15/2010-11:19am at 11:19 am (UTC -4)
I thought Jeff said his uncle would not be happy giving up his title… =)
stickguy
10/15/2010-11:47am at 11:47 am (UTC -4)
SHouldn’t Saul and Fred be down at Del Bucca Vista (phase II) by now? What are they still doing clogging up offices at citifiled?
And if it really bugs Saul, give him a better title. I doubt he actually does anything constructive anyway for the team.
Make Sandy president, and Saul can become “grand exhalted head muckymuck” or some such.
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-11:14am at 11:14 am (UTC -4)
That’s fair. That the team should not rush to hire Alderson is just as valid as they should not wait to hire Daniels IMO.
metsfan4decades
10/15/2010-11:02am at 11:02 am (UTC -4)
I’d have to go along with this too.
Read recently this week that TX said ‘Daniels isn’t going anywhere’.
I think it’s a real long shot getting Daniels anyway.
kistics
10/15/2010-11:05am at 11:05 am (UTC -4)
Yes.
Mr North Jersey
10/15/2010-11:09am at 11:09 am (UTC -4)
You know, I thought when I posted this people would come out and be like yea anything to see the Yankees not in the W.S. Boo the Yanks type of stuff and everyone for the most part is being very analytical and serious as they answer the question.
In other words…. Boring
Cmon you guys it’s Friday let your hair down.
kistics
10/15/2010-11:15am at 11:15 am (UTC -4)
Yes..
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-11:17am at 11:17 am (UTC -4)
Well that too.
metsfan4decades
10/15/2010-11:29am at 11:29 am (UTC -4)
I hate the Yankees!
I hate the Phillies!
Go Rangers! Go Giants!
That being said, anything that’s better for the Mets trumps me having to suffer through another Yankee/Phills WS again this year.
Mr North Jersey
10/15/2010-11:12am at 11:12 am (UTC -4)
Out of curiosity can those of you that can’t see newsday.com see it’s mobile version?
http://mobile.newsday.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=B569ABC8B3F7D01A1288.2928?site=newsday&view=mets_item&feed:a=newsday_5min&feed:c=mets&feed:i=1.2360509&nopaging=0
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-11:17am at 11:17 am (UTC -4)
Yes I was able to read all 3 pages of that article on my regular desk top (non-mobile) computer. Interesting.
metsfan4decades
10/15/2010-11:31am at 11:31 am (UTC -4)
Same here.
kistics
10/15/2010-11:17am at 11:17 am (UTC -4)
Yes…
Mr North Jersey
10/15/2010-11:20am at 11:20 am (UTC -4)
OK Kistics unless your having sex I think you met your “yes” quota for the day. LoL
kistics
10/15/2010-11:24am at 11:24 am (UTC -4)
Okay.
kistics
10/15/2010-11:26am at 11:26 am (UTC -4)
You know one thing I like about Daniels is that he kinda took Lee away from the Yanks at the trade deadline. I’m sure he felt good sticking it to the Yanks.
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-11:32am at 11:32 am (UTC -4)
I think every GM has a mixed bag of a track record. As someone notes above he traded away Adrian Gonzalez. He also traded for Jeff Francoeur & Bengie Molina and signed Alex Cora which doesn’t exactly light my fire, and Cantu has done nothing since they got him. But he did as you note acquire Cliff Lee and the bottom line is he got his team to at least the ALCS where I’m hoping he’ll stick it to the Yanks once more.
TRS86
10/15/2010-11:32am at 11:32 am (UTC -4)
You know Daniels is a local favorite but his trades have not been great at all.
Agonz and Young for crap.
Danks for McCarthy?
Yeah he rebuilt their farm which is something we need but as for the Mets you also have to have luck/success in the trade Market.
Prismo
10/15/2010-11:40am at 11:40 am (UTC -4)
He’s had some favorable trades too.
I like that he isn’t afraid to make big moves to try and better his team. Something Omar has shied away from in recent years (with only a few exceptions – one of course being Johan)
Prismo
10/15/2010-11:41am at 11:41 am (UTC -4)
The more I look at GM’s trade histories, the more they just look like crapshoots!
Prismo
10/15/2010-11:44am at 11:44 am (UTC -4)
How fascinating would it be to have some baseball expert go through and rank each GM’s individual trade 1-10, then find an average trade rank for each GM. How large of a variance would there be between GMs?
kistics
10/15/2010-11:55am at 11:55 am (UTC -4)
You bring up an interesting point. Just because the guy is young and stats oriented, that doesn’t make him the next Theo Epstein.
I’m sure Daniels is an extremely bright guy to be where he is now, but I think the Mets should not be carried away with this ‘trend’ of hiring young GM just because.
stickguy
10/15/2010-11:56am at 11:56 am (UTC -4)
Yes
kistics
10/15/2010-12:23pm at 12:23 pm (UTC -4)
LOL
Carefule Mr NJ has a quota for you too.
Mr North Jersey
10/15/2010-12:23pm at 12:23 pm (UTC -4)
hahahaha
kistics
10/15/2010-12:26pm at 12:26 pm (UTC -4)
Careful*
stickguy
10/15/2010-11:44am at 11:44 am (UTC -4)
It has to be about the Mets. So, if you can tell me that Daniels is absolutely the best GM candidate out there, then yes, I would rather see him with the Mets and the yankees in the WS.
I still don’t see why they can’t grab him for a cuople of hours while the Rangers are in NY. Meet him for breakfast at his hotel.
He’s the GM. Basically just there to shmooze and watch the games, so it really is not a big deal.
Prismo
10/15/2010-11:45am at 11:45 am (UTC -4)
That sounds very against the rules.
stickguy
10/15/2010-11:53am at 11:53 am (UTC -4)
not breaking any rule. Certainly they should ask for permission first if required.
But what do you know, you Okie.
stickguy
10/15/2010-11:56am at 11:56 am (UTC -4)
It looks like the notable bad trades really came early on. So, maybe there is something to be said for not getting a guy on his first job as the big guy. Let him make the learning curve mistakes on someone elses dime!
I did like this quote though from Daniels. I think most people here probably would support the philosophy:
“Starting in ’07, we said, ‘Let’s not play for hoping you hit a bank shot as time expires,’ ” Daniels said. “Let’s put a game plan together that’s hopefully going to sustain over time. Build up our scouting system, build up our farm system, be willing to take some risks. Acquire some high-end players and be patient together . . . From that point on, it’s been fun.”
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-12:02pm at 12:02 pm (UTC -4)
That’s crazy talk from crazy land. Just sign big name expensive free agents dude, it’s easy. Why you gotta make it so hard? (no homo)
Prismo
10/15/2010-12:02pm at 12:02 pm (UTC -4)
Fantastic quote, I’m going to analyze it a bit in a comment below.
TRS86
10/15/2010-12:01pm at 12:01 pm (UTC -4)
Davidoff:
“If Alderson becomes the #Mets’ GM, I don’t see how Wally Backman would be a serious candidate to manage. Perhaps a spot on coaching staff.”
Interesting.
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-12:05pm at 12:05 pm (UTC -4)
I’d love to learn why Davidoff thinks that. Because wasn’t Alderson quoted as saying that paying a big name manager lots of bucks was not a productive use of funds? That lead me to believe a cheap no-name (outside of Metsville this is largely what Backman is) was exactly the way Alderson would go.
Prismo
10/15/2010-12:07pm at 12:07 pm (UTC -4)
Backman might as well be a cheap no-name.
How much MLB managing experience does he have? 1 day?
TRS86
10/15/2010-12:09pm at 12:09 pm (UTC -4)
I think the comments are coming based on Backman’s past and demeanor. Other words Teufel has a better chance in some minds.
Prismo
10/15/2010-12:11pm at 12:11 pm (UTC -4)
And you don’t find that reasonable?
If Alderson wouldn’t want to hire Backman because he’s a hot-head (to an extreme level at times) and a wife-beater, I can stand behind that.
TRS86
10/15/2010-12:13pm at 12:13 pm (UTC -4)
I think that you would have to weigh his checkered past and potential future issues against what he would bring to the team. So yes if Sandy felt that those risk were not worth the gain I too can stand behind that.
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-12:14pm at 12:14 pm (UTC -4)
I agree but wonder why those attributes would disqualify him from being manager but not being on the coaching staff.
Prismo
10/15/2010-12:16pm at 12:16 pm (UTC -4)
Don’t know! Good point, sorry..forgot that part!
kistics
10/15/2010-12:30pm at 12:30 pm (UTC -4)
Because the fans/ownership want him?
TRS86
10/15/2010-12:33pm at 12:33 pm (UTC -4)
I sure hope the new Mets don’t operate based on what the fans want.
TRS86
10/15/2010-12:31pm at 12:31 pm (UTC -4)
Devil’s advocate I am guessing because he would be under the watchful eye of a more respected, experienced manager and lessen the spotlight on him.
Mr North Jersey
10/15/2010-12:17pm at 12:17 pm (UTC -4)
I think other than Hahn who I believe shares a history with Backman I think any new GM would prob have someone they may prefer more than say Backman whom I think would get an interview more at ownership’s request as a consideration than anything else.
That being said I don’t know what Alderson thinks of Backman in the least or even if he holds Backman’s past against him to begin with.
kistics
10/15/2010-12:21pm at 12:21 pm (UTC -4)
I wonder what the reason would be….
Prismo
10/15/2010-12:05pm at 12:05 pm (UTC -4)
Re: Stick’s quote from Daniels…
This could put a great spin on the AGonz trade that people are hating on so much.
Basically, his plan was to build up a great farm system and make trades with a calculated risk, figuring that if a risky trade doesn’t work out – it’s OK, they have the farm system to support it.
Wasn’t their trade for Hamilton just as risky? And look how he turned out.
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-12:12pm at 12:12 pm (UTC -4)
Except it would have been hard for him to have the farm system in place to support that risky Gonzalez trade given he made it 3 months after he took over, before he’d overseen his 1st amateur draft.
At best in trading Gonzalez he either undervalued Gonzalez, overvalued Eaton and/or Otsuka, or he really, really trusted his ability to build up that system over the coming years because at that time the support he mentions simply didn’t exist.
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-12:25pm at 12:25 pm (UTC -4)
From reading his Wikipedia page I think ultimately Daniels was successful at implementing the plan as you describe it, it’s just hard for me to appreciate the Gonzalez trade specifically in this context.
But clearly as he went on this is exactly what he did and it’s impossible for me to suggest that it hasn’t worked out overall.
Prismo
10/15/2010-12:35pm at 12:35 pm (UTC -4)
The end justifies the means!
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-12:54pm at 12:54 pm (UTC -4)
In looking over Daniels’ trade history then comparing it to Minaya’s trade history the one thing I can say for sure is Daniels is more of a risk taker and if nothing else we as fans (and fans who blog) would have much more transaction fodder to work with over the coming years if Daniels were hired.
There would be no more “the Mets have done nothing now because they’re saving money for mid-season trades” which they then also wouldn’t do.
stickguy
10/15/2010-12:24pm at 12:24 pm (UTC -4)
hey, sometimes players don’t live up to their billing . especially pitchers. It happens.
also, that quote points out something that, to me, is a fatal flaw with a GM (or anyone in a role like that).
Fear of failure.
That is, guys are so afraid of making a mistake (and getting called out for it), that they play it ultra safe (no risk/no reward, by the book, etc.). So, you make the safe play, and if it bombs on you, you hide behind it being the safe move.
But, if you take a risk (like Hamilton deal) and it flames out, you get hung out to dry, and many guys, including I think Omar at elast at the end, are deathly afraid of that.
SO, you overpay for a name FA (Bay, Ollie) instead of taking a shot on a risky put potentially better option (cheaper, better player, whatever).
In a sense, the GM goal becomes to blame failure on the player, not the GM. If you trade for Milton bradley and he goes mental, GM takes the heat. Sign Bay and he gets old overnight, well hell, blame Bay for not living up to his past!
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-12:30pm at 12:30 pm (UTC -4)
Agreed. My memory of the Minaya tenure is, with a couple of exceptions, he signed the obvious person to lots of money (limited fear of failure in doing what consensus expects) or signed “take a chance” guys to small money deals so that when 1 of the 10 of them actually panned out it looked smart and when 9 of the 10 didn’t pan out it didn’t matter much because few people knew who these players were and they weren’t being paid much.
The fatal flaw was counting heavily on contributions from those “take a chance” players, not the signing of them in itself, combined with then re-signing those few that did pan out.
In that context I wonder if I can lump Takahashi into the pile of “take a chance” guys and feel like maybe the Mets got the best they were going to out of him and should just move on instead of re-signing him and counting on him.
saltygary
10/15/2010-12:58pm at 12:58 pm (UTC -4)
I’m buying into the Alderson scenario and Hahn sounds like a good candidate as well so not too worried about Daniels. But you have to give Daniels credit, he did one hell of a job making moves for a team in bankruptcy that can’t add additional expenses without approval from many parties.
Mr North Jersey
10/15/2010-1:00pm at 1:00 pm (UTC -4)
True
saltygary
10/15/2010-1:04pm at 1:04 pm (UTC -4)
As for the championship series I am already vomiting in my mouth. I am not a Yankee hater in anyway but I do not want them in the series unless they lose. OK maybe I’m a hater, that sounds a little hateful.
The thought of the Phils in the series again just adds to my frustration at the state of the Mets and the NL East. So to quote my self from last year if the Yanks and Phils are in the series again, the only thing I am rooting for is the field opening up and swallowing both teams.
This is how I think matchups would break down.
Phils > SF
NY > Tex
Phils>NY
NY>SF
Phils>Tex
SF>Tex
GravediggerHebner
10/15/2010-1:13pm at 1:13 pm (UTC -4)
Former Met Jerry DiPoto, working under Kevin Towers in AZ as VP & Director of Scouting and Player Development just hired former Met Rico Brogna to work as Amateur Scouting Director.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=10442