Alderson on when Santana started to complain about his back.
Over the weekend and sometime after his last start he complained about a back issue that came up in the course of pitching I believe it was last Friday and bothered him again later in the evening and with all that having been discussed we decided we better get an MRI to take a look and did not get the MRI results from the back specialist until today.
On the seriousness of Santana’s injury.
There is no significant problem. There is no surgical issue that we have to face that Johan has to face. An injection is probably not indicated either at this point. Basically he’s got some inflammation in his lower back it’s not a disk it’s an area around the disk. It’s not super serious but at the same time it’s something that if he favors it if he does something that the compensates for that back issue then it could get to a shoulder it could get to some other part of his body and given everything that he’s already done this year the fact that he has come back from no pitching in 2011 to what he’s done to date we just thought that given his back issue probably going to miss several weeks anyway and it may be best that he not pitch the rest of the season.
On what went wrong with the 2012 Mets.
Well I think as in most cases when this happens it’s a combination of things I don’t think there’s any one thing that I could point to or that anyone could point to I think unfortunately a number of things have gone in the wrong direction since early July.
On what the Budget will be next year.
I have not talked with either Jeff or Fred or Saul about that issue. Our payroll when everything is said and done will probably be around $100M this year. …We started with, we were down to I don’t know 93, 94 but by the time you add in various incentives and so forth you know we’ll be we’ll be close to that hundred million dollars number. So the question people have is it is going to go down is it going to stay the same is it going to go up and we just have not had those conversations yet. Obviously I’m fully aware that we got a lot of money tied up in two or three players. We got some guys that we’d like to keep here, David Wright being one R.A. Dickey being another. We’ve got some guys that are going to be eligible for arbitration for the first time. So you know we’ve done some obviously we’ve done some calculations as to okay if we have X amount of money this is what we can do. Y amount of money this is what we can do but I have not had those conversations yet I expect that to be some clarification about that sometime soon but, and I know people like to speculate about it even though we have forty games left in this season but I just cannot tell you I cannot give you an answers at this point Mike.
How in some ways building a team is like buying a house.
I know when we bought our first house when my wife and I were first married we must of looked at a hundred houses over a period of a year year in a half. When we actually bought one it took us about six hours to decide. Because we done all that visiting we’ve looked at all those places we’d observe we taken into account the pluses and the minuses but we were ready to make a decision and I would analogize that to building a team and that is you watch and observe and evaluate over a period of time and then you have to make a decision and you have to make it not in six hours but you feel much more comfortable about making a decision because all of the things that you seen. So if we have to make changes in this team we will be very comfortable doing it I think because not that we will be right every time but if we have to make changes we won’t really hesitate to do it because we’ve watched this for a couple years I think were comfortable now with what we have what we need and we to get better and not incrementally.
On what Alderson feels has been the best thing he has done so far since joining the organization.
I do think that we have reorganized the scouting and player development operations and I think of the player development side is strengthening and I think that we see that in some of the prospects that we have coming. I think the other thing is that one thing we’ve done is this may not be viewed as a strength by fans but I think we been patient in light of some of the overall issues that we faced. I think that you know it’s sometimes difficult to and it appears to be passive but it’s really not it’s a matter of sort of knowing when to hold-em and so i think we’ve gotten through these two years and through some pretty significant not just payroll reductions but player turnover that involved big contracts that we just had to accept as part of the process.
You can listen to the entire interview below.
17 comments
jessep
8/23/2012-10:59am at 10:59 am (UTC -4)
Can I do a shameless plug like you did the other day lol
Joe D and I at MMO have very different views of how this interview went. We did a crossfire piece which hopefully will be posted today.
srt
8/23/2012-11:17am at 11:17 am (UTC -4)
Oh boy…..
Met fans with opposing issues reading between the lines? I’m shocked.
jessep
8/23/2012-11:22am at 11:22 am (UTC -4)
I actually listened to the interview as it happened. To be honest I think reading a transcript of quotes does the interview a disservice.
Not to give it away but I thought the interview was actually very well done by both
Stickguy
8/23/2012-11:34am at 11:34 am (UTC -4)
well, now you spoiled it. I wanted to be surprised as to which one of you supported Sandy, and which one ripped him a new orifice.
jessep
8/23/2012-11:53am at 11:53 am (UTC -4)
haha – i actually have no idea what joe will say to be honest
Stickguy
8/23/2012-11:57am at 11:57 am (UTC -4)
I will read it when it comes out, but based on recent trends, I suspect he is not giving Sandy any benefit of the doubt, or props of any kind.
srt
8/23/2012-11:18am at 11:18 am (UTC -4)
Thanks, Jerz.
I couldn’t bring myself to listen to this one. I just cannot handle Francesa.
Stickguy
8/23/2012-11:38am at 11:38 am (UTC -4)
The last comment especially IMO goes along with what I said his primary mission was when he took the job. He was here to stabilize the finances (obviously), but along with that to rebuild the organization from the bottom up (philosphy, culture, consistency, etc.) that includes the scouting and player development functions obviously.
but, those are things which are not “sexy” or readily apparent to the fanbase, and take time to come to fruition.
to compare them to another team, if Sandy did this right and achieved the ideal, it would be to turn the Mets org into the Braves, just with a bit more payroll money to spend!
srt
8/23/2012-12:48pm at 12:48 pm (UTC -4)
This.
TRS86
8/23/2012-12:56pm at 12:56 pm (UTC -4)
I completely agree. It is and always was about providing structure in all facets to a very undisciplined organization from the top down and bottom up.
Which also goes in line with the thinking that Selig had a hand in it. It wasn’t just the Mets finances that were a mess lacking discipline and structure it was the entire organization and Sandy was brought in to restructure.
Key example, Jason Bay. Why was he signed? It was already clear that the Mets were struggling financially based on lack of activity in the collapses and always leaving one more hole open to afford the next big piece. They threw the fans a bone with the Bay signing and ultimately it was the last straw.
NJstuckinTX
8/23/2012-1:09pm at 1:09 pm (UTC -4)
Which is why I’m thinking Wright and Dickey may be traded. Well, I’m leaning that way, anyway. If it takes time to get the ship righted, then it won’t make sense to keep those players.
There is always the key player to draw fans argument, but we shall see.
TRS86
8/23/2012-1:12pm at 1:12 pm (UTC -4)
See I disagree, it wasn’t about tearing down the entire thing and starting over. It was about providing the structure to rebuild. Finances play a part in the rebuild and trading both Dickey and Wright would be a financial nightmare.
NJstuckinTX
8/23/2012-1:25pm at 1:25 pm (UTC -4)
Could be. Also, another season like this one could be as well. Considering the holes to fill and the mess the OF is (+ BP and stuff), it may be a very rough year. Now, if they can re-sign Wright and possibly Dickey, weather another year of putridity and then start filling holes with the bay/Santana funds, it may keep fans coming. Could also be trading those 2 brings you back some legit ready to start soon prospects and you can sell them to the fans, you could see an overall lower payroll & the promise of something better growing before the fans eyes.
It is a tough thing to do, but I must say, Sandy wants what is best… wait for it… for the long haul. So if trading Wright will eventually do that, I’m sure he will. I for one still think that signing wright and trading Dickey will be the way to go. That and a $1 will get you something off the dollar menu.
Stickguy
8/23/2012-1:42pm at 1:42 pm (UTC -4)
you can really argue either side of this one, and there is no clear-cut “right” answer.
but, IMO, if they guess wrong, the wilpons will end up selling anyway.
srt
8/23/2012-4:38pm at 4:38 pm (UTC -4)
The only way I see Wright being dealt is if he decides he doesn’t want to stay here and turns down any fair market offer the Mets make.
srt
8/23/2012-4:37pm at 4:37 pm (UTC -4)
‘Which also goes in line with the thinking that Selig had a hand in it. It wasn’t just the Mets finances that were a mess lacking discipline and structure it was the entire organization and Sandy was brought in to restructure. ‘
This makes so much sense, otherwise they would not have fired Omar and paid 2 GMs for a couple of season.
gategem
8/23/2012-6:21pm at 6:21 pm (UTC -4)
These arguments are in line with what you’ve been writing all along. So take some credit that some of the people may be finally recognizing and accepting your point of view.