Memo to Sandy Alderson: Keep Mouth Shut

For the first time in a long time, Sandy Alderson was actually honest last week when he said the Mets would not be big spenders this off-season, calling it “prohibitive.” Well, Alderson could not leave well enough alone and is now backtracking on that statement. Why can’t Alderson learn to just keep his mouth shut?

“It’s important to keep in mind a couple things,” Alderson told the Daily News. “One is, I actually believe we will have some payroll flexibility that goes beyond what some people are thinking.

“But at the same time, I don’t think we expect to go out and spend money just to get to a threshold. We have to see what’s there, both in terms of the free agent market and over time the trade market. We have to evaluate what we have.”

Why does Alderson have to continually tease us like that, using the words “payroll flexibility” to imply that the Mets might spend? Then when they do not, we are disappointed.

It was refreshing to hear Alderson tell the truth last week, only to have him turn around and lie this week. Yes, Mets fans do not want to hear that the team will not spend, but the harsh truth is better than being strung along, which is what Alderson is doing with his latest comment.

The Mets are expected to announce after the season that Sandy Alderson will return for 2015, and perhaps beyond. It would be so nice to be surprised for once and learn that Alderson is leaving town forever. Sadly, that will not happen. So we are stuck with Alderson and his lies for the foreseeable future. His act is getting tiresome.