Mets GM Candidates

So the Mets have apparently begun the process of interviewing candidates for general manager. Red Sox scouting director Allard Baird reportedly interviewed on Monday. White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn, former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes and former A’s GM and Padres president Sandy Alderson will sit down with the Wilpons as the week unfolds. And the thing is, I don’t know for whom to root.

Baird and Hahn have no records. Byrnes and Alderson do have records of both success and failure. All of them are held in reasonably high regard by those in the know. So there’s no right choice or wrong choice, really. I guess the Wilpons just have to decide who has the best vision for the team, and hire that guy. And then we will judge by the results if they made the right choice. After all, Omar Minaya looked like the right choice, and we all know how that worked out.

I do have one issue with Alderson. According to ESPN’s Adam Rubin, “Alderson has believed hiring an expensive manager is a misallocation of resources.” I strongly disagree with this statement. On one hand, I do agree that you can have the best, most expensive manager ever, but if you don’t have good enough players, the team will not win. And if you have the talent, it really doesn’t matter who the manager is. For example, anyone could manage the Yankees (no offense to Joe Girardi).

But if you have only a moderately talented team (the Mets, anyone?), a good manager can make all the difference in the world. The Mets would have won several more games this season if a better strategist than Jerry Manuel were making the decisions. Perhaps not enough to make the playoffs, but enough to at least finish .500 and leave fans with a better taste in their mouths.

So basically I’m fine with whichever one of these guys gets the job. Then the fun begins.

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At least the Braves lost Monday night. Good riddance to Bobby Cox. Now we just have to hope the Giants can knock off the Phillies and the Rays or Rangers can beat the Yankees. Ah, who’s kidding who? We all know it’s going to be another Yankees-Phillies World Series. As if us Mets fans weren’t tortured enough this season.

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By the way, I’m a huge Kid Rock fan, but if TBS plays that “Born Free” song one more time, I’m going to put my brain through my television.  It’s actually a good song when you listen to the entire thing, but TBS has ruined it for me. Moderation TBS, ever heard of it?