Thinking Like a GM....

So, as it is getting colder than my cards at a Las Vegas casino table, I am pondering the upcoming season and what the Mets need to do.



Recently, a client and I were talking baseball (a rarity, I must say) and he suggested I read Moneyball by Michael Lewis. I am in the process of both reading it and listening to it on CD.



You know, there is a lot of merit in the points being made, and if Omar absorbs the anti conventional way of thinking about baseball, we can find some hidden gems. Of course, with hidden gems, you strike pyrite, thinking it's gold.



There is a line in the book that resonates - a team of 9 Scott Hattebergs can be the best offense. We need to get guys who get on base, take walks, have a high on base percentage and willing to hustle. Omar, go under the radar some time....there may be something there that is basically "hidden in front of our faces."

What's good for the Mets is good for our soul.

We got rid of a Dick *(heilman)* and got a Putz

WHEW.

Last night as I was hitting the hay, I heard a "THIS JUST IN" in the sports report.

2 Sentences later, I leaped for joy! (The Mets Have Traded Aaron Heilman........) and to interject here, I would have been elated if the next few lines were "for 2 pretzel vendors and an usher..."

Glad to get rid of him. He was a level of total frustration (read a slew of previous blog posts) and quite frankly, helped the Mets lose a lot of games.

What do we get in return? HOPEFULLY a bit of stability in the Pen. JJ Putz was hurt for a bit last year -- but the last few years had some stellar numbers. The good thing is that Putz said while it wasn't his ideal role (8th inning set up man), he was going to pitch like it was a save situation. Go Get em JJ!

One footnote, that, you don't have to be Kreskin to figure this out, but the man's last name is pronounced POOTZ....First time he blows the game, you can hear the fans at She--er, CitiField call him PUTZ!

The sucky part is we lost Joe Smith. Omar, please get a decent sidearmer! (And Why oh Why couldn't you have unloaded Schoenweis?)

To close, (no pun intended) - remember the Seinfeld episode with Keith Hernandez? There were two instances when it came to friendship that you wouldn't help anyone move or take them to the airport?

Well, this is an open note to Aaron Heilman....Give me a call..I will help pack your steamer trunk, take you to ANY airport and bid for the privilege to yell the loudest BON VOYAGE you ever heard.

Putz -8th. K-ROD, 9th. Shut em down!

Another 57!!!!!!

Today. It's. Official.
Really, there is no need to make three sentences out of the first line, but it has to sink in now that we have K-Rod for the next few years.

One thing I noticed is that he wears #57. So does Santana. This should be interesting to see who ponies up the rights to wear that esteemed numeral.

Any Bill James disciples out there? Is this the first time the #57 is a duplicate on a baseball team?

Let's hope that K-Rod lives up to his promise. The Mets have had a long tradition of high priced / high profile closers that haven't amounted to much (Looper, Benitez, etc).

Now, all we gotta do is trade Schoenweis (FOR ANYTHING) and Heilman (FOR ANYTHING, LESS)

Winter Meetings - 08

An esteemed colleague of mine who shares my initials, though the letters are of an inverse nature, said to me today, "Hey, why haven't you blogged in awhile?"

Honestly, I had no legit comeback. So, I am going to post tonight and hopefully a LOT more.

Today, outside, it is colder than penguin droppings, but that has not thawed my love for baseball or the Mets.

I was at that very last game and as painful as it was, I am looking forward to the team rebounding this year.

We need to be like snakes and shed dead skin (Heilman, Schoenweis, etc) and become butterflies and develop (K-Rod - CC Sabathia, etc). Maybe an 8th inning chap like Huston Street would be good. (Can you imagine all the photo ops on Houston St. -- and for those outta towners, it is pronounced "House-Ton" - I have no clue why, but I digress.

Let's keep the sentimentality at a minimum and build a team.

Presently, I am reading Moneyball by Michael Lewis and it is a very introspective book...not only for baseball, but for life. One of my clients and I had dinner recently at a professional event and recommended the book -- from a baseball and biz perspective.

Omar, I am only on page 60 right now, but you should read this book while in the bathroom...believe me, it will prevent you from picking up shit players (as the aforementioned above).

Spring training is coming!!!!

Let's keep talking here...I encourage all posts...