So word on the street is that Sandy Alderson is the front runner to become the next Mets GM.
I remember when Sandy Alderson first came to the Padres there were all kinds of good feelings like, "Oh man this is gonna be great. Sandy Alderson says he's a baseball genius and I heard that he wrote the Moneyball novel."
And then I remember after he arrived, when the commercials started on television and I was so excited to get excited for the upcoming season. And instead of showing off all of the exciting play on the field, the commercials prominently featured Sandy Alderson. It was then that I thought, "Oh good. Somehow there's going to be a ton of cerebral excitement going on. Like tons... of stuff... that's exciting... that will be going on where I can't see it after I buy a ticket... I guess we're supposed to get excited by the front office employees. OK. That's cool. It's like getting excited for a Quentin Tarantino movie or something. Except in this ballpark, it's like Quentin Tarantino directed The English Patient."
And then I remember, after a while, thinking, "This guy really seems to know how to gather up a lot of smart baseball people, but I ain't so convinced that he knows how to draw fans to the ballpark."
Case in point 1: The loss of the Compadres Club.
Case in point 2: His quote on ESPN where he said that if Padres fans kept booing, he'd turn up the music.
Case in point 3: Just about every Darren Smith interview he had on 1090. "Sandy, do you think maybe..." "Listen Darren. I know it's hard for you to understand, so you and Padres Fan should just give up and let me and my 8 GMs do the thinking." "Sandy, I didn't even finish my..." "STFU, please. Now, please. Srsly. You too, caller. Hang up now."
So all that's to say that I think he'll be great for the GM job for the Mets. He'll be able to yell at New Yorkers and they'll find it endearing. New Yorkers love brash. Mets fans will have their own version of Steinbrenner. A guy who was already successful outside of baseball that found success in baseball. A front and center guy. A guy that probably wouldn't mind getting the opportunity to get into highly publicized battles with players in the national media. Someone that can not-so-subtly ridicule NY media, but at the same time, wink and nod like, "I'm super smart, but I'm also running for Mayor".
And Sandy will get another job that he can add to his resume as he prepares to oust Bud Selig and become the next baseball commissioner of the universe.