What is Sandy's plan for fixing the Mets?

I guess I have to pay attention to the Mets with the New York Yankees out of the playoffs.

There's a lot of work to be done in Flushing by new general manager Sandy Alderson and it starts with picking a manager. If you listen to all the media speculation, it seems like former Met player and minor-league manager Wally Backman is a top candidate. But Alderson gave no hints about who is on his short list for the job. He did firmly dispute speculation that he wanted a yes-man, which would have taken the feisty Backman out of the mix, and said the need for star quality will be a factor in picking the guy who will be largely responsible for turning around the disappointing Mets.

But Sandy is going to take his time finding the right guy to lead the team and I think that's the right move, especially since he admitted the Mets probably won’t be aggressive in the free-agent market. While Alderson said he won't make any hasty decisions on players, he made it clear that his hands are pretty much tied with $110 million in committed contracts for 2011. That means no Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford for the Metsies. But that may be a blessing in disguise. I think the Mets problems are so deep that even one star player wouldn't be enough to turn things around.

So how will Alderson fix the Mets with no payroll flexibility? He didn't give any real clues yesterday. The only thing he said about his plan is that there are no untouchables although the homegrown guys are less likely to be traded. But one positive Mets fans should take away from the Alderson hiring is that he seems to genuinely believe that the Mets should be a top franchise, not just in baseball, but in all of sports. And he also seems confident that the Mets can be competitive next year, even with the noose of the bad contracts for Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo hanging around their necks, the uncertain health of Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana, and the legal problems of Santana and Francisco Rodriguez.

"I by no mean am looking past 2011," he said. "I'm very optimistic about 2011."

If he gets the right guy to be his manager, Mets fans will be optimistic too. They just need a reason to believe.

Mets don't have same HOPE as Yankees

It's a good thing that New York Yankees players aren't as busy or skittish as some of their counterparts in Queens or HOPE week would never have happened.

When Yankee Public Relations Director Jason Zillo started preparing to host the second annual HOPE week at the stadium last month, he told the team all about the people whose accomplishments and perseverance would be honored. After he was done, there was a line of players eagerly waiting to sign up to participate in not one, but multiple events celebrating the team's most disadvantaged fans. It's too bad the Mets can't get the same kind of commitment from all of their players.

What should have been a nice gesture by Mets players in visiting injured veterans at Walter Reed Hospital instead turned into a PR disaster because Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo couldn't find the time or just didn't have the heart for the visit. Castillo made a comment about not wanting to see that, presumably referring to young soldiers missing limbs due to their time in war zones. It's understandable that the image might be disturbing to him. But what Castillo obviously failed to comprehend is that spending some time with major-league ballplayers helps these young men and women forget their troubles, if only for a few minutes, and lifts their spirits. That alone should have gotten him past his skittishness. But it didn't.

I give a lot of credit to the Mets players and staff that made the trip. The story should have been them talking about their experiences with the injured soldiers, bringing light to their plight. Instead, it's about three players who couldn't spare three hours out of their lives. If the Mets can't even get all their players to attend an afternoon outing to comfort people who have sacrificed so much for this country, it doesn't bode well for their future as a team.

Thanks to Keith Allison via Wikipedia for the photo.

Baseball's PED problem rears its ugly head again

Baseball's problems with the use of performance-enhancing drugs just won't go away.

Every time it appears that baseball has moved on from the PED controversy, it rears its ugly head again. Canadian doctor Tony Galea has officially been accused of providing illegal drugs to several athletes and lying to federal investigators, upgrading this situation from a mere annoyance for Major League Baseball to a legal dispute with potential ramifications for several high-profile players.

As usual, Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees was thrust right in the middle of the PED spotlight. Of course, he has some company as Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran of the Mets have both admitted to being treated by the doctor although they said they did not receive human growth hormone or other illegal drugs from Galea.

But ARod is the biggest name in this story and it's not clear what he would say if he was forced to testify about his interactions with Galea. He had little to say about the most recent developments, but this is just more proof that his steroids use will haunt ARod for the rest of his career, just like PED use in baseball will forever tarnish Bud Selig’s legacy.

MLB asserts its power with ARod

So Alex Rodriguez talks to Major League Baseball about his interactions with Canadian doctor Anthony Galea before he speaks to the government or his bosses. I guess it's clear who has the real power here.

ARod reportedly told MLB officials that he did not get performance-enhancing drugs from Dr. Galea. What else would he say? If he admitted to using PED, he would be risking a lengthy suspension. But was he telling the truth? With ARod, you never know. He has no credibility on this issue so I can't imagine that baseball officials are truly satisfied with his responses. But perhaps they can live with ARod's answers in the hope that the problem goes away.

I understand why Bud Selig would want to get this meeting out of the way. He doesn't want the ARod saga ruining the start of what should be another big year for MLB. But as frustrated as he must be about the entire situation, it's a poor decision on his part to insist on his people talking to ARod before the feds do. There's no way a private organization like MLB should even be seen as possibly interfering with a federal investigation. And I do not buy the notion that the feds are just going to let MLB do their investigation for them and simply subpoena MLB’s notes without talking to ARod.

So it's one meeting down, two more to go for ARod. Why is ARod so hesitant to meet with federal investigators? If what he told MLB is true, then he has nothing to worry about. He has made it clear that he isn't the target of the investigation, but simply a witness. So why not just get it over with? And why would he agree to officials before talking to the government? That can't make the feds very happy.

This whole situation proves that ARod's diva days will never be truly behind him. Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes of the Mets both found plenty of time to answer the feds' questions and the investigation is no longer a story in Mets camp. But by stalling with the feds, ARod drags this issue out longer. You would think he wouldn't want to go into the regular season with this hanging over his head, but I guess getting it over with makes too much sense.

Thanks to edogisgod via Wikipedia for the photo.

Mets injury woes go from bad to worse

The New York Mets were looking forward to a fresh start in 2010 after the injury problems that ruined last season for them. While the Mets managed to turn the page on the calendar, their injury problems came with them and things just went from bad to worse.

In January, center fielder Carlos Beltran had surgery on his knee, supposedly without the team's consent. Earlier this month, shortstop Jose Reyes, already trying to come back from his hamstring problems, got sidetracked by a thyroid problem that forced him to cease baseball activities for nearly two weeks. Now comes word that first baseman Daniel Murphy will start the season on the disabled list because of a knee sprain. Who will get hit by the injury bug next?

By the way, I would love for the unnamed Met who criticized the team for babying Reyes to come out of hiding so we could ask him where he got his medical degree.

The New York Yankees were pretty blessed last year with good health, aside from losing Alex Rodriguez for the first five weeks, after a 2008 season where they missed out on the playoffs when several key players went down, including Jorge Posada. Health is critical for any team with playoff aspirations and the Yankees proved that last year.

But the Mets have gotten hit pretty hard with injuries for the second year in a row and they haven't even broken camp. You have to figure the next injury is going to be a devastating blow, unless they can get Reyes and Beltran back before it happens.

If it wasn't for bad luck, the Mets would have none at all.

Thanks to Keith Allison via Wikipedia for the photo