Christmas Didn't Come This Year for the Mets

For as long as I could remember, I always thought the general consensus was that rebuilding would not be tolerated by the New York Metropolitans and their fans.  Yet, Sandy Alderson walks through door, talks about restocking the farm system for the future, and everybody nods in approval.  Has the losing gotten so bad in Flushing that the fans are willing to try anything to see a playoff caliber product on the field even if it's a few years away?  

When Omar Minaya arrived on the scene, he was under pressure to win now.  To respond to the scrutiny of performing under the microscope of New York, Omar spent money as if it was going out of style.  All of a sudden, Flushing became the marquee destination for big names in the sport like Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, and Frankie Rodriguez.  No longer were the Mets associated as the team where players' careers came to die.  That list starts with the great Willie Mays and ends with the likes of Roberto Alomar, Jeromy Burnitz, and Mo Vaughn.

I find it a little strange that management and the fan base are so accepting of the Moneyball strategy that Sandy Alderson wants to implement in New York.  First, it will be difficult to judge the success of this strategy until a few years down the road, as prospects need time to mature and develop their skills.  Second, the major league baseball draft is the biggest crapshoot of any draft in any sport.  It is very difficult to evaluate whether a high school baseball star at 17 years old will develop into a major league superstar when he is 24 years old.  If it was that easy, Joe McIlvaine would be revered for winning multiple championships with "Generation K" consisting of Paul Wilson, Jason Isringhausen, and Bill Pulsipher.  Unfortunately for Joe, those "Can't Miss" prospects did miss, and so badly that not one of them had productive careers in New York. 

Personally, I think picking ballplayers in the major league baseball draft is like picking stocks on the New York Stock Exchange.  Hopefully, Sandy Alderson turns out to be Warren Buffet.  In the meantime, the fans will have to get excited about this season's "marquee" signings of Chris Capuano, Taylor Buchholz, Willie Harris, and Chris Young.