It’s cool and rainy in the NYC area today. There is no baseball on the horizon. The Hot Stove is barely lit and probably won’t catch fire for at least a couple of weeks. So what does your intrepid columnist write about? He could pick apart the putative $30 million payroll increase, but there is only so much pre-emptive moaning and groaning he’s willing to indulge in. He could revisit potential targets, but he only did that two days ago. He could go historical and rail at cruel fate that the current Wild Card system wasn’t in place in 2007 and 2008, which would have saved the franchise and its fans at least two off-seasons of collapse-driven heartache, but the past is done and no amount of weeping can alter it. He could write a “pinin’-for-the-fjords” piece about Matt Harvey and 2015, but that only serves to cast a premature pall over 2014. No fun to be had.
The interregnum between the end of the World Series and pitchers-and-catchers is interminable, only broken up by news of players both acquired and jettisoned. So hungry is the baseball fan for the return of springtime sunshine, balls-and-strikes, peanuts and Cracker Jacks and the sights and sounds of summer that he/she will willingly lap up any morsel dealing with the grand ol’ game. In the space leading up to the Winter Meetings, those morsels are few and far between.
We have heard some Hot Stove simmering, that Sandy Alderson has been “aggressive” in reaching out to potential future Mets. At this early stage, of course, it’s difficult to know exactly what that means. Supposedly, he’s been a busy beaver, working the phones to lure players to Queens. As of right now, this benefits no one except Verizon. The GM meetings start next week in Orlando, and that’s usually when the first trickling of something more concrete – “hard news,” if you will — reaches the airwaves and interwebs. Until then, it will all be wild speculation, a little bit of axe-grinding and outright dart-tossing. We fans will just have to grind it out until then; nothing to do but wait, keep watching and please keep reading.
Meanwhile, let the “Silly Season” be silly.
Follow me on Twitter @CharlieHangley
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I have heard Sandy is being “aggressive” but only towards the more bargain basement free agents. I hope that is wrong. Nice use of the word “interregnum”.
I think Sandy’s plan (right now) is to target “Solid” free agents, like Peralta and Hart. He will look for the “Star” acquisition via trade.
Were he to add Johnny Peralta, Corey Hart and Carlos Gonzalez (for example) I think we’d all be fairly excited.
Sandy is aggressive every year, but nothing interesting happens. Hence, his aggressiveness is a sham.
Aggressive is just an adjective the reporter used. He could of said busy or inquiring. But that doesn’t provide the hook for next article he writes. Take it with 2 aspirin and we’ll see what the next day brings.
TexasGus. It’s the reporters interpretation of a conversation. SA isn’t being quoted. I try to be objective (imposssible) and will wait and see what happens this off season.
I like the Joel Sherman article http://nypost.com/2013/11/07/how-an-improved-mets-lineup-could-look-in-2014/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow I think it makes sense for the Mets.