“Van’Swag’inen; Has Brodie’s cologne and hair product gone to his head?
The Met’s G.M. may have sipped a little too much of his own Kool-Aid!
We were all on board with the hiring of General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen during this past baseball off-season. This was the type of “out-of-the-box” hiring that appeared to be a win-win as soon as he opened his mouth! Even with their hiring of manager Mickey Callaway, we all thought it was a solid move and different than what we were used to. However, the risk versus reward ceiling becomes extremely low when you don’t win games. Guess what; the kool-aid tastes a little bitter right now as the Met’s are free-falling from most of Brodie’s decisions.
The fleecing of T.V. broadcasters Jessica Mendoza (ESPN) and Al Leiter (YES) as consultants seemed unique at the time but now look clumsy and window dressing for Brodie’s vail of Ego. Surround yourself with as many former clients acting as media hit-soldiers so your hair and cologne remain slick and sweet.
“Positively” Stupid
Brodie is one of these guys who only looks at things in a positive manner but to a fault. Similar to a motivational speaker who lives only on the sliding rainbow and screams at you if you dare let bad thoughts enter your brain. Sounds like I am being cynical but you need to live in a little bit of reality especially when the cards are telling you that your fortune is turning. Instead of worrying about looking like you are a G.M. with your well fitted suits and slick back hair perhaps you should surround yourself with those associates that will tell you the truth! Not associates that you give consulting jobs to who you love to hang out with or are friends with your wife? Are Leiter and Mendoza telling you the truth or are they telling you what you want to hear?
“Cano”, didn’t you know?
There isn’t anything unusual about taking on a bad contract just to obtain a great player you really need. This was the case with Robinson Cano when the Met’s traded for him along with Seattle closer Edwin Diaz. Diaz was the key to the trade and the Met’s were thinking that Cano would at least have an impact for about a year and a 1/2. However, as we know his highlight reel ended after his opening day home run and not much since. I cannot blame Brodie for pulling the trigger on this type of trade except that he gave up their top prospect and took on money rather than signing Craig Kimbrel after June 2nd and all you would have lost is money. There were less expensive options available in the off season like the ex-Oriole closer Zack Britton. Now the Met’s are stuck with a second baseman who doesn’t hustle and when he does run hard to first he blows out a hamstring. Diaz has proved to be ordinary when the Met’s need him to be super-human like he was with Seattle.
Foreseeable Future
In the words of Brodie Van Waginen, Mickey Callaway is the manager for the “foreseeable future”. Is this fair only to blame Mickey Callaway for the Met’s bad season? There is no doubt that Callaway has not done a good job on the field and we are not sure if the players like playing for him or not? What confuses me is that the “sabermetrics” world tells us that the manager has a template that they follow for each game and that the decisions are predetermined. If that is the case why is Mickey apologizing for decisions he is making? What this tells me is that the Met organization is all over the map with no GPS system showing them the way to a winning season.
