Alderson Confident That Madoff Drama Won't Impact His Plan For Mets

Mets GM Sandy Alderson yesterday insisted that "the Wilpons' messy entanglement with Bernie Madoff would not have an impact on how he does his job going forward," though he did note that the team plans to "lower payroll in the future," according to Dan Martin of the N.Y. POST. Alderson on a conference call said, "Our payroll going into the season will be somewhere between $140 million and $150 million. I think that is significantly higher than we'd like to be on an annual basis." Alderson asserted that his plan for the Mets' roster "will not be dictated by last week's news that the Wilpons are looking to sell a share of the franchise." He added, "The plan and the approach that I've taken over the last two months has not been affected at all by any other outside factors. ... I want to emphasize that the plan that we have pursued the last couple of months was limited by only one fact, and that was the level of the existing payroll" (N.Y. POST, 2/1). Alderson said that he was "not aware of the severity of the club's financial problems when he interviewed for the general manager's job in October." Alderson: "I wasn't privy to all the detail, nor am I, or most of us at this point, privy to all that detail, and I wouldn't expect to be. ... Would it have changed my position? I don't think so" (NEWSDAY, 2/1). Alderson added, "If there was a financial problem before and it’s being addressed, that can only be positive from my standpoint" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 2/1).

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE: The N.Y. POST's Martin notes financial "uncertainty could have a bearing on how agents treat the Mets in future negotiations." One MLB player agent said, "If they do have a money-crunch, how is that going to impact what they do? Do you have as good a chance to win there as you do somewhere else?" (N.Y. POST, 2/1). In Newark, Andy McCullough writes, "The Mets are rebuilding right now. That much is obvious. So, for Alderson, the reduction of payroll does not signal a move backward. It signals progress" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 2/1). On Long Island, Anthony Rieber writes this situation is "one of the reasons the Mets hired Alderson -- to be the public face of the franchise when bad things happen." Rieber: "Listen to Alderson and you hear honesty. Integrity. Competence. Confidence. He could have ducked the questions or hid behind the phrase 'it's a legal matter' or flat-out lied. It's just not in his makeup" (NEWSDAY, 2/1). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Brian Costa writes Alderson "did exactly what the Mets needed him to do, projecting a sense of calm and confidence amid the appearance of a dire situation" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/1).