Mets GM SANDY ALDERSON has "been diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer and will begin 8-12 weeks of chemotherapy, precluding him from attending" the MLB Winter Meetings in Nashville, according to Mike Puma of the N.Y. POST. Alderson "underwent an unspecified medical procedure three weeks ago that forced him to miss the General Managers’ meetings." Doctors "confirmed Alderson has cancer" during that procedure at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Alderson will "continue with his GM duties, but will rely heavily on" Mets VP & Assistant GM JOHN RICCO, Special Assistant to the GM J.P. RICCIARDI and VP/Player Development & Amateur Scouting PAUL DEPODESTA during his treatments (N.Y. POST, 12/5). Mets COO JEFF WILPON said that he would work with Ricco, Ricciardi and DePodesta, "with guidance from Alderson, similar to the way the front office functioned at the GM meetings." Ricco: "We’ll have plenty of access to Sandy. We’ll talk to him all the time. He was with us the whole day with [free agent 2B BEN ZOBRIST] the other day. I don’t envision that being an issue. He’s a phone call away" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/5). On Long Island, Marc Carig noted Alderson "triggered concerns about his health" at the team’s end-of-year news conference Nov. 4. After announcing that TERRY COLLINS will "return as manager next season, Alderson met with reporters to the side of the podium and suddenly collapsed." Wilpon said that the Mets will "not disclose anything further on Alderson’s health, nor will they provide updates, citing his desire for privacy" (NEWSDAY, 12/5).
