Winter Meetings

I wish I were at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida, right now. Mostly because it's warmer there, but also because I want to know everything that is going on. This is the time of the baseball year that is the most interesting to me, because I really enjoy the team-building planning process.

Of course, watching the games is great, but as I've gotten older, I have found that I think about being a GM rather than a manager or player. Not much has changed in the personnel department for the Mets, but everything has changed in the front office, and for that I am truly grateful and excited. There are no guarantees in sports, but I trust Sandy Alderson and his staff a lot more than any regime since the Frank Cashen era of the mid-1980s.

2011 will be a year of rebuilding to some degree, but mostly a year of taking stock of the organization from top to bottom. This is something that I have been requesting for a long time, and I finally trust the front office to do it properly.

At first, I was not happy with the selection of Terry Collins, but after seeing him and listening to him, I am more than willing to give him a chance. His job, as I see it, is to change the culture. I'm really glad Wally Backman and Chip Hale are still with the organization, because I expect one of them to be the manager with a few years. Terry Collins taking over now will make the manager's job of the New York Mets a lot easier in the future.

This really is no job for a beginner. Terry Collins sounds like just the drill sergeant the clubhouse needs to get kicked into a higher gear. My hope is that the Mets use this year to rid the clubhouse of all the guys that are not championship caliber, meaning having a winners' mentality.

The Mets of October 2011 will be very different than the current Mets, and I am looking forward to watching the evolution of the team over the next 10 months and beyond. Being a Met fan means having patience and an open mind. Fortunately, my job has provided me with opportunities to learn both on a daily basis.




© Judy Kamilhor 2010