Sandy Alderson’s WFAN Interview: Key Quotes & Thoughts

This afternoon, Mets general manager spent roughly 40 minutes speaking with Mike Francesa on WFAN.

Aug 26, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson speaks about starting pitcher Matt Harvey (not pictured) during a press conference before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. It was announced today that Harvey has a partially torn UCL. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Alderson touched on a ton of topics, and was pretty open at times regarding what’s on his mind and what the plan is for 2014.

Below are the key quotes from the interview, with some thoughts at the end of the quotes:

On the Mets’ lack of activity:

"I think it’s fairly obvious…we’re early in the offseason. Lot of things don’t happen until well after the winter meetings."

On the Marlon Byrd contract and if it surprised him:

"I was much more surprised with some of the other signings…[Hunter] Pence, [Tim] Lincecum, I thought those were somewhat surprising."

On the Matt Harvey injury and its impact on 2014:

"It (Harvey’s injury) doesn’t alter our fundamental approach this offseason."

On the amount of free agent outfielders the club has on its list:

"I’m looking at my board, and I’ve got seven guys (outfielders) who are free agents (that Mets are interested in)."

On Juan Lagares:

"Lagares is really trying to adapt…it’s not about drawing walks, it’s about getting into hitters counts.  He definitely made improvement (offensively) as the season went on. He makes up for a lot of that lack of offense with his defense, his base running, and his arm."

On Noah Syndergaard:

"There’s probably one guy we wouldn’t talk about (as far as trading) under any circumstances, and that’s Syndergaard."

On what the starting lineup will look like in 2014:

"I’d be very surprised if there weren’t two or three new players in the starting lineup."

On whether he’d go into the season with a bunch of kids in the lineup instead of new acquisitions:

"No. No way. Why would we want to do that?"

On if he prefers on base percentage or power in the outfield:

"I’d probably give a slight nod to OBP."

On expectations going forward:

"We’re working on it every day…It’s not like we’re testing the market. We want to do something."

…no matter what Alderson says, there will be fans who criticize him and scream that he’s a liar, and fans who preach patience.  There are also fans who fall somewhere in the middle of those two mindsets.

During today’s interview, Alderson was open and candid.  To some, that’s not enough.  I suppose some fans think it would be smart for a general manager to give away his exact blueprint…

In any event, no matter what Alderson says, here’s what matters: what the Mets look like at the end of March.  Here’s what doesn’t matter: everything else.

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