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Coutinho: Mets Should Emulate The San Francisco Model

By Rich Coutinho
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When San Francisco takes the field tonight, Sandy Alderson and the Mets' braintrust need to take a long, hard look at the Giants' roster. That might be the best way for New York to build a championship club.

When you live in New York and the team across the river spends money as wildly as a high-roller at a casino, you see how hard it is to measure up with high-ticket items. Well, here's a news flash: You don't have to measure up. More often than not, spending does not render results.

That is not to say that spending significant dollars on star players is not part of the plan -- but the key word in that sentence is PART of the plan. The Giants won the World Series because they possessed off-the-charts starting pitching and a lights out closer -- sprinkled in with a few offensive threats. They also won while bearing the cross of an unwieldly contract to Barry Zito that has given the Giants very little return.

Nobody really knows what the Mets' financial situation is right now -- or what it will be come November. Anyone that tells you they know is certifiably insane. What we do know is the Mets will have significant dollars coming off the payroll. Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, and K-Rod (should his option not kick in) will all potentially be dollars coming off the books.

In my opinion, the only player I would pursue in that group is Reyes. Combine his dynamic star power with Jason Bay, David Wright, and Ike Davis all under control for 2012 at the very least, that is a pretty good quartet of offensive players.

That will allow the Mets to put money into pitching, which given the ball park they live in and the division they reside in,  makes perfect sense. When you look at the Giants' model, most of their pitching star-power comes from within the organization -- and the Mets appear to be headed down that route. In an ideal world, the Mets would be getting more from Mike Pelfrey at this point in his career, but they are not. They need to find out by the end of this season what they have in Pelfrey and where he stands within the organization. Dillon Gee and Jonathan Niese look like they could be really 3rd and 4th starters at this level.

Johan Santana's health will be a huge variable here because the team is still committed to him for the next few years. We really do not know what they will get from Santana next year. R.A. Dickey and Chris Young have been fine additions to the staff in the past 2 seasons, but this team still needs an ace desperately.

Can top prospect Matt Harvey be the answer?   I will tell you this -- he has fabulous stuff but still may be a full year away.  The Mets have not had a pitching prospect like this in their organization in a long time. He is still very much a raw talent, but he has got the goods and may be the pitcher who could lead them -- especially since Jenrry Mejia seems destined for Tommy John surgery.

Met fans often marvel at the money the Yankees have spent for high-priced players -- and in some cases high-priced backups. Truth be told, it has allowed them to be a perennial playoff team but has given them only one World Championship in the last 10 years. The reason for that? The short playoff series is the ultimate equalizer. And if you look at the payroll levels of some of the recent World Champions, like the '10 Giants for instance, money has not always translated into baseball nirvana.

The secret is to mix up your portfolio with great young homegrown talent, crafty trades, and sprinkle in the one or two high ticket free agent items that could put you over the top. Press conferences in November or December give you media buzz, but often times leave you both disappointed and strapped with long-term commitments that can render a team economically inflexible.

The Mets' farm system is starting to produce some players and there are more on the way. Pleasing your fan base by competing with the spend-happy Yankees is not the answer. A $100 million payroll is more than enough to win in this sport -- if it is spent prudently -- and all the Mets have to do is look across the field this week to figure that out.

Can the Mets compete on a $100 million payroll? Let Coutinho know in the comments below...

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