Sandy Alderson: I'm Not 'Making Light' Of Mets' Financial Woes
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Mets general manager Sandy Alderson is ready to hit the road.
And no, he's not headlining a comedy tour.
"Big fundraiser tonight for gas money." "Mets only reimburse for gas at a downhill rate." Those types of posts on Twitter will become mostly a thing of the past once Alderson completes his drive to spring training in Florida.
Turning around the Mets is serious business, after all.
"Look, I think we all once in a while have to chuckle at ourselves and how we're perceived. By no means am I making light of where we are as a franchise," Alderson told WFAN's Mike Francesa on Tuesday. "I will say that everything we do currently is kind of interpreted through that financial lens. It is absurd in many instances, but what I've tried to do is inject a little humor into the last couple of weeks of the offseason."
LISTEN: Alderson with WFAN's Francesa
Faced with dwindling attendance and an upcoming trial brought by the trustee seeking to recover money for the victims of Bernard Madoff, the Mets are trying to raise money by selling minority shares of the team at $20 million apiece.
Alderson thinks Mets fans "have a sense of humor" about the situation.
"They're passionate and I certainly don't want to offend that passion," he said. "Three months from now that financial picture could be a lot clearer and a lot brighter. In the meantime, we're going to spring training and I think we'll have a far more interesting team to watch than many people have felt."
It'll be easy to look back on the Mets' financial woes with levity if the team can pull through -- on the field or in the bank ledger. Alderson is hopeful that it's just a "temporary situation."
"Look, I didn't come here to operate the Oakland A's," he told Francesa. "And I don't expect to have to do that on a long-term basis, and I'm not doing it currently. This is a great franchise and it will continue to be and it will be revived in short order."
The general manager also said ace Johan Santana will be ready for camp at Port St. Lucie.
"From our point of view now he's one of the five," said Alderson. "We expect him to start spring training that way, and we're very hopeful he'll end spring training that way."
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