With Sandy Alderson being one of two finalists for the New York Mets GM vacancy, there has been renewed interest in a three-part interview I conducted with him in June 2008. This past weekend, excerpts appeared at Metszilla and ESPN New York.

I chatted with Lori Rubinson on her WFAN radio show Sunday night and with Ted Berg on his SNY.tv show Tuesday morning (thanks to both for having me as their guest). No archive of the radio show is available, but you can watch my SNY.tv spot here:

To Mets fans who may have stumbled onto this site, welcome. Not that my endorsement means anything, but I think Alderson would be a good fit for GM of your team.

My general feeling about Alderson is that he’s a smart guy who knows how to get things done but whose brusque manner can rub some people the wrong way and cause them to miss the message behind the tone. I get the impression that Alderson’s directness won’t be as a big an issue in New York as it was in San Diego. I am reminded of a quote from William H. Macy’s character on Sports Night:

You said before that for whatever reason, I seem to be able to exert some authority around here. I assure you it’s not ’cause they like me. It’s ’cause they knew two minutes after I walked in the door I’m someone who knows how to do something. I can help.

Also be aware that my views on Alderson do not necessarily represent those of many fans in San Diego. For a sampling of different opinions on the man and his tenure with the Padres, I urge you to read the following articles that appeared right around the time he left the organization:

• Sale official (Friar Forecast, February 2009)
• Alderson resigning today as Padres CEO, bearded man to take over (Gaslamp Ball, March 2009)
• Agent of change not always popular (San Diego Union-Tribune, April 2009)

Finally, if you want to read Alderson’s own words, you can do so in my interview with him:

• Part 1 — On Bill James, Alderson’s time with the Oakland A’s and MLB, helping establish the Urban Youth Academy and the Padres Dominican Academy, his experience in the Marines and as a lawyer, and the importance of organization and process
• Part 2 — On his responsibilities as Padres CEO, his criticism of expensive free agent signings, the importance of good management, and building a farm system
• Part 3 — On interacting with the media, the role of blogs and bloggers, draft and player development strategies, making in-season adjustments, and his fondest baseball memories

Thanks for your time, and enjoy!

Tagged as: bill james, new york mets, oakland a's, sandy alderson, snytv, sports night, urban youth academy, wfan, william h macy