My first question is upon terminology. Would the Gary Matthews Jr. acquisition in January be considered "terrorism" or "man-caused disaster" and if neither of these terms are appropriate, how would you describe this acquisition and insulate Mets fans from future instances?

I think this is the best idea since Steve Phillips played all the other GMs on TV.

Thanks for having me! Dan, the frustrating part about the Gary Matthews Jr. deal is that it was exactly the opposite of a move the Mets should be making. Instead of giving a young player with upside a chance, it gave a job to a 35-year-old who had struggled for three years. Instead of spending money to address a need, it involved spending money to specifically not address a need. And while the Mets did, at least, cut bait after a couple of months, that is $2 million that could have been spent in the international market, or by grabbing signability guys in the later rounds of the draft.

Clearly, all politicians should emulate Howard's use of the foam finger.

I appreciate the sentiment! But just so you know, that's my actual hand.

Mr. Megdal, your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?

Yes, I'd be happy to eat that three-eyed fish!

How are the Mets/SportsNet taking this?

They have nothing to fear from me. I am putting forward a positive vision for how the New York Mets should be run. Ideally, their best response will be enough success that I can celebrate as a fan of the team.

I'd say you're the youngest person on earth named "Howard" by a sizable margin, but there's also Howard Kendrick.

Not so! There are more of us all the time.

Howard, to aid in Carlos Beltran's recovery process, will you consider forcibly using Alex Cora as an organ donor? And if so, do knees count as organs?

If this is the plan, then perhaps I was too quick to oppose signing Cora this offseason for $2 million, instead of a viable second baseman and/or shortstop.

This is insanity.

But in a good way.

villainx,

Thanks for the encouragement!

Mr. Megdal, you write about and analyze the team for SNY.tv. You've written about them for the New York Observer, New York Baseball Digest, ESPN.com, and The New York Times. You have lived and loved the Mets since you were six years old. When you were 13 years old, your principal forced you to spend the day in his office, since the school had declared Phillies Hat Day, and you refused to remove your Starter pinstriped Mets cap. Since 2005, you and your wife have created an increasingly intricate chart of the organization’s major and minor league players, including a 24X36 mockup of Citi Field mounted on your kitchen wall, with tabs containing each player’s name, position, and a headshot for easy identification.

Sir, aren't you perhaps overqualified for the position of New York Mets general manager?

Bad Doctor,

I certainly have heard this posited before. But for me, seeing the New York Mets achieve success means that taking a job that I am overqualified for is a sacrifice I am absolutely willing to make, for myself, for Mets fans everywhere, and most of all, the future fandom of my daughter.
Let me put it this way- I have washed well over 600 pacifiers that my daughter has dropped while I am holding her in the past 11 weeks. Am I overqualified for that position as well? Clearly. Do I regret taking on the job of pacifier-washer? Not for a moment.

Will there be a Megdal v. Phillips debate?

Also, are there any other candidates in the primary?

I have a three-part question. Will Adam Rubin have a place in the Megdal Administration? If so, what place will he have, and what story will he have had to write about you to get it?

18. More about this as the week goes on. I'm certainly game if he is.

19. Sam, I am open to all who are interested in contributing to a better Mets team. But there will be no quid-pro-quo in my administration.

The Florida Baseball Marlins have vanquished your team many a time, snuffing out your postseason hopes in two seasons successive. Given that we are the scissors to your paper, would you perhaps be interested in trading ownership?

Howard:

When (not if) little Jeffrey interferes, how do you plan on handling such situation(s)?

21. As Michael Bluth would say, "Rock sinks boat."

22. I do not believe that will occur, and I'll tell you why. I have absolute confidence that if the Mets are consistently winning, and the Wilpons see a strong return on their investment, they will be happy to have me continue in the position of General Manager with full autonomy. I will be a fierce advocate on behalf of their team, I am confident of my ability to handle myself with the press, and I will clearly lay out why I am making every move I do, not only with the fans, but with them as well.

Say what you will about the Wilpons, but they have spent a lot of money to make the Mets winners. The result has not been a ton of return on their investment, and as a result, some frustration over that is only natural. If I show them my path forward, and they become confident in it- thanks in part to me, and in part to a mandate from the fans- I believe interference won't be an issue.

Let me put it another way- we simply haven't seem how the current Met ownership will react to a consistent, logical and effective approach. I believe that response will be overwhelmingly positive.

Howard:

In the event it is ever disclosed or alleged that you failed to pay social security taxes on behalf of the undocumented worker you retained as a nanny for your under-aged child, will such revelation have a negative impact upon the Mets' operations?

24. Fortunately, because my wife and I cannot afford a nanny, such a problem is unlikely. Even if it turned out my wife lied to me about being a U.S. citizen on our first date (what do you talk about, movies?), she is now married to me, and I am as American as enormous rising apples.

When you were 13 years old, your principal forced you to spend the day in his office, since the school had declared Phillies Hat Day, and you refused to remove your Starter pinstriped Mets cap.

Please tell me part of this was almost true.

Howard:

Hypothetical: You are the GM, the day after the season ends, Fred comes to you and tells you that the Madoff Trustee has obtained a court order requiring the Wilpon's holding company to disgorge the $50 million in "profits" that the Wilpons had made in BLMIS (Bernard L Madoff Securities) over the years. Fred advises that he intends to bite the bullet and absorb the hit all at once- he's withdrawing $50 million from the Mets' operating budget.
1: How much of that will you allocate to payroll?
2: How would you reduce the upcoming year's payroll that much?

Howard: has anyone ever complimented you on your more-than-passing resemblance to John Cleese? How will this effect your handling of the team?

Howard, who are the Mets' greatest enemies, both foreign and domestic?

What are your salary demands?

Howard: A Michael Sergio Day? A Bo Fields Day? Yes/No?

26. All of it is entirely true. Out of curiosity, I recently looked the guy up. He's now the principal for the gifted middle school.

27. Honestly, this is a silly hypothetical. I'll put together the best team I can with the payroll allocated to me. There are things the Mets currently spend on that I wouldn't (for instance, Gary Matthews Jr.), and things the Mets don't currently spend on that I would (for instance, signability guys later in the draft).

28. When I am introduced as the next GM, just wait and see what kind of walking path I take to the podium.

29. Domestically, the Mets face an oncoming threat from Washington, with the Braves looming as a reasonably well-off competitor. Frankly, the Phillies are a current threat, but their long-term contracts and aging core will make them less of a threat with each passing year, I believe. And the Marlins certainly have some talent, though they simply don't spend enough to be a consistent problem.
Internationally, I'd say the Dutch.

30. I'd happily take an incentive-heavy deal as GM. I believe in my methods, and would welcome the chance to earn my salary based largely on success. Of course, once the playoff wins start flowing, I'd expect an extension that reflected the success I'd brought to the team.

31. One wonders if a Michael Sergio Day is even possible in the current age of security.

Reporter Les Winan says that you're not experienced enough to be GM. Sir, what do you have to say about that?

Which of these will you implement? I believe that if Steve Phillips had implemented number 12, the Mets would be in much better shape.

EDIT: In looking it over, #64 would have been useful as well.

EDIT 2: and, of course, #95.

34. Really. Les Winan said that. Well, I have no response.

I have washed well over 600 pacifiers that my daughter has dropped while I am holding her in the past 11 weeks.

Sir, overlooking the possibility that you suffer from OCD, purchasing 600 pacifiers appears to be a gross misallocation of resources rivaling the Sarge Jr. contract.

Like your daughter, Mets fans reject any substitute for The Real Thing.

Sir, overlooking the possibility that you suffer from OCD, purchasing 600 pacifiers appears to be a gross misallocation of resources rivaling the Sarge Jr. contract.

To be clear, it is about a half-dozen of them in rotation. And I reject the pacifier/GMJ comparison. My daughter often gets long periods of contentment from her pacifiers. This represents material gain that far exceeds what the Mets got from GMJ.

vuvuzelas for all?

34. Really. Les Winan said that. Well, I have no response.

The correct response to that question was, "I'd say that Les Whinen ought to do more thinking and less whining!"

I cannot BELIEVE I didn't go to this - I had something else to do, but it would have been awesome.

There's no reporter Les Winan.

Good line, though.

Howard can you confirm or deny that the only things to survive a nuclear holocaust would be cockroaches and the Mets obligation to keep scratching checks to Bobby Bonilla?

"Howard, what are your feelings on Aaron Heilman?"

40. Please. You think I want to endorse the agenda of Sideshow Bob?
43. I talked about this in my speech. Every team in baseball benefits if the Mets take a larger share of the New York fan base from the New York Yankees, leaving them with less of a financial advantage over the rest of the league. It is the same principle that leads people to discuss a third team in the New York metro area.
44. Perhaps not all cockroaches.
45. My feelings on Heilman are that he never should have lost his starting spot to Brian Bannister at the end of spring training, and I often wonder what kind of career he would have had if the Mets had let him start.

What will be the terms of the Oliver Perez extension? 4/$60? Or a Ryan Howard-esque 5/$125?

47. Well, clearly the Oliver Perez contract has not worked out. The principles behind it, I still believe, are sound- a pitcher entering his age-27 season with no injury history, two consecutive strong seasons and a terrific strikeout rate. There are things the Mets have done in recent years I don't agree with- obviously, that wasn't one of them. It is still amazing to me that worked out as poorly as it has.

Howard, will more emphasis be placed on player development domestically -- going "over-slot" in the draft, for instance -- or will the focus be on the foreign free agent markets?

49. There won't be a focus on either in lieu of the other. But while spending internationally is useful, and I believe longer-term investment would be wise in many of the less-developed baseball corners of the world, that the Mets refuse to grab signability guys later in the draft is absolutely something to revise. I'd hope to receive additional funds for that without compromising payroll, but would certainly chop several million dollars off of what is spent on bullpen/bench to invest in those picks if necessary, since in the medium-term, such a strategy would produce those very bullpen/bench guys, only they'd be young, cost-controlled, and have greater upside.

#35 a stunningly valuable resource.

If Howard intends to adopt #20 I will oppose his candidacy. Press conferences (particularly Mets) are not complete without maniacal laughter.

More Q's for Howard.

- At catcher, is Thole for '11 in the bag or does the team plan on a Sudetenlandlike abduction of Jesus Flores if he's healthy?

- Will you increase the amount of blue and/or orange in the uniforms? After all, given your age, your childhood memories of baseball should include very colorful uniforms.

- Short of occasionally murdering the local press corps, while not a bad idea in and of itself, how do you plan on insulating the team from media-related problems like the Oliver Perez-to-minors story that brewed for a few weeks?

- Your campaign doesn't have as many American flags as one would hope. Are you for or against our boys fighting overseas?

- My cable has gone out due to thunderstorms 3 times in the last week. How will you, as Mets GM, get Time Warner cable to give me a discount? Also, my lawn needs mowing.

#35 a stunningly valuable resource.

If Howard intends to adopt #20 I will oppose his candidacy. Press conferences (particularly Mets) are not complete without maniacal laughter.

Agree. Howard, which of the 100 things will you implement and which will you not, and why?

I have washed well over 600 pacifiers that my daughter has dropped while I am holding her in the past 11 weeks.


I don't want to alarm you, but does your daughter look like a 40-year-old man? If so, someone might have swapped her out with Russ Davis.

Regarding 53, I believe I made it clear I am running for GM of the Mets, not the Yankees.

To Dan's questions:

My plan would certainly be to look to Thole with a good backup for 2011. I actually wrote about this over at NYBD today, in response to a piece from David Lennon urging the Mets to lock up Barajas with a 2011 extension right now, before... the Rod Barajas market gets too rich, I suppose?

Regarding uniforms, I'd be inclined to do away with any of the black. I like the gray road unis, and the home pinstripes as well. Anyone wearing orange batting practice jerseys will be fined.

With Perez, I mean, that one was an easy one. I won't fight battles with players in the press. Not Oliver Perez to the minors, not Carlos Beltran to the doctor, not Jose Reyes and trying to insinuate he's soft because he won't come back for the final weekend of the season. It just doesn't make any sense. It makes the organization look ineffectual, and makes other players less likely to want to play for you.
There will be no comments, not on record, not on background, not off-the-record. And I will make certain I can trust the people who I confide in regarding decision-making- as a result, anyone who had sources providing information about my plans will be, by default, passing on nonsense information.

The flag issue is unfair- my Mets lapel pin at the announcement speech was red, white and blue. And there is nothing more American than pursuit of a job (yay, capitalism!) in baseball, the national pastime. The boys fighting overseas would undoubtedly agree.

And if you think anyone, even Time Warner Cable, can make Time Warner Cable more customer-friendly, you're crazy enough to trade for Mo Vaughn after seeing him in a batting cage.

Regarding 53, I believe I made it clear I am running for GM of the Mets, not the Yankees.

Touche.

HowardMedgal, has anyone ever told you that you look like Paul DePodesta?

Also, how will you make the Mets the 6th best organization in the major leagues?

Regarding 53, I believe I made it clear I am running for GM of the Mets, not the Yankees.

So will you be taking the Tony Bernazard role yourself, staffing it or outsourcing?

Will there be a place for Chris Dial in your administration?

58. Well clearly, the role of Director of Minor League Operations will call for someone who is A) well-versed in the minor league systems, both Mets and otherwise, and B) who will not be whispering in my MLB players' ears, trying to turn them against the manager. My Double-A team will only be asked to fight by my staff in case of repeated headhunting.

who will not be whispering in my MLB players' ears, trying to turn them against the manager.

That begs the obvious follow-up question - who *do* you intend to turn them against?

61. That's an easy one. The Phillies.

What motivation does Steve Phillips have for participating in this? Does he get a cut of the book profits?

63. My hope is that Steve Phillips will participate in order to foster greater understanding of how the Mets have been run in the past and should be run in the future. Alas, it doesn't appear he is willing to participate yet. I'd encourage you to reach out to him here and make your voice heard.
The premise of the question is flawed, of course. If you've been following the publishing industry at all, you'd know there isn't any such thing as book profits anymore.

Howard, have you considered hiring an intern to entice Steve Phillips?

I have to go back to #16. You were kept in the principal's office for refusing to remove a Met's hat on the day the rest of the school was allowed to wear Phillie hats? Was this at all good-natured? Once in a position of power will youu invite the pincipal to a game? If he wears a Phillie hat where will you make him sit?

65. Now Dan, let's not make this about anyone's personal life. I would enjoy an exchange of baseball-related ideas with Steve, and I hope he will heed the public will and discuss the past, present and future of the New York Mets at an open debate, time and venue of his choosing. Surely he has nothing to fear from that.

66. It wasn't a bit good-natured. I would consider reaching out to that principal, and he will be allowed to wear a Phillies hat at all times. I would want him to see that no one should be treated like an oppressed minority, simply because power allows you to do so. It's called taking the high road, and should be unfamiliar to someone who works in a town that produced the guy who intentionally threw up on that little girl.
I ended up getting the last laugh by running for class president on a platform of ending the school cafeteria's practice of serving students "Grade D meat", claiming that "even cows eat Grade C meat". He failed to see the humor in it, even when I pointed out that "obviously, cows don't eat low-grade versions of themselves".

Surely he has nothing to fear from that.

He has more to fear from that than he does discussing employer/intern relations