The Wisdom of Big Tom Callahan

To paraphrase Big Tom Callahan, in business you're either growing or you're dying, there isn't any third direction.

As their primary competitor grows and other big market teams make splashes left and right, right now the Mets appear to be looking desperately for that third direction.

In swapping Cliff Lee for Roy Halladay, the Phillies are a better team, but not a markedly better team, than they were yesterday morning.

Without knowing anything about the prospects involved, this appears to be a good move for the Phillies, as Halladay is, evidently, something of an upgrade over Lee, and they've signed him to a surprisingly modest 3-year extension.

* * * * *

That all said, as we look at 2010, the Phillies are still a markedly better team than the Mets. Their lineup is better, their rotation is better; maybe the Mets have an edge in the bullpen, but if there are three components of team construction you'd certainly take a good lineup and rotation over a good bullpen.

Meanwhile, the Mets have done very little to address their shortcomings. There's no new first baseman, no No. 2 starter (goodbye, John Lackey); they seem to have prioritized Jason Bay over Matt Holliday (who might get an 8-year deal? Crazy), but prioritizing isn't the same as signing, so so far, there isn't any new left fielder.

It's essentially the same team as last year with better catching depth and (hopefully) fewer injuries. Heading into 2009 a lot of us were confident the Mets would be a good, if flawed, team. It seems the Mets want us to maintain that same optimisim heading into 2010.

Here's the thing -- the 2009 team we hoped for wouldn't be a favorite over the 2010 Phillies; the Mets must know that on some level.

Once you recognize that your team is inferior, you need to start looking for ways to improve the product. I don't mind "losing" a season to rebuilding; what I mind is a situation where the team isn't looking to get better, either in the near-term or long-term.

Right now it looks like they're content to tread water this offseason, hoping that treading water is the same as finding the third direction. But Big Tom was right, there is no third direction.

Look closely at the moves the Phillies, Yankees, Braves, and Red Sox have made and it becomes clear fast: not only are the Mets not growing; ever so surely, they're dying.

- A.F.O.M.G.