The Mets have a new general manager in Sandy Alderson. They have a new field manager in Terry Collins. They've rounded out their front office with Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi, two men capable of thinking critically about how a baseball organization should be run. For the first time in a long time, the Mets seem to have a plan.
Do you?
There are still plenty of free agents to sign and players to trade for. The Mets will do something, but what would you do? This is the Amazin' Avenue Offseason Plan Contest (AAOP).
Here's how it works: All entries must be submitted via FanPost. We will select the best of the bunch (likely five, though it depends on how many good entries we receive), and then we'll present those finalists to the community for a vote. We will also be periodically bumping some of the best plans to the front page. Please note that there is a two-day probation period for new users so don't wait until the last minute to create an account here because you won't be able to create a new FanPost for a couple of days.
As for the rules and guidelines, they are as follows.
- The title of your FanPost must begin with "AAOP:" (no quotes). You can follow that with whatever title you want, but it must begin with "AAOP:" so we can easily distinguish it from non-contest FanPosts. If you do not follow this rule your entry will be excluded from consideration. It's a very simple rule so try not to screw it up.
- The deadline for FanPost submission is 5pm EST on Monday, 12/6/2010. No exceptions.
- There is no mandatory length, but obviously you'll want to be as verbose as is necessary to elucidate the genius of your plan.
- Total 2011 payroll can't exceed $150 million, give or take a few bucks. Same goes for 2012 and beyond, so don't try to backload your deals to skirt the 2011 payroll restriction.
- Use spellcheck and proofread for grammar, punctuation, and usage errors. If you can't be bothered with making your entry readable then we can't be bothered with actually reading it.
- Try to make it look good. Add some images and some tables. MS Paint something. Strong writing (and good ideas) are of paramount importance, but aesthetics still count. I'm not saying that a straight essay can't win, but I am encouraging you to spice it up a bit.
- Feasibility of plan execution is important. Don't propose a trade of Luis Castillo and Josh Thole for Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey. It's not going to happen.
- Whether or not the Mets might realistically execute your plan doesn't matter as long as the plan itself can be considered realistic given the current free agent and trade markets.
- If you have already written an offseason plan in the FanPosts, feel free to clean it up (or not) and repost it (Rule #1 above still applies).
- Free agent salaries should be realistic. We're not going to quibble over a million dollars here or there (who would?), so if you want to call Carl Crawford $15 million or $17 million, it doesn't much matter for the purpose of this exercise.
Prizes are after the jump.
The grand prize winner will receive the Mets 1986 Collector's Edition DVD Set, which is nine discs of Mets awesomeness. You get Game 6 of the NLCS -- a 16-inning showdown with the Astros -- in its entirety, plus all seven World Series games from start to finish. There's also a disc of bonus footage, interviews, lost footage of Keith Hernandez doing blow off the training room table*, Kevin Mitchell's how-to guide for proper feline decapitation**, and much more.
The second place winner will receive MLB Vintage World Series Films - New York Mets 1969 & 1986 featuring highlights from the Mets two World Series titles.
The third place winner will receive a copy of the Baseball Field Guide, an in-depth illustrated guide to the complete rules of baseball
That's it. You can start posting now. Good luck.
* Not actually included.
** Definitely not included.