The Mets wrap up the 2011 season this afternoon, which makes it a great time to assess where this team is a year after they fired Omar Minaya and brought in Sandy Alderson. Record-wise the team is no better, but for the first time since Minaya’s first year on the job there appears to be a direction to building a long-term sustainable operation.

Alderson’s first move was probably his most polarizing one. A majority of the fan base wanted him to pick Wally Backman to manage the team. Many in the media predicted Bob Melvin would get the position because of his experience and his strong analytical skills. Alderson went totally out of the box and selected Terry Collins, who was fired after a mutiny in Anaheim a decade ago, couldn’t last in Japan, and had been the team’s minor league coordinator the prior year.

Collins hasn’t been perfect, but he’s been successful at the most important aspect of his job: cleaning up the culture in the locker room. Despite numerous injuries and off the field distractions due to the team’s financial situation, they never stopped playing hard for their skipper. When things looked to be on the verge of spiraling out of control Collins had a way to right the ship immediately. Talk to anyone around the team and they will praise Collins for his communication skills. Everyone knows where they stand with him and why, which was not the case with Jerry Manuel. Collins was described as someone too intense to last, but we never saw his famous temper in the dugout or with the media. On the field Collins is nondescript with his in-game strategy. He doesn’t do anything to hurt the team, but he sometimes bunts too much and I wasn’t thrilled with the bullpen utilization. My issues with the pitching are more directed at pitching coach Dan Warthen, but it wasn’t the easiest situation personnel-wise so the staff deserves a pass for now.

I believe the biggest front office move was bringing in Vice President of Player Development Paul DePodesta and Scouting Director Chad McDonald. You saw their value during the June amateur draft as the Mets surprised everyone by taking Brandon Nimmo with their #1 pick. It was clear the team now had a philosophy of how to build a farm system. In the past, they would usually draft the best college player on the board and take safe slot picks with the rest of their selections. They would also draft organizational filler in later rounds whose main purpose was to help the Cyclones win the NY-Penn League. This year they went for upside, eschewed slot, and took some interesting risks in later rounds. Nimmo is the perfect example of the upside I was talking about. Here is a kid that didn’t play high school baseball and comes from Wyoming. Instead of taking a college pitcher that had a middle of the rotation upside, they took a chance on the tools of Nimmo, who very well could become their next homegrown positional star. Another example is when they selected Texas Tech wide-receiver Bradley Marquez in the 16th round because of his physical tools. You saw them use the Rule V draft aggressively and it paid off with the selection of Pedro Beato. I believe Brad Emaus might have received a longer leash at second base if the team didn’t get off to such a rough start. This is the kind of process that has helped teams like the Yankees and Red Sox build top-notch farm systems. The next step is to make sure the right coaches responsible for player development are in place. The firing of minor league pitching coordinator Rick Tomlin tells you they are still in the process of bringing those individuals in the organization.

I said this was an 85 win club in spring training, and stand by that, however losing Wright for three months, Ike Davis for the season, and the necessary trades of Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez changed all that. Despite taking a step back in the won/loss column, I do not view this season as a failure. We got to learn about the depth of the organization. There are tons of component players that could be helpful into the future. Justin Turner, Dillon Gee, Nick Evans, Josh Thole, and the aforementioned Beato did decent jobs this year. Ruben Tejada showed that he could be a starting middle infielder. Lucas Duda emerged as a potential middle of the order power bat. Again, none of these kids are stars, but they are the kind of cost-effective homegrown products that any successful team needs to fill out their roster; especially when they are on a budget.

The biggest coups of the season were the trades of K-Rod and Beltran. Alderson was able to divest himself of the $17.5 million dollar option with the former, and acquire the Giants top pitching prospect with the latter. A year ago you couldn’t see either player being traded, much less bringing back something of value. Alderson was particularly adept at dealing with the combustible K-Rod scenario. He stealthily didn’t allow the lack of a no-trade list to get out, and pounced on a deal when Rodriguez hired Scott Boras as his agent. He waited out the market for Carlos Beltran and received the best possible return. That is a good general manager who understands the market and knows how to leverage his assets. In each case he wasn’t in a position of power due to the player’s contract status. That is what makes this accomplishment even more impressive.

Since I am grading this season on a curve, Alderson deserves to get an “A.” I wanted to see this team be on the peripheral of the Wild Card race, but there were many factors that made this impossible. The main focus was to clean up the bad locker room culture, manage bad contracts and begin to reallocate payroll resources more effectively, and start the process of building a solid player development system. I believe the team was successful in all three areas. One final accomplishment is that Alderson, for now, appears to have the respect of the Wilpons. If this is going to work long-term the owners are going to need to establish a budget and trust their GM to execute his plan. They aren’t close to being where they need or want to be, but they are a lot further along today than a year ago under the direction of Omar Minaya. Year two begins in about a month when Jose Reyes hits free agency and one of the biggest decisions for the franchise in years has to be made. Feel good that Alderson is the guy helping make that decision. Despite the losing record, Mets fans can put their head on the pillow tonight feeling good about the direction of the club.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Chad McDonald, New York Mets, Paul DePodesta, Sandy Alderson