A/V Room: Mets looking at Hahn

Rick Hahn will interview for the New York Mets’ general manager vacancy next week, and SNY.tv called me up to ask me about him:

The Mets and Sox are in similar positions — the second team of a major market with a good TV deal and a budget that seems lower than it should be (the Wilpons have constraints for vastly different reasons). I don’t think the market size would get to Hahn, since he’s the more public face of the White Sox front office. We grilled him about the Mark Teahen and Scott Linebrink contracts early in the season, too.
However, ownership meddling is a major fault line under the Mets’ franchise, which seemed to have a too-many-chefs-in-the-kitchen problem in the previous regime. Omar Minaya was the GM, but he didn’t have the final word in decision-making. That’s a vastly different situation from the White Sox, where Jerry Reinsdorf gives Kenny Williams a lot of leeway for risk-taking, letting them work their way into and out of problems.
That may or may not be beneficial for the White Sox on the field, but it’s certainly a different way to run a team. Hahn has learned under Williams, who is universally recognized as possessing the largest set of any GM. Reinsdorf’s certainty in his guys gives him that room to operate. As far as anybody can tell, that wouldn’t be the case under Jeff Wilpon in New York.
The New York Post states it thusly:

An AL executive: “This is not an attractive job unless you want the money. The only person with a worse reputation then Jeff Wilpon in the game is [Marlins president] David Samson.
I guess the McCourts [Dodgers owners] also are in that conversation. Jeff’s reputation is not good in the industry. The perception is that behind the scenes he will throw people under the bus rather than take responsibility.”

I don’t think any vacant position is an ideal fit for a first-time GM unless he’s being promoted within the organization after a retirement. After all, there’s a reason the previous guy was fired. Plus, it takes time to learn how to run a show, and how to do it with an unfamiliar organization. It’s just hard to see him having the kind of autonomy he has seen in Chicago.
And no, I’m not trying to talk Hahn or the Mets out of this job at all. Nope. Not here. Whistling. Etc.
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Christian Marrero Reading Room:
*Don’t forget to vote for the pitchers in the South Side Satisfaction Survey. I’ll post the results tomorrow night.
*The Minnesota Twins are one loss away from calling it a season, as Carl Pavano is no Cliff Lee.  Twins fan Mike Nelson of MST3K fame was on a roll last night. This was my favorite:

New lyrics to the “Twin’s Fight Song”: We’re gonna win, Twins! We’re gonna score! Does not apply to the Yankees! But thanks for showing up!less than a minute ago via web


*White Sox Examiner keeps rolling along with a 2010 review for Mark Kotsay.
*White Sox Observer is starting with the pitching: Jeff Marquez and Matt Thornton, and Bobby Jenks.

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chisoxt

I saw this Hahn thing coming with the Mets in mid summer as the Mets were struggling and there were whispers about Manaya’s job being on the line. Say, any chance Kenny would be granted permission to interview?

fustercluck

Remember when bloggers like Nick Nelson and The Common Man were on cloud nine about a week before the Twins clinched? Sorta giddy, kinda humble, but not really. All I kept thinking was, “Have fun taking it the Yankee Way in the first round.” But that seemed petty and narrow-minded. Now I never thought I’d be saying this so early in the postseason, but I’m filled with rapturous glee!!!

dalton

While it pains me in one sense to see the Mighty Thome struggle so mightily at the bat, it does give me a twinge of pleasure knowing that every time he taps a ball back to the mound or Ks with RISP, a little part of every Twins fan’s heart dies.

knoxfire30

Is the mets job really that bad, its not like ownership hasnt spent on some top tier guys, Johan, Beltran,Bay, K-Rod, ect its more that idiot minaya handing bags of money to a guy like oliver perez and making other suspect moves that has strapped that team. That bay contract could end up looking real real bad.
I hope we keep Rick Hahn, I like what he brings to the sox organization and with how volital kenny can be and his possible health concerns its pretty easy to see a transition to Hahn.

bigfun

While Minaya probably deserves some/most of the blame, a lot has been said to the effect that he didn’t have a free hand and that some of things he did or didn’t do were mandated by ownership.
Plus there’s supposedly a “you can’t rebuild in New York” rule that keeps the team old and expensive instead of developing young players.

knoxfire30

He has been green lighted for big time spending and going over slot in the draft, maybe management tied his hands on a few things but he was amazingly underwhelming as a gm. Im not sure whose decesion it was to bring in Jerry Manuel but good lord that person should be fired too.

chisoxt

“Plus there’s supposedly a “you can’t rebuild in New York” rule that keeps the team old and expensive instead of developing young players”
Based on some of the comments that I read from fans, many Sox fans apparently share that view. Truth be told, if you make enough poor decesions regarding free agents and prospects, the decesion to rebuild will be made for you.

melidoperez

Hopefully Hahn stays or at least holds out for a better job. Meddling higher ups are the worst. Maybe Wilpon is the reason they use all their money on overpriced free agents and spend in the bottom 3 on the draft. Need that instant gratification!

baseballjones

Wouldn’t Rick Hahn be on the short list of guys to take over when KW moves on? I get the feeling that Kenny is gone as soon as a position that he already has his eye on opens up, not a GM spot either. He’s made reference to the “next level of his career” before.

ahicks1130

I’ve never thought Omar Minaya was ever that good of a GM, even when he was in Montreal. Personally, I think a lot of people cut him slack because he was one of very few minority GM’s. I mean come on, the guy traded Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, and Brandon Phillips for a half year of Bartolo Colon!!

dudeman

Rush? Is that you?