Lately it’s been difficult to define “good news” for the Mets. Mostly, it’s meant the absence of bad news, or the minimization of dreadful news. If you are an especially optimistic Mets fan — and, let’s face it, isn’t that an essential element of the job description? — then it was a pretty good week last week, all things considered.
To wit:
1) Frankie Rodriguez’s contract situation was settled. The Mets didn’t get to forget the whole thing, but that was never going to happen. They did get to levy what amounts to a $3 million fine. On the scorecard of team-player collisions, that’s two-under par.
2) The Yankees lost in the ALCS. Yes, it’s sad when the failure of your inter-borough rival elevates your spirits, but this isn’t exactly a new phenomenon. Back in the day, Brooklyn used to nourish itself on this kind of stuff.
3) The Phillies lost in the NLCS. See No. 2. Also, as much as Mets fans tried to blow this off last year, there is nothing they wanted to see less than another World Series of their big brother playing their most bitter division rival. It was the ultimate Lakers-Celtics choice last year, wishing that both teams could lose. Twice in a row would’ve made it Iran-Iraq.
4) Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Howard both ended those Championship Series losses by staring at heartbreaking, knee-buckling breaking balls for strike three, never allowing the bat to leave their shoulders. And you could hear every single Mets fan you know shout (or mutter) the same two (or three) words simultaneously as soon as both happened: Adam Bleepin’ Wainwright.
5) The Mets reduced their general manager candidates to two names: Josh Byrnes and Sandy Alderson.
That last item is the one that’s most important, of course, because it means that by this time next week, after the team is done with a second round of interviews, the Mets will have an established leader for the foreseeable future, and they are certain to be in capable hands. That isn’t to say either Alderson or Byrnes guarantees a date with the Canyon of Heroes, or even a date with immediate September relevance.
It does tell you the Wilpons finally understand the gravity of the issues surrounding and strangling the franchise, and appreciate that now is the essential moment to set the existing culture on fire, throw the ashes in an urn and hand it to an able — and independent — proprietor. Neither man will be a puppet. Neither man is known to suffer fools gladly. Both men have had experience building teams responsibly and diligently.
Alderson is responsible for crafting one near-dynasty in Oakland and for serving as the mentor for Billy Beane, who famously built another competitive string of teams despite doing it with financial handcuffs. And it’s easy to forget that just three short years ago, Byrnes guided the Diamondbacks — the youngest team in baseball — to a divison title, a playoff sweep and the NLCS only three short years after the team lost 111 games.
This is the most important decision the Mets will make for a decade, meaning it trumps any coming player transaction and is also more meaningful than the managerial questions that will follow soon after. That job is important, too — Mets fans saw how great the impact of a bad manager can be the past two seasons. But in the modern game, it is far more imperative to have a winning plan in place before picking the man whose own philosophy matches it. The plan is the star now.
Alderson’s plan.
Or Byrnes’ plan.
By this time next week, we’ll know. Which means it will be another good week to be a Mets fan, already delighted to be free of the Yankees and the Phillies.
It’s a start.
michael.vaccaro@nypost.com