BobFinn*
06-29-2003, 01:00 PM
June 28, 2003, 11:05PM
Hunsicker likely high on Mets' GM list
By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
When the New York Mets fired general manager Steve Phillips this month, they named Jim Duquette his temporary replacement while they figured out what to do next.
What they'll do next appears simple. They'll name Duquette their permanent general manager, or they'll attempt to lure Gerry Hunsicker away from the Astros.
Industry sources believe it's a coin toss which path Mets owner Fred Wilpon will choose.
Duquette, 37, is highly regarded around the game, but he has never been a general manager. Certain franchises are wonderful training grounds for young executives, but the Mets -- with their nearly limitless resources and expectations -- aren't one of them.
If Hunsicker is offered the job, he'll face one of the most important and probably one of the most difficult decisions of his professional life.
Does he stay in Houston, where he has constructed one of the best operations in the game and where he's widely admired for his judgment and class?
Or will he be tempted by the larger stage?
Since Phillips was fired, Hunsicker has been asked dozens of times about his interest in the Mets, and he consistently has said he hopes to remain with the Astros for years to come.
Yet he surely would be tempted by the opportunity to run what should be one of baseball's most successful franchises.
Hunsicker, 53, has taken the Astros about as far as they can go on their limited finances.
Yes, they might someday win a World Series, but in a game largely defined by market size, the Astros are never going to be consistent championship contenders.
As the payroll gets more top-heavy, the ability to stay in contention will grow more difficult.
Next season, six players will take up $51 million of a payroll that probably will again be in the $65 million range. Those six are Jeff Bagwell ($13 million), Richard Hidalgo ($12 million), Jeff Kent ($8.5 million), Billy Wagner ($8 million), Lance Berkman ($6.5 million) and Craig Biggio ($3 million).
Among the unsigned players are Brad Ausmus, Roy Oswalt, Wade Miller and Octavio Dotel.
Unless there's an infusion of cash, the Astros will be forced to make painful cuts this winter.
These are headaches Hunsicker would not have in New York. The Mets would provide him with more opportunity and more potential for trouble than the Astros. On many levels it seems illogical for him to leave Houston, but it's important to remember the words of a Clemson basketball coach named Rick Barnes.
Just weeks before bolting Clemson for the University of Texas, he told a friend he had never been so happy.
When he resigned, that same friend asked: "What about being so happy?"
"Well, you know coaches," Barnes said. "We run from happiness."
Barnes ran because Texas presented a challenge and an opportunity. That's what the Mets would provide Hunsicker.
He has one year remaining on his contract with the Astros, and in the past, he and team owner Drayton McLane have extended the deal before Hunsicker entered the final year.
McLane almost surely would allow him to listen to a pitch from the Mets, where he worked for eight years. McLane would make an attempt to keep him.
Hunsicker likely high on Mets' GM list
By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
When the New York Mets fired general manager Steve Phillips this month, they named Jim Duquette his temporary replacement while they figured out what to do next.
What they'll do next appears simple. They'll name Duquette their permanent general manager, or they'll attempt to lure Gerry Hunsicker away from the Astros.
Industry sources believe it's a coin toss which path Mets owner Fred Wilpon will choose.
Duquette, 37, is highly regarded around the game, but he has never been a general manager. Certain franchises are wonderful training grounds for young executives, but the Mets -- with their nearly limitless resources and expectations -- aren't one of them.
If Hunsicker is offered the job, he'll face one of the most important and probably one of the most difficult decisions of his professional life.
Does he stay in Houston, where he has constructed one of the best operations in the game and where he's widely admired for his judgment and class?
Or will he be tempted by the larger stage?
Since Phillips was fired, Hunsicker has been asked dozens of times about his interest in the Mets, and he consistently has said he hopes to remain with the Astros for years to come.
Yet he surely would be tempted by the opportunity to run what should be one of baseball's most successful franchises.
Hunsicker, 53, has taken the Astros about as far as they can go on their limited finances.
Yes, they might someday win a World Series, but in a game largely defined by market size, the Astros are never going to be consistent championship contenders.
As the payroll gets more top-heavy, the ability to stay in contention will grow more difficult.
Next season, six players will take up $51 million of a payroll that probably will again be in the $65 million range. Those six are Jeff Bagwell ($13 million), Richard Hidalgo ($12 million), Jeff Kent ($8.5 million), Billy Wagner ($8 million), Lance Berkman ($6.5 million) and Craig Biggio ($3 million).
Among the unsigned players are Brad Ausmus, Roy Oswalt, Wade Miller and Octavio Dotel.
Unless there's an infusion of cash, the Astros will be forced to make painful cuts this winter.
These are headaches Hunsicker would not have in New York. The Mets would provide him with more opportunity and more potential for trouble than the Astros. On many levels it seems illogical for him to leave Houston, but it's important to remember the words of a Clemson basketball coach named Rick Barnes.
Just weeks before bolting Clemson for the University of Texas, he told a friend he had never been so happy.
When he resigned, that same friend asked: "What about being so happy?"
"Well, you know coaches," Barnes said. "We run from happiness."
Barnes ran because Texas presented a challenge and an opportunity. That's what the Mets would provide Hunsicker.
He has one year remaining on his contract with the Astros, and in the past, he and team owner Drayton McLane have extended the deal before Hunsicker entered the final year.
McLane almost surely would allow him to listen to a pitch from the Mets, where he worked for eight years. McLane would make an attempt to keep him.