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I have rebuilt the Mets in my mind approximately 1.7 million times since I became a fan in 1974. If I owned the New York Mets or, in fact, any team, my philosophy would be youth, youth, and more youth. I have felt this way for years and was thrilled last year when several teams, most notably the Rockies and Diamondbacks proved to my Mets and the Yanks as well that having a millionaire superstar at every position is no guarantee of a championship. In fact, when has that EVER worked? Maybe the 1997 Marlins?

The Yankees dynasty at the end of the last century was not the result of George Steinbrenner's bank account but of his finally letting his baseball people do the right thing and build a farm system that produced Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettite, and Jorge Posada. It's when he reverted to form and felt compelled to bring in "superstars" Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, et al that things started going south for them again. In the meantime, the Twins, A's, Rockies, Diamondbacks, and Reds, to name a few have been stocking up on young talent. And to those who would point out that the Red Sox have done well with millionaire's all over the field, where would they have been last year without the contributions of youngsters Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jonathan Papelbon?

Back to my Mets. It has been said that you cannot rebuild in New York. It is believed the Mets have an advantage because they are in the biggest market in the world. To both thoughts I say "hogwash". Mets fans would love to see a bunch of talented young kids diving around Shea Stadium and Citi Field for the next few years instead of a bunch of forty-somethings going station to station because they are too afraid to hustle and risk injury and a shot at one more big contract. I have no problem giving guys big money, as you will see by my personnel suggestions. But let's start giving it to guys who have several good years left instead of paying them for what they've done in the past for other teams (not to mention any names, Tom Glavine , Luis Castillo, and Moises Alou). And why do people think that just because you CAN spend a lot of money means that you should? As I've stated, spending money has been proven time and again to NOT be the secret of successful baseball. The Twins, Diamondbacks, Braves, and even the Marlins have been playing at the same level of the big boys because they drafted talented players and taught them. A radical concept, isn't it?

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