Finally, the savior shall speak.
Steve Cohen, who officially completed his $2.475 billion purchase of the Mets from the Wilpons on Friday, will hold a Zoom news conference Tuesday with his new team president, Sandy Alderson (who of course worked as the Mets’ general manager from 2010 until 2018). It will be the first time Cohen will talk publicly about his successful (if labyrinthine) pursuit of the team he rooted for as a youngster.
The Post will be allowed to ask some questions of Cohen and Alderson, but not all of them. So as a public service to our competitors, here are the questions that should be asked of the Mets’ new power duo.
Questions for Steve Cohen
1. We haven’t heard from you throughout this saga, which has been known for nearly a year, besides some released statements and recent tweets. Could you walk us through it all from your perspective? Could you share your feelings when the first agreement fell through back in February? What reopened the door a few months later? How essential was it for there to be no transition period in which the Wilpons stayed and continued to assert influence?
2. How concerned were you about getting enough votes from the other owners? You announced before that vote that you would appoint Sandy Alderson as your team president if you took over. Did you time that announcement in the hopes it would boost your chances of approval?
3. How hands-on will you be as an owner? How much autonomy will you give Alderson and his deputies?
4. The big one, fittingly batting clean-up in the lineup: What do you anticipate your 2021 payroll will be and how will it grow beyond next season? Did you discuss your payroll vision at all with the Ownership Committee, specifically regarding fears that you would greatly outspend your competitors given the vastness of your personal wealth relative to theirs? Have you personally reached out to any free agents yet? How will the COVID-related uncertainty surrounding next season factor into your payroll decisions?
5. How did you become a Mets fan? What is your favorite memory as a Mets fan and what is your worst one? What does it mean to own this team in particular?
6. What are your thoughts on Citi Field? Do you want to alter it in any way?
7. As a Mets shareholder for nearly a decade, what about the franchise do you think needs the greatest overhaul? What do you think is the Mets’ greatest strength that you don’t intend to change?
8. Have you watched “Billions” and if you have (of course you have!), how similar are you to your fictional equivalent, Bobby Axelrod?
9. On that note, more seriously, a Major League Baseball team acts as a public trust in a way that a hedge fund does not. Your previous fund pled guilty to insider trading, and your current fund has been accused of discrimination. How do you intend to run the Mets in a way that avoids such quagmires and instead positions you as community leaders?
10. Out of the chute, you have engaged extensively with Mets fans on Twitter. Do you plan to maintain that direct line of communication?
11. Do you want to buy SNY?
12. You have been characterized as someone in the business world who is keen on risk-taking and who values that in his employees as well. Do you plan to emphasize that value with the Mets as well?
Questions for Sandy Alderson
1. How do you plan to structure the Mets’ baseball operations and how vital is prior experience for the top job? What compelled you to fire the entire top tier of the Mets’ baseball operations department?
2. What is the status of manager Luis Rojas?
3. You drafted Michael Conforto and now he’s a year away from free agency. Will you speak with him and his agent Scott Boras about a possible extension before next season starts?
4. You got to know Carlos Beltran a little before trading him for Zack Wheeler. You know what transpired between Beltran and the Mets in the past year. Would you like to bring him back into the organization?
5. Now that you have more control than in your previous Mets run, what do you think the Mets must change most of all to make them perennial contenders like the Yankees and Dodgers, and how do you intend to change that?
6. How much did your previous Mets experience influence your decision to return? Do you view this as an opportunity to finish the job you started?
7. You run the Mets’ business operations now too. How do you plan to split your time between baseball ops and business ops?
8. What is the status of minor league outfielder-designated hitter Tim Tebow?
