Mets GM Sandy Alderson Drives to Spring Training: Are Financial Issues to Blame?

When you're the general manager of a professional baseball team, travel is usually not an issue.

A first class plane ticket shouldn't be hard to come by when you're at the top of a professional organization. What's a few hundred dollars to a team that's worth millions?

Perhaps somebody should tell this to Sandy Alderson and the Mets.

The Mets' general manager headed to Port St. Lucie on Wednesday, where New York holds spring training. However, he did not fly to Florida.

He drove.

That's right. The general manager of a professional baseball team got in his car and drove from New York to Florida.

Why wouldn't the Mets send Alderson on a flight to spring training? Is it possible this is connected to the Mets' financial issues?

New York's monetary problems have been well documented. The Mets' financial woes began with principal owner Fred Wilpon's involvement with Bernie Madoff.

The Mets are expected to drop their payroll by more than $50 million this year, which would be an MLB record.

The Rangers' payroll fell by $48 million dollars between 2003 and 2004. The Mets are expected to go from $143 million in 2011 to around $90 million this season.

Alderson said the Mets roster is just about complete and he doesn't expect many changes to be made.

We're pretty much there, said Alderson referring to the Mets' spring training roster. I don't see what's out there filling our specific needs.

According to Alderson, the Mets lost $70 million last year.

The drive from Citi Field in Queens to the Mets' spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida takes approximately 20 hours. A flight would only last two hours.

I hope the Mets at least reimburse Alderson for gas.