Mets fans can have faith in GM Alderson

Sandy Alderson might not carry himself like the James Bond or Indiana Jones of Major League Baseball, but he came to Flushing last October with a similarly difficult and squeamish assignment:

Fix the Mets.

Myriad obstacles have emerged already, and surely many more will come. But late Tuesday night, the Mets' first-year general manager accomplished the equivalent of, say, escaping from a snake-infested cave. He met arguably his toughest challenge to date.

Alderson found a taker for Francisco Rodriguez in the Milwaukee Brewers, and this should make Mets fans optimistic for what else their GM can accomplish going forward.

K-Rod's behavioral issues, his health and his $17.5 million vesting option for 2012 (exercised with 55 games finished) loomed as considerable issues for the Mets in spring training. Let's examine the many targets the Mets had to hit to complete this Mission Remotely Possible.

1) They had to use Rodriguez to close games, in order to avoid facing a grievance from the Players Association concerning the vesting option. So they had to take on the elephant in the room head-on.

2) They very much wanted to put together a competitive team, to get fan attention back on the field and away from the Wilpons, Bernie Madoff and Irving Picard. All the more incentive to use K-Rod to close . . .

3) . . . assuming that Rodriguez was fully rehabilitated physically from the torn ligament in his right thumb he suffered last Aug. 11 and, just as important, emotionally recovered from the incident -- his arrest for assaulting the grandfather of his children -- in which he suffered the injury.

4) And, knowing that they couldn't let Rodriguez finish 55 games, they had to use him not only in helping the Mets win, but also showcasing him to prospective suitors.

Terry Collins, Alderson's man on the ground, deftly carried out the task. So when the Mets unloaded K-Rod and about $5 million in return for nothing more than two players to be named later, it felt like cause to throw a party at Citi Field.

"It gives us a chance to look at how we'll allocate salary for next year," Alderson said Wednesday, in a conference call. "Some of the savings that we will achieve this year on his salary have been and will be invested in new talent acquisitions, amateur talent.

"So at a variety of different levels, both the major leagues and player development, this will have some impact. And any time you have additional flexibility, it's a positive."

(Yes, this obviously means more money for a Jose Reyes long-term deal, but there's still a long way to go on that saga.)

In comparison, the next item on Alderson's to-do list, shopping Carlos Beltran, seems easy. Beltran is a more unique entity than K-Rod -- there are plenty of relievers available, which is why the Mets moved more than two weeks prior to the July 31 non-waivers trade deadline -- and he should be more desired.

"I think this transaction was somewhat independent of others," Alderson said of the K-Rod trade, and the key word there is "somewhat." There is widespread industry belief that the Mets, barring a startling surge to kick off the second half, will deal Beltran by July 31.

You should have faith that Alderson will weigh all of his options and make an intelligent decision. Just as he did with K-Rod.

He might not outsmart super-villains in the style of an international spy. Yet if Alderson keeps building on what he's done so far, Mets fans might get the happy ending they want.