Which club has the best front office?

Sandy Alderson thinks the Mets can win 90 games. In fact, he "strongly believes" the Mets can win 90 games, which would almost guarantee them at least one of the Wild Card spots. Maybe you are laughing right now. Maybe you were drinking coffee when you read that and you are wiping that coffee off your monitor right now.

The Mets won 74 games last season and 74 games the year before. I'm not a betting man, but those who are have the Mets over/under at 73.5.

Take a guess at how many games Baseball Prospectus's PECOTA system projects them to win. No, wait. Actually, it is 72, but that is probably just a glitch or something. The Mets have been mired in mediocrity for five years, but as Marc Normandin points out in the article linked above, they are not far from turning the corner. I don't strongly believe they will win 90 games in 2014, but it is not as ridiculous as it sounds at first.

But, let's imagine for a moment that the Mets do win 90 games. Maybe David Wright makes a run at hitting .400 and Curtis Granderson hits 40 home runs with Wright on-base ahead of him for all of them. Maybe Ike Davis figures it all out and Juan Lagares learns to hit and Noah Syndergaard makes the world forget about Matt Harvey's UCL.

Draw it up however you like. Just imagine it happens and that it isn't just some 2012 Orioles run-differential fluke-job. It would be hard not to deny Alderson's genius. At the end of the 2010 season, he took over a franchise in turmoil and by the end of 2014, he built a 90 win team while ownership dropped payroll and begged for the money to make payroll and he did it without the kind of tanking that the Astros and Cubs have employed in the course of their total overhauls.

Would this dream scenario put the Mets near the top of the list of the best front office's in the game? The specifics would probably matter quite a bit, but the turnaround, combined with Alderson's prophetic line might give them a solid case. The Cardinals seem to be the default answer to the best front office question and they have an excellent case.

The Rays have done more winning with less money than anyone else in baseball... except the Athletics, who were the Rays back when the Rays were still the Devil Rays. There is also the 2013 turnaround story. The Red Sox followed a 69-win in 2012 season with a 97-win World Championship season in 2013 and Ben Cherington's reclamation of the baseball decision-making process in Boston powered that about-face. Maybe it isn't one these teams at all. There are tons of smart people in baseball and winning recently isn't the only criteria for front office brilliance.

Which club has the best front office?

Breakfast links 2/28:

Original Report: Extension talks "ongoing" between Indians, Justin Masterson

The Indians righty could make the 2015 free agent pitcher class even worse. Eventually, it will just be James Shields and the Yankees and Dodgers will fight to the death to pay him $200 million dollars.

Zack Greinke leaves game after 4 pitches

I might be paranoid, but I suspect he just really doesn't want to have to go to Australia.

NL West starting lineups and rotations, as described by Google autocomplete

Can't type now, busy googling Wade Miley Cyrus and Adrian Gonzalez Dora the Explorer (hopefully, at least one of the two features twerking)