New York Mets should be honest about why they signed Tim Tebow

I haven’t seen any pictures of Sandy Alderson lately, but my guess is his nose grew an inch or three in the last month.

Fibs can really do a number on that protruding part of the face that bears nostrils.

Alderson is general manager of the New York Mets and the person who wants you to believe his organization didn’t sign Tim Tebow in hopes of cashing in on a popular guy’s name when it comes to merchandise sales.

Sure thing. I’m certain the Mets inked Tebow to a minor league deal and paid him $100,000 because they’re convinced a 29-year old who hasn’t played competitive baseball since his junior year in high school can get quickly up to speed on hitting Clayton Kershaw’s curve and Max Scherzer’s four-seamer.

There are thousands of players with far more experience and promise and who are younger than Tebow who never sniff such a chance.

Problem is, most are named Joe Something and aren’t globally famous.

If moving jerseys and T-shirts with Tebow’s name and No. 15 scrawled across the back wasn’t the primary reason for New York being the major league team to give the Heisman Trophy-winning and former NFL quarterback an opportunity at chasing what most believe the impossible, it was absolutely on the short list.

You know what?

Good for Alderson.

Good for the Mets.

I just have no idea how the Yankees were trumped on making such a quick buck.

Trying to conceal the obvious is never a good look and rarely taken seriously by anyone. Of course, this is as much publicity stunt as it is sincere desire to see if the athletic gifts Tebow owned to reach football’s grandest stage might, by the longest of long shots, translate to baseball in that he advances high enough to be considered a legitimate prospect.

If you can sell a bunch of stuff with his name on it in the meantime, all the better.

Alderson and the Mets shouldn’t hide from this truth. Embrace it as the lines to purchase Tebow’s jersey grow longer.

Rich people still like making money, right?

Tebow’s ability, or lack of it, will ultimately determine at which level his baseball dream ends. Football eventually told him — fair or not — his wasn’t a skill set of a player capable of winning long term at quarterback.

It’s a brutal reality: Things like heart and work ethic and character and leadership mean nothing if you can’t make all the throws. Never once did Tebow enter an NFL camp listed as a team’s starter. Ever.

But he won a playoff game, and the list of those quarterbacks with far more impressive reputations and resumes who haven’t is lengthy. Time ran out on Tebow quicker than his numbers suggested it should. People focused far more on what he couldn’t do than what he could, and he was gone, shuttled away to the nearest Southeastern Conference Network studio booth nearest you.

He remains, four years after taking his final NFL regular-season snap, one of the most polarizing figures in all of sports. There is no middle ground of opinion about him, no gray area in which viewpoints exist. It happens with those who appear too good to be true and who publicly champion a religious message. People begin to resent them.

The media obsession with Tebow annoyed many. He inspired a mix of anger and allegiance like few athletes, but those love him do so not only with an unapologetic nature, but also their wallets.

Tebow reported to the Mets’ instructional league team in Port St. Lucie, Florida, on Monday, where hundreds of fans attended a workout that would normally draw, well, nobody. At day’s end, his Mets’ jersey ($119.99) ranked as the top seller on the Major League Baseball website, while his T-shirt ($29.99) ranked second.

This is why the Mets had Tebow sign a bridge agreement with Majestic Athletic, allowing his merchandise to be sold before he reaches the majors. Generally, teams aren’t allowed to sell that of players not on the 40-man roster.

Just wondering: The Mets didn’t do this for anyone else in Port St. Lucie, did they?

This is why the team is allowing Tebow to miss some days of instructional league to fulfill his commitments to the SEC Network. His name still sells. He remains incredibly popular.

I hope he makes it. I have always resided on the Tebow Fan side of the ledger. I would love for him to at least advance to Triple-A and spend some time with the 51s. I understand why others dislike him, but am convinced the problem resides with them and not the athlete.

But for now, until Tebow proves his baseball skills can match his competitive desire to make the majors, call this signing what it truly is.

Until shown otherwise, it’s a way to generate some publicity while making money off it.

Good for the Mets.

They certainly aren’t the first franchise — and won’t be the last — to be motivated by a little capitalism.

And if Sandy Alderson continues to deny it, beware of his growing nose.

Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Twitter: @edgraney