The Mets are 28-38 since their 11-game winning streak ended on April 24 against the New York Yankees. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the Mets. David Wright has missed most of the season with Spinal Stenosis; Daniel Murphy spent a chunk of time on the DL; catcher Travis D'Arnaud has been on the DL twice; the Mets still don't have a short stop; Dillion Gee is no longer a Met; Jon Niese is on his way out, eventually, and the Mets have one of the worst lineups in baseball that is ranked 27th in runs scored, and 29th in baseball in team batting average.
In short: they stink.
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| The future of the Mets depends on these two guys. |
Yet, here the Mets are still somewhat alive in the NL East (er, should I say NL Least) as the Washington Nationals have yet to pull away from the competition, while the Braves, Marlins and Phillies are all awful.
It is easy for the desperate Met fan, who bought into the hype and believed that this group had what it took to be a serious playoff contender, to still believe this team is for real.
But let's be honest the Mets are going nowhere.
Rumors are flying rampant that Terry Collins is going to get fired. The fans have have wanted him gone since the very beginning, hoping that the franchise would tap the fiery Wally Backman instead. But let me ask the Met fan this: Really? Firing Terry Collins is really going to be the difference?
Reports are that Collins is safe ... for now. GM Sandy Alderson has made a trip out to LA to be with the ball club during its 6-game California track to LA and San Francisco, but he emphasized that Collins is indeed safe. This coming off an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs, where the Mets scored only one run in three games.
Fact is Collins is going to get fired -- eventually. It's not his fault either. This is a man who has been forced to work with a patch-work baseball club since he took the job in 2010. At that time the Mets were in financial hell with the Bernie Madoff scandal weighing heavily on ownership. The scandal prevented the Mets from spending much money, as the focus for the club was to "trim the fat" of bad contracts.
However for the past two seasons (2014 and this year) the Mets front office and ownership has tried to make the fans believe that the time is now for the Mets to turn it around. Yet they do so half-heartidly. The Mets still do not spend big money on players who can have an immediate impact. They still refuse to make trades to improve the club, and still behave as if they are trapped under the financial weight of Bernie Madoff.
Sure, some will point out that the club spent money on Curtis Grandson, 4-years and $60 million; spent money on Michael Cuddyer, 2-years $21 million, and gave Wright a 8-year $138 million deal that runs through 2021. Yet, outside of the David Wright contract the Mets moves are all small moves. One can even say that the signings of Cuddyer and Granderson are virtually identical moves. Both signings felt like they were made just to appease the fan base and get the team through some tough years. There was no sense of urgency by the front office to make a move to get a big time player here.
Now Mets fans want this same front office led by Sandy Alderson, which is under instruction from the Wilpon's to go out and trade for some big time bats a la Todd Fraizer from Cincinnati? Really? Come on fans, you're smarter than that.
Give me the number of July 31 trade deadline moves that Alderson has made that proved to be a big difference for the Mets since he's been GM? There are none. Alderson has a history of doing nothing, and word on the street is that the Mets are leery of acquiring a big contract in exchange for the franchises starting pitching.
The Mets love Matt Harvey, Steve Matz, Jacob DeGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Zach Wheeler. Throw in Rafael Montero into the mix, too. The Mets are hesitant to trade any of them, especially Matz and Syndergaard, who are both expendable.
Logic would dictate that the Mets SHOULD trade one of their young studs for a hitter. It would make sense. The core of starting pitching this team has now will never be together at one time ever again. Eventually guys like Harvey and DeGrom will want to get paid. Harvey who is represented by Scott Boras has 2018 circled on his calendar, his first year of free agency. That would mean that the need to win now with this core is paramount.
Yet, don't tell that to the Wilpon's. The Wilpon's don't like to spend. Whether they are still haunted by bad contracts of the past, Bernie Madoff, a bad real estate market, or all of the above, they are the one's who have to give Alderson the green light to make a deal. So far it doesn't look like that will happen.
Now the Mets new motto will be "2016 is our year," just like 2015 was supposed to be the year and just like 2014 was supposed to be the year.
Until the Wilpon's either give in to the demands of the fan base, you better get used to seeing Juan Lagares' .254 batting average being the best BA on the team. Get used to seeing Lucas Duda return to being a below average major league first baseman. Get used to seeing Wilmur Flores lead the team in RBI with 35. Get used to seeing this team continue to sign aging former All Stars like Cuddyer and Granderson, who are just there to pick up a check.
In short get used to the same ole, same ole Mets.
Now the Mets new motto will be "2016 is our year," just like 2015 was supposed to be the year and just like 2014 was supposed to be the year.
Until the Wilpon's either give in to the demands of the fan base, you better get used to seeing Juan Lagares' .254 batting average being the best BA on the team. Get used to seeing Lucas Duda return to being a below average major league first baseman. Get used to seeing Wilmur Flores lead the team in RBI with 35. Get used to seeing this team continue to sign aging former All Stars like Cuddyer and Granderson, who are just there to pick up a check.
In short get used to the same ole, same ole Mets.
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