Just Mets

It was supposed to be different.

I came into this Mets season more optimistic than ever. The team had made moves to upgrade with the signing of Michael Cuddyer and trades for left-handed relievers Alex Torres and Jerry Blevins. They weren’t moves that blew me away, but they filled needs and they were aggressive, win-now moves–something along the likes that we haven’t seen in these parts in years.

There was an air of confidence surrounding the front office, coaching staff and players starting in the winter, through Spring Training and extending into the regular season. The Mets, yes the New York Mets, took control of the National League East early with a torrid 13-3 start.

That sort of thing never happens–not with this team, anyway.

How long has it been since the talk of the town? When has there a legitimate, tangible buzz surrounding them? When have they been the best team in baseball?

For a brief moment in April they were all of the above.
This team is different, they said. And I bought it. On this very blog I waxed poetic about the change in philosophy, approach and results and even went so far as to guarantee a playoff berth.

Hook, line and sinker.

I was wrong.

Here we are in the first week in July and the team is 40-40, 27-37 since the 11-game winning streak, more closely resembling the ineptitude that 27-37 says they are.

No, the reality is the promise and the hope created by their 13-3 start is hidden in a record of mediocrity, but also hiding this roster’s true identity. They are in a total free fall, and this could only be the beginning with what lies ahead in July.

Or, perhaps it was simply a teasing fluke.

They’ve scored 18 runs in their last 11 games–four of them driven in by rookie pitcher Steven Matz in his first career start.

Seriously?

Their roster is in shambles as it’s currently made up of players out of position, minor leaguers and slumping veterans.

In some cases, all of the above.

Even worse, it doesn’t appear that help is on the way. Travis d’Arnaud and David Wright, two of the Mets best offensive weapons, remain on the disabled list with no timetables for a return. Even if those two were to come back soon, it still isn’t enough.

Their offseason was okay, it was incomplete. Even at full strength the Mets were going to have to go outside of the organization to get help offensively.

The Mets did all that talk over the winter about winning and a change in culture and how the rebuilding process was over, but here I am sitting and watching the early-summer swoon I’ve come accustomed to over the years yet again.

Talk is cheap. Actions are how credibility is gained, and more importantly how the team is improved. As I noted earlier, Sandy Alderson and the Mets actually went out there this offseason and made win-now moves with the acquisitions of Michael Cuddyer, Alex Torres and Jerry Blevins. But then that was it. They stopped. Now, when they need a win-now move more than ever, nothing seems to be on the horizon.

In looking at the team’s landscape today, it’s hard to buy-in to what the club–from ownership down to clubhouse personnel–wants the fan base to chew. Sandy Alderson himself essentially has asked for patience, noting the offense will improve, the trade market is “tight,” and that the citizens of Panic City should remain calm.

In other words, they want the benefit of the doubt from the customer base, but quite frankly they haven’t earned that.

This team had a real buzz in February, March and April. Fans were legitimately excited for the first time in years. Now, just under three months later, things are delving into madness in the heart of Panic City. There is a contingent of fans who are now so desperate for offense or anything to spark  this fledgling franchise, they are pressing for the promotion of outfield prospect Michael Conforto, who many believe can come and save the team.

It’s ridiculous. The guy is 22 years old and barely has 100 at-bats outside of Single-A in his professional career. He cannot possibly be expected to come here and be the centerpiece of an offense.

But the desperation is understandable. It’s been years at this point, and desperation seeks anything which offers a glimmer of hope for improvement, even if it’s a mirage, as is the case in Conforto. It’s completely crazy and honestly irresponsible to think that that a guy with this little experience in his professional career could come up to the major leagues and succeed, let alone carry a team as some are suggesting.

Even if things got so bad–although I’m not sure how much worse things can really get–with the Mets and they did change their mind on this, he is one guy on a team with three to five holes on the field on an everyday basis.

The guy I really feel for here is Terry Collins, who, intentionally or not, has been set up to fail. He’s been given dirty water and has been asked and expected to turn it into wine. Whether it’s Joe Maddon, Wally Backman or any other manager you want to throw out there, no one is getting more out of this group than Terry has. I don’t know what anyone expects him to do here, really. As I look up and down a roster full of sub-250 batting averages and players who don’t belong at this level, there’s only so much he can do.

He has been expected to compete with the world’s best with a pair of deuces in his hand for now a fifth season. Only in 2015, the stakes were supposed to be higher, right? Perhaps they are, only in a different way for the manager.

You want to know the solution to the Mets problems? It’s not making a scapegoat of the manager, it’s not calling up yet another minor leaguer and it’s certainly not waiting around for the injured players to make their way back–it’s acquiring major league talent. Plain and simple.

I mean, Eric Campbell – who has a .540 OPS and has one hit in his last 13 games – batted sixth on Thursday!

One hit, 13 games!

Despite their struggles, I really don’t think this team is that far away from contention. If they could just go out there, dip into their incredible young pitching depth–which is being completely wasted right now–and make a trade for a real, big league hitter as opposed to flooding the lineup daily with part-time, fringe and/or minor league players, it can help save this season.

That’s where I thought the Mets were as an organization now. That’s what they led me to believe. Things could change, but as things stand, I was wrong about that.