20
2011
Time to Push the Panic Button: How to Fix the Mets
An article by Former Writers
Even just 17 games into the season, it is fairly clear that the Mets are in big trouble. The team is sitting at 5-12 and they are already 5.5 games behind the Phillies. It is not as if the Phillies are even playing their best baseball of the season yet. They are still without Chase Utley.
The Mets have already jettisoned their Opening Day second baseman and the team has placed Chris Young on the disabled list. It appears that Bobby Parnell may also need to be placed on the DL.
There is a lot that must be done for the Mets to be competitive this season but it seems like that is not a possibility. It is very early but the team may need to look towards the 2012 season. At just over a tenth into the season, it is not too early to begin to look to the future.
The first thing that the Mets need to do is allow for Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner to have a competition for the second base spot for the rest of the year. It may turn out that one of these two players is the Mets long-term solution at second base. Turner is once again having success in the minors as he is currently hitting about .300. Murphy has struggled a bit in the majors this year but his defense looks improved.
It is important that Terry Collins actually gives both players time to try to prove themselves. The Mets made a mistake giving up on Brad Emaus so early. Emaus was only allowed to have 37 at-bats with the Mets. If Emaus had just three more hits in those at-bats he would have been hitting .243 as opposed to .162 and he would still be on the Mets roster. Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson need to make sure not to make this same mistake again and get rid of a player too early. They should allow for Murphy and Turner to get at least 120 at bats a piece before they make any decisions.
The concept of trading Jose Reyes and even David Wright will be floated around a lot during this year. This cannot be done.
There is talk that Reyes is not valuable enough to the team right now because he struggles to post a high on-base percentage. Take a look at the Mets lineup right now. There are many holes offensively. If Reyes were moved than who would replace him? It would likely be Ruben Tejada. He is outstanding defensively but he is a black hole offensively. That is not something that the Mets can afford to have. The team should look to resign Jose Reyes this year because he is a valuable asset.
David Wright obviously has a massive amount of trade value and could bring the Mets back some outstanding prospects. The problem is that Wright is still young and he is a top five third baseman. It is incredibly difficult to justify trading him unless the Mets get an incredible return. He is part of the core with Jose Reyes and Ike Davis that Sandy Alderson should keep together for the next few years.
The Mets need to evaluate the assets that they have that could actually bring back value in a trade. These assets include Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, and Francisco Rodriguez. The Mets should look to move these players and bring back young Major League ready pitching prospects. The Mets rotation is currently one of their biggest weaknesses.
In addition to making these moves, the Mets should call up some of their younger players starting around early June and give them significant playing time in the Majors this year if they have proven that they can hold their own in at least AA. If this year is lost, then the team should look forward to next year. Players tend to struggle a bit in their first season. By giving players that can help the team in 2012 some MLB experience, this will help prepare them for the 2012 season.
Players such as Jenrry Mejia, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Zach Lutz, Fernando Martinez (if healthy), and Josh Satin among others have the potential to play a role on the Mets roster in 2012. They should be given a chance to compete against Major League competition if they have proven that they can handle the minors. If the Mets are still playing this poorly in June, the team has nothing to lose.
The season is still young, but if the first few weeks have been any indication, it will be another long year for the Mets. There was hope coming into the season, but it has quickly faded. Changes will need to be made this year but it is just a matter of when. The team should look to prepare itself for 2012 and the future if its early struggles continue.
About the Author: Former Writers
13 Comments + Add Comment
NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
Last updated: 06/19/2013
Recent Comments
- Vinny B.: on Wilmer Flores: It’s Time For Another MLB Debut: I disagree with both of you here, Lewis...
- metsaddict77: on Last Night We Saw A Big Chunk Of “The Plan”: so byrd is cheap, you just prove...
- TexasGusCC: on Atlanta Braves Broadcaster Shows Little Class During Matt Harvey At Bat: Sarge, if you want to see homer...
- Hitman: on Wilmer Flores: It’s Time For Another MLB Debut: You know Ted, it was just a...
- taskmaster4450: on Wilmer Flores: It’s Time For Another MLB Debut: Wrong again Alex. You never think things through...
Latest From Mets Minors
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1333 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
Please explain how you trade Johan Santana who is out for months and months. Please explain how you trade Rodriguez. Tell me what team is going to risk paying him 17 million next year. Not even the Yankees pay a closer that much. And please tell me how you think this new cheap org is going to keep Reyes when you already hear the he can’t do the most important thing (walk, lol) drum beat has already come from the not so great one, Alderson. There are probably 25 or so teams that would drool to have a SS like Reyes, and Alderson has to wait a year to check him out. He gone.
Well your correct about Santana, K-Rod could be traded if we agree to pay 7 mil of his salary next year and that is only a concern if he Vests BEFORE we trade him. K-Rod is VERY tradeable especially to a team who is in the running at the deadline and needs a solid closer.
And a slight correction, Alderson didn’t exactly say he needed to walk more, Merely that he needed to get his OBP up. Now granted most people who like OBP will accept more walks as a way to get there but they do not hold it against you if your OBP is up not because you walk but because you hit.
If a guy hit .400 and never walked his OBP would be .400 and that would be as acceptable in meeting the higher OBP parameter as walking more.
I don’t (and neither does Sandy) expect Reyes to hit .400 but if he gets into the high .300′s in OBP then he won’t hold that against Reyes if the walks are not there as well.
Attendance is going to have a much bigger role in resigning Reyes than his walks or OBP.
If we can’t afford to pay him it won’t matter how many walks or how sky high the OBP is. He will either be traded or allowed to sign elsewhere so we can take those two compensatiry picks and start anew.
metsfan, you do realize that in any given MLB game there are 40 or so professional players with extremely high talents on the field?
This would certainly include the opposing pitching staff, who are most likely given a couple of instructions prior to game time, the MOST IMPORTANT of which, is the one that states DO NOT WALK REYES! if they do absolutely nothing else in the game that mantra is the BE ALL for them as a goal. Certainly it’s in Reyes’ hands as to whether he stays or goes as the financial restrictions on this frabnchise is certainy a matter of full disclosure. If Jose does demand to get paid equal to the highest offer from the outside, he’s assuredly gone; but by no means should Alderson anticipate that without confirmation from Reyes’ camp much as TB rode out Crawford albeit to lose him ultimately.
I sense there is a confusion of terminology amoung fans who interpret the term ‘competitive’ to mean much more than Alderson likrly means to infer. For fans of a competitive team this season, the distance to the Phillies in the standings should be meaningless;l but our remaining in the pack amoung & close to ATL,FL is truly tantamount in importance. with a goal of exceeding .500 by a smidge(82-85Ws) our current start is more disquieting than disabling; but assuredly disappointing.
Very good point 62, one I have been trying to make to the OBP must walk more crowd around here for awhile!
You can not FORCE a pitcher to walk you!
And ACCEPTING a walk is not always the best thing that you can do in a PA.
Just because you are ahead in the count and have 3 balls does not mean you should simply take the walk, not if you have one or two strikes left to knock the snot out of the ball and get a much better hit or extra bases.
Emaus showed in spades that if the pitcher throws strikes you will NOT walk!
All of his walks came when he was ahead in the count and ALL of his hits were when he was behind!
Unfortunatly his BA was such that even those hits never exceeded his batting capability and it exposed the guy who was selected based on his high OBP to the adjustment of Just throw him strikes and let him get himself out with his poor hitting skill.
That’s a great point about Reyes which I nver thought of, but doesnt it mean he has to hit around .350 to be valuable on offense? Pops
Paul, not necessarily, as we’ve seen in just these past 2G whereby he scored 2R rather easily via a double & a single. as a matter of fact, the Braves announcers that last ATL game were quite astrounded that after only 4 pitches, Reyes scored & they were behind. Last night’s game was a clear example of how anemic the NYM offense really would be without him as Rodriguez handled Jose handily, yet late Reyes was able to expose the ‘stro’s defenseive inadequacy by “rushing” thier infield (3B,1B). Though scored an E5 on Hou, giving Reyes zero credit in BA; only OBP help, his proficiency @ speeding up the defense proves out more often than for most players. So, the opposing pitcher, gets deflated inasmuch as he ‘successfully’ pitched to him, yet his teammates failed him, now he’s in the stretch under duress as the atmosphere changes significantly.
No he doesn’t have to hit .350, but if he hits around .300 then the pitcher actually has a reason to pitch around him and walk him more as a result of the BA.
The Hit in that case scares him more than the walk and stolen base does. Especially if there is already a runner on Reyes could drive in.
No batter can FORCE a pitcher to throw balls and walk him, But he can inpire one to do so if his bat is as dangerous as any walk would be.
Reyes can do that because he can turn a single into a double and, a double into a triple if you let him hit it.
So it is very important for Reyes to keep his BA up and if he does the OBP will follow.
Metsie, good point u brought to mind. exactly ewhen was the last time we had competant hitting batrting 7th &or 8th? notice the derth of runners obn ewhen Reyes came to bat prior to this season? while prior years had those holes filled with the most unlikely of successful hitters, Schneider, Tejada. the latest emergency callup debuter? One of the important considerations u lose out hearing by only experiencing SNY btroadcasts of games is the oppositions continued respect for Reyes as a game disryuptor, havoc wreaker. he’s always tremained to them that key, “keep off the bases, at all costs” type player we used t o hear our announcers proclaim aboyr St Louis’ Vince Coleman, Atlanta’s Furcal etc. As a resident in a Zip codes claimed as exclusive broadcast geography by 3 separate NL competitors(BRAVES,GNATS,REDS) my SNY reception is often subject to blabkout while my receiver searches out the competitor’s feed for me to endure & learn their perspective on our guys from.
Well 62, when more than half your salary structure is going to guy who are not here and three guys who are it becomes rather difficult to get those guys who can fill out the end of the order with a decent bat.
And since Reyes, Wright, Davis and Beltran are about the only real batting threats we have right now, it is quite easy for the opposition to focus on them and then bear down on the rest of the order.
the 8th hitting spot is currently being used as a remedial batting position for whichever #2 hitter is not performing at the moment. I understand what Collins is trying to do putting Pagan there as he is thinking the 8th spot can serve as a second leadoff position where the pitcher can bunt the runner into scoring position. Not a bad idea provided the speed is accompanied by a good batting average and a guy who walks a lot. But thats not Pagan.
Putting Pagan there is not helping Pagan at all.
I do believe that when Bay comes back, if he hits, it will solve a lot of that late order issues we have. He will offer some better protection for Ike, and if followed by Pagan then pagan might see some better pitches as well.
The issue is currently that we are forced to play one OF that isn’t hitting. Bay should resolve that issue. Add to it the fact that our best fielding 2Bs are the worst hitting players on the team and they aren’t even the best fielders either, it leads to many problems with the order and there is no one on the roster to correct that.
Hopefully Havens will eventually solve the 2B issue or maybe a trade does before then. Can’t say.
I love all you said….in a fantasy – lala land it will all be true.
If the Mets can ever trade F-Rod and Beltran they will pay part of the salaries and get middle level prospects for them. They can’t trade Johan without paying all his salary. That would be a mistake. Kepp him and see if you can get 10-12 wins out of him as he rides off into the sunset. He is a good influence on the younger pichers anyway.
They will likely have to trade Jose. It’s too bad and we all want him to stay, but, tons of money for a player who doesn’t walk, people question his baseball intelligence (listen to all the Mets announcers radio and TV this year about him not running when he should and how un-clutch he is). The Mets will likely never replace him as a personality and talent. But investing $80-90 million and then watch him break down in a year or two, bad idea.
I agree with letting the young ones play – what the heck what do we have to lose now!!
Hamilton?
I really think we need to hold off on the Panic button until Jason Bay comes back, adds some decent fielding to the LF position and bat to the lineup.
If Bay can come back to hitting the way he should that will get rid of the OF errors of Hairston and Harris and give Beltran and Davis better protection in the Lineup as well.
If Bay comes back and hits then maybe we will get a few more early leads and then maybe the starting rotation won’t be so afraid to throw more strikes knowing one pitch can not give the other side the lead.
The argument to trade Wright and/or Reyes isn’t based on the abilities or value of either player. The reality is that this team has not been the same since the meltdown of 2007. As it stands, there will be a few years before the team is competitive again. At that point, Reyes and Wright will be in their 30′s. Better to trade them for valuable, younger players, and start the rebuilding now.