10
2012
The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow?
An article by 
Halfway through this season, there was a positive record that elated the faithful and did much to downplay that the 2012 Mets do not hit with power, do not have much speed, cannot hit lefty pitching, do not field particularly well and have just about the worst bullpen in the majors.
Then the first month of the second half came along as a cruel slap of reality that made the hope go away, more than negated the positive first half and returned the Mets to where they really always have been: discovery mode. Trying to figure out who from this group finally can make the Mets sustained 162-game contenders and not just first-half posers.
When asked this question, Terry Collins heartily stated, “You have to start with the shortstop.”
The problem is Ruben Tejada also is where Collins ended…disturbingly it was not exactly a rousing endorsement for a better tomorrow. “There are multiple things that have kept us from playing very good,” Collins conceded.
In other words, this isn’t a simple plug job. Not when you are three outfielders away from having a legitimate major league outfield. Not when you don’t have a starting catcher in a sport already short on catching. Not when significant parts of the Mets’ own hierarchy remain unsold that Ike Davis or Daniel Murphy can be part of a first-division right side of the infield. Not when Jonathon Niese is showing second-half endurance issues once more and Dillon Gee has become a physical uncertainty. Not when Jason Bay and Johan Santana are choking the payroll for one more season.
And not when even your two best players in 2012 — David Wright and R.A. Dickey — are facing their walk years in 2013. Thus, the Mets have to commit significant dollars for a substantial period on both or seriously consider trading them between now and next July 31.
Joel Sherman of the NY Post nails it.
If your own manager fails to see a better tomorrow how can the fans?
What we are seeing is the trickle down effect of what happens when a GM fails to fill just one need after a successful first half, and throws his own team under the bus referring to them as “poor performers” in justifying his inaction at the deadline.
We live in a world where multi-tasking is the norm and a mandatory way of surviving in this technological marvel we’ve created. But we have a GM who lives in the past and is locked into the notion that until he finds an ideal player who would fill all our needs, there is no use in patching up all the other areas that need fixing. He is waiting for a miracle cure or a magic pill that doesn’t exist, and that really scares me.
He says he is building from within, and yet not only does he fail to sign the extra second round pick we got as compensation for losing Jose Reyes, but he also failed to sign half of the players we selected in the draft. We were the worst in the majors in that regard. Rebuilding from within? Rebuilding what?
So what are we doing? Where is this better tomorrow? When will it get here? They’ve been saying it will arrive in 2014, but do any of you really buy into that? I’m wondering if we’ll even have a real everyday outfielder or catcher by 2014, and they’re blowing fairy dust up my nose saying that is when our run of championship caliber baseball begins?
Just when I thought I was becoming an optimist, they pull me back in….
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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I’m no draft expert but
“yet not only does he fail to sign the extra second round pick we got as compensation for losing Jose Reyes”
Isn’t that false?
Wasn’t Plawecki pick #35 which was received from Jose Reyes? And then also Matt Reynolds pick 71 was the other.
Weren’t they both signed?
Semantics much?
We had two picks in second round, ours 71 and the Marlins 75.
With respect Kevin – mlb.com says you’re wrong, so does last year’s standings. Why would the Marlins 2nd round pick be after the Mets when the Mets had 5 more wins last year?
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2012/order.jsp
Pick #35 and Pick #71 were comp for Reyes.
Both of those players were signed.
That’s my point. lol
You’re just playing semantics.
71 or 75, 75 or 71, we only signed one of our second rounders.
Why are you unable to see that and why are you so defensive?
I’m not defensive and I’m not playing semantics though.
I’m literally responding to the following statement: “He says he is building from within, and yet not only does he fail to sign the extra second round pick we got as compensation for losing Jose Reyes.”
That’s incorrect. The extra second round pick we got as compensation for losing Reyes was Matt Reynolds and he was signed.
Pick 75 has nothing to do with Jose Reyes.
Not looking to get into your Hatfield and McCoys type feuds here, just thought you were trying too hard to detract attention from fact the Mets not signing THEIR second round pick. If your not bothered by that it’s fine. But dont make it sound like this wasn’t a big concern. Especially when they are trumpeting building from within as their mantra.
What difference does it make? Bottom line is we failed to sign one of our 2nd rounders over a lousy 80K and didn’t bother to sign 20 others which was half our draft. When you’re not adding anything to the big club and fail to sign half our picks then what exactly is the plan? If they didn’t like them that much then they shouldn’t have selected them. This is not how you build from within.
Kevin…. wasn’t teddy Stankiewicz the #75 pick for the mets??? did he sign?
Exactly Alex. Teddy was pick #75, which was the Mets 2nd round draft pick whether Reyes signed with the Mets, Marlins or Nippon Baseball.
Therefore trying to attack me for saying “not only does he fail to sign the extra second round pick we got as compensation for losing Jose Reyes” is a false statement is a waste of time.
What happens with those picks that weren’t signed? Do the Mets get them back for 2013? I’m sure I read the left over money rolls over as well.
If a team doesn’t sign a first or second round pick – they get a pick at that slot plus 1 the next year. So that means if like pick #10 doesn’t sign, that team gets pick #11 in that round next year.
If a 3rd rounder doesn’t sign they get a supp. pick after round 3.
So the Mets get pick #76 next year for not signing Andy Stank.
I believe the Mets signed 15 out of their 1st 16 draft picks didn’t they?
We’re throwing out #s like 21 out of 42… so they signed less of their later rounds picks. Maybe they didn’t like them enough? I don’t know… but 21 out of 42 is having fun with numbers for sure.
Last year didn’t they sign 19 out of their top 20?
That doesn’t count?
21 of 42 is having fun with numbers?
Sorry, it’s how the 2012 Mets draft went down and that’s a historical fact.
You are the one that is cherry picking and having fun with numbers.
Stupid Baseball America having fun with numbers! LMFAO!!!!
http://www.baseballamerica.com/draftdb/2012xteam.php?team=1013
The forecast shows rain tomorrow… So no it won’t.. And as long as we got SA as the man leading the troops, we will be the laughing stock of NY… also, Teddy Stankiewicz was not signed due to a $660K bonus he wanted… SMH.. the mets are “rebuilding” yet failed to signed half of their picks this year… 21 out of 42 to be exact.. Pathetic phylosphy!
You are right Alex. This Alderson is a complete bust. He uses lack of spending money as an excuse to not improve the team. He is unimaginative. He is not creative. He has no original ideas. Does he really think that he has no trade-able commodities to improve the ball club? Are you kidding me?
Even if Alderson did something to improve the team down the road, at least he would be showing the fans that he is trying to move the team in a positive direction. He doesn’t understand what it means to think outside of the box. In short, he is a boob and a dullard.
Why do I call him a dullard when he is obviously an educated man? I’ll tell you why. Because all the intelligence in the world doesn’t mean squat if you can insult your fan-base with smarmy, snarky, conceited statements, designed to distract, and turn attention on one’s own short-comings, somewhere else.
I have never seen a general manager throw his team under the bus the way Alderson did a few weeks back. And it sure seemed odd for him to be criticizing the team he assembled for 2012, at a time when they were over-achieving and playing over their heads.
Did he honestly think he could shrug off the responsibility that comes with wearing the GM hat? And blame it on a bunch of young players who were doing the best they could, and making up for what they lacked in baseball talent with enthusiasm for the game. Unfortunately, enthusiasm alone Sandy, doesn’t win pennants.
And how does drafting a slew of high school talent in the draft, and then only signing a few of them help the team? If you didn’t intend to sign them, why did you bother to draft them in the first place?
We added Gavin Cecchini and not much else and he won’t be ready for at least four years. That’s how we are going to catch the Nationals? When will we catch them by 2027? Well, at least we saved half of our budgeted cash by not signing anybody, kewl.
Another brilliant move by this front office was to eliminate the Gulf Coast League affiliate where the youngest players in the system ply their trade against kids their own age. Now those young players in the Mets organization are forced to play against players older and more experienced than themselves in the Appalachian League.
If you look at what Kingsport has done this year, you can clearly see that those players are totally over-matched, and getting their butts waxed almost nightly. That can’t be very good for a kids development, or confidence. As a matter of fact, it’s the best way to screw a kid up, by rushing him from square one.
Not only has Alderson clearly shown his incompetence, but he has given the fans reasons to detest him. And due to his extreme arrogance, and that of his staff, he has become an embarrassment to Mets nation, and he absolutely needs to go. And he can take his three-headed monster, and the rest of those suits with him! Good riddance.
What if a team doesn’t sign 21 out of 42 picks?????
Then we know where Jeremy Irons hid the bomb.
Diehard with a vengeance, good one.
The sun will come out tomorrow BUT will the fans. I am afraid attendnace will keep dropping until we have a competitive team and by then so mnay fans may have deserted the team that it will be too late for the Wilpons and New York.
Rightly so, Met fans should continue to stay away from the ball park. Why continue to pay for an inferior product, why continue to believe in a hierarchy that has not delivered the goods since 1986 and has had only one WS appearance since 2000, one play off appearance since 2006.
Not signing half the draft picks is the biggest thing I have waited for but yet to see even vaguely explained. There is just no reasonable excuse for this.