Left field has always been used as a kind of defensive dumping ground for many teams trying to find a way to get a bat in the lineup.  Not requiring the arm strength considered de rigueur for Right, and less daunting in the presence of a fleet centerfielder, it is often a place for players whose offense demands playing time, but are not “natural” outfielders and have been blocked from a preferred position by a regular or superior defender.

Even good glovemen have been known to regard the territory with disdain: following his trade to the Texas Rangers, Lee Mazzilli reacted to being shifted from center to left to accommodate Rangers’ rookie George Wright by referring to his new spot in the outfield as “an idiot’s position.” Surely an overly harsh judgment, but objectively, it is accepted baseball wisdom that players with less speed, weaker throwing arms, and generally questionable glove skills are best relegated to the “low glamor” pasture to best hide their defensive shortcomings. All of this is assuming, of course, that their bats will provide sufficient thump to offset the inevitable consequences of their less-than-stellar glove work.

The Mets have certainly tried their fair share of square pegs in that particular round hole. After acquiring Mike Piazza, an attempt was made to shift the suddenly superfluous Todd Hundley to left. It didn’t end well. And we all still have the memories of Daniel Murphy’s adventures there fresh in our minds. Hopefully, his apparently successful adaptation to second base will help them fade soon.

Now we have the Dude. After appearing primarily in RF last season, Lucas has been shifted across the field to replace the departed Jason Bay, a player whose offensive woes notwithstanding, provided average to, at times, above average defense. But Bay’s glove could not carry his bat, and the Mets clearly expect much more in terms of offense from Duda.

Interestingly, it is not as if Duda is playing an unfamiliar position (even though it might appear that way), having logged 296 games in LF while in the minors. He spent considerable time in the outfield during his collegiate career as well although he seems to have been primarily a first-sacker during his early days at USC. Regardless, it has been his power potential as reflected by his imposing stature as well as the occasionally notable outburst of big flies in his minor league career (e.g. a run of 5 consecutive games with a homer during his 2010 campaign with Buffalo) that have led Mets management to install him in LF and hope for the best.

The tutelage of Mets outfield coach Tom Goodwin and careful positioning may combine to neutralize some of the more glaring holes in the Dude’s game, although if the play involving Rob Brantley’s drive to the left-field corner during the Marlin game on April 7 is any indication, there is plenty more work to be done. He does have a good arm, having pitched and served as the closer on his high school team.

So, the question remains as to what course of action would be best for Mets management to follow given the various scenarios that could develop with Duda’s career. On the one hand, he is a relatively young (27) controllable player (2 years from arbitration eligibility and 5 from free agency) that has shown flashes of power, probably the scarcest resource in the Met system. On the other hand, with his size and relative lack of foot speed, he profiles more closely as a first baseman, a spot likely currently occupied by Ike Davis. Accordingly, I foresee one of four possible scenarios developing:

1. His bat develops as the team hopes, and he becomes a consistent 25-30 HR and 100 RBI threat whose game-breaking ability outweighs his mediocre defensive metrics. He remains in LF as long as feasible.
2. His bat develops as the team hopes, etc., and he becomes a valuable trade chip, perhaps to a team in the AL where he can DH or to a team in either league with a vacancy at 1B. The resultant return being either a “true” outfielder with comparable offensive skills, a “true” outfielder with complimentary offensive skills (i.e. speed, high OBP), or a package of high minor level talent to help plug various positions (e.g. outfield, bullpen).
3. His bat develops as the team hopes, etc. and the team finds a better trade match for Ike Davis who is dealt for the resources described previously and Duda is installed at 1B.
4. His bat continues to tease but he does not take the next step to that of a consistent power threat fast enough, at which point his defense becomes truly problematic.  Team management is then left with a choice of using him as a role player or getting what they can for him in the trade market.

I can envision his development taking the favorable path. He has shown a good eye at the plate, although his patience has at times been criticized as a lack of properly channeled aggression by some. He has exhibited a reasonable ability to hit left handers in his career, albeit with somewhat reduced power. He is at the age where many players enter their time of greatest production.

What sets great lineups apart from merely good ones are what follow the four hole and gives the batting order “length.” When Travis d’Arnaud arrives, he likely projects as a number five hitter, keeping the preferred left/right alternation in place behind Davis, assuming Davis gets his act together. If Duda can fill the slot of the sixth place hitter consistently (there’s that word again), the Mets should have excellent run production.

As the first six weeks of the season wraps up, Duda has seen his stats across the board decline sharply. In April he was among the league leaders with a .436 OBP and .978 OPS while batting mostly sixth or seventh in the lineup.

However, when May rolled around, Terry Collins began batting Duda in the cleanup and five spot and the results so far have been disastrous. In 13 games this month, Duda has a .119/.191/.357 batting line in 49 at-bats which have all but erased the gains he made in April. He does have eight home runs and a very respectable .355 on-base, but somehow he leaves you wanting more. He’s become quite the enigma. It’s still early in the season, and it’s not like the Mets have any better options at the ready, but he needs to start showing some aggression and start swinging and making contact with some of those strikes that just seem to pass him by.

Like many quick-fixes, it will not work. Despite Collins’ outburst, firing him is not the answer as it screams panic.

As the appearance is things spiraling out of control, the Mets desperately need to show signs of stability and reiterate the growth process. Sacking the manager does not achieve this goal.General manager Sandy Alderson needs to take several steps to show the fan base there is a plan, and it has to entail more than asking for patience and talking about a supposedly increased payroll after this season.

The first thing Alderson must do is speak out in defense of his manager. Jordany Valdespin isn’t being hung out to dry, it is Collins. Alderson must say Collins is his man and his job is not in jeopardy.

Supporting Collins also entails ridding the Mets of the topic, which set him off in the first place, and that is Valdespin. If Alderson can’t trade Valdespin, whose value is low, then designated him for assignment. Don’t bother sending him down because you don’t want to pollute a farm team with his selfish, punkish attitude. Get rid of him, and if he comes back to bite the Mets in the butt, so be it.

You will notice an immediate cleansing in the clubhouse. The Mets spoke about changing the culture of the franchise, and that should include getting rid of that kind of attitude. One can’t help but notice neither Collins nor Alderson care for Valdespin, and for whatever talent he has, he’s not worth the trouble.

Next, send down Ike Davis and Lucas Duda until they show signs of understanding how to hit. I keep hearing there’s nothing down below that can help. Well, how will they know unless they try?

Clearly, Davis and Duda aren’t getting it done on the major league level and the pressure is only increasing. When they get home, they will hear boos and that won’t help. It will be like Jason Bay all over again, but in two positions.

The Mets aren’t going to make a trade or sign anybody now, so let’s see what is below. If you don’t want to screw with Wilmer Flores changing positions, I understand. But, let’s look at Josh Satin. Or Zach Lutz. Or any Little Leaguer in the Tri-State area. I’m just tired of watching strikeout after strikeout.

Davis shows no signs of patience or understanding of the strike zone and Duda has regressed from a promising start. Maybe these guys are the future, but they certainly aren’t the present. And, it is obvious they aren’t learning anything up here.

Finally, Alderson should flat out say Zack Wheeler is not coming up and it is because of his contract status. We all know about Super Two, so let’s stop the charade. Putting a date on Wheeler will eliminate the distracting groundswell, which has included Wally Backman’s muddying projection.

Collins’ status, Valdespin, Davis, Duda and Wheeler are all distractions that could be eliminated by forceful actions from Alderson.

Just do it.

By now we are all aware of the tantalizing conga line of pitching prospects dancing their way up the ladder to Flushing. The litany of names is familiar: Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero, Luis Mateo, Steven Matz, Michael Fulmer, Hansel Robles, Jacob deGrom, Jack Leathersich, Domingo Tapia, et al. It is only natural to consider how some of this apparent surplus of talent might be spun off in exchange for pieces needed to shore up the more glaring weaknesses of the Mets. Accordingly, I have engaged in a common baseball reverie and imagined a trade or two or three that could help speed the team toward post-season relevance.

I set some standards for the kind of talent I would want the team to target. Older players are acceptable, just not too old. In other words, free-agent-to-be Shin-Soo Choo is a viable option at 31, but 34-year-old Josh Willingham is best left to teams looking to add some frosting to the cake. We’re looking for young players with real potential or players in the prime age range for performance (27-32).

Some assumptions have been made in an effort to keep things realistic. Although every team targets young pitching, much of the Met talent involved is at the AA and A level so possible trade partners have been narrowed a bit to organizations with a longer timeline to contention (i.e. rebuilding), teams with a clear surplus at a position which they would be willing to swap for organizational depth, and teams that have a potential match but would require some major league ready players to complete a deal.  In the latter case, I can foresee the inclusion of players such as Wilmer Flores, Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, or Ike Davis as they represent areas of overlap for the Mets. With these criteria in mind I have imagined a few trades that just might help speed the Mets that much faster toward post-season relevance.

Giancarlo Stanton:

Well, this is the obvious one. The Marlins have stated that they will not trade him, but what else would you say if you wanted a decent return? You would expect that given a rich enough package, some team will pry him away. For the Mets, I imagine that this would involve at least four or five players including Zack Wheeler and/or Travis D’Arnaud. Before you go nuts, remember that you have to trade prime talent to get prime talent and that Stanton has pretty much proven himself at the major league level, something that can’t be said of Wheeler or D’Arnaud.

Ben Zobrist:

The Rays are a cost-conscious organization that always looks to get younger. At 31, Zobrist should still have several good years ahead, and his defensive versatility paired with his switch-hitting ability makes him a valuable component in a lineup. He’s a good talent but not an elite player so the package to obtain him might include pitching plus a young player with similar skills (Valdespin?).

Nick Markakis:

The most expensive outfielder on the Orioles’ roster, his production has tailed off in the past two seasons and Baltimore might be willing to part with him to gain salary relief. Close to shedding the albatross of Jason Bay’s contract, management may not be enthused about picking up a similar expense with the tab for Markakis but with a career slash line of .295/.363/.453 and in his prime at age 29, it seems a gamble worth taking. He’s signed through 2014 (with a 2015 team option) and would likely try to pick things up a bit in his walk year.

David Price:

What? A pitcher? Yes. Dominant lefties in the prime of their career do not become available all that often. Price is arbitration eligible in 2014 and is likely to command a pretty penny indeed. It’s almost a universal assumption at this point that the Rays will deal him rather than shell out for a massive contract. Could this be Johan Santana all over again? Possibly, but there are also the examples of C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee to consider when looking at pitchers in their late twenties.  Perhaps a blockbuster including Zobrist could be engineered.

Ian Kinsler:

This is a case of one team’s surplus filling another team’s need. The Rangers will need to find a spot for wunderkind Jurickson Profar now that Elvis Andrus has been locked up and second base would look to be the spot. Kinsler is only 30 and has produced big-time out of the leadoff spot for most of his career.  His combination of speed and power would add a dynamic force to a Met lineup that could sorely use more consistency.  Naturally this move would turn Daniel Murphy into trade fodder, but his ability to play third makes him a valuable commodity in today’s market.

J.D. Martinez:

This is the type of young player that teams in the position of the woeful Astros generally hang onto, but they obviously need so much that you would have to think that they would listen to reasonable offers. He is still largely potential at this point, but at age 25 is likely to start putting things together soon. His minor league numbers show him to be a high OBP guy like the Mets brass prefer with midline power from the right side. At the very least he would expand outfield options for the Mets without costing too much.

Ultimately, we will likely need to wait for the off-season to see any major moves made by which time trade targets and expectations may well have changed considerably.  Regardless, the Mets’ glut of quality arms in the organization should be considered a potential trigger for what could be some significant changes to the lineup.

After the disappointment of the Omar Minaya Era, which was highlighted by bad contracts – but at least he was signing people – the Mets were promised a new day with the hiring of Sandy Alderson as general manager.

Alderson vowed things would be different, and to be fair, they have been as worse as different.

“Be patient,’’ Alderson said, telling us it takes time to scuttle a team and rebuild with youth. Three years into the Alderson regime and the Mets still don’t have a bullpen, don’t have a major league outfield, the back end of their rotation is patchwork and there’s little depth.

Remember, Alderson was brought here – at the suggestion of commissioner Bud Selig – to get the Mets’ financial house in order. To that degree, he’s done well, shedding the Mets of the contracts of Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran.

Alderson got prospect Zack Wheeler for Beltran, but little else other than a fresh feeling for the removal of Perez and the others. After this season, he will be done with the contracts of Johan Santana and Jason Bay, the two remaining contracts given out in the Minaya Era. But, make no mistake, they were done so with the blessings of the Wilpon ownership.

To date, none of Alderson’s draft picks are producing on the major league level. Few of his trade acquisitions outside of John Buck have contributed, and the Mets remain the mess that prompted the management changes in the first place.

The only real difference is the Mets are losing with a lesser payroll. Is that really progress?

If you’re a Mets’ fan this morning, you have to feel betrayed by what you saw the first month of the season, especially with what has happened during this last series losing two games to the lowly Marlins. You feel betrayed because you bought into Alderson’s promises of better times to come and the spending during the winter of 2014.

Tuesday night might have been the worst loss of the season.

After the Mets received eight scoreless innings from journeyman pitcher Jeremy Hefner – penciled in as a Triple-A starter going into spring training – their bullpen again collapsed. That’s three blown saves in two games.

It is easy to blame that one on third base umpire Tim McClelland’s blown call, but that’s only part of the reason why they lost.

They lost because their offense continues to be pathetic. While the onus has fallen on Ike Davis’ woes, he’s not the only one. The Mets had only one hit in their last 21 at-bats with runners in scoring position going into yesterday’s finale. The offense is dormant, and a lot of that stems from the fact they have no outfield.

Building a team is acquiring depth, but Anthony Recker had three bad plays in the ninth inning that led to the unraveling. Recker took accountability, saying he should have caught the pitch that turned into a passed ball; should not have made the throw to third, which became necessary in his mind because of the passed ball; and should have blocked Brandon Lyon‘s wild pitch.

Recker was stand-up about his performance, but he’s a Double-A catcher performing in the major leagues. He’s here because the Mets did such a poor job of building their bench.

And, why was Lyons in the game to begin with?

Bobby Parnell is the closer and should have gotten the ball at the start of the ninth. That was the formula, so why did manager Terry Collins deviate?

He said he didn’t want to burn out Parnell. Damn it, what are you saving him for, the World Series?

If he’s the closer, then he needs to go two or three games in a row like closers often do. That he threw two innings the night before is avoiding the issue. Either Collins has faith in Parnell or he doesn’t. Parnell should have gotten the ball.

The Mets are making too many mental mistakes, not executing with runners on base and keep missing opportunities to tack on runs and lengthen their lead. Maybe it’s because Collins doesn’t have the right pieces, and if that’s the case then it falls on the front office.

Why do you think the Mets don’t post their line-up until moments before first pitch during the Marlins series? It is because Collins didn’t know what pieces he’d have and if they’d fit.

Collins couldn’t rest David Wright, who has a stiff neck and played in all three games.He also has to figure out where Ike Davis would do the least amount of damage. Davis batted seventh in the last two games, quite simply, because he has little other options on this level.

It is Alderson’s responsibility to give Collins those options. It is Alderson’s responsibility now that streamlining the budget has been addressed, of putting a representative team on the field.

So far, he hasn’t.

Thoughts from Joe D.

Three years in and as John states we’re still losing but now doing it with a smaller payroll. The inability to build a better bullpen than the ones we had and complained about in 2009 (3.89 ranked 11th) and 2010 (3.59 ranked 9th) were pointed out in a recent comment thread. The Mets have been ranked 29th and 30th since that time. Even when our best option Bobby Parnell takes the mound, it’s no sure thing. We have no sure things in that pen.

However it may be the outfield that is the biggest indictment on this front office. I say that because it used to be one of the top producing outfields in the National League even with the misadventures of Jason Bay. Who wouldn’t gladly accept the production of a Bay, Beltran and Pagan outfield over anything we’ve seen this year and last? Is it safe to say that Collin Cowgill is clearly not the player he was portrayed to be? The gritty, balls-to-the-wall center fielder who was going to solve all our leadoff woes in the lineup? The outfield is a mess and what compounds the issue is the continuing folly of not giving Jordany Valdespin a full 20-25 game shot at everyday play rather than the selective drips and drabs of playing time he currently gets.

Congratulations to Ike Davis and Lucas Duda for being among the team leaders in walks – 33 bases on balls between the two of them. – and yet only 8 RBI each from them to go with them. Not exactly what you’d expect from your number four and five hitters. Valdespin has outproduced them in far less playing time. It may be time to ship Ike Davis to the minors and platoon Duda at first with my second-cousin Josh Satin. Duda nearly cost the team yesterday’s win with yet another misjudged fly ball that flew over his left shoulder and allowed two runs to score.

The backend of the rotation is an enigma. You never know what you’re gonna get and the team is something crazy like 3-14 when one of them pitches. But that should come as no surprise after our biggest free agent signing of the offseason was Shaun Marcum who already has missed a month and lasted only four innings in his Mets debut. He’ll try to redeem himself tomorrow against the the first place Braves.

While we’re visiting Turner Field, we’ll get to see Justin Upton and his MLB leading 12 home runs and .722 Slugging up close and personal. He’s the outfielder that apparently couldn’t hit outside of Chase Field and was labeled a bust. Zack Wheeler for that 25 year old bum? No freaking way. After only one month, his 2.2 WAR is already higher than the Mets outfield combined. No not this year’s, silly, last year’s.

Hey… there are a two bright notes in Matt Harvey and Jon Niese. Those two are definitely worth the price of admission although by the looks of it, the ballpark is still only half full when they are on the mound. And don’t forget John Buck who has been nothing short of amazing and is leading the league in RBI. However don’t grow too attached to him because as recent history dictates, leading the league in anything noteworthy is usually an indication that your time as a Met is drawing to an end. Although I must say it has been a joy to finally have a real catcher behind the plate. It seems like a century ago since we last had one in Paul LoDuca.

Don’t forget that we still have that one great constant in David Wright. He’s ours through 2020 and as long as he’s on the team the potential for something great happening is always there. Every time our captain takes the field he’s either extending or breaking a franchise record. How many teams can say they have a player like that?

So there’s your April break down so far. Are you having fun yet? Are you excited about May? I told you the Mets would get off to a great start in April because of all the below .500 teams they were slated to play. Piece of cake…

Depth? What depth?

Not happening. We are looking at a fifth straight losing season, and please, don’t delude yourselves into thinking the Mets will suddenly go on a spending spree this winter. Now that the Mets have substantially reduced their payroll and after this year will be finally rid of the contractual anchors of Johan Santana and Jason Bay, do you honestly believe they’ll be writing a lot of checks this winter?

Next year could be more of the same. After being swept over the weekend by Philadelphia, going 3-6 on their recent homestand and losers of nine of their last 12 games overall, all appearances have the Mets are packing it in before the All-Star break this season. I’m not saying the effort isn’t there, just the talent.

The weekend proved the Mets don’t need Arctic conditions to play their worst. Without Matt Harvey to protect them against the Phillies, the Mets had breakdowns with their rotation, bullpen, defense and hitting this weekend. It was as complete a sweep as can be.

* The Mets are 5-0 when Harvey starts and 5-13 when he doesn’t. He goes tonight at Miami against fellow phenom Jose Fernandez.

* The last two winters GM Sandy Alderson made rebuilding the bullpen the priority. However, this year’s nightmarish edition is the major league’s worst with an ERA nearing 5.50. It doesn’t even matter how close Frank Francisco is to returning as he proved he’s not the answer, either. Typical Mets. Their best reliever is closer Bobby Parnell and they can’t even get to him.

* Terry Collins said at the beginning of the season he wanted to use set line-ups. Twenty-three games later he has used 20 different batting orders/line-ups. That’s not even close to being stable.

* The outfield remains fluid, with something different each day. Jordany Valdespin provides a spark and then sits. Does anybody really think Juan Lagares is the answer? Collin Cowgill won the starting center field job coming out of spring training, but was sitting by the fourth game of the season and only has 47 at-bats.

* Ike Davis continues to flounder and look overmatched at the plate with half as many hits (13) as strikeouts (26). He’s on pace to strike out 183 times. He’s also on track to hit 28 homers, but drive in only 56 runs. Need I say he’s hitting less than .200?

With the way the Mets are playing, there’s no guarantee they’ll get better with three games in Miami. About the only encouraging thing you can come up with concerning this series is even if the Mets are swept, they can’t fall into the cellar behind the Marlins.

Ah, good times.

Lagares To Make MLB Debut? (Photo by Gordon Donovan)

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• The Las Vegas/Colorado Springs game was postponed due to cold.
• Binghamton dropped a game to Portland, 8-2.
• St. Lucie defeated Charlotte, 2-1.
• Savannah had an off day.

Prospect Pipeline (Morsels From The Minor League Staff)

• BREAKING: RHP Christian Montgomery of the Advanced-A St. Lucie Mets, was suspended 50 games for a second positive test of a banned substance. ”My job is not done and my goals aren’t reached yet, but I’m striving and dedicated to be where I wanna be,” he said to fans via Twitter.
• NEW: RHP Tyler Pill makes his fourth start of the year with the B-Mets. He got his first win of 2013 in his last start, a 4-3 victory over New Hampshire. He threw 6.0 innings, gave up three runs on seven hits, and struck out six batters. On the season, he has struck out 14, and walked four. Opponents are hitting .338 overall against the righthander, and are hitting .438 (7-for-16) against him with runners in scoring position. Pill was ranked the #25 prospect in the Mets organization by Baseball America  prior to the 2013 season. He was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round of the 2011 draft out of Cal State Fullerton.
• So resident psychic Joe D. gave Juan Lagares a well-deserved shout-out yesterday – and lo and behold, the story broke that he might be making his MLB debut with the Mets ASAP. As for my opinion on the matter, Joe and I are sharing a brain. I know that some people argue that Lagares may be experiencing a little statistical inflation, but I think Lagares has always had the potential to become a successful MLB player. More importantly, he has the tools to do it in CF, where the Mets are desperate for any kind of talent. You never know when a rookie can come up and light a fire under a team with some hard-nosed play, so I wish Lagares the best.
• Wally Backman gave his Lagares a sweet send-off. ”He’s a kid who can play all three outfield positions and he’s got speed. He’s a good outfielder. He throws to the right bases. He has a knack for getting the barrel on the ball. He looks like he’s a real good hitter. I mean, if you just watch him, you say, ‘This kid is going to be able to hit.” It’s almost as if it was taken straight out of my Prospect Spotlight on Lagares. (Joe D.)
• Speaking of sharing a brain, Mitch and I both have high hopes for T.J. Rivera – and he is definitely a feel good story. Rivera added two more hits and RBIs to his stat sheet for the 2013 season last night and is continuing to turn heads. Rivera can flat out hit and it may not be long before he is raking in a Binghamton uniform soon.
• Jacob deGrom was a hard luck loser in his first AA start a couple days back, and he ran into some more bad luck on Monday night as the B-Mets had a ton of defensive issues behind him. His final line was tough, as he somehow lasted five innings, but allowed seven hits and four walks. He was on the hook for six runs, but only one of them was earned. The Jake deGrom that you should expect to see going forward is a lot more like the young man we saw in his first AA start – where he lasted eight innings and allowed only three hits and one earned run.
• Jim Callis recently wrote about a piece about a 25-man prospect roster taking at most one player from each team. He chose Zack Wheeler from NY, but he mentioned that he could have easily gone with D’Arnaud. He also answered a direct question about Rainy Lara, where he stated “He’s also old for low Class A at 22, and unless he adds velocity or develops a quality second pitch, he’s looking at a ceiling as a middle reliever.” Lara, as Callis also mentioned, has gained some respect because of the effectiveness of his sinker, which sits at 89-92 MPH. Lara may not be the sexy prospect right now, but I would advise that you keep an eye on him until he gives you a reason not to. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 16.2 innings pitched so far this season, with a 3:15 BB:K ratio.
• Aderlin Rodriguez may have three home runs and three doubles in 68 at-bats, but he is struggling mightily to keep his batting average anywhere near respectable – it fell to .162 last night.
• Shout-out to T.J. Chism, who picked up his second save of the season for St. Lucie and has a 1.59 ERA so far this season.
• Adam Rubin tweeted on Monday that his next farm report would feature Steven Matz…a fun fact? The Mets, as an organization, have only five left handed starting pitchers listed in contrast to 22 right handed starting pitchers according to their organizational depth chart. Jon Niese and Aaron Laffey make up two of them. Angel Cuan, Darin Gorski, and Steven Matz are the other three. Matz’s 1.29 ERA through 14 innings is tops in the Mets Minors right now.
• It’s no fun when Savannah has an off-day and you’re all ready to gush about Kevin Plawecki and Brandon Nimmo. For all the talk about Las Vegas inflating offensive numbers, the top three batting averages in the Mets Minors belong to three Savannah players: Nimmo’s .424, Boyd’s .388 and Plawecki’s .381 who all play at one of the toughest places to hit – Historic Grayson Stadium..
• T.J. Rivera is a well-oiled, finely tuned hitting machine at the plate. After another two-hit game, he’s now swinging a .310/.383/.394 slash and at 24, you’ll soon be seeing him at a Bingo hall near you and I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make it to Sin City and even to that other Citi for a September cup of coffee. (Joe D.)
• You know how I’m always harping on Zack Wheeler‘s command? If only he could put up strikeout to walk ratios like Jake deGrom 21:3, Rafael Montero 27:1, Steven Matz 18:4. Then you’ll know you really have a can’t miss prospect. Wheeler’s K/BB ratio is 21:12 if you want to know how that would translate in the Majors, take a look at Oliver Perez‘s career. I still maintain that Montero is more MLB-ready than Wheeler is (not so crazy now, huh?), but it won’t stop the frenzied fanbase from forcing Wheeler up based solely on his heightened legendary-status that’s being driven by SNY –  who happens to be owned by Fred. Once attends shrivels up some more, you’ll see Wheeler in Flushing – ready or not. Hopefully it won’t lead to his unravelling. (Joe D.)
• The executive producer of SNY told me last week that 99% of Mets fans only care about Wheeler, Nimmo and D’Arnaud, and that nobody cares about Montero, Flores or Lagares. I was asking him why they only cover the same 4-5 prospects day after day and ignore 3-4 dozen other great names and rattled off the three I mentioned. Toby Hyde jumped into our conversation and said, “Bingo!” Whose Minor League coverage would you rather read after seeing a mindset like that? (Joe D.)

Stat Line of the Day

T.J. Rivera: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB

Tweet Of The Day

Pretty sure I just saw a commercial for a farmers-only dating website. The farmer’s daughter cliche must really be struggling these days.

— Collin McHugh (@Collin_McHugh) April 23, 2013

I thought we had the market cornered here at MetsMerized with pictures of hot farm hands… We may now have some competition. This tweet had some competition from @JohnStrubel, who noted that Jason Bay flew out to Fernando Martinez to end an inning – right before Oliver Perez entered the game…

Transactions/Injuries

• Pedro Feliciano was placed on the temporary inactive list down in St. Lucie. Feliciano left the team to deal with a personal issue in Puerto Rico.
• Darwin Frias was called up to St. Lucie from Brooklyn.
• Shaun Marcum threw 52 pitches over 5.0 innings in an extended spring training game for St. Lucie yesterday. He is scheduled to be promoted to the Mets and start Saturday against the Phillies.
• Mets announced they have signed RHP D.J. Mitchell, who was released by the Seattle Mariners. He’s only made one start for Tacoma (AAA) this year and allowed three runs in four innings. He was assigned to Mets extended spring training camp.

Comment Of The Day

Buddy3 asked… “Do you see Matt Reynolds and TJ Rivera jumping over Tovar and Muno at some point this year or next at the double play combo? Seems like Reynolds is going to push Tejada, not Tovar.”

I love this question. First off, remember not to count Phillip Evans out – the Mets have invested a lot in him financially and he is pretty talented. Now, although Matthew Reynolds always profiled defensively as a third baseman, it was unlikely that his offensive capabilities would progress to match the expectations for that position – so the move to short should benefit him in the long run.

Reynolds may have a good glove, but Wilfredo Tovar has an elite glove…so although Reynolds will likely work out to be a better offensive contributor than Tovar, he is fighting an uphill battle. Rivera can flat-out hit and that statement will be said so many times this year that it will be drilled into most readers’ minds. I actually do believe T.J. Rivera will eventually overtake Daniel Muno when projecting the future, but Tovar’s defensive wizardry will likely keep him in the conversation over Reynolds for now.

Photo Of The Day

Don’t mind me, I’m just watching some Mets Minors baseball…

Enter Matt den Dekker, who doesn’t have the inside track at making the team as the center fielder despite being the their best defensive outfielder.

Terry Collins managed arguably one of the greatest defensive center fielders in history when he had Jim Edmonds. Collins said they compared favorably in their ability to chance down fly balls in the gap with their speed, “although nobody got a jump like Jim Edmonds … it seemed like he took two steps before the ball was hit.’’That comes from knowing the hitters and the pitch, so maybe that part of it will come to den Dekker. However, and this is the rub, he’s not even close to Edmonds at the plate and it could cost him a spot on the roster.

Den Dekker made another spectacular catch Monday when he went against the wall in left-center to rob Detroit’s Austin Jackson of extra bases. It is one of several he’s made this spring, each one seemingly more scintillating than the previous.

Den Dekker told reporters later in Lakeland he was “just doing my job,’’ but for a team lacking in offense, that’s only part of what the Mets need from him.

“If you are going to be a platoon player, you got to be able to do something off the bench in the National League, and that’s not just play defense,’’ Collins told reporters.

Why not?

Center field in Citi Field – even after the fences were moved in – is a vast area of real estate. Plus, the Mets have a young pitching staff in need of any help possible. The Mets also have a defensive liability in left fielder Lucas Duda. Having den Dekker in center addresses all those factors.

At .220, Den Dekker has not hit consistently this spring, but perhaps in this era of statistical analysis, the case could be made he saves a considerable amount of runs. Add runs saved to RBI and that’s a productive player.

The problem is the Mets don’t have enough offense elsewhere to where they could carry den Dekker. It is an offensive game, until it is lost with poor pitching and defense.

Den Dekker is ideal as a late-inning defensive replacement for a loaded team, but seriously, how many games will they realistically be in for that to matter? The fact is more games are lost earlier than in the last two innings. That’s when they’ll need his glove.

Last season at Double-A Binghamton, den Dekker hit .340 with eight homers and 29 RBI, but with 64 strikeouts in 238 at-bats. At Triple-A Buffalo, he hit .220 with nine homers and 47 at-bats, but with a staggering 90 strikeouts in 295 at-bats, roughly once every three at-bats.

General manager Sandy Alderson said strikeouts are acceptable if they come with high on-base percentage and power numbers. The selection of run production potential over strikeouts applies to Ike Davis and Duda, but den Dekker hasn’t shown that upside, yet.Den Dekker has tinkered with his mechanics, such as widening his stance, which leads to a shorter stride and consequently a shorter stroke. All too often he’s given away outs with a long, looping swing.

Den Dekker struck out twice more yesterday to give him ten for the spring, but also had a two-run single against lefty reliever Phil Coke.

“He’s working on some things, he’s really trying to be a little more selective at the plate,’’ Collins said. “He’s making huge progress and defensively, I am not sure we have anyone better.’’

Defensively, the Mets don’t have anybody better, and as they struggle to find runs they might consider looking at the flip side and run prevention. Also, remember we’re not talking about den Dekker’s offense compared to Mike Trout’s, but to that of Jordany Valdespin and Mike Baxter.

Put in that context there’s even less of a disparity. Put that way, the question becomes: How many more runs will Valdespin, Baxter and Collin Cowgill generate with their bats than den Dekker saves with his glove?

Today, pitching coach Dan Warthen tried to sell the idea Johan Santana used perceived criticism of his physical condition as the spark to get him on the mound for the first time since Feb. 19. Santana threw the day after GM Sandy Alderson said he didn’t think the soon-to-be 34-year old lefty would pitch for another ten days to put his Opening Day start in jeopardy.

The Mets are trying to mix the contrasting positions Santana as the ultimate competitor who knows better than anybody what it takes to get ready and the other that he uses criticism as motivation.

Well, which is it?

Reportedly, Santana was irritated at reporters’ questioning, to which my first thought is for him to get over it as he’ll get $31 million this year regardless of how much he pitches, so answer the damn questions.

There’s no doubting Santana’s heart, but he can be sensitive.

What I especially found questionable is if the Mets thought he was ten days away from throwing, then why would they let him throw today? Who’s running the show anyway?

When a team puts it in the hands of the athlete to make medical decision, there is a likely chance of failure. Just think of Ryan Church, Mike Pelfrey, Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Jose Reyes and others.

Despite Santana’s sensitivity to criticism, the fact remains he’s not in pitching shape and is behind schedule. It is also fact it was Santana who chose how to handle the offseason after rehabbing the previous two winters. Santana felt he needed the rest so he rested. Alderson stated what happened and didn’t rip Santana; there was no criticism, just an analysis.

It is a long season – Santana’s last as a Met – and it doesn’t matter if he is ready April 1 or April 15 or whenever. Santana won’t be traded for a variety of reasons and his value to the Mets this year will be to get the most out of him. It makes no sense to rush him, so don’t be surprised if letting him throw today could come back to bite the Mets.

GEE SPARKLES: Dillon Gee, who underwent surgery in the offseason to repair an artery in his shoulder, threw three scoreless innings in today’s 6-4 loss to Miami. It marked the first time Gee faced major leaguers since last July.

Gee gave up three hits and a walk with one strikeout over 50 pitches. Gee expressed no concern about his shoulder, saying he can’t afford to pitch with apprehension.

“Obviously I’m just excited to get out and compete again,’’ Gee told reporters. “The location was just very hit or miss. I wasn’t locating the fastball very well.’’

BUSTER BUSTING THEM: Buster Olney‏ OF ESPN tweeted the following on Sunday. Mets: Amazing. Their two highest paid pitchers might not be available Opening Day, and their two highest-paid outfielders are Bobby Bonilla and Jason Bay.

COWGILL IMPRESSING: The more I see of right-handed hitting Collin Cowgill, the more I like him. If he can do the things he’s doing here in PSL and can carry that into the regular season, the Mets will be just fine at the leadoff spot when they’re opposing a lefthanded starter. I’ll try to catch up with him on Tuesday and find out what it is that makes this kid tick. He plays each inning like it’s game seven of the World Series.

So the inevitable has occurred, albeit much later than originally expected: Jason Bay is no longer a New York Met.

I’m sure there is much joy about this decision in Mets nation and rightfully so. The Bay signing will go down as the worst free agent contract in Mets history.

That said, I’m wishing Bay the best of luck in resurrecting his career with another team, preferably in the American League.

I’ll be the first to admit that Bay’s time in New York was downright terrible. He played in less than 60 percent of the team’s games in the past three seasons, and he hit just .234 with 26 home runs and 124 RBI during that time.

However, it would be unfair to say that Bay merely gave up and collected his lucrative paycheck.

The reason Bay was constantly hurt was because he constantly put his body on the line defensively. On the plays he got hurt, there was really no reason for Bay to even be close to those balls, yet he hustled all the time in the outfield.

Of course, paying $16 million for a defensive specialist in the outfield is ludicrous, so once Bay continued to show that he was inept at the plate, his release was just a matter of time.

Everyone in the organization admired Bay for his work ethic despite the poor results. Unfortunately, this is a results-oriented business, so Bay had to go.

In the one time I met Bay at the Mets’ 2010 Holiday Party, you could see and hear his tone that he truly wanted to improve and make an impact on this team, and that was only after his first poor season.

Some players will just shrug off a slump and not let it affect them, but Bay was different in that regard.

You almost have to feel bad for the guy, since it looked like he forgot how to hit. Here’s a guy who was a Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star. You don’t just forget how to hit with that sort of resume.

Maybe the pressure of playing in New York got to him, or maybe the injuries really messed him up more than we all originally thought.

Either way, I admire Bay for realizing that his time in New York was finished even with one year remaining on his contract. It was a mutual decision for the Mets and Bay to part ways.

He could have been stubborn and looked to the fact that he signed a four-year contract and that’s where he would be for those four years, regardless of the lack of production.

But instead, Bay did the right thing for the team.

I hope Bay gets another chance somewhere, even if it’s on a minor-league deal. Let’s be honest, at age 34 he’ll never regain the form of his Pittsburgh and Boston days. But maybe he can be a productive pinch hitter and fourth outfielder.

So to reiterate, I was thoroughly disgusted by Bay’s on-field performance these past three seasons, and he was enormous financial drain. But as a man, I admire Bay for not giving up sooner than he did.

I hope Mets fans can agree with this.

Like many of you have felt, its been disappointing to learn that Sandy Alderson once again finds himself with no more than $10 million (at absolute max) dollars to work with.  Having gotten used to rosters of big ticket free agents and payrolls that reached for the stars, this new frugal route still sits sour with most fans.  Nonetheless, this is the path the Wilpons have chosen and we’re unfortunately along for the ride.  That said, the team is still in position to work towards its ultimate goal of 2014 success.

Having endured more experiments than I care to count since Sandy Alderson took the helm, the Mets still appear set to return Lucas Duda to the outfield next spring.  The swing to left field, widely believe to be the easier of the corner outfield spots, provides him the opportunity improve his defense while keeping his bat in the Mets powerless lineup.  Centerfield also appears to have been assigned to the strike out happy Kirk Nieuwenhuis already.  His inclusion in the 2013 roster provides the Mets with a semi-legit centerfield/lead off option, or at least the best we can hope for on such a restricted budget.  Are these early designations the best we could have hoped for?  No…but if I had to chose two experiments for the Mets to forge ahead with, this would probably be the two I’d pick.

So that leaves catcher and right field… Luckily for Mets fans, or I suppose unluckily depending on your mindset, the Mets have more assets than the $10 million dollars mentioned above.  While the team can almost certainly fit a tenured catching upgrade into that budget, a power hitting right fielder often comes at a premium.  Enter thirty-seven year old Cy Young hopeful, RA Dickey, who increasingly looks destined for the trade market this winter.  A twenty game winner with no sure future, Dickey may be just enough to fetch the type of outfielder the Mets covet to slot into right field next season.

Is it a sure plan?  Certainly not.  However, it bridges the gap to next off-season when the team will find itself with more than $40 million dollars in loose change to work with due to the expiration of the Bay and Santana contracts.  At that point, the team could find itself to be a major player in the free agent market if the time to abandon the Lucas Duda and/or Kirk Nieuwenhuis experiments has finally arrive.  Furthermore, the Mets will have learned more about the likes of Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and much much more.  Therefore, should a starting pitcher also become a requirement headed into 2014, the team will have the flexibility to make that move.

So while I’m sure none of this excites you for the 2013 season, we can only hope that the team makes the moves necessary to continue a path towards contention.  Making at least half the major changes needed to do so is certainly within the realm of possibility this winter.  Doing so may not fill the seats at Citi Field next spring, but it will, at least in my opinion, yield the team’s first successful offseason since Sandy Alderson arrived.  Whether that’s his fault or not is another debate for another time, and although the losses have certainly added up in recent years, the New York Mets are not so far off track that this thing can’t be saved.  Two years ago the front office laid out a plan and with the right moves this winter, they can still make 2014 the year they find themselves back on the map.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83

“Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.” – Yogi Berra

Everyone loves a good “Yogism.” The funny thing about that one in particular, is that it makes absolutely no sense, and yet it makes perfect sense at the same time. Yogi’s math didn’t add up, but he was definitely on to something.

Psychologists are more convinced than ever that our lives gravitate toward the directions of our most dominant thoughts. In other words, people with very positive outlooks, tend to live very positive lives – while those with more negative outlooks, tend to lead more negative lives. You’ve heard the saying “we reap what we sow” – well psychologists are finding that this saying may be more than just a saying. It may hold a deeper meaning.

The same ideas hold true in the sports world, but especially baseball, where Yogi cleverly proclaimed that baseball is really ninety percent mental, and only half physical. The athletes’ minds are often where the games are won or lost. Not necessarily on the field. A study was once conducted on Olympic athletes where they were connected to bio-feedback equipment, and then asked to close their eyes, and run the race in their minds. They weren’t moving their limbs, but the equipment was picking up the muscle fibers firing in the same way as if they were actually running the race. And thus, the art of visualization was born. Many athletes practice this today, where they play out the events of a game in their mind before it happens.

I am reminded of a story I heard about Jose Lima which reflects the power the mind has over the athlete’s performance. I’m sure everyone remembers his very dominating 1998 and 1999 seasons, but Lima will be remembered more for his legendary collapse starting in the year 2000, and how he was never able to get his career back on track after that year. People will say that they don’t understand why an athlete’s careers can do a complete 360 like Lima’s did. They attribute it to the athlete simply not having it anymore. I’m not saying that can’t happen, but athletes’ skills tend to erode slowly as they age, and not just shut off like a switch. When we see a collapse of that magnitude, where it seems as if someone flipped a switch on a player’s career, the switch is most likely in the player’s mind, and not so much in the physical.

In Lima’s case, the Houston Astros happened to be moving into Minute Maid Park for the start of the 2000 season. This was the season which followed his most dominant 21 win season in 1999. Lima was on top of the pitching world. As the story goes – after Minute Maid was built, Lima was touring the stadium and walked out on to the field and to the pitcher’s mound. He looked around. He saw the short distance to the left field seats. This was clearly a hitter’s ballpark. After a 21 win season, and a career that seemed to be headed for super stardom, Lima looked around and proclaimed he would never be able to pitch in that stadium. What followed his thoughts was probably one of the biggest collapses an athlete can ever have. Sadly, he never got his career back on track.

As you can see, the mind is very powerful. Baseball is one of the more cerebral sports. Hitting slumps in baseball are generally mental, and sometimes a simple changing of thinking can break hitters out of slumps. The hitters that can’t change the thinking which has gotten them into the slumps, tend to wallow in slumps, sometimes never to return back to form (like Jason Bay– we will get to this later). A lot of times, the thinking is acting as a placebo effect. A player that thinks that they can’t hit in particular places, or pitch in particular places, actually causes it to occur.

This placebo effect could also be why players careers tend to take off when they move on to other teams. Simply thinking that they could not play in one city, and that playing in a new city will be better for them, is sometimes all that is needed. It makes you wonder if performance enhancing drugs in baseball actually make the players better baseball players, or is it the thought of using performance enhancing drugs making these players better ball players?

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that PEDs do enhance physical performance – but it doesn’t give a hitter a magical power to actually make consistent contact with the baseball. A player that couldn’t hit a curveball before using PEDs, won’t be able to all of a sudden start hitting curveballs after using PEDs. The ball may go further after making contact, but it is the mental perception that using the PED will make them better players actually making them better hitters. It’s not the PED itself making the players better hitters.

Now on to how this all applies to the New York Mets, and more specifically Jason Bay. Jason Bay seems to be experiencing a very similar collapse to that of Jose Lima. I’m not really sure what happened when Bay arrived in New York, but it was clearly the point that his career took a turn for the worst. You will never get me to believe that he just lost all his ability overnight. This collapse was more than likely due to something mental.

Bay may never be the same. Much like Lima, he may never regain is super star status. The thoughts of failure may be so entrenched now, that even a change of scenery may not be the placebo needed for Bay to regain his all-star caliber play. Jason Bay expects to make outs at the plate. He has lost the battle in his mind. I firmly believe the physical tools are still there, because if they weren’t, the Mets probably would just cut him, and let him play independent baseball somewhere. They are keeping him around to see if he can flip that mental switch, and get his career back on track. They hope he can at least give them some sort of production, because physically, he still can.

I’m no psychologist, but I have been through slumps. The majority of the time, it’s not anything physical or anything mechanical causing it. I understand how easy it is to get caught up in a slump because you are trying to avoid making outs, instead of getting hits. I have to say, it is a shame to see how Jason Bay has let this take control of him. If he can get back in control, I really have no doubts that he can be a productive player again. The question is, can he get back in control?

It was great to see Scott Hairston hit a home run yesterday to reach the 20-home run plateau in a Mets victory on the final day of the season.

Hairston was a consistent performer this season as he set a new career-high in games played with 134.

He hit extremely well against left-handed pitching so he earned time as a platoon player, but based on the Mets lackluster offense, Hairston found himself in the lineup often regardless of the opposing pitcher.

As the Mets begin their search for outfield help, where does Hairston fit in the mix?

Yes, he had a nice season, but he’s really not an everyday player at this point in his career. He will be 33 next May, and his .239/.281/.457 line against right-handers in 188 at-bats isn’t too impressive.

He would definitely be a cheap option, since it seems the Mets won’t be pursuing B.J. Upton, Michael Bourn or Shane Victorino (who would even want Victorino anyway?).

But he’s not an everyday center fielder, which is really what the Mets needs.

Here’s a scenario to consider. The problem is Jason Bay will be on this team Opening Day and will be given every chance to succeed (or fail miserably). The team still appears to have hope for Lucas Duda as well.

It seems as though Bay and Duda will platoon in left field to start the season. If the Mets do decide to bring back Hairston as a platoon player, maybe a Hairston/Mike Baxter platoon in right field could work. Baxter isn’t exactly Roberto Clemente in right field, but he can be a decent complimentary player if given the chance. Before he made that stellar catch in Johan Santana’s no-hitter, he was hitting well and playing great defense.

Of course, having two platoons going on in the outfield with basically the same cast of characters may not be considered a he upgrade. But if everyone involved understands their roles and the Mets somehow bring in a good center fielder, maybe it all can work.

As of this moment, it looks like Andres Torres is long gone, leaving Kirk Nieuwenhuis as the only somewhat-MLB-ready candidate to take over in center. It’s looking like Jordany Valdespin will be looked at as solely an infielder from now on.

This team has so many needs and not enough funds to fill all those needs, so as Sandy Alderson has been saying, the team needs to be creative. Maybe they can pull off a trade with the Red Sox for Jacoby Ellsbury or (more of a long-shot) Justin Upton. But for now, we need to be thinking of cost-effective options that can get the job done.

Duda/Bay and Hairston/Baxter platoons are certainly not ideal, but if they can all settle into their platoon roles and the Mets bring in a new center fielder, maybe it can all work out.

Hairston may not be the sole solution to be an everyday corner outfielder, but he can be part of the overall solution, especially if the Mets can improve in other areas.

It comes as no surprise that the New York Mets have gone on record as saying they will not be releasing Jason Bay prior to the 2013 season. With the amount of money that is invested in Jason Bay, it is better to hang on to him and see if he can turn it around, instead of getting nothing in return for the investment. In the business world, these are considered sunk costs – costs that have already been incurred and cannot be recovered. The amount paid should not affect any decision making in the future.

The Mets have determined that Bay’s contract is a sunk cost. Many Mets fans will be outraged with the recent news that Bay will be on the 2013 roster. Bay, on the other hand, has one more year to prove that he isn’t the biggest bust in New York Mets history. Bay has to take advantage of this situation, and start mending his relationship with the fans right now.

The first thing Bay should do, after hearing the recent news, is sign up to play Winter Ball. He has to make an attempt to get to the root of his offensive problems, because his collapse has been inexplicable. Winter ball would be the first step in showing the fans that he is serious about getting back on track. It will show the fan base that he still has some pride in his work. If he waits until Spring Training to try and work out his issues, it’s likely he will have the same results as he had in 2011 & 2012. He has to work out the issues before he gets to Spring Training, and the best way to do that, is by playing Winter Ball.

2013 may also be the last chance Bay has to prove to the other teams in the MLB that he is worth signing in 2014. It’s his last chance to prove to himself that he is a major league ball player. It’s difficult to see an athlete fall from grace the way Bay has these past few years. His relationship with the Mets fans may be too far gone to repair at this point, but a decent showing in 2013 would definitely be a step in the right direction. It ultimately falls on Jason Bay to repair that relationship with the fans. Hopefully, when it’s all said and done, the Mets fans will have a reason to embrace him once again.

I know what you thinking.. How on earth could we spend the entire season talking about the bullpen…that woeful bullpen…and suddenly decide that the team’s offense should be the top priority this offseason?  Heres why:

• Mets rank 8th in MLB with 1,169 strike outs.
• Mets rank 22nd in MLB on the year, hitting just .242 with RISP
• Mets rank 24th in MLB with only 407 extra-base hits, resulting in a .383 slugging percentage.  Good for only 24th in MLB this season.
• Mets rank 25th in MLB with a .236 BA since the All-Star break.
• Mets rank 25th in MLB with 51 HR since the All-Star break and 26th overall with just 124 on the season.
• Mets rank 26th in MLB with a .301 OBP since the All-Star break.
• Mets rank 27th in MLB this season with only 71 stolen bases.
• Mets rank 29th in MLB with 204 runs scored since the All-Star break and only 25th on the year with 598.

And while I understand that each of these totals either directly relates to, or is significantly impacted by the teams’ terrible second half, the fact cannot be denied that the Mets lineup isn’t exactly executing at a high level.  All the pitching the world doesn’t matter if the team can’t score runs.  Just ask RA Dickey, who has only received an average of 3 runs of offense in support his Cy Young effort in his last ten starts.

While the blame for such totals should be distributed amongst the group, its the Mets outfielders who’ve been the most disappointing this season.  Everyone knows the obvious, in the fact that Jason Bay has managed only 7 HR with just 18 RBI while posting an abysmal .153 BA, but the outfield as a whole has been much better, hitting just .235 as a unit.  That’s a full thirty-three points lower than the infield, which has seen its catchers and first basemen hit .226 and .234 respectively.

I really don’t mean to throw stats at you all day, but the Mets can’t afford to field a strikeout prone, powerless outfield much longer.  With the writing on the wall that both Wright and Dickey will factor the team’s direction into their decision making process, Lucas Duda can’t be the teams best hitting outfielder.  It simply can’t be…

I’m not sure where they will find them, but the team must track down two, if not three, solid outfield options who can not only hit for average, but can respectfully patrol their position as well.  I realize that those types of players don’t grow on trees, and I understand that both Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher will quite possible be out of the teams price range, but my lord has the current crop of players been bad.

This is a bad place to be for a team that was looking to have all the pieces in place once their premier pitching prospects breached the big league roster.  Those pieces have started arriving, and with Matt Harvey and Jenrry Mejia (at minimum) set to break camp with the club next spring, the time is now to fix one of the all-around worst offenses in baseball.  Once again Sandy Alderson has a tall task in front of him, or perhaps he has dug his own grave, but things can’t continue like this.  Its simple, with pitching help on the way from within the system, the offense much take center stage this offseason.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83

First and foremost, the team’s pitching staff desperately needs another overhaul.  To a certain point, that will come in the eventual promotion of the Harvey, Wheeler, Familia and Mejia contingent.  That however won’t get it done in the long run.  While RA Dickey has proven himself as one of the game’s elite (albeit awkward) pitchers, the rest of the starting staff has been disappointing.  Jon Niese remains inconsistent and Johan Santana has been a mess since in June no-hitter.  Then we get to the bullpen…  The truth is bullpens are always in flux as its historically difficult for many relief pitchers to maintain a high level of play from year to year, but the Mets have had extremely poor luck.  From the current crop, its realistic to think only Francisco, Edgin and possibly Rauch find themselves on the roster next season.  That’s a great deal of turnover for a team supposedly headed in the right directly.

A look at the rest of the roster finds a variety of players who were being counted on to take a step forward, but ultimately failed miserably.  Here is a look at just a few:

• Andres Torres, who was acquired last winter as a band-aid in center field, has been repeatedly hampered by injury and has struggled at the plate all season.  For much of the season, he has found himself second fiddle to rookie, Kirk Nieuwenhuis.  Definitely not the situation Mets’ brass hoped for when envisioning the 2012 season in their head.
• Lucas Duda was handed the spot in right field in an effort to find a place for his bat.  His offense, unfortunately, has abandoned him.  That, combined with his defensive liability and what has been described as a poor attitude has found him beached in Buffalo with his opportunity wasted and his value shattered.
• Jason Bay…oh where do we start.  More inuries and more ineptitude at the plate have finally cost Bay his everyday spot in left.  Batting well under .200 this season, Bay is likely on his way out despite what Sandy Alderson recently said about the $19 million he is still owed on his current contract.
• Josh Thole was the Mets best bet coming into the season behind the plate.  As is the case with everyone else on this list, he hasn’t gotten it done.  A team can stomach a singles hitter if they justify their spot on the roster with their defense.  Thole has repeatedly struggled to keep the ball from going to the backstop and can’t throw anyone else on the base paths.  He’s not an everyday major league player, no matter what way you try to cut it.
• Ike Davis has probably been the biggest surprise disappointment this year.  Mired in a terrible slump for the first two months of the season, Ike has never really turned it on this year.  The saving grace to his season will be his power numbers, which have not slumped nearly as much as his average and will ultimately salvage his spot for the time being as the Met’s first baseman of the future.

Much of this didn’t rear its ugly head until the team fell off the pace, but now it has become clear that the organization still has a great deal of work to do before they become a legitimate contender again.  With that said, the resurgence of David Wright is most positive thing to come out of 2012.  He has once again solidified himself amongst the best third baseman in baseball.  Moving around the remainder of the infield, Ruben Tejada’s patient approach at the plate and stout defense have proven to be a quality replacement for the departed Jose Reyes and Daniel Murphy has come a loooong way at second base.

The issue remains that outside of those guys, and RA Dickey of course, the Mets as a whole haven’t improved much.  It was fun to field fully home grown lineups, but its obvious the answer to the team’s woes aren’t within the organization right now. The 2012 season hasn’t yielded the results any of us had hoped.  There is no reason to believe the Mets are only a few players away from success and an argument can now be made that the organization has actually gone backwards this year.  Yes, despite the successful first half, the 2012 season has proven to be a costly one for the New York Mets.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83

Mike B noted in his post earlier that Sandy Alderson has stated that the Mets are not simply going to eat Bay’s contract and release him. This all but crushes many Mets fans dreams of a team without the automatic out that we call Jason Bay in the lineup for 2013. But if the Mets are insisting on having an automatic out in their lineup, I have come up with a solution that could potentially lead to higher ticket sales, and help pay off some of that money that is owed to Jason Bay.

…as you all wait on the edge of your seat for me to unveil my master plan.

My amazin’ solution is that the Mets should randomly select a fan, before every game, to play left field. Let’s face it…it can’t get any worse. If anything else, you will draw more fans to the stadium if they thought they actually had a chance of getting to play in a major league game.

You can even rotate a different fan every inning if you really want to make it interesting. The only person that should be worried is Jason Bay, who could potentially lose his job to a fan if my plan gets implemented. Can you imagine your friends coming up to you at work the day after a game and saying “wow, great catch in the 7th inning yesterday.” I guess it might also backfire and people could end up saying “wow, I didn’t realize how much weight you gained until I saw you try to squeeze into those baseball pants. Didn’t they have anything bigger than a small?” Not so good.

Sorry everyone. I wish I had an answer to our problems with Jason Bay, but I don’t. If I did, I would be in the Mets front office, instead of sitting at my computer writing this. But I still think my idea would be pretty amazin’.

Amazin’ Solutions is a segment I will be covering for Mets Merized Online going forward. It will take an in depth look at the different issues the Mets are facing, and provide solutions for those issues. Sometimes, when the issues are so complex that they may not have a solution, I may just have a little fun like I did in this post.     

The Amazin: Where would we be without Scott Hairston?  He is so scary good against lefties that he bats cleanup for us against them. Scott has arguably been the best signing by Sandy Alderson in the two years since he arrived. However, he is basically a one trick pony and is mostly a dead pull hitter. As the season has gone along he has started to go the other way more, and has recently been driving the ball to right field. Hairston is a guaranteed keeper for 2013 if the price is right. But even Alderson acknowledged last week that Hairston may have priced himself out of the Mets plans for 2013. Sadly, Hariston is really not a starter and is much better suited to thrive off the bench.

The Good: Kirk Nieuwenhuis did a great job for the first few months.  He put on a nice display offensively showing both home run and gap power, not to mention batting for a nice average. His defense was outstanding and he showed he may even be better than Torres in center. After a while the league began to catch up to him and he appeared overmatched at the plate. It eventually led to a demotion to Triple-A to work things out. Now things are up in the air about whether he can contribute consistently at this level or if he will just be another bench option.

Andres Torres has been solid, but not spectacular defensively. But offensively, Torres has been spotty. He has not been the threat on the bases we had hoped for, totaling just 10 steals and 37 runs scored on the season. Torres was initially brought in to be a table-setter at the top of the order, but instead he only bats there on occasion. That said, Torres has been on kind of a tear of late, batting .323 in the last 30 days and .345 in the last ten games with an .873 OPS. He has been a force against left-handed pitching and has a slash of .304/.427/.441 in 124 plate appearances against them this season.

The Dude’s power went out in 2012

The Average: Lucas Duda did not hit like he did last season. His power numbers came in spurts, and his defense was…..well……we won’t go there. He tried to learn the outfield at the Major League level and that has proven to be a difficult task for him. He still has a very good shot to earn a spot next season, but he needs to improve drastically on the defensive side. His offense also left much to be desired. He showed flashes of what we hoped he would be, but for the most part was very inconsistent. He had extended slumps and long power outages. His bat needed to make up for his poor defense, but that was far from what happened. The Dude Abides in the minors for now.

The Horrific: Jason Bay has lost his way. He can’t make consistent contact, he seems scared at the plate, and teams are now walking players to get to him. Even when he hits the ball on the barrel it dies at the warning track and lands in the outfielder’s glove. In 149 plate appearances, Bay is batting .154/.248/.245, and he has a .696 career OPS with the Mets since signing his $66 million dollar deal.

The Wild Card: Jordany Valdespin has the most dynamic skill set of any Major League ready player we have on our 40-man roster. He came up as an infielder, but with Murphy and Tejada raking it appears his future may be in the outfield. He has the skills to play out there and with nobody set to man a particular spot in 2013, he basically has his pick of where he wants to play. All he has to do it hit and play a decent outfield and he should be a shoe in as a starter in 2013. If he takes a nose dive offensively in the second then we are in big trouble.

We still have two months left to go, so hopefully some of these players can rebound a bit to show the Mets brass that they should still be considered for a spot on the 2013 roster. Someone needs to step up, because it will be really difficult to bring in three starters from the outside.

Thoughts from Joe D.

We are in dire straits when it comes to the outfield. Two of our potential options for 2013, Lucas Duda and Jordany Valdespin are not even outfielders by trade. While the athletically gifted Valdespin has a chance to evolve into an average centerfielder, let’s not ignore the fact he’s batting .260 with a .288 OBP and is hitting .172 in his last ten games. Lets also not ignore the fact that Torres will be 35 next season, or that Hairston probably wont be back. Jason Bay? As long as he’s still here, you have to count him in for 2013. He makes more than Castillo and Perez combined and cutting him won’t be as easy as it was cutting them two. There was supposed to be the money saved from not bringing back Reyes… Where did that money go? I haven’t seen it, have you? Nobody is on the way in the minors. Den Dekker might be a September callup in 2013. Wilmer Flores is still bouncing around all over the infield and the thought of him as a potential left fielder and replacement for Jason Bay hasn’t even crossed their mind yet. The outfield is a mess right now.

Good job everyone.  The Mets would need an absolute miracle to become relevant in 2012 again. Sitting 8 games behind the Wild Card leader, and 11.5 games behind the National League East leader, the season is all but over.

Who can tell me why the Mets are in the position they are in, right now, in the standings?

Yes, you in the red dress.

The reason the Mets are in the position they are in is because they lack talent.  The first half of the season they played way above their potential.  It was a fluke.  This team was supposed to finish in last place, and now it seems like the only thing that will prevent that is the collapse of the Philadelphia Phillies.  Terry Collins did a great job keeping this team relevant the first half of the year, but I just think the Mets will continue to decline the rest of the season.  The future isn’t much brighter either.  I mean, who is going to play the outfield next year?

That’s a very good question.  So class, who do you think will be patrolling the green pastures of Citi Field next year?

Yes, you in in the grey shirt.

Um…well…my daddy hates Jason Bay, but he says due to his contract we’re stuck with him through 2013, so I guess he will be one outfielder.  Then I hope Lucas Duda is another outfielder because I just got his jersey for my birthday, and I don’t want my friends to make fun of me when I wear the jersey because he’s not on the team and in the minor leagues.  Then I guess the third outfielder will probably be Jordany Valdespin.

OK, but why do you think Valdespin will be the third outfielder?

I really just picked him because he has a cool name.

Very cool indeed, but I think the Mets will probably address some of their issues in free-agency. Outfield will probably be one of those positions that are addressed.  But I do like your answers.

OK class, one last question.  Who wishes their parents raised them as Yankees fans instead of Mets fans?

Detention for everyone!

You can follow Mitch Petanick for more Mets insights on Twitter @firstpitchmitch, and on his personal blog The Petanick Chronicles.

Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Mets and Marlins were discussing a deal before the trade deadline that would send Jason Bay to Miami, and bring Heath Bell and John Buck to the Mets. Although they weren’t close to a deal, they were discussing.

All three players in this proposed trade are overpaid and not performing. However, it would be one that could could benefit both sides greatly. The Marlins would get a starting left fielder. They could move Logan Morrison to first base to replace Carlos Lee. On the Mets side, it would give them bullpen help and a backup catcher, two huge holes on their roster.

If the Mets and Marlins had gotten a deal done, they would be exchanging big contracts. Bay has about $20 million or so left on his current deal, while Bell and Buck combined have just a little bit more than that. The money would have likely been very close in this trade scenario, which I will talk about in a bit.

It’s very possible that a change of scenery would help Heath Bell and turn him back into the dominant force that he was in San Diego. And I’m not a big fan of John Buck, but he is certainly an upgrade from Mike Nickeas and Rob Johnson, right?

Of course, there is always the possibility that neither of them will regain the high level of play that earned them their big contracts in the first place. But if that happens, the Mets could just release both of them, just like they would have done with Bay. They will be on the hook for the $20 million or so Bay is being owed anyway, so if they can’t get avoid paying it, why not take a chance with Bell and Buck, two players who could still bounce back? Am I making sense here? It’s just a low-risk, high reward situation for both teams. The Mets are going to pay SOMEBODY a lot of money. It seems clear that Bay is done for good and that he will never turn his career around. However, we don’t know that the same is true for Buck and Bell, so if you’re going to dish out $20 million, wouldn’t the logical choice be them?

We still don’t know any details about the negotiations, nor will we ever. My guess is the Marlins were the ones who turned it down because Bay has shown no signs of life, while Bell has. However, if it was the Mets that that were reluctant to make this trade, they made a mistake.

Check out even more of my Mets writing at UpAlongFirst.com. Also make sure to follow me on Twitter @UpAlongFirst.

Chris Young was victimized in late innings as has been the theme, the bullpen faltered and despite a ninth inning rally including two solo home runs, the Mets lost the second game of the series, 4-3.

Game Recap

Chris Young had a pretty solid outing, going six innings allowing two runs on six hits, walking one and striking out two. Young was good for the most part, but as has been the case in his last few starts he gave up a late-inning homer that put the Nationals on the board first. The big problem with Young is not endurance, but his variety and sharpness of pitches after the sixth inning. Young does rely fairly heavily on control and drawing weak contact, so that will always doom Young third time around the order.

The bullpen had some major work today, with Miguel Batista allowing two runs on three hits with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning. Batista wasn’t particularly ineffective, with one hit coming off a freak ricochet off of Miguel Batista’s shin. However, the most egregious sin was leaving a fastball down the middle that Steve Lombardozzi drilled for a two-RBI double. Josh Edgin came out for a third of an inning, and got Bryce Harper to fly out. Jon Rauch came out to pitch the eighth, and had his best outing in a few weeks, striking out two and allowing no hits. Rauch seemed to have some extra zip on his fastball, turning it up to 93 MPH.

The bullpen still struggles, and Jesus wept. Reinforcements cannot come soon enough.

Offensively, the Mets were kept in check by Jordan Zimmerman for the course of his start, but came alive in the late innings. A Lucas Duda RBI double set up Andres Torres for an RBI single, but in a boneheaded move tried to stretch it into a double down by two. The real comeback began in the ninth, when to leadoff the inning David Wright sent a blast to right field for a solo HR. After Davis & Duda struck out swinging, Jason Bay sent a moonshot off the LF foul pole to bring the Mets within one. Yetserday’s hero, Jordany Valdespin came to the plate to try and recreate his magic from the night before, but struck out swinging to end the game.

Outside of the baserunning error, the Mets were aggressive at the plate today, and it didn’t translate into hits.

Turning Point: Miguel Batista giving up the freak hit. If it goes up the middle, Murphy has a play on it if not Tejada to end the inning. Instead, it caroms into no-mans land and keeps the inning alive.

Game Notes: David Wright – 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run on a solo HR. Can he play any better? On a day where nine hits are totaled, Wright accounts for a third of them. Jason Bay went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run on a solo HR.

On Deck: The Mets will look to finish the series against the Nationals with a win, sending R.A. Dickey to the mound against Gio Gonzalez. Game time is 12:35 P.M.