As a disclaimer, what I am about to write is not how I WANT things to be. It is not what the Mets’ fan base deserves. However, as Clint Eastwood taught us in The Unforgiven, and Snoop from The Wire later so eloquently reiterated, “Deserves got nothin’ to do with it”.
Assistance with the Mets new hurt parade is not coming. At least not anytime soon. And no, I do not count Kelly Johnson as a credible help. In fact, giving up a well liked pitching prospect to get him may have been a bit of an overpay. A move this early is not the Sandy Alderson way and certainly not the way of the Wilpons. The reasoning behind my thesis it two fold. First, the Mets are competing. Secondly, the organization as a business model is finally prospering and in the black.
Lets take the last part first. the New York Post published a piece Monday by Richard Morgan, detailing the turning of the tide in New York City in regards to baseball allegiances.
Among the credible statistics, Morgan details Mets viewership on the SNY network is up 16% from last year. Between the World Series run in 2015 and the fact that every night the Mets have a viable story toeing the pitching rubber, for better or worse, people are tuning in to watch this team. How will Harvey look? How many strikeouts with Thor record? What meme will Bartolo create? Tune in to find out, and we have.
Met fans are not only dedicating their time watching this team on television, but spending a substantial amount of their finite savings to support the club as well. Three Mets finished in the MLB’s top 20 of jersey dales in 2015. Matt Harvey (9), David Wright (11), and Jacob deGrom were all present in this report. It was the first time three Mets ever made this list since the MLBPA started releasing this information in 2010.
As Noah Syndergaard rises to national stardom, and with Yoenis Cespedes poised to possibly start the 2016 All Star Game in San Diego, for the first time in a long time, a contingent of the Mets roster is a household name for positive reasons.
Fiscal support is in more than just apparel sales. For the first time in almost ten years, the Mets raised season ticket and box office prices for the 2016 season. The raise was modest, and fair (about 3% on average) and the first such increase since the Mets started calling Citi Field home in 2009.
How have fans responded? Home game attendance is up 5,638 fans per game. In comparison to the rest of the MLB, that is the 2nd biggest increase per game in baseball, behind only the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets are 10th in road attendance as well, up from the club’s number 14 ranking in 2015. Additionally, Mets season tickets and plans sales are up almost 30% according to multiple publications.
It’s clear, the Mets are making money as is, regardless of the sputtering offense. So, from a business standpoint, what need is there to upgrade?
The offense indeed needs help. Injuries and under performance have revived the specters of the 2015 first half offense. Before the deadline acquisition of Yoenis Cespedes, which coincided with the return of Travis d’Arnaud and David Wright, the Mets team batting average was .234 and averaged 3.5 runs per game. Thus far this season? The Mets team batting average is .231 and scoring 3.7 runs per game.
Regardless of how inept the team’s lumber has seemed, they remain competitive. The pitching is keeping the club in games and they are always a timely base hit away from a victory. Use their most recent series victory against the Marlins as evidence, where Matt Reynolds‘ late RBI led the Mets to victory Saturday, and the offense was an ever popular solo homerun away from extending the game in the ninth inning on Sunday. Even in Pittsburgh, where the team was about as entertaining as growing grass during their double header, they were never completely out of the games.
After play Wednesday, the Mets are more than one third of the way done with their season, and 3.5 games out of first place. The problem is, the Mets are not chasing Matt’s Gnats from 2015. Washington’s manager Dusty Baker has created an entirely different climate in that locker room.
Sadly, as long as the Mets are competitive on a daily basis, within striking distance of first place, and playing in front of a packed house in Flushing with fans dressed from head to toe in a Mets cap and Curtis Granderson Socks anxiously awaiting their promotional items three hours before game time, I fear they will stand pat and explore every in-house option under the sun before they make a move that may only barely move the needle in their favor.
The Mets deserve help, but deserves got nothin’ to do with it.
