The Mets want to emulate the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants? It may sound like another punchline to a bad Sandy Alderson joke, but it’s not.
One of my favorite New York sports columnists is Kevin Kernan of the NY Post. I think he gives us a glimpse of what the Mets might be trying to do here:
The Mets were 22nd in the majors in home runs with 139. Only five National League teams hit fewer home runs, but the team that finished dead last in the majors, the Giants (103), won the World Series.
The Mets’ plan is to emulate the Giants by playing sound baseball in a large ballpark and getting tremendous pitching to carry them through.
Home run hitters also cost big money and the Mets are not spending big money.
I agree with Kevin, and that probably sizes up what the Mets might be attempting to do, but so are a dozen other teams, and when you’re banking everything on pitching prospects it’s always a huge gamble. There are no guarantees.
But if this was really about the pitching – and defense – why then did we get rid of a reigning Cy Young pitcher? That doesn’t make sense…
Why did you fail to sign one the top high school pitchers in last year’s draft? That doesn’t add up either…
Now one thing that should not be ignored is that the Giants also won the World Series with the number one offensive player in the National League and reigning 2012 MVP, Buster Posey. We have nobody that comes close to an offensive juggernaut like that.
After all, a .336/.408/.549 batting line with 64 extra-base hits and a MLB leading 172 OPS+ can do wonders for any team… So can a productive outfield…
Outfield? What outfield?
