Adam Rubin hits on the one question many Met fans are now asking themselves after three seasons under Sandy Alderson. In a post to ESPN New York, Adam writes:
Forget Ike Davis’ struggles for a second. Forget even the payroll constraints, which is asking a lot to look past.
Here’s one question that rarely gets asked: Where are the Moneyball players with the Mets?
And by that I mean: Why have there not been more productive free agents signed to those $2 million to $4 million contracts? Or how about some low-cost acquisitions via other routes that provide placeholders until a prospect is ready to assume the role?
Bam!
Finally, this is getting some attention.
We all know about having to operate with a $90 million payroll constraint, but wasn’t winning on the cheap supposed to be Sandy’s hallmark?
As Rubin points out, wasn’t finding those hidden gems supposed to be a Mets front-office strength because of the executives’ small-market pedigrees?
The article ends with a sobering reality:
So if you’re looking for reasons why the Mets today sit at 10 games under .500 this early in a season for the first time since 2001, blame the lack of spending. Blame the deliberate pace of building from within. But also blame the lack of identification of placeholders who can contribute at reasonable costs in the interim.
It’s still five days until Matt Harvey next pitches…
