The Mets collapse in the second half of this season has been disappointing on many levels. One of the more disappointing things has been the failure of players to step up and cement their place with this team for the future.
Is it safe to say that the only players that have stepped up at all this year have been Daniel Murphy, Ruben Tejada, and R.A. Dickey? David Wright doesn’t count because we expected him to be great. Ike has shown promising power, but I think everyone will agree he took a step back offensively. We haven’t seen enough from Matt Harvey, but he hasn’t really shown us that he can be a reliable starting pitcher just yet.
At this point, every outfield position is open, and not a single player has locked anything down. Nobody has stepped up in the bullpen to prove himself to be a reliable go-to guy. What the Mets are severely lacking are guys that will step up when a star player is not playing up to capability, or there is an injury. That is one of the major differences between having a good team, and a mediocre team.
On good teams, players step up. They rise to the occasion. By that definition, right now, the Mets are mediocre. This team needs a player to step up and show that he has what it takes to make a difference going forward. These players are being given golden opportunities, and none are rising to the occasion. It’s pretty much open tryouts right now for a lot of positions with this team, and the Mets are going to make a lot of decisions based on what they see the next two months. At least, I hope they will be.
This team is in a state of disarray right now. Nobody knows what this team will look like in 2013 and going forward. They have an opportunity to take a leap forward, or they can take two steps backwards. Will David Wright be back? Will Ike Davis take the next step? Who will be in the outfield? Is Terry Collins going to be the manager? What will the bullpen look like? With all these questions, I feel like I’m back in school taking a test.
Here’s one more question – am I the only person getting the feeling it’s going to be two steps back?
