As promised I wanted to weigh in on the latest concocted controversy stemming from the Mets signing a left-handed outfielder to platoon with Juan Lagares on Monday- which by the way was the team’s stated goal from the moment the hot stove season started. I know this because I’ve expended well over 50,000 words on this very topic over the last two months. That’s why I didn’t get all the sudden shock and awe when the Mets signed Alejandro De Aza. Have you been hibernating all this time and you suddenly awoke from your slumber in time for your Christmas goose?
It’s amazing to me how so few of you still can’t get it into your heads that no matter what ownership and the front office say about payroll and spending that nothing will ever change significantly as long as Fred, Jeff and Saul own this team. And I use the word “own” very loosely as the banks do most of the owning, not the Wilpons. Here is the banks’ holiday message to all Met fans – We Pay, We Say!
Now with that out of the way, let’s talk some baseball. Real baseball, not the baseball that had you thinking the Mets were going to sign Jason Heyward, Ian Desmond, Darren O’Day and Tony Sipp this offseason because Sandy and Jeff promised spending. Can you snap back to reality for a moment whilst I make a few points and slather you with a nice helping of reality? Gee, thanks…
I thought the De Aza signing was the first misstep by the Mets this offseason. Before that I applauded every single move they’ve made. I was advocating for Neil Walker long before Ben Zobrist blew up in their faces. And the fact that all it took was moving Jon Niese and nothing else was a huge win for the organization. You could jump up and down all you want, but as I’ve often said, Walker is a significant upgrade all-around from Daniel Murphy.
In Asdrubal Cabrera the Mets got themselves a shortstop with some power who while he may not be the defensive stalwart you were expecting, when you have 80 percent of your rotation with strikeout rates above 10.5 that becomes barely an issue. It frees up Wilmer Flores to become that super-utility guy I always envisioned for him. He’ll get his 400 at-bats while covering all four infield positions and giving us a clutch bat off the bench.
If three articles advocating for the Mets to bring back Bartolo Colon weren’t convincing enough, let me plainly say I loved the fact he’ll be back in 2016. Ditto on Jerry Blevins. I know we’ve yet to sign that setup guy, so I’ll wait until Sandy and John finish buying all the groceries before I comment on that.
Despite the De Aza signing, the Mets are still the team to beat in the NL East and the class of the division. This is undeniable which is what made all the angst and vitriol from Monday so perplexing. I don’t know what exactly everyone was looking at yesterday, but I’m very confident in our team going into next season.
I threw something together rather quickly just so I can make my next point with some visual backup. I keep seeing people complaining that our lineup is significantly worse than the team that took the field in the World Series. And while that may be true to some degree, you’re looking at it all wrong. The job this offseason was to produce a better lineup than the one we paraded on Opening Day of 2015, and in that regard the front office has done an exceptional job.
The best organizations put together a solid roster to begin the season and then monitor, evaluate and make adjustments along the way. There will always be unexpected injuries and poor performances as the season goes on and you address those issues and make those improvements as they occur.
What you should never do is blow your entire payroll budget in the Winter and then leave nothing for in-season improvements when needed. Remember when Minaya used to blow his entire budget by December and then sat on his hands at every trade deadline because the coffers were empty? Do you really want to go back to those fiscally irresponsible days?
Another point… We have a team that is blessed with one of the best young rotations the game has ever seen. For now, they are making a combined $9 million, but what about two years from now? Do you want to see the Mets lock up Denard Span and Ian Desmond for four years and leaving us vulnerable to the real possibility that we have no payroll room to start locking these valuable arms up? Get it into your heads that for the foreseeable future Mets payroll will not exceed the $120 million level. Knowing that, is it really a good idea to start handing out second generation contracts to position players on the wrong side of 30? Especially for position players who are not even difference makers?
Look people, the Wilpons are here to stay. It sucks I know, but that’s the reality of the situation. So you can just grumble and pout about everything the team does or doesn’t do, or you could accept and understand the challenges that Sandy and the front office have to face in trying to win a championship under some extremely financially limited circumstances.
The bottom line is that we enter next season with a significantly better team than the one that we had last April. I’m very excited in the prospect of having emerging star Michael Conforto playing everyday for the entire season. I’m looking forward to seeing our new double-play combo of Walker and Cabrera manning the middle infield and lengthening the lineup. I’m also hopeful that David Wright can avoid the DL this season and play 140 games. But if he can’t, I’m glad we have Flores ready to cover him instead of Danny Muno and Eric Campbell.
The Mets have finally built a team that does a nice job of distributing their scant cash resources (for a big-market team) and providing excellent versatility and flexibility throughout the roster. I look at the World Series champion Kansas City Royals and I see a team that won it all without any real superstars or players with mega-deals. Just a very cost-effective lineup that contributed at every level and delivered a lot of bang for the buck. I can see that in the Mets right now. We’re right there… I just wish all of you could open your eyes and see it too. I love this team and I’m looking forward to another postseason in 2016. Happy Holidays and Let’s Go Mets…
