The only thing that can stop the New York Mets is their training staff and their management. Those are the two factors that can directly affect the outcome of some of their best players, like Noah Syndergaard, or Yoenis Cespedes.
To show that the job has gotten away from manager, Terry Collins, all you have to do is look at the first at-bat, Miami slugger, Giancarlo Stanton had on Sunday. With two men on, and one out, and rookie pitcher Adam Wilk on the bump, the Mets should have intentionally walked the slugger. Then they could have hoped for a double play. Instead they gave up a 3-run home run that may have just landed and that is how you lose a ballgame.
Sandy Alderson has been the cheapest GM since Joe McDonald. Alderson knew he needed a left-handed starter in their system since last year. I wrote about it this year. Steven Matz was never going to be able to last a full season and the Mets didn’t have a left-handed starter in their rotation until they picked up, Tommy Milone, who the Brewers cut. He’s a AAAA pitcher and a cheap option.
Another cheap option has been to keep Amed Rosario trapped in the minor leagues. We still haven’t heard a medical report about oft-injured, Asdrubal Cabrera, and now Jose Reyes is playing shortstop, which won’t last.
Rosario is hitting .377 in AAA. At 21, he’s had almost 1,500 minor league at-bats. Why isn’t he being called up? Because the Mets don’t want to start the clock on his major-league service. They did this last season with T.J. Rivera and barely made the playoffs. Not having Rosario called up now, while they’re struggling, is keeping them from possibly winning a championship.
The Mets have handled the Matt Harvey situation as well as they can. They should have made his mistake public. Now the reporters are digging to find out why he received a three-game suspension missing a start.
The Mets make plenty of money. Their fans deserve better. The team should field the best team possible and that’s simply not the case at the moment. Travis d’Arnaud is on borrowed time. Are the Mets looking for an established catcher, beyond Kevin Plawecki (who has never gotten established)? If the Mets miss the playoffs this season it’s on them. I almost give the players a pass because it’s all of these little things that make it harder for them to be successful.
