Teams rebuild at different speeds.
The Yankees are hoping their slew of moves this offseason will serve as the impetus to get the team back in the playoffs after missing out in 2013 for the time in five seasons. Meanwhile, the Mets have spent those same five years recovering and rebounding from the financial woes of their owner Fred Wilpon, and the hope is the time has come when the team can contend again.
The offseason signings of outfielders Curtis Granderson and Chris Young, along with veteran starter Bartolo Colon should help.
“I think at some point you have to transition from rebuilding to winning,” MLB Network and SNY analyst Ron Darling said.
“It pays to rebuild, and it’s important to have homegrown talent, but at some point there has to be a culture that not only are we happy to be in the major leagues, but performing at a level that allows us to win ballgames. They haven’t been able to turn that page, yet. Perhaps it’s this year.”
The loss of ace Matt Harvey following Tommy John surgery has hindered some of the excitement heading into the season, but the Mets still have Zack Wheeler in the rotation and other young arms such as Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero expected to make an impact sooner than later this season.
“Syndergaard is like an unbelievable fine diamond that still needs to be shaped and polished,” Darling said. “And I thought Montero was the real deal, I equate him to Julio Teheran of Atlanta.
“I honestly think he’s ready for the major leagues, they think he needs more seasoning.”
While the Mets wait for their youth, the Yankees went the veteran route this offseason. They let Robinson Cano sign with the Mariners, but used the small fortune saved on that move to ink Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka.
But Darling said he believes those players are not the most crucial part of the Yankees season. Instead, he sees CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira as the difference between a potential World Series team and a second straight year without October baseball.
Sabathia will start Opening Day, but whether or not the left-hander pitches like an ace remains to be seen. Sabathia’s ERA ballooned to 4.78 last season and his velocity on his fastball dipped a couple of crucial miles per hour.
“You just have to get smarter on the mound, and CC is a smart guy,” Darling said. “It’s nothing more than that. You’ve got to lose some of your macho about striking out guys and blowing guys away.
“I just think he has that intestinal fortitude as a player to just get it done. He’s kind of a warrior, so he’s going to figure it out and when he does, that’s really going to provide a great stabilizing influence in the rotation.”
While Sabathia struggled in 2013, Teixeira sat. The slugging first baseman played in only 15 games because of a major wrist injury he is hopeful is behind him.
“Teixeira is supposed to be in his prime and performing at a high, high level,” Darling said. “I am talking 30 [home runs] and 100 [RBIs]. If he has another injury-riddled year or his talent has betrayed him then that’s not going to be good.”