Sandy Alderson followed the proper course in maximizing Carlos Beltran and R.A. Dickey and turning them into three prospects — Zack Wheeler, Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard — that the industry held in high regard.
But as the Subway Series has underscored, the navigation from highly regarded to consistent excellence — if there is ultimately to be consistent excellence — is treacherous. Most players are not Masahiro Tanaka, amazing for many reasons, but notably his rather seamless transition from one realm (baseball in Japan) to another (MLB) without a hitch.
You could make the case that if Wheeler were ready now to go 15-9 with a 3.30 ERA, d’Arnaud would hit .285 with 18 homers and Syndergaard could replicate the kind of debut Matt Harvey had in 2012, then the Mets just might surprise and make the playoffs.
Alas, the Mets are still dealing with growing pains — and possibly worse — as they continue to wait for the best from players they envisioned as cornerstones since their acquisitions.
Instead, at this date, Wheeler has yet to consistently command his high-end stuff. Terry Collins was emphatically trying to get Wheeler through five innings to gain a victory Tuesday, but the righty simply could not throw the ball over the plate. He walked six and threw 118 pitches in 4 1/3 innings against the Yankees.
Pitching coach Dan Warthen described Wheeler’s growth chart as “two step forwards, one step back.” Warthen noted Wheeler’s two recent stinkers came at hitter’s parks, Coors Field and Yankee Stadium, and said the righty needs to “get his emotions and adrenaline under control.” But, Warthen insists, he sees multi-pitch excellence and control in enough bullpen sessions to believe it is just a matter of time until Wheeler, 23, honors top-of-the-rotation estimations.
For d’Arnaud, offense and durability remain the issues. His .588 OPS is by far the worst among the 25 catchers with 100 plate appearances. And now he is on the DL again, this time with a concussion. You could say it was just bad luck since it took this combination for him to get hit on a backswing Tuesday: having a hitter in Alfonso Soriano with not just a long swing, but a 35-inch bat, one of the longest in the majors. Plus, d’Arnaud having to slide practically into the righty batter’s box to handle a darting, 97-mph Jeurys Familia sinker.
Also, d’Arnaud incurred the injury despite going to a hockey mask this year just to protect the sides of his head because he sets up closer to the hitter than most catchers.
However, d’Arnaud, 25, was persistently injured in the minors, as well, and when I asked Collins if there were just some players who have the injury bug, the manager said, “Unfortunately, there are guys who just get hurt.”
D’Arnaud is going to have to show he does not fall into that subset.
Meanwhile, the Mets continue to believe Syndergaard is a top-of-the-rotation piece in training. The Mets — despite their protest to the contrary — probably were not ready to bring the righty up yet so as to avoid making him Super-2 eligible for arbitration. However, he also did not outpitch Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom at Triple-A, making it easier for the Mets brass to bring up that duo to finish the Subway Series.
Syndergaard, just 21, just needs “polish,” according to Warthen, and a scout who saw Syndergaard recently said, “Every fastball was 97-98 (mph) with a good change and curve. There was too much good contact for that stuff, but I think it is just a matter of more experience will mean a better pitcher.”
So the Mets wait and hope, just like with d’Arnaud and Wheeler, that they really did obtain a trio of cornerstones.
Hardball quiz
Which five Mets have the most plate appearances ever in the Subway Series against the Yankees? (Answer below)
How hamstring injury saved Teixeira’s power stroke
Mark Teixeira came off the DL on April 20, and, at that point, who could have foreseen much? Teixeira’s performance had been in steady decline in recent years, even before his devastating wrist injury last season. There were few signs in spring or before his hamstring injury that matters would improve much.
But since his return he has eight homers, and only White Sox rookie sensation Jose Abreu (15) and Baltimore’s Nelson Cruz (12) have more. And the switch-hitter says now, “One hundred percent, the best thing that happened to me was going on the DL. My wrist was tired and sore, and I didn’t swing the bat for a week.”
The rest brought renewed vitality in the wrist and a decision by Teixeira to ignore his history and swing a lot less during game prep. For example, he did not take batting practice on the field before the Subway finale.
“I really have learned that sometimes less is more,” Teixeira said.
Tigers were after Solarte before Kinsler trade
It is going to be interesting to see who, over time, gets the best of the Nov. 20 trade of Ian Kinsler from Texas to Detroit for Prince Fielder. But one early winner is … the Yankees.
Yangervis Solarte’s agent, Peter Greenberg, said Tigers assistant GM Al Avila was a longtime fan of Solarte and had tried to sign him as a minor league free agent after both the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Both times the switch-hitter went with the Rangers.
Now, with second base open because Omar Infante was leaving as a free agent, Detroit again wanted Solarte and was saying he would have a chance at the second base job. As a player who had spent eight years in the minors and was consistently — in Greenberg’s words — “the 41st man” in a sport of 40-man rosters, Solarte wanted to see a road to make a team and perhaps start.
But then Detroit obtained Kinsler. The Yanks were aggressive from the outset. They often have trouble convincing minor league free agents to sign with them because those players believe in the organization’s rep to go with stars over unknowns. The Yanks try to use money as a lure, and Greenberg said the $22,000 a month was the most any of his minor league clients ever had been offered, plus the Yankees were willing to guarantee three months of that contract.
And that is how what hitting coach Kevin Long calls “a great story” began. Solarte signed with the Yankees, made the team with a strong spring and hasn’t stopped hitting. Solarte, who went 0-for-4 but is hitting .325, went into the Subway finale leading the AL in hitting at .336. He also leads the Yankees in RBIs with 23. It may turn out to be a fluke, but as Brian Roberts said, “it’s not easy to hit (.336) in the major leagues for two months.”
Quiz answer
David Wright, Jose Reyes, Mike Piazza, Carlos Beltran, Edgardo Alfonzo.