Mets fans must feel, justifiably, like they are occupying the slowest waiting room in the history of time.
Now here’s the reality for those fans, as we arrive at the July 4 milepost of this 2014 season: You can leave and give up your spot in the room, or you can keep hanging in there. But you shouldn’t expect any sudden, seismic changes to ease your pain.
The Mets will stay the course through what has become yet another slog of a campaign, on track for a sixth straight year under .500, and that’s the right call. For as aggravated as the team’s masochistic loyalists must be, particularly after watching Terry Collins’ group go 1-6 on its road swing through Pittsburgh and Atlanta, to blow up the greater plan now would only prolong the pain.
This isn’t a payroll discussion, as the Mets return home for the holiday and open a series with the lowly Rangers on Friday night at Citi Field. Of course the payroll should be higher. Instead, this is about the Mets sticking with what got them here, even if “here” isn’t very pretty at the moment, and not dramatically renovating their baseball operations less than four years since last doing so.
Collins is in no imminent danger of being dismissed as the team’s manager, and it’s a safe bet general manager Sandy Alderson will have his team option picked up for 2015. The Mets are pleased with their macro development, no matter how brutal the micro has looked.
Alderson probably displeased some of the fiercer Romans in the Colosseum when he boasted of the team’s encouraging run differential to CBSsports.com. After all, the fact the Mets have scored 328 runs and allowed 334 doesn’t make their 37-48 record any less terrible.
So try looking at it this way: How many of these Mets are outright busts? I count just one — Chris Young. David Wright has underachieved but was surging before his left shoulder injury sidelined him; he’s expected back in the team’s lineup Friday. Otherwise among everyday players, Daniel Murphy, Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada and Juan Lagares have matched or exceeded projections while rookie Travis d’Arnaud has hit much better (.300/.344/.467) since returning from Triple-A Las Vegas.
In the starting rotation, Zack Wheeler has been inconsistent yet has displayed flashes of his upside, while his fellow youngster Jacob deGrom has to be considered a viable guy going forward. Jon Niese merits All-Star Game consideration, and Bartolo Colon has blended four “Take one for the team” bad outings with 12 that range from decent to excellent.
And the bullpen, after years of Alderson trying to solve it, has largely turned into a non-issue with the arrivals of Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia and Vic Black. The Mets’ 3.16 bullpen ERA ranked fifth in the National League (thanks, Elias Sports Bureau) entering Thursday’s action. With the bullpen considerably upgraded, the main culprit in the team’s underperformance is clearly the inability to hit with runners in scoring position. The Mets’ situational slash line of .228/.321/.361 placed them 11th, ninth and ninth, respectively, in the NL.
The shortage of outright sinkholes on their roster — as opposed to the Yankees, who are paying $36 million for the three-headed sinkhole of Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann and Alfonso Soriano — leads to their encouraging run differential.
What the Mets need most of all is hitters with higher upsides. As a talent evaluator from another NL team opined of the Mets, on the condition of anonymity: “It’s a team offensively that is lacking in stars. You could easily make the argument they are below average [offensively] at catcher, first base, shortstop, left field, and center field.”
They hope some help will come from inside, and they’ve enjoyed a successful half-year on the minor-league side — 2011 first-round pick outfielder Brandon Nimmo (from Class A St. Lucie to Double-A Binghamton) and his 2012 equivalent shortstop Gavin Cecchini (from Class A Savannah to St. Lucie) earned promotions, and 2013 top pick first baseman Dominic Smith has shown off strong on-base skills and a good glove at Savannah. Catcher Kevin Plawecki climbed from Binghamton to Triple-A Las Vegas, as did middle infielder Matt Reynolds.
To accrue more talent, Colon likely will be available in a trade, and the Mets would have to consider dealing Murphy, given that he can be a free agent after next year. And yes, again, the Mets absolutely have to increase their payroll in order to be perennial contenders.
To fire people at this juncture, however? It would be like turning off the air conditioning in that waiting room: More pain, no more gain. Staying the course doesn’t make anyone feel better at times like these. Yet it’s the best move.