It may not feel like it at times, but Sandy Alderson is hearing the Mets fans pleas and cries, and making an effort to correct what isn’t working. The firing of hitting coach Dave Hudgens after Monday night’s loss to the Pirates is a signal that failure will not be tolerated, even at the highest levels. Judging by Terry Collins’ heated reactions during the post-game interview, that message might have been received by everyone in the organization. That’s not saying Terry Collins is on the hot seat, as he was signed to a two-year deal prior to the 2014 season. However, Collins probably isn’t too comfortable right now either.
There are many Mets fans who will say that Collins and maybe even Alderson himself need to go. That is an over-reaction, but it is one fans are entitled to. Baseball is the longest, most arduous of any sport played professionally. Alderson knows this, which is why he gave guys like Jose Valverde and Kyle Farnsworth decent runs in the bullpen. Both proved useful at times when the bullpen was in flux, and when both proved that they were not going to be a part of the team’s future success, Alderson let them go. It may seem slightly cruel, but that’s the nature of the game. If you want to win, you have to have the best players.
Some will also say that the bullpen mess has been Alderson’s fault for a while now, so this latest appeasement of letting Valverde go may not be enough. Why were he and Farnsworth signed in the first place? Because like it or not this is a team that’s still fully entrenched in transition mode. The proclamation of a 90-win season was one Alderson probably reluctantly made. He knows this team’s fanbase is foaming at the mouth over the organization’s long list of faults over the past decade, and he’s trying to correct as he goes. That’s why Hudgens has been let go, why the bullpen has been a fluid stream of young arms replacing older or ineffective ones, and why Ruben Tejada, Scott Rice and maybe even Chris Young are on tight leashes at the moment. It’s because Alderson is fed up too.
Whether anyone in the Mets organization wants to admit it publicly or not, Alderson is on a tight budget. If this team was 28-22, rather than vice versa, the coffers might be looser for the Mets’ GM. As it stands though, this is a team of young prospects all vying for positions left vacate by veterans. The next few months will most likely continue in this fashion. Few players will be safe, either because salary dictates they play every day, or because their numbers demand it. That’s why Juan Lagares most likely won’t see another stint on the bench, unless he was to catastrophically lose his swing. It’s also why Lucas Duda better start showing why the Mets picked him over Ike Davis to play first.
There are a myriad of questions left on this team. Shortstop, catcher, first base, left field and the bullpen are all areas that need addressing. Firing Dave Hudgens won’t fix all these problems. Vic Black is a welcome sight in the bullpen, but fans should be realistic about his impact. He had a stretch of six walks in 3.3 innings as recently as last week in Las Vegas. Travis d’Arnaud is coming back from a concussion so his progress will be even slower than it had been this season. Chris Young will be in the outfield full-time while Eric Young, Jr. is out with a hamstring injury, so he will have to make the most of this time and prove he can help this team win. Similarly, Tejada and Duda will either fulfill their roles, or be replaced with someone who can.
That’s the state of things on the 2014 Mets. It’s put up or shut up time. Hudgens didn’t put up, but he also didn’t shut up on his way out the door. If anyone wants to follow his lead, they are welcome to. There’s always someone else who’s willing to take over and do your job better. You know it. Alderson knows it. And after last night, it’s pretty clear everyone on the Mets knows it.
Patrick how can Alderson be fed up? Who’s he fed up with? Himself? He signed the players you mentioned. He cut Farnsworth so he wouldn’t have to pay him. You don’t think word get’s around in this league? Can you stop with the wishful thinking? There is no more money in this years budget. Which by the way is 9 million less than last year. What Hudgens said was a disgrace. Don’t you think it would of been a wiser investment had the Mets resigned Hawkins instead of the two reclamation projects you mentioned in your article?
Yeah – seems like we could have kept Hawkins over Valverde, and Byrd over Chris Young for the same amount of money and probably had another win or 2 so far.
The only way to fix this mess is to ban the wilpons from ownership….Period.
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Sorry,.didn’t know….
I’m sure Sandy didn’t fire Huggens, it was the owners. They are probably sick for the terrible play. Being at the bottom of the league in every hitting category. Wasting money on decisions like Chris Young. But the Wilpon’s see the empty seats. That’s what forced the move. Hopefully, Terry and Sandy are next
Why on earth would you be rooting for the Wilpons to regain control, seeing as their incompetence is what forced their lenders to install this management group in the first place?
Alderson can’t be held blameless for the Wilpons’ miserly approach to ownership, because he got the job by telling them what they wanted to hear: “I can field a winning, contending team on a low budget”. Music to their ears! Problem is, money-ball doesn’t work any more — the salaries have inflated too much since then. (Thank you Yankees and Dodgers.) Even mediocre players cost a fortune — you might as well sign a star, they don’t cost that much more than the mediocre ones. Look at the arson squad he signs to be his bullpen every year — consistently atrocious, guys nobody else wanted, for obvious reasons. There’s a time when a reasonable person concedes that his or her plan doesn’t work. If Alderson was in touch with reality, he’d admit to himself and to the Wilpons that he can’t field a winning team on a budget like that (unless he had a really productive minor league system, which he doesn’t). Man up, Sandy!!! Go in to the office and tell them: “I thought I could, but I was wrong. Times have changed.”
I felt really good after last night. I was at first disgusted to the point that I told my wife I just couldn’t watch the games anymore. However, when I heard that Valverde had (finally!) been released and that Dave Hudgins had been fired, I was vastly relieved. Hudgins is reportedly a really good guy but the Mets lack of production couldn’t be tolerated any longer. A message needed to be sent.
Yes, there’s more to be done. Young isn’t “owed” any more at bats as Sandy had reportedly promised him. “Soup” has been a revelation. Play him. That might take care of LF.
We need to have patience with Flores and Lagares. The knock on Flores had been that he couldn’t field. Well, other than the mistake at second base the other evening, he’s been fine. Lagares’ knock had been that he couldn’t hit. We have a large enough sample now to know that he can produce at the plate.
Catcher? D’Arnold can’t be regarded as “injury-prone” given the types of injuries he has sustained. My bet is that he will continue to progress as a hitter and as a receiver.
Lucas Duda just doesn’t impress. He seems too timid at the plate. But where would a replacement come from? That’s obvious, Kendry Morales would instantly make the Mets lineup much more formidable. The Wilpons aren’t going to fill up the seats until they start spending more money.
We all agree that Lagares should play every day the rest of the year, to see what we’ve got. The two Youngs can’t hit at all, and the Grandyman is as washed up as the Yankees knew when they cut him loose without a second thought. He shouldn’t give up one at bat to them, much less to decrepit Bobby Abreu. Don’t worry, we’re all being patient with D’Arnaud — way to soon to sour on him. But Flores is no infielder, 500 at bats isn’t going to change that. As far as first base, I agree that we’ve seen the best of Duda already: if he plays every day he’ll hit 230-240 and 15-20 homers, field atrociously and hit into a ton of DPs. He’s just a pinch hitter, not a starter. But I wouldn’t spend a lot on the overpriced and overrated Kendry Morales. I’d move Murphy to first, even though he doesn’t hit for power. Neither did Keith Hernandez or Cecil Cooper. The second base experiment with Murphy has run its course: he does make routine plays but never makes an outstanding one, and forget about him turning an easy DP, it’s just not going to happen EVER. So at the very least we need two professional middle infielders who can field and hit at least presentably.
Yes, Murphy botched a routine throw the other day that opened the doors to a Mets loss. However, yesterday he also made a spectacular play. So, “never makes an outstanding one” just isn’t true. Murphy has established himself as an “average” second baseman so his being out there is the least of our problems.
Kendry Morales, a switch hitter, hit .277 last year with 27 homers. By no means is he “overpriced” given the explosion in salaries this year. If the Mets are to salvage anything out of this year, Morales, who would not cost a draft pick after next week, could be an ideal, if temporary, solution. Duda lacks the aggression needed to be a better hitter, so we agree on that.
Granderson’s splits for April/May are like night and day, by no means has he looked to be “washed up.”
The SNY guys are gushing about “decrepit” Bobby Abreu’s hitting. Abreu’s fielding leaves a lot to be desired and that’s why the SNY guys questioned TC’s failure to leave Chris Young in right for defensive purposes.
So, let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater just yet!
Doesn’t matter who the hitting coach. Have to get major league hitters for first base shortstop catcher and left field. Release Chris young. Put Eric Campbell on first.
Your right fire Warthen Collins Duda young and Tehada
I. Wish Duda would reach out for a throw….he will reach up but he’s not that adept at reaching out to get a runner by a half step.
I’d like to see consistency. Consistency builds a team.
I like Recker, I don’t know why we need two back up catchers.
I like Tejada, he hit .289 two years ago, he can get a rhythm
if he stays in all the time. I like EY Jr., and Legares and Granderson,
and I like Duda. They are all good ballplayers with potential.
Wright and Murphy go without saying.
I don’t like modern day platooning, I want to see players play
a lot of games, like Cal Ripken Jr. did. A whole lot of games.
Todays NY Times has an article about booing fans. Fans have too
many different players to boo, and are confused. If we’re going
to have another off season, I’d like to see it with players who
get enough play time to get a foothold on form. It’s early, if
they start playing all the time, maybe we’ll have an on season.
I made up nicknames for my own morale:
Lucas The Tower Duda
Double Daniel Murphy
Rue The Day You Hit It To Short Rueben Tejada
Righteous David Wright
Eric The Attitude Young
Juan The Glove Legares
Grand Curtis Granderson
Travis The Throw D’Arnaud
Anthony The Bat Wrecker Recker
I haven’t done the pitchers yet, still pondering.
Waiting for Noah. Noah The Arc Ball
Wow. Recker is a competent backup, that’s it. Tejada, Duda, C Young, and EY are not major league players. Well, I’ll amend that. EY is a competent 4th or 5th outfielder.
Tejada came up as a light hitting 2b with limited range.
As a SS his range is even worse, his arm is a minus, and his offense is what he has shown it to be.
He would be a good backup middle infielder on a good team that could tolerate his bat as a sub once a week or so.
They need to play Flores every day and see if it works.
Those guys are major league players. I guess you could check
their pay stubs.
Zack The Whippersnapper Wheeler
Methodical Jon Niese
Jacob de Hitter de Grom
Bartolo The Throne Colon
Josh Appears Again Edgin
Roll The Dice K Daisuke Matsuzaka
Lightning Vic Black
Familiar Jeurys Familia
Scott Twice Rice
Raphael The K Montero
Carlos The Wildcat Torres
Dillon Gee Whiz
Honorable Mention – Matthew The WHIP Hardball Harvey