The Mets still don't have much of an outfield and I just don't know if I care. I don't know if I am confident Sandy Alderson will make some move, any move, before or during Spring Training. I don't know if I've convinced myself that any success this year will be considered overachieving no matter what the outfield looks like. I don't know if any move will matter or change my point of view.
Sandy Alderson has stuck to his plan of building the farm system and acquiring players through trades. He hasn't given out big contracts and has stuck to signing veterans to short-term deals. His sights are set on fielding a strong team in 2014. But it is starting to feel like that has stopped him from taking 2013 seriously.
By no means are the Mets one or two acquisitions or signings away from being a contender in 2013. Their bullpen is still up in the air, they just traded 2012's best starting pitcher, and their outfield is as close to non-existent as it can get. Yet they feel so close to success that not making small acquisitions seems to signify they really are punting the upcoming season. Despite the pitching departures they have enough bullpen arms for some Spring Training competition and they have enough starters for a rotation. That elusive outfielder is all of sudden what's holding them back.
However, this team is really more than an outfielder away from being big in 2013. Matt Harvey has half a season of MLB experience while Zack Wheeler and Travis d'Arnaud have yet to make their big league debuts. Three essential pieces of the future still need time to adjust and prove themselves and that's not going to happen immediately.
So maybe it isn't that I'm simply being patient or indifferent. Maybe it's that I'm beginning to understand what Sandy Alderson is working with.
Let's Go Mets!
Sandy Alderson has stuck to his plan of building the farm system and acquiring players through trades. He hasn't given out big contracts and has stuck to signing veterans to short-term deals. His sights are set on fielding a strong team in 2014. But it is starting to feel like that has stopped him from taking 2013 seriously.
By no means are the Mets one or two acquisitions or signings away from being a contender in 2013. Their bullpen is still up in the air, they just traded 2012's best starting pitcher, and their outfield is as close to non-existent as it can get. Yet they feel so close to success that not making small acquisitions seems to signify they really are punting the upcoming season. Despite the pitching departures they have enough bullpen arms for some Spring Training competition and they have enough starters for a rotation. That elusive outfielder is all of sudden what's holding them back.
However, this team is really more than an outfielder away from being big in 2013. Matt Harvey has half a season of MLB experience while Zack Wheeler and Travis d'Arnaud have yet to make their big league debuts. Three essential pieces of the future still need time to adjust and prove themselves and that's not going to happen immediately.
So maybe it isn't that I'm simply being patient or indifferent. Maybe it's that I'm beginning to understand what Sandy Alderson is working with.
Let's Go Mets!
3 comments:
I'd love to be patient, but it seems like target for having a good team keeps moving back every year.
After three years of watching the Mets finish the year with a worse record than the year before, I think it's fair to start asking when we're going to see some visible signs of progress at the major league level.
Very fair point. With a full season of Wheeler in the system and d'Arnaud around now though it seems like there is more progress in the minors than there was before. And the fact that they're both so close to contributing in the MLB has me hopeful that there will be major league progress soon.
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