Call it remodeling, Mets not showing clear direction

The term "rebuilding" is thrown around a lot in sports. It basically means a team that is ripping their entire roster apart and starting from scratch. The Florida (now Miami) Marlins did it twice. They won two World Series titles as a result. The Texas Rangers did it. They reached the World Series in consecutive years.

The term does not really apply to the New York Mets, though. They still have many of their players coming back. Out of their 25 man roster, only seven of the players are free agents. They still have the majority of their starting rotation returning (insert sarcasm here) and their corner infielders and corner outfielders are still intact.

Behind the plate, they still have Josh Thole (again, insert sarcasm of choice). The bullpen is hurting though with no immediate closer in sight. The team is not starting from the rubble.

This team is more like the show "Flip this house". For those who are not familiar with it, that series showcases contractors that buy dilapidated houses for very low cost and put a small amount of effort into making the house look appealing. They add siding, cabinets, paint, etc. The major trouble is that they rarely ever work on the essentials within the foundation.

Things like the electric, the roof, the septic and the plumbing all go untouched. What's left is a pretty house that they sucker some schmuck into buying that is ready to completely fall apart after the camera crews leave. That's the Mets right now. They are trying to wrap a pretty bow on the ugly mess that is the state of this franchise.

The trouble to that is the players they still have invested in are broken down. The team needs an injection of youth and a changing of the foundation. Reports are pointing to the team holding onto players like Angel Pagan and taking a risk at losing players like Nick Evans and Jason Pridie.

Moves like this are head scratching. On one hand the team has repeatedly stated they are cutting back on payroll. The idea is to get younger and cheaper. So they plan to tender a contract of a 30 year old outfielder who obviously has played more like himself last year than he did in his career year of 2010. Meanwhile, they demote Evans (25) and Pridie (28) at the risk of them entering free agency.

What sense does that make? Both of them can play multiple outfield positions and Evans can play the corner infield spots as well. Pagan is not the answer for the Mets at centerfield. His speed is on the decline as well as his bat. He will certainly not be the answer at leadoff should Jose Reyes depart. So if they want to get younger but keep Pagan, the direction is a bit fuzzy.

If this were a house being remodeled, the blueprint would have been erased and rewritten a dozen times by now. They need to show a clearer direction. If they are trying to save money, do it. Don't tender contracts of overrated 30 year old outfielders. Rather, they need to cut ties with the old ball and chain type of contracts.

Otherwise, they will be so confused the house will backwards. They need to show their plans openly in a start from scratch type of way, not a behind the scenes and in secret remodeling process.

Instead of trying to "flip this team", the Mets and Sandy Alderson need to try to rebuild them from the ground up. That's the only way they will return to prominence. If that is indeed the goal, the design team is a bit off so far.