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.
8 comments:
Hey Frank, Great post!
I think Angel Pagan draws a little undue ire. I truly believe he is better than Pridie and I think Evans should make the team anyway. I think the idea behind Pagan is that he's relatively SAFE.
If Pagan can get back to 2010 numbers then Alderson can either lock him in for the future OR... he'll have trade value.
I'd prefer keeping Pagan to Pelfrey. (Just throwing that out there.)
Agreed Phlavio,
I much rather keep Pagan than Pelfrey. However keeping both of them is prob the right idea this year. Hope they both perform well enough to be worth something on the market cause in 2013 Captain Kirk and the "next Generation" K 2.0 arrive from the starship Enterprise.
If Alderson doesn't do a major reconstruction this off-season, then he will have tipped his cards that he's a financial turnaround guy for the Wilpons and is simply looking to substantially reduce costs. This is his first opportunity to reshape the team. A new coat of paint and a new toilet will not make for a winner and the fans will see through the ruse.
I'm wondering if DenDekker will surpass Nieuwenhuis before Captain Kirk is ready for the majors.
I'd actually prefer keeping Pelfrey. If your going to take a risk, I rather know that at the very least i'll get 200 innings and some quality starts. Who knows, there shouldn't be much pressure on the big guy and he just might turn out a great first half, making his trade value increase aswell. Pagan is a player that although "safe", highly overrated. I'd rather watch Den Dekker struggle all year, then watch Pagan mope around all season making bonehead plays. And yes, I know Den D is no where near ready for the job, I just would like to see the Mets part ways with Pagan that much.
I doubt it Phalvio. Den Dekker will probably start 2012 in Binghamton's CF with Kirk in Buffalo's CF. The upper level teams are going to start getting really crowded as some of our better talent finally makes its way up. As much crap as Minaya got for depleting our upper level farm teams, he did a really good job stacking the lower levels and we should see those pan out within the next 2 years. I'm currently working on a post related to all this so stay tuned.
where do I start...
1. re: Sandy... he's off the hook in 2012 due to the old contracts... he can hide behind them.
I don't expect him to be around with the Mets in 2013. He will be the next Commish...
J.P. Podesa will most probably take over and build the 2013 team around a $70-75mil payoll
Don't ask...
Re: Pagan - FA monies are already getting crazy out there... LAD just signed some Colorado IFer the Mets were offerring $1mil a year... $9mil over 2-yrs. Kemp is now gone so the pool will be much smaller in 2013. Plus, the Mets will not have any money to compete that year either... no, keep what you know you got
Re: Pelfrey: they need him for one more year
Re: Pridie - should never have been in Queens
Re: Kirk - I have no read on his rehab and no beat writers/mets people are talking to me today... go figure
Frank- the only reason they sent both players on waivers is due to the need for roster space on the 40 prior to the draft. They have a lot of young players to protect, and Sandy must have gotten the sense that neither Pridie nor Evans would be claimed. GMs often work in tandem on things like this (I won't take your few guys, you don't take mine), not that this always works, but it did in this instance. I'm sure at least Evans will be on the 25 man when Spring Trng breaks next year...and Sandy has even more room to keep players and draft some, too...
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