Mack Ade – Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Last night was fun. Mets vs. Stankies. Home game.Doc Gooden behind home plate. Only thing missing was Mike Piazza, Roger Clemens, and half a baseball bat.

The only thing better than a three game winning streak is a four game winning streak. It will be fantastic if it happens but the fact still remains that the heroics are going to have to be accomplished by a handful of people. David Wright, Bobby Parnell, Matt Harvey, Jon Niese, Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner, Latroy Hawkins, Scott Rice, and (barely) Lucas Duda are pulling their weight. Each executes a different duty and some earn their status with a below four ERA while another has hit nine home runs and had the walk-off last night and has hit safely in 11 of the last 12 games.

But we’re talking nine ballplayers and the squad consists of 25. Sure, there are key areas lacking of seasoned talent (outfield), but it’s the everyday players that holding this team down. The lineup is over by the fifth batter and the rotation is two deep. No one expect a miracle here, but I would like to see an administration that would execute… well… SOMETHING, rather than sit on their hands and wait for Wright or Murphy to get up again.

This isn’t rocket science:

-Demote SS Ruben Tejada and replace him with Omar Quintanilla. Tejada deserves the demotion for a myriad amount of reasons and he seems unconcerned with the piss pour results of both his inefficiencies both on the field and in the box. Quint is on fire in Vegas and deserves the job, probably for the rest of the season.

-Demote 1B Ike Davis. This is far past the embarrassing stage. I hope TC got to hear the TV guys on ESPN last night when he was thrown out of the game. No one hits anything if your hands are below your waist. Now, he has a new swing every night. What’s next, batting him 9^th in the order? If you have any desire to reclamate (that’s not a word, is it?)this project, get him out of here pronto.

-Move Lucas Duda to 1B. I really don’t care what shape the outfield is in right now. I need Duda concentrating on his bat, not whether or not he’s going to trip on one of his own legs. Put him back on his natural position and let the boy bat. You’ll get 30 home runs out of him and at least three more game winners if you do this, plus the team will have a legitimate 3-4-5 for the rest of the season.

-Promote SP Zack Wheeler now. I don’t care about two more starts. I have contacts on this team and in that city. I know he’s ready. Zack knows he’s ready. His personality is made for this situation and he’s love to try and help to turn this around… this year. You get him in the rotation and, all of a sudden, you are three deep with talent. Everything changes overnight. Do it now.

-Promote Kirk Nieuwenhuis from Vegas. He’s on a home run tear right now and, though he’s far from proving he’s a major leaguer, he deserves a chance to prove he should b around here. Slot him into left field where he can defensively shine. Both he and Mike Baxter in the outfield will at least not lose you many games defensively.

-Bump the minors. The hell with their chance to play in the AAA all-star game. Promote Cory Harper, Rafael Montero, Jack Leathersich, Jeff Walters, Adam Kolarek, and Cesar Puello to AAA. This is your next wave and some of these guys could help in August and September if this team was still in the race.

Is everything I am calling for the answer to this team’s problems? Probably not, but decisions were made and that’s a lot more than is currently coming out of Roosevelt Avenue.