6/9/13

The LTJ Editorial: “Sometimes one man can make the difference”

“The LTJ Editorial”
Author: Luis Tirado Jr.
Date: 6-9-13
Twitter: @LTJ81
Website: http://www.thenyexpress.com 

“Sometimes one man can make the difference”

It seems as if it were yesterday that the NY Mets made a bold statement that things were going in the right direction after sweeping the NY Yankees. Everyone thought the team figured out their problems and we could finally start getting some winning streaks under our belt. We then fly to the Sunshine State of Florida and get reality smacked right in our face with such a force that it’s sickening.

We got swept by the worst team in all of professional baseball. It’s downright embarrassing how we came close to win these games but lost horribly. The morale of the team is at such a low, I wonder how long these guys can go until someone steps up and starts to get mad. Someone who says enough is enough and starts holding people accountable to their actions and cause people to give it their all instead of looking confused. As a fan, it’s very frustrating seeing these guys make extremely silly mistakes or miscues and then look like a child lost in the night afterwards. I know David Wright is our Captain and while I won’t disparage his amazing athletic abilities, is he truly lighting a fire under these guys to stop the mistakes and play focused? Personally, I haven’t seen it on the field. I’m sure behind the cameras he is acting the role, but I think it needs to be seen in front of our eyes too.

I’ve always been a firm believer that one man can indeed change a team around. Someone that is so good at what he does, he just naturally makes everyone around him better. We all know Matt Harvey has had too many no decisions because for one reason or another, he doesn’t have all the backup needed to end with a win. Whether it’s poor hitting (or lack thereof), bad relief pitching, or just a come from behind victory by the opposition, he’s still 5-0 for the season. Perhaps what we need is another ace at our rotation to really give us a boost. After all, if you have superb pitching, everything else becomes easier when you’re playing defense. Eventually players will get their hits with enough at-bats on offense and maybe that one player who comes in to bring the organization hope. I can think of one player who might be that one catalyst to just have some kind of fresh air in the place. He will finally get his start against the Atlanta Braves on Monday, June 17th 2013, the very team he grew up idolizing.

Zack Wheeler will get that very important phone call within the next few days to be called up to the majors to be our next starter in our rotation. This will very well be one of the few things us Mets fans can get excited about. Maybe when he gets called up we can ship some current players down to the minors? If it were up to me, if we’re bringing in Wheeler to start making a difference in this organization, why not give other young prospects the opportunity to start a revolution on this team? Inject some youth, some talent, and some excitement into key positions we are blatantly struggling in. I’d send down Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada, Lucas Duda, and Shaun Marcum in a heartbeat. They just aren’t getting the job done and I know I’m not the only fan to feel that way.

If we bring in Wheeler and a nice core of young players up before this very important five game set against the Braves, we can finally get a better chance to win. Despite a few games, we’ve been in most of them competitively. What do we have to lose really? The guys we have now just seem so lifeless and out of it that surely a demotion will wake them up. We all get to see a nice glimpse of our potential future, all while letting Wheeler tear things up alongside Harvey. Could this be that one-two punch we need to swing this season around to be at least above .500 in our standings? Only time can tell but I sure can’t wait to see the difference Wheeler will make the moment he steps foot on his first ever Major League Baseball mound…….

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