Ernest Dove - Should Mets Fans Expect the Unexpected (success) in the Second Half?

  What should the Mets, and their fans, expect out of the second half of the season?  Bartolo Colon, Dice K, and possibly Daniel Murphy (among others), may or may not be on the trading block.  The front office may or may not be considering trading away some of the organizations top prospects, for a SS or LF upgrade.  Noah Syndergaard and/or Rafael Montero may or may not be joining the starting rotation before the year is out.  So, where do we start?

  First, lets talk about first (base).  Lucas Duda, the man, the myth, the bust, the savior??? (at least until Dominic Smith makes his major league début). Lucas Duda has gone from emotional mess, to clutch cleanup hitter, in a very short time period.  Like him not, Lucas has been hitting, hitting hard, walking still, and did I mention hitting really hard?

  Lucas also seemingly continues to follow the organizations hitting philosophy.  He stays away from a lot of bad pitches, and he absolutely mashes the balls that end up in his hitting zone, when teams are forced to pitch to him. In my opinion, Lucas Duda can help this team climb above .500 in the second half of the season.

  Second, lets talk about second (base).  Apparently, this position has become the latest hot spot for the Mets decision makers (and social media).  The question is, what to do with Daniel Murphy.  The ONLY all star representative. Also, one of a few players on this 25 man roster who may be due up to an 8 figure contract for next season.

  Now, understand the mathematics here.  I understand the concept of money, and, like it or not, current ownership does not have an unlimited income they are willing to spend here.  Now, I guess there are options.  Maybe the Mets can flip Murphy into an upgrade at SS or LF.  Or, maybe the Mets can simply wait till the offseason, obviously never pay Chris Young again, and use that $7+ mil towards increasing Murphy's salary for next season.

  In my opinion, again, Daniel Murphy is a guy you can also seemingly expect to continue his ongoing success, and contribute to a possible above .500 ball club.

  Thirdly....... wait for it...... Lets talk about third.  The captain is not having a spectacular season.  However, he remains the leader of this franchise.  He also continues to hit doubles, put together some hot streaks, and help lead this team.  Face it folks, David Wright is OUR Derek Jeter. He will be with this organization until he retires, and for the remainder of this season, he will only help this team succeed.

  Regarding SS, well............ Let the ongoing debate begin.  What to do with Ruben Terada?  Also, and maybe more importantly (depending on who you ask) what to do with Wilmer Flores.  Well, here are the facts.  Ruben Tejada appears to be getting back to being the guy the front office wanted him t be.  He's making contact again; he's pretty much going back to playing solid D, and he continues to make contact, with limited strikeouts, which can be really key to an 8th hitter in a lineup (I'm ignoring the random pitcher hitting 8th thing with this team).

  Regarding the enigma that is Wilmer.  Well, he can hit......... for power.  He has driven in runs in this league (as much as 4 at one time against Chicago).  He also plays somewhat adequate defense (last I checked, speaking of shortstop, there is young man out committing errors on the regular, yet making 8 figures to do it, because of his offensive ability.

  In the end, be it Tejada, or Wilmer, I think this position in 2014 can be adequate, when it comes to possible positive remaining season expectations.

  Then there is the outfield.  Remember when Grandy was hated by most of Mets universe?  Well, looks like many haters have abandoned that negative train, and now have hailed the $15mil man as the best leadoff option, and one of the teams hottest hitters right now.  Expect more homers, adequate battles against lefty pitching, and maybe a couple more leadoff homers.

  In center field, can we please end the debate for good (at least when it comes to 2014).  The position belongs to Juan man here (see what I did there?).  Last time I checked, the man who 'couldn't consistently hit major league pitching' appears to be hitting major league pitching.  As far as I'm concerned, Juan Lagares is the everyday center fielder, and more singles, doubles, and highlight reel defensive plays can only help in the second half.

  Then there's left field.............sooooooo, uhhhhhhhh, anyway, long story short, I'm quietly wishing the Mets would quietly start platooning the revived Kirk, and Soup. One has power and solid D, the other makes contact and destroys lefty pitching.  They can help this years win total.

  Regarding pitching, I think stability (and health) remain the keys to a successful second half.  If you ask me, I would exactly throw my phone against a wall if I soon read that Bartolo Colon was traded.  Believe me, I'm extremely satisfied with the man who consistently goes 7+ innings every 5 days, and 'mostly' gives this team a chance to win ever game he starts.  But, on the other hand (see above financial comment about ownership), the Mets can probably make better use of next years $11 mil on other players, or simply to help keep certain players (see Murphy comments).

  After that, switching out guys like Dice K for Hefner, or Colon for Dice K, or for either Thor or Montero, will no necessarily hurt this teams 2014 get-to-.500 expectations.

  Regarding the bullpen, well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  Say what you want about the teams organizational depth, but the current bullpen looks just fine to me.  If they want to go younger, then, by all means, dump/trade Eveland and give a young fireballer a chance. Again, another Dice K mention here...... he can stay or go, and my allegiance certainly remained with my team.  Torres remains my long relief guy of choice, unless Hefner absolutely amazes immediately, and some team offers a top 15 prospect for Torres services. But, again, don't touch....... use caution....... pray for health.

  As for our top prospect catcher........ well he's now hitting like one.    Keep running him out there. Let him continue to steal strikes with his fancy mitt work, hit more doubles, hit for average, and then maybe look over his shoulder, come September, when Plawecki gets a few at bats.

Well, I guess here is my point.  This team is NOT winning 90 games this year.  However, you cant tell me that 81 is out of the question.  They just won 8 out of 10, including beating up of the hated Braves.  And, well, they start the second half against the Padres of all teams.  I would hope for a series win to start things off here. 

  Maybe I'm wrong, but success should not be out of the question right now.  So, I say expect the unexpected.  I say, expect more wins than losses in the second.  I say, expect more enjoyable than non enjoyable games Mets fans.......................LGM