Craig Mitchell -- 2014 Mets -- All Pitch, No Hit

While most Met fans are calling for action, very little is happening on the field. The 2014 Mets have been hovering near the .500 mark all season. Not good enough to be a contender and not bad enough to leave Citi Field totally barren.  But one thing’s for sure, since the All Star break the Mets offense has shriveled up and disappeared. 

I can’t even blame Terry Collins for this one. Back in June the Mets fired their hitting coach and brought in Lamar Johnson.  It seemed to work. Prior to the All-star game the Mets went on an 8-2 tear and things looked to finally be gelling in the right direction. For those 10 games was saw a nice marriage of timely hitting, power and terrific starting pitching and a solid bullpen. The pitching and bullpen pretty much have continued to impress, but the hitting has gone ice cold.

With the exception of Lucas Duda and Daniel Murphy the Mets bats have been very quiet. Duda has enjoyed a breakout season and has been reasonably consistent and is providing the power and RBI production at 1^st base they’ve been hoping for. Murphy has downright been excellent the entire season. He was the Mets sole representative at the in Minnesota at the all-star game and has done everything asked of him. As for the rest of the Mets?

David Wright – The Captain his having his most disappointing season since 2009. The questions have been asked: Is he starting to decline? Is he hurt? Is he not protected in the line-up? No one knows for sure, but whatever the reason .271 8 homers and 56 RBI in the 3 ^rd spot isn't going to do it. 

Curtis Granderson – Granderson had an absolutely HORRID April. Calls of “Grander-Bay” rung out all over Citi Field and the web, and Granderson was performing like another free agent bust. But then through May and June he got hot and showed all of Flushing why he was signed. He hit with power and drove in runs and got on base. But then July came….and he has struggled ever since.  .221 15 homers and 47 RBI isn’t nearly worth the price tag he demanded on the market. Granderson even cleared waivers earlier in August. I can see why.

Travis d’Arnaud – I almost included d’Arnaud with Duda and Murphy as a positive.  It’s been a tale of two seasons for d’Arnaud. His .180 hitting struggling doubtful start to the season, or the rocket hitting consistent power source he’s been since.  I have to list him as a negative, because, for better or for worse he still has some to prove. However, I get the feeling that Travis is going to fulfill his promise and be the star the Mets thought he was.

Juan Lagares – Lagares has improved a lot since 2013. But he still has some ways to go. He’s batting a decent .272 with 2 homers and 34 RBI…but with just 14 walks and a .314 OBP he’s relegated to the bottom of the order. With his speed and his contact ratio, if he could just get his walks up he would be a decent lead off guy or perfect for the two slot.

Left Field – Left field has been the no-man’s land for the Mets in 2014. No one who’s been plugged in has distinguished themselves.  It’s still too early to call on Matt den Dekker, but so far Chris Young, Eric Young Jr., Kirk Nieuwenhuis , Bobby Abreu and Eric Campbell have all given it a whirl.  I think it’s too early to call on den Dekker he has actually showed some life at the plate but is still a work in progress and I suspect for him to really flourish he need to lead off.  But where to bat Curtis Granderson? Batting Granderson 7^th in the order would be admitting that he is NOT the player they thought he was. My thought is…DO it…light a fire under his butt. But it won’t’ happen. Additionally the Mets only see Campbell as a bench player; otherwise he might produce as an everyday player in left as well.

Shortstop – Ruben Tejada was and is not the answer.  But his fielding was above average and He does have the 2^nd highest OBP on the team.  Enter Wilmer Flores. Finally given a shot to impress, he has shown decent fielding ability (he certainly hasn't hurt the team) but his bat is lagging. There’s still nearly 40 games left, perhaps he’ll finally break out and show us the bat that was lighting up AAA. Otherwise a deal must be made for this team to show any improvement in 2015.

As I said earlier as much as I’d like to blame Terry Collins for the Mets hitting lull. I can’t.  Collins doesn't go on the field and play; he’s not the one looking at third strikes or popping out to short with runners on.  Is it Lamar Johnson fault? He looked like a genius when he first started. The Mets instantly got more aggressiveand it was paying off.  Whether it’s his fault or not, if the Mets don’t start hitting, Lamar more than likely not be invited back in 2015. I can’t even blame Sandy Alderson. I, for one, am glad he didn’t mortgage the farm for Troy Tulowitzki or Carlos Gonzales, both of whom are since out for the season. I will go so far as to say I hope that they NEVER come to Flushing. The splits and the injury tendencies on both of them point towards them being huge disappointments.

I don’t claim to have the answers. I just can clearly see the problem. The Mets have to hit. They have a pitching staff that can carry them far into the playoffs, and the pitching is only going to get better.  If 2015 is going to be “the year” the Mets finally get competitive…..the answer is clear on what has to change.