Reese Kaplan -- Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' on the River

First of all, take a deep breath and remind yourself that last night was just one game.  Also remind yourself that in addition to not being able to hit or field, Jose Reyes has now demonstrated he can't pitch either.  Yet he's still here...

Now onto your regularly scheduled whining...in your frustration, hostility and disgust with the ongoing inertia of the trading deadline period that's come and gone, it's time to ask yourselves a question.  When was the last time the Mets made a trade that was not about saving money?  I’ll give you a minute to ponder that…

During the current reign of terror from the front office post-Minaya, there was the salary dump of Carlos Beltran, the salary dump of R.A. Dickey, the salary dump of Curtis Granderson, the salary dump of Addison Reed, the salary dump of Neil Walker, the salary dump of Lucas Duda, the salary dump of Jeurys Familia, the salary dump of Asdrubal Cabrera, the salary dump of Jay Bruce (first time), the departure of Daniel Murphy, the departure of Tyler Clippard, the salary dump of Ike Davis, the salary dump (and PR disaster) of Frankie Rodriguez, the salary dump of Marlon Byrd and John Buck, and some would say even the departure of Justin Turner was financially motivated.

Try as I might, it’s hard to come up with times when trades were made about improving the club rather than saving money.  There is, of course, the Michael Fulmer to Detroit for Yoenis Cespedes move.  Kudos for that one.  (We’ll reserve the subsequent contract discussion for another day).  There was the addition of Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson in 2015.  There was the addition of Addison Reed and Tyler Clippard that same year.  Do you see a pattern here?  Add real talent that costs a little money and go to the World Series!  

Now on the free agent front, the Mets have indeed spent money, though not particularly wisely nor on the top available talents.  They’ve been burned many times, including Jason Bay, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Vargas, Frank Francisco, Jay Bruce and others.  Consequently I can see that window closing rapidly, too. 

It would seem then that the opportunity to replenish the farm system would come from dealing away the soon-to-be-expensive Jacob deGrom.  After all, as painful as it was to see the club trade Tom Seaver, they did get a rookie-of-the-year in Pat Zachry, a rookie-of-the-year candidate in Steve Henderson, a gold glove 2^nd baseman in Doug Flynn and the throw-in of Dan Norman.  Three out of four contributed, but never got out from under the fan and media fury of the deal which was done to spite Seaver at the behest of the club owner.  deGrom could have netted a similar haul, perhaps even more in today’s economic climate, but the club sticks to its failed agenda of, “Wait ‘til next year” in the hopes of sustaining the season ticket model and the sale of jerseys. 

Once again the club also stubbornly refused to pay down any of the salaries of departing players to up the returns received.  Consequently they got more mediocre stat pitchers when the biggest problem they have is scoring runs for the pitchers they already have.  Jacob deGrom has a league leading ERA and a losing record because a 1-0 lead often proves insurmountable, yet what they continually ask for and receive in return are hard throwing pitchers of dubious pedigree who can’t find the plate and who won’t solve the endemic problem of the anemic offense. 

The only action on Tuesday’s trading deadline was another scrap heap pickup, though surprisingly for someone not yet sporting gray hair.  The Mets signed speedy gloveman Jack Reinheimer.  He can’t hit a lick, so he’ll fit right in.  With the promotion of Luis Guillorme and Levi Michael hitting well, it makes perfect Metsian sense to bring in another shortstop.  I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much.  When was the last time the Mets cared about baserunning or defense?

Well, as Tom Brennan and I exchanged hypothetical lyrics to “Meet the Mess”, all you can do is remind yourself who is in charge and then it all makes sense.  Winning doesn’t matter as long as those turnstiles keep on turnin’.  Proud Mary keep on burnin’.

Oh, and one final thought...how many of you read the piece in which John Ricco, head Stooge, was quoted as saying they don't know which way they're headed (in terms of rebuild or retool).  They don't know what they're doing?  Who'da thunk it?  They say admitting you have a problem is the first step on the road to recovery...