Reese Kaplan -- Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty for You?

In the world of optimists and pessimists there exists a classic argument about whether a glass is half full or half empty.  There is no right answer, of course, but people chart one direction or the other for a variety of reasons. 

Optimists tend to be people who exert faith in the best possible outcomes occurring even when experience and common sense suggest that failing to consider the implication of failure can lead to wretched disappointment when it actually happens.

Pessimists are often criticized for always being negative in their thought processes, but a true pessimist is essentially a project manager who analyzes all possible outcomes and then develops strategies to deal with every negative one potentially taking place.

Mets fans are loyal if nothing else, as the team has not put together a string of consecutive competing seasons for quite some time.  As a result, you get to see the optimists and the pessimists trying to outdo one another in social media, in articles, in fan regalia and in the old tradition of wearing a paper bag over one´s head.

The Optimists

This group is fully convinced that the best is yet to come.  There is some merit to this viewpoint as you look down the lineup and see what is not yet happening. 

On offense, well, let´s just say that the club has not yet achieved its full potential.  With the exception of late starter J.D. Martinez, pretty much every other hitter is well behind the curve when it comes to performance output.  Then throw in the long injury to Francisco Alvarez and it is easy to see why some people of this ilk figure there is nowhere to go but up.  Francisco Lindor is not a .195 hitter.  

Jeff McNeil once won the NL batting title.  He is not a .235 hitter.  The jury is still out on the level of batting average to expect from Pete Alonso after the embarrassing 2023, but the power is still there.  Younger players like Brett Baty and Mark Vientos have not yet had sufficient time to develop into whomever they are destined to become.

On the pitching side, the slate is quite a bit cleaner.  After a few stinkers Jose Quintana most recently posted a solid start.  Sean Manaea has been good.  Luis Severino is a bit up and down but the ups indicate the kind of competitor he is when he is on his game.  Recently demoted Jose Butto filled in credibly during the soon-to-be-over Tylor Megill absence.  

Then there is Megill himself who for the first 4 weeks of Spring Training looked like ace material.  Kodai Senga will be back at some point as well.

In the bullpen they have gotten a lot of valuable innings from many participants.  Even with the two straight clunkers from Edwin Diaz, his numbers would make many relievers proud.  

The totally unexpected mastery of Reed Garrett, the veteran consistency of Adam Ottavino and the mostly solid Jake Diekman have all given the Mets more than they could have hoped given the loss of Brooks Raley and Drew Smith for long periods of time.  Jorge Lopez has had some stellar moments and the merry-go-round of additional relievers has been more good than bad.

The Pessimists

When David Stearns was brought to the biggest baseball market in the USA and paired with the wealthiest owner in the game, it looked like a blueprint for certain success.  Instead, there have been a series of half-steps taken, some of which have worked and others (Joey Wendle, Zack Short, Yohan Ramirez, Michael Tonkin and others) have not.  

The spending was seemingly constrained after the disaster of 2023 but after failing to land Japanese ace in free agency, the Mets seemed to be taking the Wilpon lightning-in-a-bottle or ancient history approach hoping to get good from bad.

When it came to choosing a manager, there were big shoes to fill when Buck Showalter was ostensibly blamed for the 2023 fiasco.  People were hoping to find the best-of-the-best for this opening, so the hiring of oft-interviewed but never hired Carlos Mendoza as a rookie manager kind of caught people by surprise.  Thus far even the most jaded pessimists are not sounding alarms about Mendoza, but understand it is a learning game taking place during a real live season.

As far as player personnel, the only acquisition that spawned the opening of champagne was the late contract accepted by J.D. Martinez.  For that transaction — waiting out the market and paying relatively little given the man´s back-of-the-baseball-card numbers — was likely the highlight of the David Stearns tenure thus far.  No one was doing cartwheels about Luis Severino, Jake Diekman, Joey Wendle, Zack Short, Tyrone Taylor nor Adrian Houser. 

The pessimists are also not overly generous in their assessment of what is not working.  It is a little different when you see players like Brandon Nimmo and others having a slow start because they have the history of performance on their sides to suggest it will get better.

However, when the optimists gush over career .217 hitter hitter D.J. Stewart who would need a hot streak to even reach that number, well, that is where the pessimists say to go find someone else.  Even achieving his lifetime potential now at age 30, is that what you want from your role players?

The Reality

Some things are working.  Some are not.  Can it get better?  Yes, of course it can.  Will it?  Well, that one question is the great unknown.  Some advocate taking time and at least half a season to make that evaluation.  Others use the half season mark to signify the start of wholesale changes from the core that hasn´t gotten it done.  For now, it is a very frustrating existence for optimists and pessimists alike.