Morning Report – May 19th - The Abyss

        Coming Later Today –

                 9 30 am -  Mid Month Stat Check - Starters

                 11 am -  Mid-May Stat Check - Relievers

                 Noon –  Craig Mitchell -- Let Them Play!

                3 pm -  Top 12 OF in 2014 MLB Draft - revised 5-19-14

                6 pm –  Forest Wall, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Wilson, Tyler Kolek, Tyler Beede, Jeremy Vasquez

Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.

                                Lou Mannheim

I knew I’d be writing this column sometime this year. I just didn’t expect it to be in May (written on evening of 5-16).

Pitchers like Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom were still supposed to waiting on their ‘Super 2’ release date and thoughts of Jenrry Mejia returning to the bullpen was supposed to still be a pipe dream.

We also knew deep down in our hearts that we were never going to be truly happy with who Sandy Alderson signed during the off-season. Things went badly right from the beginning when he underestimated the value of 1B Mike Napoli. It continued with just turning his back to RP Latroy Hawkins and culminated with the complete Stephen Drew debacle.

What we wound up with was SP Bartolo Colon, and outfielders Curtis Granderson, Chris Young, and Bobby Abreu, none of which have produced to the levels all of us hoped they would.

I can’t fault any of these guys for picking up a pen and signing the contract the Mets placed in front of them. It’s not like any other team was bidding for their service at the time Alderson offered them their current deal.

It looks like the Mets will once again be burdened with two more long term Alderson-clunker deals. Remember Frank Francisco (2-yr, $12mil)? Why does it always seems the minute after Alderson closes a multiple year deal, we’re writing about what we can get for them during the next all-star break trading season?

I sit and listen to Terry Collins talk during his pre-game press conference on Friday that the reason he’s sitting out the player that is leading the team in hitting (Juan Lagares) is because he’s trying to put the emphasis on offense rather than defensive skills.

I also hear Collins say that the reason Lagares hasn’t hit well in the last 25 at-bats was because he had expanded his hitting zone, and yet I then read a column prepared by ESPN that says that isn’t true. He actually expanded it less.

I close my eyes and think of Drew leading off and playing next to David Wright, with Napoli in the four hole and I can’t even imagine what the offense would be producing these days.

I don’t understand what’s going on right now. Why is Terry Collins operating like a little Napoleon and why is his boss letting him get away with it?

Are we all missing something when it comes to Eric Young Jr.? He does play baseball like a little sparkplug but he just doesn’t get on base enough to be taking away the job from either Chris Young or Lagares.

Also, are we also supposed to believe that our ‘starting shortstop’. Wilmer Flores, is still sitting on the crapper for three days? Wouldn’t he qualify for one of those ‘bats’ Terry is supposedly looking for?

And just how fucking stupid can you treat both the fans and beat press by keep saying that Lagares and Flores are your ‘starters’. Oh yeah… did I mention he tells the players this too?

Folks, anybody that knows anybody on or anything about this team would tell you that the only reason TC got this job was that he was a nice guy, was cheap, that players like to play for him, and he does what he’s told to do. All of these are wonderful attributes but none of them mean a thing in the sixth inning when you’re standing in the dugout up by one, the leadoff hitter of your opponent just hit a double, and your starter’s pitch count in already 90. Being nice isn’t going to do you shit here.

I’m sort of lost right now both as a follower and a writer of this team. I’ve never thought they would operate at more than .500, but I also didn’t expect to see some of the young prospect pitchers this early.

Now they have to go on a tear to get back to .500. That’s not playing .500 ball.

How many times have I written… put together a rotation that gives up three or less runs for the first seven innings and you will win enough baseball games to make the playoffs.

I believe that the Mets, in general, and Terry Collins, in particular, is entering a critical time that will take place over the next 20 games played. Those of you that I consider the ‘regulars’ follow every inning of this team all season long. You know how thin this team is in talent regardless of which player your General Manager choses to play. But you also know the constant juggling of players in and out of the lineup is just a mind fuck that will eventually translate to the field.

I wrote earlier that I questioned the timing of the Montero and deGrom promotions by Alderson? Is this a sign that he was out of answers and the only direction to go was to Las Vegas for some new blood?

I think it is. And, I also think we are all beginning to see the beginning of Alderson leaving Collins out to dry.

I agree with most of the people who know Collins. The players love him, yes, he was cheap, he’s loyal as a brown lab, and he’ll do anything he’s told to do when the ‘bat phone’ rings in his office.

The problem is I’m not sure he’s going to be able to survive that day when Alderson begins to realize that the rest of the Mets World figure out it was him that came up with all these bad decisions, not Collins.

That’s when you look into the abyss and nothing stares back at you.