Ernest Dove - To Contend, or Not to Contend? That is the Mets Question.

  Well, the trade deadline is looming.  And, as the debates began to heat up all over Mets universe about who should and will be traded and sold off, the Mets went ahead and took 3 out of 4 from the rival Braves.

  During this short little stretch:

Ain't nothing but a Gee thang

  Dillon Gee came right off the DL and pitched just as if he never stopped his 2014 campaign of pitching excellence.  Each and every time Mets fans, bloggers, media and like, go ahead and throw out his name for trades, all he does is throw quality start, after quality start.

  I feel like I've been repeating myself over and over with this same old Gee. He doesn't throw 95+. The system has a bunch of 95+ prospects with 'projected' dominating talent.  However, last time I checked, Mets fans, there have been zero Harvey Day's in 2014. Mejia is now trying to be the Mets closer; Familia is still in the bullpen; Montero lost the strike zone a bit against AAA and major league pitching, Steven Metz is now on the 40 man roster, but has also only just made it to the organizations AA roster; and the mighty Thor looks to still be trying to better harness his strength with that hammer of an arm.

  So, why give up a good thang?

                                                           Travis d'ArYES (finally?)

  So, the perennial minor league all star. The annual get traded for CY young winner on numerous teams, and then sub .200 hitting prospect catcher found his way back to the Vegas Desert.  He then apparently found his way back in to the hearts of Mets fans by coming back with an offensive vengeance. These past few games, it seems as though his outs still look productive, mainly because of his hand speed with that bat.......... and lets not forget his ongoing magic tricks and allusions with that mitt behind the plate to get those called strikes.

                                                            Bartolo (smelling pretty sweet) Colon

  The old man, who everyone either praised, or hated, upon his signing, due to his age and salary, has pretty much been the man logging the most per game outings on this team.  It seems like, one way or another, the guy is gonna pitch 7+ innings. And even though he gave up 3 quick runs to the hated Braves on Thursday night, he ended up with that same total after 8 innings pitched.

                                                           Duda and Tejada, the new Abbot an Costello?

Who's on first (base) during the course of a game.  If you've been watching Mets games lately, it seems that Lucas and Ruben are on base....... often.  Whether through hits or walks, both (still) young players are helping their team win, and increasing the almighty stat of OBP all along the way.

                                                          

The Amazing Juan of the group

 Its taken awhile, but Juan Lagares is now back, and hopefully healthy for good. The (non) prospect who kept hitting his way through the minors, has continued to hit at a decent rate.  However, upon his return from recent DL stint, I believe he has actually yet to walk, and maybe appears a little too aggressive at the plate.  But, you know what, aggressive is what makes him a human highlight reel in Center Field....... although, I may have to take that back.  Because he makes so many plays look so easy, he may hardly make any ESPN top 10.

Soooooooooo, anyway, back to the question at hand.  Where do the Mets (now) go from here? 

  For all we know, the Mets will sweep the Marlins, and go into the all star break on a true high (I'm too tired for substance use joke here).  But what does that really mean for the rest of the season?  Will the Mets continue to start hitting more?  Will Grandy continue to excel  in the leadoff spot?  Will pretty much ALL the starters in this rotation continue to compete and have numerous 'quality starts'. Will the above mentioned players continue their dominance and hot streaks?  Obviously, nobody has any idea.  But what we all know is this:  The trade deadline is coming. Chris Young (too tired to bash him) will not be on the team next year anyway. Daniel Murphy will soon be officially coming off an all star appearance to make his trade value at its possible highest. Bartolo Colon and Dice K seemingly have no future with this organization, along with Anthony Rucker, EY Jr. (wait, TC won't ever let this guy go without a fight) Bobby Abreu, and a few other veterans currently on this roster.

  However, again, last time I checked, we live in the present, and not the future.  The 2014 Citi Field seats are looking pretty empty on game days, and a top 50 prospect ranking doesn't translate to any kind of current wins, runs, RBIs, or even WAR (whatever that is).  Oh, and did I mention that, as far as I always thought, Baseball, just like all the sports on this planet, are maybe at least partially meant as a form of entertainment.  Well, I don't know about you, but when I'm watching my beloved Mets, I'm usually more entertained when I witness an actual win.

  So, I guess, to make a long story short, what I'm trying to say is that I want my team trying to win their next game...... and the game after that........ and the game after that...... and every 2014 game until the season is over.  And, trading away solid major leaguers for under 24 yr old minor leaguers with 'potential' will not bring me any entertaining 2014 winning baseball games on my TV out of the Mets.

  If the organization actually believes in Wilmer Flores, then maybe trade away Murphy, or Terada, or whatever, and hope to obtain a 2014 major league or major league ready ball player in return.

  If the organization wants to roll the dice and assume nobody else gets hurt, Thor or Montero can produce this year,  and Dice K doesn't mind bouncing around like a starter/reliever yoyo, then trade Colon, or I guess Dice K, now that I think about it.

  But, in the end, all I still want are 2014 wins.  Mainly because ETA 2017-18 top prospects like Dom Smith, Dilson Herrera, Cecchini, Nimmo and the like are currently not entertaining me when I turn on SNY to catch a game.