The New York Mets had been stuck in a place where no team likes to be: uncertainty. After surging to a .500 record at 34-34, the team suddenly had hope again. The Mets thought they might be able to make the playoffs, a feat that would be truly remarkable considering all that has gone wrong for the franchise in recent years. The Mets have seen corner infielders, Ike Davis and David Wright miss considerable time with no exact date set for their return. Ace of the staff Johan Santana has missed the entire season and August is his earliest return time. Yet despite a pitching staff featuring names like Gee, Capuano, and Dickey, the Mets were right there. Or at least they though they were.
Now having lost three of their last four, the Metropolitans find themselves 10 ½ games behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East. More bad news comes as potential MVP candidate Jose Reyes has recently announced that he won’t engage in contract negotiations until the end of the season.
Although I say bad news, this actually may be a blessing in disguise for the Mets. It now seems much more obvious that the Mets should be sellers and look to rebuild this franchise. With the owner Fred Wilpon in financial troubles, and the team realistically out of contention, the first thing that needs to be done is trade Jose Reyes. This will be a difficult task for GM Sandy Alderson who will know he would be trading away a fan favorite and the main attraction to come see the Mets play. However, if Alderson can land talented youth in return, the fans would quickly get over the loss of Reyes.
Mets fans need to realize that this team is going nowhere this season. It’s been great to see new manager Terry Collins lead this bunch of players to a respectable position in the standings, but that doesn’t mean this team is a title contender. With this roster, the Mets are at best a slightly above .500 team. This means they will fall short of the playoffs even with the eventual addition of Wright, Davis, and Santana. Alderson should be trying to dump as many overpriced and expiring contracts as he can. This includes getting whatever he can for Carlos Beltran, trying to get rid of closer K-Rod, and perhaps somehow enticing some crazy team to take Jason Bay away from New York (wow he is awful).
Ticket sales are a concern right now, and the Mets might be hyping themselves up to be more then they are just to keep the fans interested. However, when these trades are made, and they will come eventually, fans will cast aside the 2011 NY Mets season. This is unfortunate, but the fans would be willing to cast aside a team with Reyes, Beltran, and K-Rod if the team wasn’t performing. A .500 record is a good season, due to the expectations on the team this year. If you go back to 2008 though, a .500 record would be far from satisfactory. The best thing the Mets can do is throw in the towel on a chance to make the playoffs, trade some of their veteran talent, acquire youth, and have the remaining team continue to play hard. \
Sure there will be no “Jose, Jose, Jose.¤.¤.” chants next season. But if promising trades are made, at least there may be a winning buzz at Citi Field in 2012.
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