Evans Should Get Long Look

by: Joe McDonald | Publisher and Editor-in-Chief | Tuesday, May 27, 2008



FLUSHING, NY – It’s not the time to dump, by any means. It’s still only May, plenty of time for the team to come back, even under the current regime.

But it is time for the Mets to see what they have down on the farm and keep their young chips in Flushing to see what they can do. With 2/3rds of the outfield going down last week, Nick Evans should get a very long look from the team in order to see if he’s a long term solution.

Right now, there are too many veterans on this squad and not as many youthful eyes as you think. Sure David Wright and Jose Reyes are young every day players, but they have been in Queens for a number of years and for all intensive purposes they are veterans who are know the big league routines and have started to get hardened from the New York lifestyle.

The Mets need the type of enthusiasm Wright and Reyes brought to the club when before they made the big money. Back then, they were eager to learn and brought a youthful energy to the team. Now, they need Evans to do the same. Over the weekend, the 22 year-old Arizonian went 3-6 on the road trip and had a hand in the Mets only win in a week. Last night, even though he went 0-4, that bright smile came to the plate on a very somber day at Shea.

“I was excited,” said Evans, who was playing in AA Binghamton. “It would have been nice if we won, but it was nice.”

Evans wide eyed enthusiasm was the only bright spot in a Met clubhouse yesterday, which began as a heavily attended media event and ended in disappointment again.

The lifelessness on the team is well documented and something is needed to jumpstart the struggling club. If the manager can’t do it, then maybe an injection of youth will work. With Evans playing left for the next few weeks, there may be something that will rub off on the rest of the club. Surely, the young outfielder can do better than Marlon Anderson’s .167 average or even Endy Chavez’s .191.

This is not to say the Mets should bench Alou when he comes back, but if Evans, who can also play first, can spell the veteran left fielder and fill in for Carlos Delgado, especially against a tough lefthander, then the Mets are better for it. With no pressure, the team can see if Evans can be a starter in left or at first in 2009, because both Alou and Delgado won’t be back and in the process the rookie will get about 300 at bats in the process.

And he won’t rot on the bench, even if Alou and Delgado come back and play every day. Ryan Church is still feeling ill effects from his concussion and Carlos Beltran hasn’t fully recovered from getting his knees scoped over the winter, so there will be playing time available.

Now it can fail and Evans may not be ready for prime time, but without a long look the Mets won’t know for sure. When Alou, Anderson, Church and Angel Pagan come back, the team should cut a veteran and keep their young player around.