(Michael Conforto makes his Major League debut. Photo Neil Miller/Sportsday Wire)
It’s gotta get better. Seriously it does.
Because no matter what they do, no matter whom they acquire and no matter whom they call up, if they keep playing this brand of baseball, the Mets are simply unwatchable.
Oh, the day started out nicely with Michael Conforto making his big league debut, driving in a run and shortly before game time, the news came across the wire that the team is about to acquire Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson from Atlanta for a few secondary pitching prospects.
But then the first pitch happened and Jon Niese, who probably shouldn’t have pitched this game with the impending birth of his child, just wasn’t into it and gave up six runs over the first three innings.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised [the birth] was a very large factor,” manager Terry Collins said. “He was on call up until 5:30. He said he wanted to pitch and so great.”
Niese’s wife had the baby tonight and the lefty has left the Mets. So you live and learn.
However, even with the reinforcements coming and finally something getting done, general manager Sandy Alderson should be doing more. Even at just a game over .500, the team still is in the race here and has a chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
You have to go for it.
Plain and simple.
Uribe and Johnson are nice complimentary players, who have versatility to play all over the field. Uribe can play all the infield positions, while Johnson can slot into the infield and outfield corners. Manager Terry Collins is going to need that adaptability if the team has any chance down the stretch.
They are both Major League hitters -something the Mets haven’t had throughout the lineup this year – so the team is better going into tomorrow’s game than they were today.
Add to that Conforto, who looks like he can hit big league pitching and has a very nice stoke, which will only improve over time. He’s not a savior right now, but at least he can add some excitement to the lineup.
But Alderson can’t be content with his three new prizes. He needs to do more. He needs to send a message. With a fan base chomping at the bit for something to cheer about, he needs to go for it. He needs to get another big bat for the lineup.
Of course, it’s going to cost more than two secondary prospects. But when you go for it, you need to take risks. You need to sometimes risk losing a top flight prospect in order to bolster the lineup today. He needs to put a Brandon Nimmo on the table or a Michael Fulmer. Even Kevin Plawecki should be expendable if Travis d’Arnaud comes back next week.
Risk if part of the game if you want sit in the captain’s chair. Alderson should know that. He’s been around long enough.
So the clock is still running. Alderson has about a week to make some more moves.
We will be waiting. Because it can’t get much worse than what we have seen in the past few days.
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