Palladino: Sandy Alderson Really Dropped The Ball By Standing Pat
By Ernie Palladino
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OK, Sandy Alderson. Wilmer Flores it is.
The Mets' general manager has proclaimed that his club is ready and eager to make a run at a playoff spot for the first time since 2006. They basically have the same personnel as last year, save for free-agent signings Michael Cuddyer and John Mayberry, Jr.
The signings amount to a lineup tweak which appears somewhat less substantial than the Buffalo-blue alteration Rex Ryan made to his tattoo of the Mark Sanchez jersey that adorns Mrs. Ryan's body.
In other words, standing pat could turn into Alderson's biggest mistake of the season.
Not that Cuddyer's power won't be a nice addition to the outfield. And Mayberry may provide some timely hitting off the bench. But Alderson needed to do something more -- perhaps find a proven shortstop -- before he pronounced the Mets ready to improve 10 or more games from their 79-win season of 2014.
As has become his custom in recent years, Alderson didn't go all in. That's probably because doing so would have pushed the Bernie Madoff-afflicted payroll over the dreaded $100 million mark, a plateau 19 other teams have simply regarded as the price of doing business, and which two of whom have more than doubled.
But Alderson, secure in the fact that Lucas Duda will continue his progression as a power hitter and Flores will produce runs while solidly fielding his position, has told the fan base that the Mets are essentially done for the offseason. They will hit spring training with "quality players at every position."
The GM probably thought he could sneak that one by, considering the rest of the world was busy debating whether Pete Carroll's decision to throw on second-and-goal from the 1 was the dumbest move since Adam figured the apple would make for a nice dessert. He might have been successful, too, had a New York coach been the one making that bonehead move. But since the only irate people around here are the ones who lost money on the Seahawks, plenty of others remain to ruminate over Alderson's latest vote of confidence.
The fact is, he's playing the old "wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'" bit, only Dionne Warwick sang it better.
"They're not all proven above-average major league players," Alderson told the MLB Network. "But we're at the point now where we have to give them an opportunity to perform."
Obviously, he's not talking about the pitching staff. The Mets know what Matt Harvey can do if he comes back well from last year's Tommy John surgery. Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom, Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee -- with Noah Syndergaard waiting impatiently -- should have some good battles to fill out the two-through-five spots.
But they better be prepared to win a lot of 2-1 and 3-2 games because the presence of Cuddyer probably won't trigger a flood of runs. For that, Alderson will continue to bank on a bounce-back year from David Wright, whose injuries have become more frequent and whose slash line dropped from .307/.390/.514 in 2013 to .269/.324/.374 last year.
He's counting on Curtis Granderson to become more selective at the plate and to straighten out a swing that, last year, produced more runners left in scoring position than big hits. He's hoping Travis d'Arnaud's confidence skyrockets after a .313 September, and that center fielder Juan Lagares can turn himself into consistent hitter.
Then there's the matter of shortstop. At the New York Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America dinner, Alderson actually joked -- while introducing Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. -- that fans had waited all winter for him to introduce a shortstop. Now he has, and it's the same one who split time with Ruben Tejada last year.
Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 19. Exhibition games start March 4 against the Braves. But it doesn't sound like Alderson is prepared to swing an additional deal before either of those dates.
Aside from Cuddyer and Mayberry, he's standing pat.
If his position players don't reward his faith, Alderson could be looking at another long year and, quite possibly, a spot on the unemployment line.
And this time, it'll be his own fault.
