Mets GM Sandy Alderson: 'I Wish We Had More Depth In The System Right Now'
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- The Mets are reeling.
Since sweeping the Yankees in the Subway Series, New York has lost six of seven games, including five to the league-worst Marlins.
New York has the third-fewest wins in all of Major League Baseball, and on Sunday night general manager Sandy Alderson sent down three players -- first baseman Ike Davis, relief pitcher Robert Carson and outfielder Mike Baxter -- to the minor leagues.
With the organization in disarray, many have called for the firings of manager Terry Collins and members of the coaching staff.
Alderson told WFAN host Mike Francesa on Monday that the staff shouldn't shoulder the blame, and Collins isn't in danger of being let go.
Sandy Alderson
"Any time you hit a rough patch, people start to speculate -- not just about players, but about staff," Alderson said. "From my observation, this has been about player performance. And I don't think staff performance has had an adverse effect. I just don't think that this is a Terry issue or a staff issue. I think it's a player issue. And if it's a player issue, then that's me. ... (Letting Collins go) is not something that we're considering now."
The general manager also disputed the notion that his hands are tied so tight from ownership that he's not able to make significant moves.
"It simply isn't accurate," Alderson told Francesa. "...For the first couple months of the season, you're really looking at releases and waiver wires and your own players to improve the team. So if you're not getting performance at the minor-league level from your own players that warrant a change, if you're not seeing anything on the waiver wire that you think is going to help ... then basically you have your team and that's what you're going to run out there on a daily basis."
Alderson admitted that he simply doesn't have much to work with within the organization at the moment.
"I wish we had more depth in the system right now," the GM said. "I wish that some of our better players were closer to the big leagues. I wish that certain guys were available to us, but they're not, and nobody really cares. It's all about whether you win or lose the games, and I understand that. But nobody is tying my hands at this point, nor would anybody be tying my hands at the trade deadline."
Among many other things discussed, Alderson told Francesa that left fielder Lucas Duda and shortstop Ruben Tejada aren't necessarily part of the core moving forward, starting pitcher Zack Wheeler will likely make his major-league debut on June 18 and second baseman Daniel Murphy could play some first base.
The Amazin's will kick off a three-game set against the Cardinals at Citi Field on Tuesday night.
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