Time for the New York Mets to face the real problem

Time for the New York Mets to realize the real problem.

The New York Mets season has been interesting to say the least. They started out the season like gangbusters and now are having a tough time winning a game at all. That leaves the record after 37 games at 19-18. They are just over .500 and in the position to be fighting for a wild card position.

Remember the end of last season? In the last couple of months of the year, there was a lot of talk about Terry Collins‘ job. Rumors were flowing basically through the entire month of September. Would he resign or would he step down? The narrative was that he needed to go even though I was one of the few exceptions. Collins moved into the front office and Mickey Callaway was hired.

Where are the Mets now, compared to then? As noted earlier, the Mets sit with a record of 19-18. After 37 games in 2017, the Mets record was 16-21. It’s an improvement of three full games. But is it any sort of a significant improvement? Absolutely not. Both seasons the Mets are hovering around the .500 mark 37 games into the season.

Callaway has changed the way the pitchers work both on their own time and between starts. They have a program that they never had before. He and Dave Eiland have no doubt been a positive influence. But on the field, the manager influence is only so much. The players on the field are the ones that absolutely have to get it done.

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It’s time to change the narrative around the situation. It wasn’t a problem with the manager. Terry Collins could have had this team with the same record if he were still in the dugout. They felt they needed to make a change so that’s fine, but it wasn’t the problem.

The Mets need to realize the real problem. The problem isn’t the leader, the problem is that the roster isn’t that good. If the roster is lacking talent, the general manager is at fault. What am I saying?

It’s time for the Mets to say goodbye to Sandy Alderson.

He’s made a few good moves here and there. Noah Syndergaard is his doing, although he isn’t pitching like his normal self so far in 2018 with an ERA of over three. He also retained the services of Yoenis Cespedes, but the bloom has come off that rose. Cespedes has hit well when active, but he’s injured a lot. It’s time to stop holding Alderson up on a pedestal for this move.

Let’s take an honest look at the team. Here is the starting lineup from Sunday’s game:

Here’s how we line up. #LGM

Jacob deGrom has been activated from the 10-Day DL and we’ve optioned Buddy Baumann to Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/PoQSUBopyA
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 13, 2018

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You need to play the video to see the lineup. Take a look at it. Is this a lineup that should be challenging for the NL East crown? Not really. Yoenis Cespedes makes teams afraid and Adrian Gonzalez is that way at times, but the rest of them are average at best. Michael Conforto is not consistent. The lineup just isn’t that good.

Pin that right on the culprit, Sandy Alderson. He has had ample time to put a roster together. They had one in 2015 that went to the World Series. The key players from that group other than Cespedes are gone. It’s time for a change with the guy picking the players. It’s time for Sandy Alderson to go. This is the real problem.

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