In the recurring theme of "I didn't see the game," I watched none of the Mets/Pirates series in total and I think I'm probably better for it because the way things turned out, I can see I probably didn't want to see any of this. In their three-game obliteration of the Mets, the Pirates scored 21 runs to the Mets 4, they handed Matt Harvey the worst beating of his career and they underscored just how troubled and in need of a boost this Mets offense is.
The Mets have sort of been dancing and jabbing at their opponents for the past few weeks, ducking their underlying issues and surviving because, let's face it, their pitching is really really good. But this can only get so far, and this weekend, the Pirates delivered a haymaker. This is now getting to the point where good pitching isn't good enough, because for as good as the Mets pitchers can be and often times are, they can't outpitch their own offense and if by some chance they don't have it, you may as well throw the entire game down the shitter.
The Mets starters didn't pitch well this weekend in Pittsburgh, but even if they had, would it have made a difference? I know injuries are a problem but I'm not sure that the injured guys would be making much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. To this point, I'm comfortable with the offense I've seen from Lucas Duda...and that's about it. Curtis Granderson, perhaps, if only because he's certainly provided a good spark in the leadoff spot. Juan Lagares and Wilmer Flores have provided some nice moments, too, if you're willing to look past Flores' defensive foibles (and unfortunately it seems like most Mets fans are not).
That leaves half a lineup of dreck. Eric Campbell has fallen victim to the Endy Chavez Corollary (overexposure), and probably shouldn't be playing at all. Kevin Plawecki plays like a 22-year old that's been in the Major Leagues for a month, and this is acceptable only because that's what he is. Michael Cuddyer has scuffled, and Daniel Murphy I'm convinced is just a total lost cause. The other problem is that the depth behind these guys hasn't materialized. John Mayberry Jr has done nothing, Kirk Nieuwenhuis did even less than that before getting shipped out of town, and the rest of the mob of Johnny Monell-types seem to be mostly adept at hitting into Double Plays more than anything else.
The solutions aren't much of a solution because right now, they're all hurt. Dilson Herrera, who I believe is the future of the team at 2nd Base is hurt, Travis d'Arnaud, who was off to a great start is still a week off, and who even knows when we're going to see David Wright again what with this whole spinal stenosis business. Thing is, none of these three guys by themselves will make that much of a difference, I don't believe. Nobody is going to come back and immediately start carrying the Mets offense to more victories. David Wright, as much as we'd like to think he's The Guy, just isn't that kind of player. His best seasons, which now seem further and further away than we care to remember, came when he was surrounded in the lineup by Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado, and anyone can look good when they're surrounded by that kind of talent. And if Wright's going to be out indefinitely, prognosis undcertain, well, then the Mets need to make some kind of move, don't they?
I don't know who the hell is available right now, but if Sandy Alderson is conscious, he might want to think about trading Daniel Murphy, and for that matter he can trade Jon Niese and Dillon Gee, too. Murphy seems to have a nice career ahead of him as a Designated Hitter somewhere, so he ought to be useful to some well-meaning AL GM. If people aren't too convinced that Jon Niese is just White Oliver Perez, he might have some value too. I mean, management usually will trip over themselves for Left handed pitchers. Dillon Gee hasn't done anything wrong per se other than not be Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard or any other exciting young pitcher the Mets have. You'd think this kind of a market exists, because what the Mets are putting on the field right now isn't sustainable for success. Nobody's buying the charade.
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