The Mets Need a Spark

Written by Matt Ryan | 22 July 2010

The Mets have dropped 10 out of their last 13 games, and 6 of 7 since the all-star break.  If not for a gift from umpire Phil Cuzzi, the Mets would still be searching for their first second half win.  They haven't won a series since the last weekend in June, which means 6 straight series losses or ties. And all of this with the return of Carlos Beltran.

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what is causing this train wreck.  Clearly, it all starts with a lack of offense.  They've gone 12 straight games without scoring more than 4 runs.  With Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran at the top of your lineup, this is flat out unacceptable.  And then there's the starting pitching.  With all the talk about Johan's "diminished stuff" he has been absolutely brilliant during this recent skid.  Niese has been solid, and the future is bright for him.  RA Dickey has been a godsend, an absolute lifesaver for this team right now. But how long do we really expect this to last?  More importantly, Takahashi and Pelfrey are taking the Mets out of games right now, and taking them out early.  If Pelfrey doesn't improve, this team is in serious trouble.

Given all of this, we've seen how capable the Mets are of catching fire, and I still have hope that they can.  In order to do so, they're going to need a spark, and as far as I'm concerned there are four possible ways to do so:

1.  Go out and acquire a big name, front of the rotation starter -  I hate to admit it, but this scenario is highly unlikely.  The market for pitching is weak, and the price tags are just way too high.  But the Wilpons need to do everything possible to remain competitive, or this ship will sink fast.  If you bring in a guy like Roy Oswalt, the fanbase will be re-energized, and you take a ton of pressure off of Mike Pelfrey, RA Dickey and Jon Niese.  Then by sliding Takahashi to a bullpen role, where he is much more effective, you essentially add another reliever.  It makes too much sense.  Which is exactly why I have zero confidence in the Wilpons/Minaya to pull the trigger.

2.  Infuse the roster with a big time call-up from the minors - Remember the impact Ike Davis had on this team from the minute he came up? He lit a spark when the Mets were completely lifeless.  Similar to where they are right now.  Unfortunately, the Mets are lacking in major league ready prosepcts right now.  And the big league lineup is pretty much a logjam right now, to the point where any other position besides 2B is on lockdown.  If not, I would suggest giving Fernando Martinez (I know he's struggling), Lucas Duda or Kirk Nieuwenhuis a shot.  But there is one guy who I think can help them right away:

Dillion Gee - If the Mets are unable to acquire another starter, why not give Gee a shot, and move Takahashi to the pen?  Gee has been hot and cold all season in AAA, but when he's on, he's on.  And so far in July, he's been on.  So far in July: 21.2 IP, 14 H, 2.49 ERA, 7 R, 2 HR, 2 BB, 25 K.  That's something to get excited about, and maybe the Mets could catch lightning in a bottle with Gee.

3.  Someone needs to put the team on their back - Jason Bay, I'm looking at you.  Give us one of those incredible hot streaks Boston fans became accustomed to last year.  Come up with some big hits, and maybe even start hitting it over the fence?  That would be nice.  If Bay isn't up to the task, we know that David Wright, Carlos Beltran, or Jose Reyes are more than capable.  A bigtime hot streak from one of them could propel the Mets lineup.  And if more than one guy gets hot at the same time, forget it. 

4.  Fire Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya - I have always defended the two of them, even when no other Met fan would.  But if the Mets don't drastically improve by the end of this roadtrip, I would be all for it.  They're struggling mightily and not making adjustments.  It's basically same old same old for Manuel.  And if Minaya doesn't improve this team by July 31st he needs to be run out of town.

I don't want it to come to this, but if all else fails and the team does not improve, it needs to be done.  This roster is way too talented to fail, and this fanbase is sick of this garbage.  I'm as optimistic of a Mets fan as they come, but it's looking pretty bleak right now.