Coppola: When Will The Mets Be Great Again?

By William Coppola

Hey, only about 159 days until pitchers and catchers Mets fans. Plenty of time for this organization to get their act together. Look for the Mets to be very active in the free agent market along with multi team trades. Also watch for them to gobble up most of the top prospects in Latin America.
There will be big plays for Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Dallas Keuchel this winter. Once they acquire these free agents, they will be willing to part ways with Noah Syndergaard and others, in search for help in the bullpen and first base among other things needed to bolster this team.

So don’t be discouraged with this painful 2018 season, the Mets are going to go all out for their fans this winter. They see the rise of the Braves and Phillies and also realize the Nationals will come back strong next year. Plus Miami is not far behind in their rebuild. This winter is going to be great. They are going to make “New York Great Again!” Oh did I forget to tell you that you can now buy a box of snowballs that come directly from Alaska?

Really, do you think this organization is going to change over night and become a player over the winter? An organization that will be smart and aggressive in the off season? Until they show some transparency in why and how they make some of their decisions in either acquiring, trading or using players, we have no reason to believe anything they say about their desire to put a respectable team on the field.

The truth is that they don’t have to be that aggressive to make themselves a contender in the National League East, a division that has suddenly become crowded at the top. Yes winning this division has now become tougher but there are things they can do to move in a positive direction.

As I have mentioned in previous pieces, they need to first find and hire, no matter what the cost, a chief of baseball operations who will take the reins and wisely fix this mess. I mentioned John Hart before but wonder if he would want to get involved with this organization that always seems to be in disarray. Would someone like him get frustrated with having his hands tied by the owners?
I believe anyone who comes in to do a re-build, needs to have the freedom to make decisions that may not be liked by team officials or fans. Would the Met’s higher ups be open and willing to do that?

They can get solid at certain positions by trying something new in today’s baseball thinking. For instance, maybe if they can back off somewhat on some of the analytically induced decisions used in something as simple as the everyday line-up. It’s worth a try as we see that the pie charts being used are not quite getting it done.

Example, Dominic Smith is not an outfielder and Wilmer Flores, although okay at first base, should be playing third. He is even listed as a third baseman on their official roster for crying-out-loud. Let these young players develop into big league players at their natural positions.

But what do I know about baseball? What do any of us know about this game’s inner workings? All we know, is that there are other organizations that seem to be able to figure it out. Maybe the light bulb will go on at Citi Field in those conference rooms this off season and we will see a change from a team that is always looking for an answer, to one that will know the answers.

This is not a matter of luck, it is hard work and sometimes thinking outside the box. Baseball has always been “monkey see, monkey do” when it comes to putting a team together. What worked for one team should work for us kind of thinking. The Mets need to be the lead monkey now and invent a new successful way of becoming a winner. A team that will win consistently for many years.

Oh wait a minute, My box of snowballs just arrived!

WILLIAM COPPOLA IS A CONTRIBUTING SPORTS COLUMNIST WITH THE BRONX CHRONICLE WITH EMPHASIS ON BASEBALL WHERE HE IS A TALENT SCOUT AND HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN A PLAYER, COACH, AND UMPIRE.
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