Mets Handling 5th Starter Poorly

The Mets handling of their fifth starter opening is indicative of the way the team is being run these days.

When Sandy Alderson traded R.A. Dickey, he created a hole in the rotation that needed to be filled. The obvious thing to do was to give Zack Wheeler the job — let’s begin the future now. But the Mets insist that Wheeler will start the season in Triple-A.

How about Jenrry Mejia or Jeurys Familia, whom the Mets have been touting for years as future pieces of the starting rotation? If they are not ready now, when will they ever be ready? Nah, said Alderson.

Instead, the Mets are going dumpster diving for a cheap, mediocre veteran pitcher, as they’ve been doing for the past couple of years when it comes to adding players to the team. Remember D.J. Carrasco, Blaine Boyer and Chin-lung Hu?

This is why Mets fans are so frustrated. Nobody wants to lose, but the losing would be tolerable if the team were building towards something. Fans could accept watching Mejia or Familia struggle as they find themselves. But suffering through the likes of Chris Young or Carl Pavano every five days is just unacceptable.

But this is the way Alderson operates — low risk. He’d rather bring in a mediocre but somewhat reliable veteran instead of giving the job to a rookie who will go through growing pains. But low risk comes with low reward, and that is the recipe for a losing team. The younger guys have far more upside than veterans, and are more likely to help a team win if they are successful.

Let’s face it — the Mets are not going to win in 2013. Mets fans would rather lose with young guys who are just beginning their careers than with old guys at the end of theirs.