Sandy Alderson Surprise: Lucas Duda Not “Core” Player
It appears Sandy Alderson’s crush on Lucas Duda is over — Alderson said on WFAN Monday that he doesn’t consider Duda to be a core player for the Mets.
This part of the 35 minute interview began when host Mike Francesa asked Alderson whether he still considers Ike Davis part of the future core despite being sent down to the minors.
Alderson replied, “Is Ike the kind of guy we’d like to be able to rely on going forward? Absolutely.”
Francesa then asked about Duda. After a very long, uncomfortable pause, Alderson said:
“Umm… Never thought of him that way, haven’t thought of him that way yet. I think the jury is still out. His situation is a little bit complicated because he’s a little bit out of position. On the other hand, is he a serviceable player making a contribution for us now? Yes, I think he is. That doesn’t make him the next coming, but he does have a lot to offer. We’ll see what the rest of the season holds.”
This is quite a surprise. The team has bent over backwards in its efforts to make Duda successful, seduced by his power and his ability to draw walks. He is a prototypical Sandy Alderson player, but it appears Alderson is finally seeing what the rest of us see — a passive ballplayer who is too much in his own head.
Alderson said it is unlikely that Duda will get any playing time at first while Davis tries to work things out in Las Vegas. That is also a bit of a surprise in that Duda is a butcher in the outfield and should be moved back to his natural position.
I have speculated that Alderson would dump Davis and go with Duda at first for the long term. Happily, it looks like I am wrong about that. But then again, with Sandy Alderson, you just never know.
Earlier in the interview, Francesa asked about Zack Wheeler and when we might see him in a Mets uniform. Alderson gave his usual infuriating answer:
“There’s been a lot of speculation that he’ll start one of the games of the doubleheader on June 18… Unlike most speculation, this probably has some accuracy.”
Why not just say, “Yes, we have penciled him for next Tuesday”? Sandy Alderson seems unable to give a straight answer on even the simplest of questions. It’s why a lot of Mets fans are really tiring of his act. Oh, and because the Mets keep losing more and more games.
You can hear the entire interview here.
I’m going to lift a phrase of yours: “a passive ballplayer who is too much in his own head.” That could describe any number of people on the team, and I think it’s the disease that Terry, Sandy, David, and anyone who has any dealings with this team should be trying to cure.
To look at it from the other side, how many players on this team have that attitude where they put their foot on the opponent’s neck and keep them down? Harvey, and, uh, let’s see who else…?