Wasn’t it fun to watch the New York Mets beat up on A.J. Burnett and the Philadelphia Phillies Monday night?
Bartolo Colon continues to laugh at Father Time, Travis d’Arnaud had a three extra-base hit game and Juan Lagares showed signs of rediscovering his lost hitting stroke.
But before you get caught up in fake pennant race fever, keep in mind that the Mets are still four games under the .500 mark at 51-55. They’re in fourth place in the NL East, one game behind the Miami Marlins, seven games behind the Atlanta Braves and 7.5 games behind the Washington Nationals. The Wild Card race isn’t much more realistic… the Mets are 6.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot, with four teams between them and the San Francisco Giants, who would currently make the playoffs with a 57-48 record.
If they Mets hadn’t waited until July to start playing well…. who knows? But let’s enjoy the winning while it lasts and hope that they are building towards something that will bear fruit in 2015.
To that end, it’s interesting to hear rumors that the Mets would consider trading top prospect Noah Syndergaard to Colorado for shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Perhaps also of note, while GM Sandy Alderson didn’t seem comfortable with the idea of adding a salary at the level of Tulowitzki’s, he didn’t completely rule it out.
While a healthy Tulowitzki would be a great addition to almost any lineup, I’m not convinced that trading for him is the right move for the Mets — if Colorado even decides to make him available. The cost — in terms of money and talent — is going to be very high, and very damaging if Tulowitzki ends up spending too much time on the disabled list over the remaining years of his contract.
One player who definitely is available – Cuban free agent Rusney Castillo – seems like he’d be a perfect fit for Citi Field. The Mets are likely one of the 28 teams who sent scouts to watch Castillo work out this weekend, but there is absolutely no buzz to suggest they are thinking about signing him.
Who knows how much money Castillo will eventually get, or how successful he will be in the major leagues. It’s a gamble.
Maybe next year Alderson’s choices will finally pay off for the Mets.
PaulHadsall.com 
Having been a Mets fan for 40 years, I’m more than a little gun shy of big-name acquisitions. Who knows, a trade for Tulo could be a good thing… or it could be yet another player picked up just in time to rapidly decline. …Spoken like a true, pessimistic Mets fan. 🙂
I may have said it before, but my “goals” for the Mets season – as if I had anything to do with it – would be to finish at least at .500, finish in third and finish ahead of the Yankees. Postseason would be awesome, but I’d be more than happy just to be satisfied with the season and with the progress being made.
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