Jun 15 2013 12:37 PM
Yawn. Raise your hands if you're bored by this article. What about you, Swannie?
Mets GM Sandy Alderson preaches patience in Q&A with season-ticket holders
The Mets are 24-38 entering their afternoon game against Chicago and 12.5 games out of first place. They are 2-8 this month and have the third-worst home winning percentage in the majors at .371.
By Anthony Mccarron / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, June 15, 2013, 1:44 PM
Mets GM Sandy Alderson lets the fans know that the team is making progress toward sustained success.
| Mets GM Sandy Alderson commiserated with a group of season-ticket holders Saturday morning, assuring them that the Mets themselves feel the same pain fans do over the club's awful start. At the same time, Alderson explained, the Mets have reason to hope. But fans need to be patient, too, before the sustained success Alderson says he's shooting for is a reality. "We're working at it," Alderson told a group of what the Mets said was 350 people who sat in the stands near third-base a few hours before the Mets faced the Cubs. "The problem is, at some point, the best thing you can do is have a little patience and unfortunately I've been preaching that for two-and-a-half years and it's wearing thin. "But we're almost there." It's hard to see it on the field, where the Mets were 24-38 entering their afternoon game against Chicago and 12.5 games out of first place. They are 2-8 this month and have the third-worst home winning percentage in the majors at .371. But what else do you tell a bunch of your most loyal supporters? Alderson also reminded fans of the glee they felt last month when the Mets swept the Yankees in the Subway Series. "It was a fleeting moment, but I know you felt good," Alderson said. "What we're trying to do is make sure you have a lot of those moments every week of every month of every season." That, of course, won't be easy, especially with the Mets needing so badly to upgrade their talent base. But Alderson assured the fans the club was poring over its own system searching for players who can help, as well as keeping an eye on what outside talent might become available. While plenty of losing teams are sellers at the trade deadline, Alderson said the Mets could be active then, looking to add players who would make them better now and next year. He's said it before, but the season-ticket holders liked hearing it again, though there were some skeptics in the group, too. "What I'd like to be able to do is maybe acquire a player or two who will not only be with us this year but into the future," Alderson said. "That makes sense and is consistent with what we've been trying to do longer term. We're going to keep working at it and I'm sure you'll see some different faces between now and say the end of July or the All-Star break." At one point, Alderson was asked by a youngster if he had considered trading top prospects for "a big hitter like Giancarlo Stanton." "That opportunity has never arisen," Alderson said. "When it does, we'll address it. That's always a question, though, trading your best prospects for a more established player. That's a tough choice to have to make, particularly when you're trying to build your supply of talent. "But we're at the point where we'll start to consider those possibilities, so we'll see what happens." Alderson sat on a panel with Terry Collins, Matt Harvey, John Buck, Bobby Parnell and Dillon Gee. Radio voice Howie Rose acted as emcee. Most of the questions that weren't for Alderson were for Harvey, who revealed that Washington's Ryan Zimmerman might be the toughest hitter for him to face and that he enjoyed beating his boyhood favorite team, the Yankees, earlier this season. And there was plenty of love during the panel for uber-prospect Zack Wheeler, who is slated to pitch in Atlanta on Tuesday. Alderson brought his name up twice as an example of Mets fans about to see some of their stockpiled talent. For the fans' sake – and Alderson's, too – the upcoming talent better be an upgrade on some of the Mets' recent busts, like Jason Bay. The GM says he's prepared to find players to add to the Mets' base, too. "I do believe that over the next six months or so we will be in position to make some significant acquisitions, whether it's through free agency or trade," Alderson said. "We're certainly looking forward to that possibility." |
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseb ... z2WJMsG3bC
