Cheap shots
GM says payroll not problem after canned coach blames owners
He no longer works for the Mets, but Dave Hudgens isn’t afraid to take one for the team.
The deposed Mets hitting coach fired shots at the owner’s suite on Tuesday, indicating Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz haven’t given general manager Sandy Alderson enough financial resources to build a winner.
“If they want a winner in that town, I would let the purse strings loose and let Sandy do what he wants to do,” Hudgens told “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN New York radio.
A day earlier, Hudgens told The Post, “I have nothing but respect for Sandy, and no doubt he will turn things around if he’s allowed to.”
Hudgens was f ired Monday after yet another anemic performance by a Mets lineup that is near the bottom of the National League in several key categories. Lamar Johnson, the organization’s minor league hitting coordinator for the past 10 years, arrived Tuesday as Hudgens’ replacement.
Before the Mets’ 4-2 win overthe Pirates, Alderson defended ownership when asked for a reaction to Hudgens’ comments.
“We spent $85 million and we expected a little more at this point in the season than we’ve gotten, so I don’t believe payroll is the issue,” said Alderson, whose team is 23-28 and began Tuesday by itself in the NL East cellar.
The Mets continue to struggle at the gate, playing in a mostly half-empty Citi Field. Alderson previously had hinted that fans need to show up if the Mets are to increase revenues and payroll, but the GM has changed his tune.
“We have to put a good product on the field and have to demonstrate the team is worthy of support and as a result get more people out here,” Alderson said. “It’s not incumbent on them. It’s incumbent upon us to change that situation.”
Alderson, whose contract expires after this season — the club holds a 2015 option — was asked if ownership has pressured him to make changes during this free fall. After Tuesday’s win, the Mets are just 8-17 in May.
“What I try to do is evaluate what’s going on on the f ield and make the appropriate judgments, and that’s my responsi- bility,” Alderson said.
“I talk to ownership from time to time. I talk to Fred [Wilpon]. I talk to Jeff [Wilpon], and I have a sense of what they’re thinking or what their frustrations might be, but ultimately I have to make a baseball decision, I guess, and that’s what this was.”
Manager Terry Collins said he met with several “core” players on Tuesday in case there were any lingering concerns following Hudgens’ firing. Hudgens began his tenure as Mets hitting coach before the 2011 season.
“We had some conversations, just to reassure them and things happen in our game and sometimes it’s without a good explanation, but you’ve got to go play,” Collins said.
“Ultimately this is their game — this is not the coaches’ game, this is their game. Those are the guys that people come to see play, and we’ve got to continue to move forward, get better, and we’re still there to support them.”
Hudgens indicated boos from the home crowd have gotten into the players’ heads, but Alderson said that’s no excuse for the team’s lackluster production at Citi Field.
“We have to get above all that,” Alderson said. “One of the reasons these guys are so successful as athletes is they have the ability to blot out failure, blot out negativity and this is just a potential situation they have to address the same way if they feel it’s a factor.”