Path back to relevancy is thru health
ON Thursday night, the only game anyone cared about took place 218 miles north of Citi Field at Fenway Park.
All eyes were on Yankees-Red Sox. Will the Mets ever matter again?
That’s the harsh reality Mets leadership is facing and must tackle head on. That is why they’ve elected to build around their starting pitchers and did not trade any of them off before Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline.
First things first. The culture must change.
How do you change the losing culture? I asked assistant general manager John Ricco that question Thursday night in a quiet hallway outside the Mets clubhouse.
How do you get to the point where next year at this time the Mets are playing an important game and not just another “future evaluation’’ exhibition game like Thursday night’s 4-2 loss to the Braves?
“It starts with figuring out a way of keeping our guys on the field,’’ Ricco said, a battle the Mets lose every year.
This has been a battle they lose every year because it is a battle they set themselves up to lose.
“You’d love to say you can snap your fingers and things are going to change,’’ Ricco told The Post. “A lot of this stuff is systemic. There are a lot of moving parts you need to change. Not only mindsets, but routines and habits of players. A lot of what this season is about is coming in and evaluating not only processes, but people. That, to me, is the biggest thing.
“We can get younger and we can get more athletic, but our injuries haven’t always been just our older players. It’s been throughout our organization, even in the minors. So if anything that is the most important thing we need to address.”
The Mets have to figure out a way to keep their players on the field, but they also have to sink more money into scouting and do a better job there. Ricco had just given an update on Yoenis Cespedes’ heel surgery. That’s just the first of doubleheader heel surgery.
If anything, the old way of leaning on veteran players — a Sandy Alderson staple — must change. The Mets realize that. But they also have younger players like Noah Syndergaard who have been hit hard with injuries.
That remains their biggest challenge and I give Ricco credit for not just offering lip service about injuries, but actually trying to develop a plan how not to let injuries detour them year after year.
“Everybody has injuries, the Yankees have injury problems, but you at least have to be near league average,’’ Ricco said.
The Mets are always, it seems, way above league average.
Mickey Callaway has not been afraid to shine a light on the organization’s shortcomings.
“That’s one of the reasons we brought him in,’’ Ricco said of the fresh look Callaway offers. Yes he’s made mistakes, but Callaway comes from the AL, the Indians, the polar opposite of the Mets. He has not been afraid to voice his opinion.
Start with an organizational handbook. The Mets don’t have one. That must change.
There is a Cardinal Way, a Yankee Way, but there is no organizational path for Mets minor leaguers to follow. Things need to be done the same way from A-ball to Triple-A. Look at all the issues the Mets have had this season trying to teach young players the nuances of the game at the major league level — especially Amed Rosario — who has made some strides.
“Again, the first year you are not going to be able to change everything overnight,’’ Ricco said. “There’s been a little frustration on Mickey’s part. I keep telling him this is a work in progress. You are going to have to find spots to impact the team. You start on this and get bigger and bigger and bigger.’’
Those should be encouraging words to Mets fans, who have been so beaten up by the destructiveness of the organization they are beyond frustrated.
Ricco insisted positive change is coming. It must. It can’t be the same old losing story next year.