Mets Have Found Their Aces in Wheeler and Harvey

The New York Mets 2013 season hasn't been pretty by any means, but there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel.  That light shined bright Tuesday in Atlanta when the Mets saw their young phenoms Matt Harvey and Zach Wheeler dominate in a sweep of a doubleheader over their NL East rival Braves.

Harvey started game one and continued his excellence he has shown all season long striking out 13 in seven innings.  The 24-year-old carried a no hitter into the seventh inning before allowing his first hit.  Harvey finally got some run support from his anemic offense as he improved to 6-1 on the season.  It was his first win since May 17th.  Harvey has been the Mets ace all season and one of the favorites to start the All Star Game at Citi Field in July.

While Harvey has been the Mets number one guy, the Amazins found out that Wheeler looks ready to be "1a."  The only Mets player ever to be born in the 90's made his MLB debut in the second game of the doubleheader after watching Harvey's tremendous effort earlier in the afternoon.  Wheeler would not back down in front of the bright lights and in front of his family and friends.  The 23-year-old's hometown is just minutes away from Turner Field in Smyrna, Georgia.  Oh boy, was he ready to go.  After some butterflies in the first inning where he walked two batters, Wheeler cruised the rest of the way.  The young stud tossed six shutout innings, giving up four hits, while striking out seven and walking five batters.  Wheeler had some filthy stuff working his fastball up to 98 MPH and mixing it with a nasty curveball and slider.

For once, the Mets organization got it right.  GM Sandy Alderson dealt Carlos Beltran at the trade deadline in 2011 to the Giants, and it looks like the Mets got back a pitcher that could be at the top of the rotation for years to come.  Wheeler received a lot of hype and at least for one start, he definitely lived up to it.  Finally, Mets fans have something to look forward to at least twice a week this season.  It seemed like "Harvey Day" was one of the only days of the week the Mets would usually pick up a win, but now they get Harvey Day and "Wheeler Day."

Wheeler's ability provides plenty of hope for Mets fans who have been hopeless for years.  Now, the Mets have the pieces to build around and it's time they bring in some bats to give their two studs some run support.  This organization cannot put Harvey and Wheeler out every five days and continue to not put runs on the board.  Alderson has made it clear that this offseason he will be bringing in proven bats to make this team a winner...something they have not done since 2008.  It's been all dark days at Citi Field since the gorgeous building opened in 2009, but it seems like the lights will be shining soon enough thanks to the Mets dynamic duo at the top of their rotation.

Nets Aren't Kidd-ing Around

The Brooklyn Nets aren't Kidd-ing around when it comes to their search for a new head coach to replace P.J. Carlesimo.  The Nets have signed Jason Kidd to a three-year deal...to become their head coach.  Fresh out of retirement, Kidd sought out the Nets head coaching job and his interview apparently went extremely well.  His only competition was Brian Shaw, who was interviewed earlier today, but the Nets went with Kidd.

It's only fitting that the one player that made the New Jersey Nets relevant for the first time will try and make the Brooklyn Nets relevant.  Kidd singlehandedly sent the Nets to the NBA Finals in his first season there in 2001-2002 and then would send them back to the Finals the following season.  The Nets had never even made the Conference Finals before Kidd arrived.  Kidd just wrapped up his Hall of Fame career retiring just a week ago after playing just one year of a three-year deal with the New York Knicks.  Kidd will take the short ride from Manhattan downtown to Brooklyn.  He will also make the transition from a jersey to a suit.  Is he ready to make the transition?

A 19-year NBA career, an NBA championship, two Olympic gold medals, second all-time in assists, second all-time in steals, third all-time in three-pointers made, and third all-time in triple doubles...I think it's safe to say he's ready.  The future Hall of Famer has as good a resume to become a head coach of anyone out there.  Kidd was a special player and truly amazing to watch.  His court vision and ability to make everyone around him better make him a perfect head coaching candidate.

Reports say Kidd was very well-prepared for the interview with Billy King and that he exhibited supreme confidence that would command the respect of his players.  It doesn't hurt that Kidd and Nets point guard Deron Williams have a great relationship.  Kidd would have to assemble an "All-Star cast" of assistant coaches to join him if this will be a success.  The Nets certainly have the talent on the roster with Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez as well as a solid supporting cast.  The Nets lost to the Bulls in the first round in seven games in their inaugural season in Brooklyn.

Kidd has seen it all and done it all in the NBA, so what makes anyone think he won't be a successful head coach?  Kidd was a leader on and off the court his entire career and it is fully expected he will do the same on the sidelines.  It will also be a great move in bringing in fans and having people excited about the Nets.  The face of the franchise will now man the sidelines and we all know that Mikhail Prokhorov is willing to spend the money for an NBA title.  Now the Nets will have their guy to get them there, just like he did in New Jersey.

Mets Finally Send Ike Down...but What's Next?

This past weekend at Citi Field was more of the same for the 23-35 Mets.  It was an embarrassing display of baseball against the worst team in baseball and one of the worst in the history of baseball.  After Friday night's game was rained out, the Mets would lose a 20-inning affair (that I sat through) Saturday by a 2-1 score, and then Sunday they would blow a 4-1 lead and lose 8-4 in 10 innings.  Eight of the Marlins 18 wins this season have come against the Mets.

Yes, the New York Mets have lost eight times to the abysmal 18-44 Marlins.  That was the last straw.

Finally, Sandy Alderson decided enough was enough and made a couple of moves that had to be made.   The long awaited demotion of Ike Davis finally arrived after the game Sunday as he was sent down to triple-A Las Vegas.  Mike Baxter and Robert Carson were also sent down.

For Ike, it has been another disastrous start, but this time he has showed no signs of turning it around as he did last year.  Davis is hitting just .161 on the season with just five home runs and 16 RBI. He has struck out a ridiculous 66 times in 186 at bats.  That's an average of more than one time every three at bats.  The demotion was long overdue, but two more losses to the Marlins marked the end for Ike.  He will work out his troubles in triple-A Las Vegas and until he shows some significant improvement, he won't be back in Queens anytime soon.

Baxter also has been struggling in his limited playing time this season.  He's hitting just .212 with zero homers and four RBI in 85 at bats.  Don't expect Baxter to be back anytime soon either as he was not given much of a chance from the start.

Carson should have never been here in the first place.  The southpaw out of the bullpen has been completely overmatched since being called up to Queens.  Carson has been atrocious in 2013 in 18 innings giving up 18 runs, good for a whopping 8.50 ERA.  He has also given up eight home runs this season, which is good for third most on the team.  Carson shouldn't hear his name on the big league roster again in 2013, unless it's for September call ups.

So the Mets are now 23-35 and sitting in fourth place in the NL East, already 13.5 games behind the first place Atlanta Braves.  The question for this team is...what's next?  Well it's time Alderson and Terry Collins realize that if this team is in a rebuilding process, it's time to start players that are going to be a part of the future.  Yes, even if they are not major league ready, it's time to let them play.  What does the team have to lose at this point?  They are 13.5 games out of first place and are in no way, shape, or form going to be in a pennant race in 2013.  Saturday, the Mets finally designated Rick Ankiel for assignment.  Yesterday, they finally sent down Ike, along with Baxter and Carson.  That's a start.  Now it's time to see pieces of the future play.  So who are these pieces?

First of all, it looks like Zach Wheeler will finally get his time to shine.  Wheeler is set to make his major league debut in a doubleheader next Tuesday the 18th in Atlanta.  Coincidentally, Matt Harvey will start the second game of the doubleheader.  The future of the Mets pitching staff will be seen together on the same day, which will definitely be exciting for the fans.  Wheeler won't be the savior though.  The Mets are in desperate need of some bats.  We all know the Mets have Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard as well as Rafael Montero to look forward to in the rotation, but what about on offense.

Highly coveted catching prospect Travis D'Arnaud is on his way back as he begins to rehab and work his way back from a foot injury.  D'Arnaud was the big piece of the R.A. Dickey trade and the Mets are hoping that he can be this team's catcher for years to come.  Expect D'Arnaud to be called up to Queens sometime after the All Star break.  Wilmer Flores is another guy in the minors that needs to be called up this season.  The Mets need to move Flores to shortstop, because Daniel Murphy should stay the everyday second baseman.  Ruben Tejada has not earned the starting shortstop role, and should not return as the starter when he is back from the disabled list.  If Ike Davis can turn it around, the Mets infield in the last two months of the season and possibly for years to come come should be D'Arnaud, Davis, Murphy, Flores, and David Wright.  That could turn out to be a pretty solid infield for years to come.

The question marks once again remains in the outfield.  Lucas Duda is not expected to be a piece of this team's future and Alderson has made that clear.  He has been unable to win anyone over with his mediocre power bat.  Duda is hitting just .228 with 10 home runs and 20 RBI in 193 at bats this season.    The Mets don't have much help in the minors either in the outfield.  Their only potential outfielder in the future right now looks like Brandon Nimmo, but he is only with single-A Savannah right now.  Nimmo has been impressive so far hitting .316, but has just one home run and 18 RBI in 136 at bats.  Luckily, the Mets have around $30 million coming off the books in the offseason.  That means they will have some cap space to add a free agent outfielder, and possibly make a trade for another before the trade deadline in July.

What I expect the Mets to do is make a trade for Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier before the trade deadline.  While everyone wants Carlos Gonzalez or Giancarlo Stanton, that will cost the Mets too much and would force them to likely give away Wheeler or D'Arnaud or both.  Ethier would cost the Mets less prospects, and they can likely get the Dodgers to pay half of Ethier's five-year, $85 million contract.  While Ethier has struggled this season, a change of scenery could be good for him.  The Mets will then look to sign a free agent outfielder in the offseason.  Atop the list will likely be Shin-Soo Choo, Nelson Cruz, or Jacoby Ellsbury.  Those are the three games to keep an eye on that the Mets will likely make a move for.  Look for the Mets to sign one of those three free agents as well as make a trade for an outfielder this July as they will have a little bit of spending room this offseason.

It's going to be a rough season and it's been hard to watch the 2013 Mets thus far.  If Alderson can make the right moves with the money coming off the books, and some of the highly coveted prospects as in Wheeler, D'Arnaud, and Flores can pan out, the Mets are not too far away.  This team could be a winning one within the next two years.  If not, say goodbye to Alderson and Collins.