I didn’t have the courage to stay up past the seventh inning of last night’s game in Arizona but gathered from the box score that it turned out alright if you can forgive the shakiness of the 8th and 9th and while overlooking that Mets managed only two baserunners against the entire Diamondback bullpen amid David Wright’s growing slump.
I’d be more optimistic today if I knew there were an offensive version of Matt Harvey down there at AAA ready to make the next step, but I don’t see one. And looking realistically at the organization, you’d figure there’s a need to replace as many as three outfielders; get a catcher who can hit; and probably, a better second baseman before they’re ready to adequately support guys like Harvey, Wheeler and whatever else the more developed pitching pipeline produces. What I’m saying is, maybe the club will make a trade or two before the clock strikes midnight Tuesday. And if so, let’s hope they produce hitters that can help tomorrow and not relief pitchers for tonight.
Have we seen the last of Lucas Duda? The big lefty looked promising for a while, but hasn’t hit with enough power this year to forgive his poor glove and this week was banished to AAA Buffalo. If the Mets think Ike Davis has put his nightmares behind him and is the better bet at first base, Duda could go in one of the trades. Anyway, he’s down, Manny Acosta is back up, Mike Nickeas is down, Rob Johnson is back up, Pedro Beato is down, and Matt Harvey looks awfully good in No. 33.
