'The Core' Is Not What Has Been Spoiling Seasons in The Big Apple

Sometimes its good to be subtle...other times its good to be direct.  I am going with the direct approach here.... The ideas floated out there by crazed Mets fans and media blowhards that the Mets need to "break up the core" (i.e. ship one or more of David Wright, Carlos Beltran, or Jose Reyes out of town) or that Wright and Reyes are and will always be complete and utter failures because they haven't managed to win a ring before their 26th birthday are completely and utterly ridiculous.  It's moronic, short-sighted, reactionary, and foolish, and that's putting it nicely.  I could go on, but I think you get the point.

My argument against a trade of Wright, Reyes, or Beltran is in no way meant to suggest that all is well in Metville, or that fans don't  have a right to be annoyed with the play of the team. With the Mets muddling their way though a 8-10 start following two straight seasons of late September heartbreak, Mets fans have a right to be upset, I know I am.

However, Beltran, Wright, and Reyes are not what's wrong with this team.  Are they perfect players?  No, but no player is (with the possible exceptions of Albert Pujols and Johan Santana). If you want to nitpick you can find things to criticize each guy about.. Wright is off to a slow start and his issues with RISP last season were well documented, Reyes has struggled in each of the last two Septembers, and Beltran has had his fair share of slumps over the past couple years.  Perhaps if each of these guys were just a tad better it might have been enough to squeak out an extra win in each of the last two seasons. But look around the league and you'd be pretty hard pressed to find very many players who are any better than either Wright, Reyes, or Beltran in their respective roles. Reyes is one of the most dynamic players in the game; Beltran is the best defensive CF in the game and has performed brilliantly down the stretch each of the last two seasons; and Wright's consistent year in year out .900+ OPS, 40 2b, 25 HR, 100 RBI production has been matched only by Pujols the last four seasons.  And even if you do argue for a number of players being better than these three, those players aren't exactly readily available.

The Mets failures in recent years have had a lot more to do with the epic failures of the pitching staff, than anything Beltran, Reyes, or Wright did or did not do. The bullpen of 2008 blew a stunning 29 games, and the 2007 pitching staff posted an awful 5.11 ERA during the colossal September collapse.  Those are the reasons the Mets seasons have ended far too early the last two years.

David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Jose Reyes are three of the greatest players in the game and three of the greatest players ever to play for this franchise.  Its about time Mets fans start appreciating them.