During Brian Cashman’s conference with reporters in Trenton, he made a point to discuss the performance of the young players. As important as AJ Burnett, CC Sabathia, and the return of Alex Rodriguez has been, equally important are the contributions from Phil Coke, Ramiro Pena, and Francisco Cervelli. Cashman was quick to point out that Cervelli, who struggled in AA Trenton, showed ability, leadership, and performed during his big league stint. He went on to point out that this doesn’t just help the confidence of Cervelli, but gives other prospects throughout the organization hope. Think about it, a struggling AA catcher, although highly touted, was hitting under .200 in AA earlier this year. He goes to the big leagues and helps a playoff caliber club. Now others in the system, some who outperformed Cervelli, start to think that they too could be the next to get the call. You could call it the baseball version of the “trickle-down” effect.

When you look across town where is the Mets trickle-down effect? Last year you saw Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy provide the big league club the same type of lift that you saw Cervelli and Pena accomplish with the Yankees this year. This year, Mets prospects throughout the organization don’t have anyone to look at as a benchmark of success. Fernando Martinez, Daniel Murphy, and Jonathan Niese have all floundered during their big league stints. Don’t forget how Nick Evans was sent all the way down to AA, only to be recalled when big league injuries became overwhelming. Players in the Mets organization only have failure to look at as their benchmark. If the organizations top prospect, Fernando Martinez, struggles to reach the Mendoza line, falls flat on his face in the outfield, and faced media scrutiny for lack of hustle, how does a lesser prospect, like Ike Davis or Reese Havens, feel about their chances of big league success?

Obviously each player is independent of another. F-Mart’s failure doesn’t necessarily mean other prospects will follow the same route. Just like the success of a David Wright and Jose Reyes never rubbed off on the petulant Lastings Milledge. The bigger point is that the Mets have a recent legacy of failure circling the team. It has infected the big league team to the point that even the ever positive David Wright has seen enough. The minor league system, already shallow on depth, has also had scouts criticize the work ethic at some levels. All this negativity doesn’t help the short and long term prospects of the franchise. The Mets need someone to step up and turn the cycle of failure around. Can it be Niese? Thole? Holt? Ike Davis? More importantly, maybe it’s time to see if the right people are running the show to even make that change happen. Right now it’s hard to see anyone in the organization, from the top down, succeeding in this current environment.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Brian Cashman, Daniel Murphy, Fernando Martinez, Francisco Cervelli, Ike Davis, Jonathan Niese, Josh Thole, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Nick Evans, Phil Coke, Ramiro Pena, Reese Havens