Alderson knows time isn't on Mets' side

LOS ANGELES -- The Mets likely have the next two weeks to convince Sandy Alderson to keep this team together for a second-half run at the playoffs. Otherwise, the general manager may seriously explore ways to strip this roster of its parts and look to begin a more aggressive rebuilding process.

Alderson addressed the short-term future of the Mets before Wednesday night's game at Dodger Stadium and also gave slightly downgraded injury updates that could further imperil his team's already slim chances to contend in the second half.

When asked directly about potentially breaking up the Mets, given their precious foothold in the packed wild-card race, Alderson cited the injuries to Jose Reyes, David Wright and Ike Davis as untimely setbacks with the July 31 non-waivers deadline looming.

"I think it's a good question," Alderson said. "And I think what's too bad is we're in this situation with Jose, which is no one's fault. We can't quite get David back when we'd like. Ike is still a question mark. We do expect to get them back, and yet we won't have any of them potentially over the next 10 or 12 games, which might be among the most critical we have all year."

The Mets entered the day 10 1/2 games behind the Phillies in the National League East and trailed the Braves by 6 1/2 games in the wild-card race. In digesting those numbers, Alderson showed that he's more of a realist than a dreamer when it comes to handicapping the odds for a playoff berth this season.

"Uh, 10 1/2 behind the leader doesn't sound real good, does it?" Alderson said. "At this point, what I kept looking at was the .500 mark. To be relevant we had to get over .500, we're a couple of games over now, I think we are relevant."

Alderson made sure, however, not to confuse relevant with contention. Relevant has benefits in the form of increased ticket sales and TV ratings. But contention is another level, and the GM described that as more subjective, given the number of teams in the race and the games remaining on the schedule. Alderson doesn't feel the need to look that far ahead just yet, especially as they wait for a handful of significant players to return.

"This team has responded in the absence of all of those other players and that's the basis of making these judgments going forward," Alderson said. "We continue to play well, so we'll take it 10 to 12 games at a time. Then there's the next 10 to 12."

That's pretty much the same timeline the players figured on as they count the days until the trade deadline. The Mets understand that the clock is ticking, and to keep this club together, it's imperative to make up some ground in the next few weeks.

"You're looking at them making a decision within those games as to what direction they're going to go," R.A. Dickey said. "You would hope has an onus on winning. Any time you're in the race, you hope that the powers-that-be will put you in the best position to do that."

Jason Bay said the Mets "absolutely" are a contender at this stage and cautioned about the impact it would have if significant pieces of the roster were moved before July 31.

"In New York there isn't that luxury of being on the edge and throwing in the towel," Bay said. "People don't take too kindly to that and nor do the players. But that's a whole other side that we can't get too involved in. There really isn't much we can do other than go out there and win and try to force their hand by the end of the day."

Still, Bay realizes the tough spot Alderson is in as he tries to plot the Mets' course in the next month.

"I think the moves would tell you for the rest of the year the direction they think that we're going," Bay said. "It's not an enviable position. It's not like we're 20 games under or 20 games over. We're at the 'What do you do?' stage."