Mets won't wait for Emaus to flower

On Friday, Terry Collins said that Brad Emaus -- in danger of slipping into a platoon with Daniel Murphy -- would be given a "legitimate chance" to prove himself worthy of holding on to the full-time second-base job.

When asked what he meant by "legitimate chance," the Mets' manager replied, "I have a number of at-bats that I think is a qualified number."

Now we know what that number was: seven.

After Collins put Emaus on the clock, he started two games in Atlanta and went 0-for-7 with a walk and two strikeouts. Just like that, his 14-game Mets career was history.

Upon the team's return to New York, general manager Sandy Alderson met with Collins and his coaching staff. Roughly 24 hours later, the Mets officially designated Emaus for assignment, jettisoning their Opening Day second baseman after an 18-day trial period.

The Mets had high hopes for Emaus. They fantasized about finding the next Dan Uggla -- another Rule 5 pick -- and proclaimed Emaus the winner of a lackluster second-base competition at the end of spring training.

In hindsight, that was a mistake. Emaus, who looked overmatched at the plate, batted .162 (6-for-37) with a .262 on-base percentage. He struck out nine times and walked four.

That's not to say Emaus, 25, won't someday become a viable major-leaguer. The Mets just don't have the luxury of waiting for that to happen. Not after a 5-11 start, and not with Collins desperate to find a lineup that clicks on a more consistent basis.

Developing young players is nice, and in a perfect world, maybe the Mets would have given Emaus two months. But things are far from perfect around the Mets, and if they aren't winning games, Alderson and Co. need to show they're doing everything possible to remedy that.

"The fact that we're not 9-7 or whatever -- then you can absorb certain things," Alderson said. "Our team really has not played all that well in any aspect and so sometimes, you have to make choices at times when you wouldn't otherwise. It was really a balanced decision, I think, both in terms of what's going on currently and what we foresaw in Brad longer term."

There was some middle ground. The Mets could have given Emaus one last shot as part of a platoon with Murphy. But as Alderson said, that wouldn't do much for their long-term goals at the position. Instead, the Mets are back to where they were at the start of spring training, only without the $6-million distraction of Luis Castillo.

And that's OK. With no clear solution at second base, what else can the Mets do but keep trying to find one? As Alderson pointed out, Murphy has handled the defensive part of his duties better than most people had expected. The Mets' plan is to pair him with Justin Turner, recalled yesterday from Triple-A Buffalo, in a platoon they refused to implement with Emaus.

"I'd say it's an evolving situation, no question about that," Alderson said. "This is kind of a natural progression. You'd like it to stop at some point with a final answer, but this is often what happens in baseball at various positions."

Say this about Alderson: He's not running the Mets like some absentee landlord. When Blaine Boyer put a blowtorch to Chris Young's seven-inning one-hitter on April 10, the Mets designated him for assignment before he had even showered, and immediately called up two more relievers to fortify a tired bullpen.

The knock on the Mets' previous administration was its inability to act, a sort of paralysis by analysis that caused numerous roster snafus and left injured players in limbo. In this case, when the Mets' front office -- along with Collins -- decided it was time for Emaus to go, Alderson didn't waffle before pulling the trigger.

"Sandy said fine, we'll move him," Collins said. "It's ultimately about where we are right now and what we've got to do to get this thing rolling. That's why we thought a change had to be made."