Why standing pat this Offseason is the right move for the Mets

This morning, many in baseball circles were surprised when they awoke to the news that Cliff Lee, the most prized possession of this years free agent class had signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies signed Lee to 5 year contract worth 120 million dollars. The problem with that is that Lee is 32 years old, and prone to back problems. With the addition of Lee, the Phillies are paying their top 3 starters nearly 60 million dollars. Even with Lee, I still believe that Phillies window for winning is closing and closing fast. The rotation is hardly filled with youngsters, their ace Roy Halladay is 33, Lee is 32, and Roy Oswalt is also 33. This leaves the often inconsistent Cole Hamels as their only starter under the age of 30. The Phillies window to win will only be about 2 to 3 years, because at that point the lethal combination of Oswalt, Halladay, and Lee will be 35. The Phillies position players are also not what they used to be, Jimmy Rollins is far from what he once was when he won the the National League MVP award in 2007, Chase Utley has been battling injuries the last few years, and Ryan Howard continues to do what he does best: strikeout. Now to what this has to do with my team the New York Metropilitans. The Mets brass led by General Manager Sandy Alderson, decided to spend very little money so far this offseason, and frankly as a Mets fan I am happy that Sandy did not become an ATM like the Washington Nationals were when they signed free agent outfielder Jayson Werth to a 7 year contract in excess of 126 million dollars. Alderson took a jab at Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo by saying, "I thought they were trying to reduce the deficit in Washington."Alderson also took a swing at former Mets General Manager Omar Minaya when he also said this about the Werth contract,"It makes some of our contracts look pretty good." The Mets in reality, will not be challenging the Phillies, or pretty much anybody else in the next 2 to 3 years, so this slow frugal approach when it comes to dishing out money should be a welcomed sign to us Met fans that the guard is finally changing here in flushing.