Jesse Gloyd usually can be found writing essays about baseball (among other things) at buckshotboogaloo.com (which is where most of these posts live). Follow him on Twitter at @jessejamesgloyd.

Sandy Alderson made a trade. Ned Colletti made one too. Sandy Alderson is the general manager of a team with wild financial troubles. Ned Colletti is also the general manager of a team up to its neck in debt and strange awfulness. Sandy Alderson and the Mets benefited from a decent half year of Francisco Rodriguez. Francisco Rodriguez finished (for whatever it's worth) 34 games. Had he continued the pace, he would have easily cleared the 55 finishes needed for his $17.5 million option to vest. Sandy Alderson traded him to the Brewers. The move needed to happen. The deal was prudent, smart, and will hopefully free up cash for future, more meaningful investments.

Joel Sherman elaborates:

Look, Alderson was hired because the Mets needed an adult in the room. They needed someone who made reasonable, big-picture choices rather than continue with the decision-of-the-moment way in which the Mets had operated for so long.

This is a move that hurts a little now as the Mets yearn to capitalize on surprising success, returning fan enthusiasm and a Citi Field-heavy second-half schedule. But the reality is that with all the good vibes, the Mets are just a game over .500. They are fourth in the wild-card standings, 71⁄2 games behind the Braves. What are the chances they will play eight games better than Atlanta over the second half?

His point is well made. This is how I want my owner to operate. Ned Colletti does not operate in this fashion. Dealing for the oft maligned (for good reason) Juan Rivera will not cripple the franchise. As a fan, though, it adds to the collective head scratch. It is a lateral move at best (lateral being used very loose as the original bar has been set well below the level of good). If I am a fan of the Mets, I am sad, but I can see a light. As a fan of the Dodgers, I see no light. I feel no hope. Trading for Juan Rivera further cements this feeling, this overwhelming perception that the corrupt are leading the blind.