Aftershocks of the 2009 Mets Season

aftershockThe 2009 season for the Mets was a disaster.  After careful review, it appears that the specific type of disaster was earthquake.  Even after the disastrous season ended we’ve been hit with aftershocks.  Aftershocks are known as smaller earthquakes that follow after the original quake, not to be confused with the alcohol beverage that was needed for us fans to get through the season.  They can still be dangerous, but generally get smaller and farther apart as time goes on.

Carlos Beltran’s scoped knee surgery was the first aftershock of the 2009 disaster.  While final damage totals are not yet in for this one, it’s expected he’ll miss up to a month of real time.  The last report I heard suggested that he’d be cleared to resume baseball activities right around the time the Mets head north for Opening Day.

The Jose Reyes Thyroid aftershock hit last week, when blood work revealed that Reyes has an overactive thyroid.  The results and treatment for this are still being determined, but many opinions suggest that it shouldn’t be a big deal and he can get back to playing soon.  This smaller aftershock was still upsetting, but it seems like it won’t be one that did much damage.

Other smaller aftershocks have occurred throughout Spring Training for the Mets.  Francisco Rodriguez came down with pink eye, pinkeyebut didn’t become a zombie.  Fernando Tatis is batting some knee issues, and Nick Evans strained his forearm.  Neither is considered serious and Frankie is back and pitching again.

The big thing to remember here is it’s not 2009 anymore.  You can check the calendar if you don’t believe me.  Every tweak or setback or injury is not indicative of disaster, and the bad luck that plagued the Mets in 2009 was just that; bad luck.  The way Reyes did not adequately recover from his hamstring injuries has nothing to do with what his thyroid may or may not be doing right now, and the bone bruise that Beltran had does not relate to his recovery from having his knee scoped in the off season.  Right now we’re still in limbo waiting on how Reyes will be treated by doctors and when he’ll get back down to Florida to continue Spring Training, but once he does everything will be alright.  Soon it will be time for baseball to count, and we can start obsessing over wins and losses and pitching performances and home run totals instead of thyroid levels and pink eye symptoms.

Visit The Real Dirty Mets Blog for lively discussion on this, and other, Mets topics.

Staying Positive on Beltran

Everyone’s down after the news that Carlos Beltran had surgery on his knee and will likely miss Opening Day, and probably most of April.  The one thing we were all hoping for in 2010 is that we could go into the season healthy, with a full team on the field, and start feeling good about the Mets again; Positive about the Mets again.  This doesn’t help that cause.

I’m going to ignore most of the off-field drama for now.  There is a still a lot that we don’t know, about who knew what, what the doctors said, how much the Mets knew or didn’t know, and when Beltran started feeling pain.  We know he told Kevin Burkhardt in November that he felt no pain.  His knees started acting up again and he had surgery.  We’ll go from there.

We haven’t gotten a solid figure on recover time yet.  The common figure seems to be around 12 weeks to baseball activity, whatever that means.  Is that another month past the 12 weeks to be on the field with the Mets?  It’s roughly 12 weeks to Opening Day, so we’re basically talking about most or all of April.  If the prognosis is closer to 8-12 weeks, maybe he can be back sooner.  Maybe it’s not as serious as all that.  I don’t think we’ll really know until we see how Beltran feels in March. 

The events of 2009 have given us no reason to believe anything the Mets, or anyone, says about recovery time and return to action.  I don’t see how we can do anything else right now.  Beltran is irreplaceable and if he’s out for longer than April, things could get murky.  Angel Pagan has played very well with the Mets, and while he’s no Beltran, the team can be successful with him in CF temporarily.  Fernando Martinez could become a factor too, if he shows something amazing in Spring Training.  Of all the possible contigency plans, that has to be the most exciting one. 

For now, I’m going to stay upbeat and cross my fingers about all things going well from here on out, and Beltran being on the field by May 1st.  A-Rod missed April for the Yankees last year.  Championships aren’t won in April.  The Mets need to get another solid pitcher, and it looks like they should find another solid lefty OF bat for the bench.  I have good feelings on Mike Pelfrey and John Maine based on some stuff I’ve heard from them, and if both of them pitch well in 2010 it would actually overcome the lost offense from Beltran to Pagan.

What I Expect From The Mets This Offseason

I listened to most of the interview with Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon yesterday on WFAN. I wish it had been with someone other than Mike Francesa who is very biased, and very amateurish, when it comes to the Mets. However Francesa is the guy that gets the ‘big’ guests due to reputation and seniority, so we have to deal with it. Here is a list of things I expect from the Mets going forward. Also a list of things Francesa should’ve asked. (He may have asked them at one point and I missed it, but not in the first hour.)

From 100409_Astros

I expect the Mets to be big players in the quest for a big power bat. Probably in left field, unless a doable trade comes along for a guy like Adrian Gonzalez, which seems unlikely. Matt Holliday seems to be the best choice, hopefully he doesn’t stay with the Cardinals.

They’re committed to spending on what they feel will improve the team to make it competitive next year. This is the most important piece of news. They made no mention of a budget, a cap on spending, or any number. This doesn’t mean there isn’t one, but it also suggests they are flexible to get the job done.

They’ve already been discussing and planning, but obviously until teams and players exercise options after the World Series, you can’t know what’s going to be available for sure.

“You’re lowering ticket prices for season ticket holders. Will those ticket prices come down for game day sales? Will there be less gold level games as was reported?” The Mets have not offered season ticket holders a percent discount for buying all 81 games in the past. To me, this suggests that Ceaser Club Bronze, and Metropolitan/Baseline Box seats will be cheaper. These are the two areas they mentioned, and are probably the most overprice in terms of the cost to quality ratio.

They intend to add more Mets stuff to Citi Field. More memorabilia, a Hall of Fame, and naming stuff after prominent Mets.

Medically they’ve adjusted how they’re going to get information, and how they’re going to release it. Their excuses were a little bit weak, but as long as they’re aware that that was the problem. It was true that they listened to the Dodgers (or was it the Giants?) doctor when Reyes hurt himself on the road trip. I remembered commenting on it, wondering why the Mets were letting the opposing team decide whether their shortstop was ready to play. The problem was in the decision making in that they were soft on the severity of the injury, figuring that Reyes would be okay to play soon, and that taking him out of the lineup for a cross country flight to New York wasn’t needed.

Another question Francesa didn’t ask, or didn’t ask for clarification on: “I just heard Reyes is having the surgery. Will he be ready for Opening Day, 100%? Will he be full strength, full speed?” Instead, Francesa praised the doctors and the hospital, and went on to ask about other things.

It gives me faith that at least Omar knows what needs to be done. I just hope he’s aware of the little things that need to be done and not overlooked. I like Cora, but am not necessarily sold on him being the answer. I think it might make more sense to have power off the bench. The Mets don’t need to build a 300 home run team, I think they just need the threat of power to help scare pitchers a little bit.

Hard to be Optimistic about the Mets

It’s hard to be optimistic with the state of the Mets right now. It’s hard to be confident in Omar, it’s hard to be confident in Manuel and the coaches, and even the promising young guys no longer seem promising.

comebackreyes

How did we go from being disappointed that Murphy got an extra plate appearance last season and wouldn’t be eligible for Rookie of the Year, to a guy that we’re talking about trading while he still has some value. Personally, I don’t agree with that sentiment, but Murphy’s stock has definitely gone down since last year.

Mike Pelfrey was quickly becoming an excellent pitcher, and while there were some concerns most were okay with him being ‘named’ the number two starter before the season. Now he’s struggling to make that next step and gain consistency.

To me both these guys have talent, drive, and are smart enough to learn how to get better. So why aren’t they getting better? While the ultimate onus falls on the player, this is why there is a manager and coaches in the first place. Most people don’t really understand what a coach does, but if they didn’t have a big role they wouldn’t be fired as often as they are, and teams wouldn’t necessarily even have them.

It doesn’t have to be a career All-Star on the bench to be a good coach, merely a student of the game. He needs to be able to identify and assist players with making the adjustments they need to make, or fixing the bad habits they’re picking up. Good players can do this on their own, but even good players often have a blind spot when analyzing themselves. It’s the same in all areas of the world. This is why English teachers since grade school have been teaching us to have someone else read over and review our writing.

It appears that there is something fundamentally wrong with the Mets. This has been the case since 2007, and has yet to be identified and fixed. Too many guys are under-performing, and virtually no one is over-performing. This is what makes or breaks good teams. And this is what defines a good manager or coach. It’s not just luck when a player has a career year; it’s often due to hard work, and proper guidance. The Mets have been a better team than the Phillies for years, but the difference is somehow journeyman middle relief in Philadelphia has been able to excel and pitchers like J.A. Happ have come out of nowhere to pitch brilliantly, while Pelfrey, Murphy, Parnell, Evans and guys that have showed promise with the Mets have fizzled and failed to make good on promises of success.

Is the season over? No, it’s not. I don’t buy the Marlins as legitimate. I’m not sure the Braves will be appreciably over .500, although they do look pretty good. If you buy that, it’s between the Mets and the Phillies. The Mets are far behind, but technically it’s only a game or two. They still play each other eight times, and if the Mets were to win those games they’ll be in good position, which isn’t completely out of the question as unlikely as it seems given the current state of the team. It’s growing more and more unlikely as the Phillies pull off more and more unlikely wins and the Mets continue to struggle to find any consistency, but if the ship were to be righted and players do come back from the disabled list and perform, it’s not out of the question for the Mets to catch up.

Enjoy the Game

The All-Star game arrives tomorrow. Tonight is the Home Run Derby. It’s a much maligned three, or four, days without regular season games. I’ve written an article about how exciting the All-Star break can be, and there are some points this year that I’d like to add.

allstar2009patch

This is the first year of the MLB Network. I’ve really liked what they’ve done so far, and while the All-Star Game is still on Fox, I think we’ll see some good stuff on the Network, getting better every year. Presumably the game will eventually be televised on MLB Network or at least they will have a lot more exclusive rights to things going on around the game.

Watch the game for the celebration of baseball as our National Pastime. Don’t play the “what if” game about injuries and arm fatigue and all that. These players can treat it as a vacation, a reprise from the grind of everyday baseball and the pressures that may envelope them on their own teams. These athletes are in good enough shape that the mental break from the standings is much more important than the physical break from playing.

I’ll enjoy watching the different aspects and play of different stars around the league. Because it’s baseball, and I love baseball. It doesn’t even matter that it barely counts. No one would risk getting excited about the prospects of game seven of the World Series at this point anyway, too much of a jinx.

Hang on to Those Towels

Have You Thrown in the Towel?

dont-throw-towel

It’s not far fetched, and I don’t blame him. It’s hard not to be frustrated and disgusted with the Mets the way they’re playing. There is blame on the field, in the dugout, within management and even with in the front office, all the way up. I’m not sure I’m even willing to excuse the ushers or ticket takers from the poor play of the Mets.

But it’s not over. If only it was. We all know how much 2003 sucked, but right now I think 2009 has sucked more. There was some hope in 2003. Shea Stadium shook in 2003, if only because Mo Vaughn was trying to make it to first base. You had Alomar who had been a great player; surely after a year of getting accustomed to New York, he’d return to form. You still had Piazza.

It became evident pretty fast that these guys weren’t going to get it done. It was a season probably very similar to how the Pirates fans think, of “Well, if this guy gets hot, gets good, figures it out.. then..maybe..” By mid-April, most fans realized that there was no point in getting invested in the season.

One of the bright spots of 2003 was getting to see our star prospect, Jose Reyes. A lot of 2009 hinges on the same idea. Right now it feels like they’re being overly cautious, not even testing the injury. On one hand this could mean he’s still not healthy, on the other it could mean he’s 100% healed and almost ready to go. He’s been swinging down in Florida so I hope this is the Mets way of getting his swing in shape while still resting the injury. Hopefully he’ll be ready to go, and soon.

The biggest reason I would say not to throw in the towel has to do with not being overly critical of our existing players. Despite the injuries, the Mets are in the top of the league in batting average, on base percentage. They’re getting guys on, they’re getting chances. The problem is what they do with those chances. Part of it is that they have Fernando Tatis, and lead the league in grounding into double plays. Part of it’s lineup management. If you have a lot of guys getting on, but not getting in, the lineup needs to be shaken up. Things like batting Luis Castillo and his high OBP 8th, where he’s more likely to be stranded due to the pitcher’s spot, inflate these numbers. Part of it may be the lack of power, and not being able to get as many runs out of one hit. Part of it may be the bunting, which gives away an out and a chance to have a big inning.

Another culprit has been the fundamentals. This has been a problem for most of the year, and why Jerry Manuel is not working harder at stressing it is beyond me. Especially when many of the errors seem to be of the mental kind, suggesting that the players aren’t in the right frame of mind in the field. It’s the manager’s job to get his players ready for the game. This doesn’t excuse them from making these mistakes, but it is a fault of the manager as well. When players are pressing, even in the first inning, something needs to be done. These guys need to relax. Especially David Wright who’s carrying the weight of all our expectations on his shoulders. Daniel Murphy is another who works so hard, that maybe it’s too hard.

This leads me to another thought, which is Jose Reyes in the clubhouse. Reyes, despite being a hard worker, is a very happy go lucky guy. Love it or hate it, he’s pretty much defined the atmosphere of the Mets clubhouse for years. I think the Mets miss that. His energy is something that’s missing with this team and hopefully when he comes back that energy is something he can rev people up with, get them confident and relaxed, and win some ballgames and maybe stop some of these mental errors.

Underdogs? No way!

Underdogs? No way!

Beltran wants us to be in first place when he gets back, and I agree.

From 062209_Cardinals

I went out and supported the team last night, at Citi Field, in section 520 of the Promenade. I haven’t been in a couple of weeks, and it felt like returning home. This is after a trip to Yankee Stadium, which I’ll write about later, but I’m confident now to say that this is the best stadium in New York. And that’s without a Seaver statue. I’ve heard a cool idea about naming the area just in front of the bridge and above the bullpen The Piazza, which I think is a cool idea. Although, I think it might be a better name for the food court area on the Promenade behind home plate. After all, wouldn’t you look for Piazza behind home plate, not out in the bullpen?

It was a great bounce back win yesterday, after a flurry of roster moves including Carlos Beltran to the DL. This means that Wright and Castillo are the only two regulars who have not spent time on the disabled list. Daniel Murphy as well, but he hasn’t seen regular time through May, so it’s hard to count him. However, that’s the key. If Daniel Murphy is a regular player, and he’s starting to show that maybe he is, things may not be as grim as they seem. Ryan Church has been doing well since returning. Brian Schneider hasn’t been his pre-injury disasterous April self, and while he’s not Piazza and Manuel still likes Santos over him, it’s a good thing to see him getting big hits. Santos is avoiding the inevitable drop off you’d expect from a career minor league.

The only blight right now might be Tatis. He’s getting way too much playing time for playing so badly. He’s grounding into double plays at an alarming rate, and he had no place batting cleanup last night, or pinch hitting for Murphy Sunday night. Keith Hernandez has been pointing out how messed up his swing is from last year for weeks. Give him a rest, and lets get Evans some outfield starts. He was starting to hit in the minors, and he has some power. I know he’s as right-handed as Sheffield, but he could be a good solution to who to play when you rest Sheffield, who needs a lot of rest to contribute much to this team.

So, are the Mets underdogs? I say no. The Phillies are having injury problems as well, and they weren’t as good a team to begin with. So instead of trying to tread water, not lose ground, and hope everyone comes back healthy, I say go out there and ride the guys that are hot, and take back this division. Maybe Santos will drop off, maybe Murphy won’t hit .300, but they’re hitting now, and there is no reason we can’t win now. Especially if Nieve is serious about being good. Redding drops some decent games on us, Livan seems to be acceptable. Santana is Santana, and hopefully Pelfrey is just having a blip in his early career. There is hope for Perez and Maine coming back, and there is always Niese in the wings. The bullpen is still excellent, as long as Manuel recognizes the need for rest, and Parnell can make the proper adjustments. It seems like he can, Parnell really does look like a serious player. He probably could use some days off, as could Feliciano, but I have confidence in those guys if they don’t get burnt out.

What’s Up (Mets) Doc?

Questions for the Mets medical staff
stethoscope
I find new reasons to want to Fire Manuel every day, but I’m starting to think there may be issues with the medical staff. Putz concerns me; Did the Mariners let him go because they were worried about his health? This isn’t as grievous a mistake as Mo Vaughn, but if there were/is issues with J.J. Putz’s health, this probably should’ve sent up a red flag. If anything, we probably could’ve given up less. Another weird decision to look at is way back when they decided to alter Jose Reyes’ running stride. Just a horrible decision all around, and luckily there is some leadership somewhere that corrects these mistakes.

Another place to look would be the outfield. Whether bad luck, or bad scouting, the Mets have had a ton of outfield injuries the last few years. In reverse order.

Angel Pagan
Ryan Church
Angel Pagan
Marlon Anderson
Ryan Church
Trot Nixon
Moises Alou
Ryan Church
Marlon Anderson
Moises Alou
Angel Pagan
Moises Alou
Carlos Beltran
Carlos Gomez
Endy Chavez
Shawn Green
Moises Alou

There are a lot of repeat names. Some are excusable. This isn’t including the minor league injuries that caused the Mets to call up not their 4th or 5th OF, but their 6th or 7th. Lastings Milledge was hurt, Ben Johnson was hurt. Fernando Martinez. None made it to the major league disabled list because they were injured in the minors.

Pedro and the Padres

The Friars come to town this week, followed by the Dodgers. I’m planning on being at Wednesday’s game and my usual Saturday game for game numbers 24 and 25 on the season. That’s more than Carl Pavano. This team is finally playing with some fire and energy, winning six of their last seven. I expect them to continue this stretch through these next two teams, who may be playoff contenders, but are not in the Mets class. More importantly, I think they’ll win more games than the Phillies and Braves over this six game stretch, bringing their division lead to at least six before they go play both of those two teams.

Jeff Conine is on his way, and I really could care less. I hope this isn’t a statement on how Delgado is feeling overall, because despite his 2007, I’d rather Delgado at first any day. Castro and Lo Duca healing up is another thing I’m waiting for, despite Mike Difelice doing as well as he is doing. Lo Duca was upset that he went on the DL in the first place, so I expect him to come back healthy and angry, which I suspect is when he’s at his best. Pedro Martinez is climbing the ladder, and I expect he’ll be here before we know it. He’s itching for the competitive baseball of the major leagues, and even though by the time he gets here we may be already putting the finishing touches on the division, I expect that competitive fire to come through in the playoffs.

Endy Chavez could be back as early as tonight. As far as bench impact players go, he’s a good one. He’s a fan favorite too, and maybe his reappearance is all the Mets need to start winning at home again. I’d love to finally break the 4-win plateau with some crushing victories at home over the Padres. I’d even be there for the 5th one should the game go well tonight, and with John Maine on the mound looking to redeem himself after a couple of iffy starts, I expect tonights game to be a good clean win.

Healing and Growing

Where Do We Go From Here?

We were 4.5 games in front when May ended. Now we are 1.5 games in front. We’ve won three games in that stretch. It’s depressing, and hard to be optimistic lately, but if there was ever a reason, that’s it. We went a stretch where we won three of 15 games. Not even the 1964 Mets played that badly over the season, so when we only lose three games in the standings it gives me faith that even if we continued to play like the 1964 Mets, we’d probably maintain the lead.

Now before all you worry warts use that as ammunition, we’re not going to play like that team for long. It’s just not going to happen, we’re not going to continually leave dozens of runners on base. If A-Rod could get over that adversity, surely the Mets and Carlos Beltran can too. Our pitching isn’t going to be this bad forever. El Duque probably was due for a bad start or two, and Glavine is a veteran, he’ll figure this out and bounce back. Meanwhile, Oliver Perez is making a case to start as many possible big games as humanly possible. John Maine hasn’t been excellent like he was in April, but he hasn’t been horrible either. He’s learning to minimize the damage when he doesn’t have it, and maximize the innings when he does. Jorge Sosa has had two bad starts, and even if we never got another one from him, he’s been a big contributor.

The Mets have growing, and healing to do. Pedro’s well on his way to returning. Delgado, whether from some sort of residual pain or weakness from his surgery, or whatever it is, isn’t this bad. He’ll be good again, even if it’s only for September and October. Beltran will heal his left quadricep back to 90% and be good again. Gomez looks like he’ll only grow and get better. I think having him up here with Veteran hitters and runners is going to help loads more then playing consistantly in New Orleans. Valentin still is probably aching a bit. Alou will eventually heal, as will Lastings Milledge, for whatever he’s worth. Scott Schoeneweis will either learn how to pitch effectively with his injury, Willie will learn how and when he can use him to maximize effectiveness, or hopefully he’ll be forced to get surgery and heal. Mota hasn’t looked good, and he’s one of the more legitimate concerns in my eyes. I’m in favor of some auditions of our minor league relievers, and I imagine Minaya has been on the phone constantly trying to plug some gaps and fine tune this team.

I see the signs of the offense breaking out of this slump, the problem is that the pitching has fallen apart recently. When Glavine and Hernandez pitch them out of games early, it must be hard mentally to overcome a slump and get some hits. I don’t expect it to be much longer.

Earlier in the season we had our share of problems too. Orlando Hernandez went on the DL, Valentin wasn’t hitting that well, then went on the DL. Delgado and Wright went through some slumps, Pelfrey wasn’t able to ever pitch well enough to win. Heilman hasn’t pitched very well at all. With all this, the Mets still came out and won. Injuries happen, slumps happen, and the Mets will overcome that. They’ll have a stretch where they’ll be better than we’ve seen all year, and while many of you will still be waiting by the ledge for the right time to jump, others of us will enjoy it.

And please, do not boo Carlos Beltran tonight. He’s slumping, but so is the whole team. It’s not his fault solely, and rather then getting on him, which we know gets to him, how about we give him the benefit of the doubt. The Mets need some confidence right now, and booing him is only going to hurt that.