A Season Gone Horribly Wrong...

After last season, Mets' fans couldn't be blamed if we were skiddish, angry, disappointed...add any adjective that equates to "loss" and, well, you'd be right. Two years in a row seeing our dreams dashed was a lot to put up with, but even that would have been okay...IF the 2008 season, the last in our beloved (and reviled) Shea Stadium played out in better fashion then its' two predecessors. Sadly, with more than a third of the season complete, that looks to be as impossible as Josh Hamilton coming back from rehab and looking like a triple-crown player...okay, scratch that one...it's as impossible as Ryan Ludwick reaching near Pujols-like status as a slugger...again, not the best example...it's as impossible as the Giants winning the 2008 Super Bowl! Not a great example? Okay- it's as impossible to think that this Mets' team is going to win a World Series, or, heck, even make the playoffs, as it would be to see the Islanders make it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2009!! THERE- finally, a good analogy...and NOT one that I'm happy about, either...

I don't want to say "what else can go wrong" as "Mr. Murphy" just might be listening, and might add something else to that crazy "law" of his. Instead, let's look at the three main areas that haven't exactly gone "right" for us so far:

1.) Willie Randolph's job is twisting in the wind.
Not to be a hypocrite, I've said many, many times during the past 3 years that a.) Willie Randolph is a great person, a charitable man, a proud graduate of Tilden High, and my favorite Yankee of all time, and b.) he is the wrong man for the job of Mets' manager. Neither of those things have changed. However, keeping Willie hanging in the wind while the Mets decide what to do about his job status is more than I can bare watching. Yes, our site has posted many complaints against the job Willie has done as a manager, but we've always greatly respected the man that Willie is. He's being treated in a fashion that no one deserves when their livelyhood is on the line, and if it came to a choice as to keep Willie for the rest of season or continue to watch his job status twist in the wind for the next few weeks, I'd opt for keeping Willie until the end of the season; that's the least they can do after giving Art Howe until the end of his final season, even when he didn't want to stay anymore. Willie's been a far better manager and New Yorker than Howe ever was, and deserves at least the same treatment that Howe received.

2.) The team's reliance upon older players.

Granted, if Pedro's return to health hadn't been interrupted during the second game of the season, this entire post might have been rendered moot. Unfortunately, it did happen (and Jon and I were there), as did Moises Alou's coming apart at the seams on 3 occasions (so far), Luis Castillo and Carlos Delgado aging 10 years practically overnight, in addition to injuries to Jose Valentin, Orlando Hernandez and Marlon Anderson. I understand why Omar has assembled the team he has, in the way that he has, but he also has to take the blame for his reliance on older players. As I said in a post a few days ago, I still believe that Omar deserves a chance to reassemble this roster, and I hope he gets the chance to do so. I also hope that our roster next season will feature the names "Carp," "Murphy," "Davis," "Havens," "Kunz" and "Niese." I'd rather go through a season of rebuilding and focusing on what Omar originally promised, a team built on pitching, defense and youth, then have another season of older parts jammed in for a one-season run, which so far has fallen short twice.

3.) Injuries - need we say more?
From Ryan Church and Moises Alou, to Orlando Hernandez and Pedro Martinez in the rotation, this season has been all about injuries. On a team where a.) older players are the norm, and b.) injuries are not exactly handled all that well (both as it pertains to media communication and, more importantly, how players injuries are actually handled), this season has been a complete disaster. In Alou's (first) absence, journeyman Angel Pagan becomes a more than able replacement, only to disappear with an injury, his current status barely known (I think I saw his face on a milk carton, but I'm not sure); Ryan Church proves to be one of Minaya's best acquistions, and then he's asked to travel across the country while battling his second concussion in less than 3 months- needless to say, if we're lucky, he'll be off the DL by early next week- whether he's the same player again remains to be seen; first baseman Carlos Delgado can't move on fastballs the way he used to, certainly not against lefties, and on a game by game basis, we can't tell which Delgado will show up- he has no single injury pressing at the moment, but his hips have proven to be a problem in the past and we're not entirely sure that he's ever completely recovered yet; centerfielder Carlos Beltran probably needs 15 days off so that his knees can catch up to the rest of his body, but that's not going to happen with the manager's job on the line, nor would Beltran agree to sit out any length of time, so we have to be content with Beltran at around 85% functionality; finally, in Pedro and O-Hern's absence, we tried out the likes of Nelson Figueroa, Claudio Vargas and Mike Pelfrey in their stead- Figs was a great early season story, but he's gone back to AAA- Vargas has become a long reliever, and Pelf is still in the rotation, although he could really use another season of development at the AAA level.

Without young, athletic players able to step in to replace injured vets, we've seen the likes of Robinson Cancel (his hit on Sunday notwithstanding) and Raul Casanova become parts of our bench, as well as youngster Nick Evans (who still needs seasoning in the minors), and none of them have been the RX for what ails us. Hope has arrived for next season in the form of draft picks Reese Havens and Ike Davis, as well as the rejuvinated Mike Carp, but next season is a long, long, LONG way away with nearly one-hundred games left to play this season.

I barely watched the games this weekend, not just because it was Father's Day, but because truly they have not exactly been a "joy" to watch. There was a difference this weekend, perhaps a small ray of hope; a classic-style win on Friday, a well-pitched victory by Pedro in game 2 on Sunday, and, although we lost in game one, for a change, we rallied back and actually scored a bunch of runs in the 8th and 9th innings, falling one run short in an 8-7 loss. Granted, while the Rangers have an amazing offense, their pitching leaves a lot to be desired, but they are still a tough team and taking 2 of 3 was the least we could have hoped for.

Facing the Angels for three games with the team at a crossroads might just be the right challenge to see what mettle this team has; I will be at the game on Wednesday, my last live game until coming to see Shea in September, and a game in which I get to see Oliver Perez yet again. I am praying we take another 2 of 3 and storm into Colorado on a high note- in this, the worst season under Omar's guidance so far, one is scared to hope for too much, as in a sweep- and that is truly sad, coming on the heals of two seasons where hope was the main ingredient for our fans.

So far, 2008 is, indeed, a season gone horribly wrong...it's still not too late to get that bad taste out of our mouths...I pray this happens very, very soon - for all of our sakes!!!

Well, Folks, I am Truly Numb Tonite...Just Not "Comfortably" Numb...

First of all, before I get accused of over-reacting, todays loss to the Nats was just another shovel of dirt on the casket that's starting to form on this Mets' season - it's not a done deal, by any means, and we can, certainly, come back- but at this point, I just don't have the hope that I did for this season before it began...

Now let's get one thing straight- when we decry where the Mets are right now, and the job that Willie Randolph has done as Mets' manager, we are NOT judging the team on just this season, fair or not. We are taking into account everything that has transpired since 2005, Willie's first season, as well as the fact that, even when we had a better team then the current one, in 2006, we still couldn't get the key hit we needed to get into the World Series. One Carlos Beltran hit, instead of a strike-out, and it's true, things might be different; but the hit didn't happen, we didn't get to the Series, and after losing 3 of 4 to the Nationals, let's face it- it's looking like the odds of doing it this season are getting longer by the day. So where does this leave us?

Well, for starters, we're looking at a very flawed team, more so then I cared to admit to start the season. The contributions we've received from Brian Schneider and Ryan Church far exceed anything that we thought possible, and if you'll remember, we were quite high on both players in our pre-spring preview. Facts, however, are facts, so let's take stock of our current roster; David Wright is a bonafide superstar, and hopefully will remain our cornerstone for many years to come; Jose Reyes has been merely average since last season, and the great progress he had made has come to a grinding halt- as Jonathan said the other day, he's currently the third best shortstop in his DIVISION; Luis Castillo was overpaid and signed too long, probably in an effort to help land Santana- that deal is done, so perhaps it's time to eat that contract and move forward in another direction; Carlos Delgado might still rebound to have a semi-decent year, as he's shown flashes of better things lately, but he's not the all-star that he was and remains a hall-of-fame candidate on the extreme downside of his career; Moises Alou is still a great hitter, but at 42 isn't exactly a long-range solution; and Carlos Beltran remains an enigma, seemingly playing through pain at the cost of his own stats and status, and while admirable, as Kenny Rogers said, "you gotta know when to hold up and know when to fold up" and sometimes I think Beltran should just take a few days off to recover, as he is prone to major hot and cold streaks; John Maine, Johan Santana, Joe Smith, Scott Schoeneweis (yes, you read that right) and Billy Wagner have been incredible in the rotation and bullpen, respectively; will the real Duaner Sanchez, Pedro Feliciano, Aaron Heilman, Oliver Perez and Matt Wise please show himself; Mike Pelfrey has been improving by the start (thank goodness) and the bench, led by Marlon Anderson and Damion Easley, have been okay but a bit lesser than expected; finally, the addition of OF Angel Pagan, now on the DL, has been the biggest surprise this side of Church this season, but his starting job has been taken by Alou and Endy Chavez has replaced him as the first OFer off the bench, so we'll see how much longer he retains a place on the club.

Every day, someone else writes how managers (and, for that matter, pitching coaches) don't win games or lose games for their team; and yet, if one had to analyze the main differences between this years Marlins team, sans Willis and Cabrera, it would be the maturity of their manager, Fredi Gonzalez, and the addition of their new pitching coach, Mark Wiley. Gonzalez stresses fundamentals, and isn't out-managed; Wiley has merely taken what looked to be one of the worst, and least experienced, pitching staffs in the game, not just the NL, and has mediocre starters (like Mark Hendrickson) believing in themselves, while he's also convinced a merely ordinary bullpen that there's no situation they can't get out of - and it's working, folks! What about the amazing job that Dave Duncan is doing in St. Louis, WITHOUT the likes of Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder - including the recent meltdown of formerly reliable relief ace, Jason Isringhausen! So the next time someone says that managers don't "win" or "lose" games because they don't pitch, hit, or field, remind them of these examples- or, simply ask them what "might" have happened in yesterday's game IF Willie had left Vargas in for one more inning!

Where does this leave this team? Let's face it, loyal readers- we're not looking too good right now, and perhaps this should become a "building" year, not a re-building year, if things continue as they are now for a while longer, which means we could bring up players like Mike Carp, Fernando Martinez, Jon Niese and Eddie Kunz, in order to see what they have to offer to us. At the rate we're going, Willie is probably going to lose his job if he doesn't take 2 of 3 from the Yankees (just my opinion, not based on any heresay, etc.) and a revamp of the entire coaching staff will have to follow thereafter. That gives us the perfect excuse to try out some younger players, in an effort to build a more exciting team to open Citi-field next season with, as well as shedding unproductive payroll. I'd rather forget the likes of Adam Dunn, Kevin Millar and Joe Blanton and, instead, see exactly what we might have in the organization that will help us in future seasons.

Now, lest you think I'm giving up on this season, you'd be wrong; I wouldn't want these steps to be taken until after June, at which time we'll all have a better idea as to where we stand. However, IF, at that time, it's not looking good for this season, forget about taking on other people's "baggage rentals" and worry about who's already in our system. There will be free agents to sign and inflated salaries to trade for in the off-season, one in which, I still believe, needs to be led by Omar Minaya. Remember this- before Omar came to the organization, NO ONE had any faith in this team; now, we are angry because we think we should contend, and can contend, and that, friends, is because of Omar. He deserves to be given a few more years to enact his plan, either with or without Mr. Randolph, as he still hasn't shown every "trick" up his sleeve.

I still can't believe that, a few days after we take 2 of 3 from the Reds, we can't win a series over the lowly "softball girls." Everyone on that team who ISN'T a pitcher should walk over to Vargas and Pelfrey and apologize for wasting their excellent starts the last 2 days - Billy Wagner had the right idea when he layed into his teammates today, which you can see by clicking here, courtesy of Metsblog.com. I just wish everyone on the team, and in the organization, would be as candid and self-aware as Wagner is, as this would certainly be a different team...



who we are remains to be seen- I just know that, right now, it's not so easy watching, and hope seeps away by the moment- not a good feeling on May 15th, that's for sure, and it's feeling more and more like this is just the appetizer for the rest of the season!