Shea Nation: pedro

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!!!

We know what to expect from players like David Wright, Jose Reyes, and even Billy Wagner. We know that they'll go through slumps, but for the most part be the rock solid veteran players that we expect.

But on every team there are "x factors." Those players who aren't the focal point of a team. They aren't superstars, but they're performance just as much plays a role in the fate of a team as those who are the central focus of our opponents.

The list below is comprised of a few players in whom I feel will have a direct impact on the type of season the Mets have. Of course if Wright & Reyes have horrible seasons, then the Mets will suffer, but this is a list of complimentary players that need to succeed to support the season we expect from our marquee guys.

1. Pedro Martinez - Pedro used to be a marquee guy, but those days are gone. Sure he's the headliner on our pitching staff, a guaranteed Hall of Famer, but he needs to prove he's still the pitcher we know and love. Pedro showed excellent control in his few starts of 2007. Even though his velocity isn't there, his movement on his changeup and fastball still make him unhittable at times. The question will be if Pedro can give the Mets 25 starts. If he can, and he pitches like he did last year, the Mets are in a great position to win at least 15 starts. If not, we have a bigger hole in our starting rotation that we originally thought.

2. Moises Alou - I fully expect Moises Alou to miss 3 weeks of the 2008 season. If he misses more than that, we might have a problem. Alou proved last year that the Mets are a much, much better team with Alou in the 5 hole than without him. Alou gets hits and drives in runs. He's a hitting machine. Without him the Mets lack that RBI man in the middle of the lineup, especially if Delgado continues to struggle. Like El Duque, I'll give Alou a pass on a few weeks on the DL, but he can't miss 3 months like he did in 2007.

3. Ryan Church - Ryan Church has the opportunity to change a city in 2008. I don't think anyone really expects much from Ryan Church, but if he bats around .250 with 10 homers and 50 RBIs he might be run out of town (along with Omar Minaya). The trade for Church and Schneider was questionable at best, but if Church proves he has the talent Minaya believes he does we could have gotten a steal. Church needs to bat +.275 and be in the 20 homers/80 RBIs range to have an impact. Sure he'll probably bat in the 7th spot, but this is a corner outfielder were talking about. We should expect that to be a power position and if Church can't put up decent numbers, the Mets will be looking to fill a void come the trading deadline and could suffer offensively scoring runs down the stretch.

4. Marlon Anderson - Amidst the late collapse, the Mets found a true gem in the latter months of the 2007 season in Marlon Anderson. Anderson was a beast off the bench and seemed to play a pivotal role in nearly every comeback win the Mets had. Having a pinch hitter like that can help you win at least 10 games over the course of a season. Was Marlon Anderson's success one of those passing moments or can he produce of the bench consistently? If he can, the Mets have a leg up on pretty much every other team in the NL East as our bench will be significantly better with Anderson, Castro, & Chavez as the key bench players. If Anderson can't reproduce his 2007 success, the Mets will again be searching for a big bat off the bench come the trading deadline. And we all know how Jeff Conine worked out.