Its Going To Get A Lot Tougher

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• Joe D June 5, 2009 at 5:57 am

  The next two weeks will tell if the Mets are going to be a real contender for the title or if we’ll just be chasing butterflies all season long.

  Injuries or not, if we fail to go to the playoffs, Omar and Jerry have to go. Despite the injuries, the Mets still have plenty of talent to win on the field.
• L.J. Phipps June 5, 2009 at 8:21 am

  Again this is a matter of the right pieces being in place for the Mets to succeed. Injuries are part of the game, and while any team that loses their lead-off man and clean-up hitter for any length of time has a legitimate excuse. That being said, it cannot be an excuse for failure. The front office (ownership, GM, Player development, etc) has to be accountable for the shape the Mets are in. While I applaud the moves for players like Cora, adding Sheff (a professional hitter) they left the team without adequate depth. They re-signed Ollie Perez/Mr. Hyde and knew he was 50/50 at best while opting to pass on Lowe(who by the way is pitching like he is on a mission). Some of these decisions are so questionable, whether it be do to finances, personel decisions, or just plain stupidity. In another blog someone mentioned that it would have been foolish to gamble on Delgado to reproduce the second half he had last year in 2009. I like Delgado, wish the Mets could have had him 10 years ago, but to gamble like that and not have an adequate back-up was a bum move. Murph is filling in alright at 1st, and I believe that he is settling in and will become more consistent at the plate, but his power will never resemble even the 2007 version of Delgado. J-Man who, what, where, or when did you guys think Murph was the starting leftfilder. Again here the Mets gambled that with his work ethic he would be able to learn on the fly, and found out what all of us know that have played any organized baseball, it is hard to learn to play the outfield being an infielder during games. Depth perception, learning hitters patterns to position yourself, etc. Can’t do it it during games that count in the “Big Leagues”. I know you can’t foresee things like Reyes going down, Beltran missing time, Church going down, but it seems the higher ups did little to provide adequate support for a team that is in contention. I know you cant get every name on the trade market or FA list, but they could have done better in providing personel. I am reminded about the Castillo 4 year deal everytime I see O-Dog put the smack down on opposing teams when he for sure wanted to be a Met. These are the type of decisions I have to question the front office about that they have been doing year after year!
  • gregga19 June 5, 2009 at 9:00 am

    Man, I couldn’t have written it better myself. Great job and I totally agree!
• theonlymaskman June 5, 2009 at 9:44 am

  This is now a season of disappointments. We have Reyes going down with a very late diagnosis of a disabling injury. The highly acclaimed Putz goes down with an injury that has been hidden for weeks. Management continues to play injured players as though winning games does not count and neither does the well being of your talented players. Omar and Jerry are now documented and proven clowns. Omar gets snuckered by Seattle in the Putz trade. Relying on unproven Murphy to play LF when Ibanez was available as an FA sits on both of them. Letting McLouth go to Atlanta when our OF is in disarray is inexcuseable. And it’s not just us fans being unreasonable. Beltran’s outburst says it all. The players see it also and quiet Carlos exploded with frustration. At least we can look to him as someone with integrity and personal pride within this organization.
  • Sach C. June 5, 2009 at 10:39 am

    McLouth wasn’t even remotely being shopped by the Pirates, it’s just that Atlanta came to Pittsburgh with an offer that they couldn’t pass up.
    • theonlymaskman June 5, 2009 at 11:15 am

      OK, I’ll buy that. Right now we are dependent on Sheff staying healthy even thought he is hobbled with his own leg injury that is being ignored and on F!Mart who is just now trying to make a transition to the Majors. Is Jerry actually going to use Church if he comes back in healthy condition from the DL? How far away from returning is Pagan and can he stay healthy? It would have been nice if Omar would have scoured the other GM’s for a nice deal for a capable OF’er. Nope, Atlanta got it done first. So perhaps Pitt was not shopping McLouth, but Atlanta was proactive and not the Mets. Look at it any way you like, Omar was sleeping on this.
  • gregga19 June 5, 2009 at 1:12 pm

    Firstly how do we even know the Pirates were shopping McClouth, and would it be right for the Mets to trade three highly regarded prospects for him? IN what way is Jerry a fool? Same could go for Omar. Its neither one of these guys fault the team is as beaten up as it is? Be a little fair here.
    • theonlymaskman June 5, 2009 at 1:55 pm

      Apparently the Braves were proactive whereas Omar was sitting and waiting. The OF is now dependent upon F!Mart making a successful transition to the Majors, Sheffield staying healthy, Church coming back healthy (and Jerry being willing to play him, which he hasn’been so far), and Pagan coming back and not getting reinjured which seems to be his style. The Braves went out and got a healthy OF’er while we wait and see. Wait and see may very well backfire quickly. Omar seems to have settled for an injured player in the Putz deal. As for Jerry, he stated the latest Reyes setback would be just be a couple days. Where are we now with that? Reyes now seems destined for a lengthy stay on the DL. They will most likely treat for inflammation and bring him back endangering even more serious injury. Good chance Reyes is headed for surgery, not 2 extra days on the DL. Those are just a couple instances there are plenty more including Jerry’s demotivational effects on Church. Jerry is managing with smoke and mirrors behind his Gangsta prop.
      • gregga19 June 5, 2009 at 4:27 pm

        You say we need Sheffield to stay healthy, funny I heard and read he’s playing on a bad leg. You cannot hold Jerry, or Omar accountable for guys getting hurt. You say Omar seems to have settled for an injured player in the Putz deal, how could Omar know he was hurt. Putz had a physical before he was traded. Jerry had no idea Reyes would be out for “just a couple of days”, he made that statement based on the information that was available to him.
        As far a Church goes, I totally agree with you. The Mets goofed with him last year, and Jerry has totally demoralized the guy. Look at his stats with the Nats, he was doubles machine in RFK stadium, He’s the perfect guy for CF. For some reason reason known only to Jerry he has a bone out for Church.
        • theonlymaskman June 5, 2009 at 5:12 pm

          Yes,Sheffield has been playing hobbled with a problem leg. That’s why I made that my first point. That may very well be another neglected injury that comes back to haunt us. Everyone knew Putz was injured before the deal was made. My question was did Omar do proper due diligence on getting him checked out or just jump to do the deal to make himself look good? Jerry’s statement about Reyes was made without any knowledge of the situation. Reyes should have been checked out thoroughly sooner and then Gangsta would not have to make baseless statements regarding his availability. I don’t want to argue about this, but it seems as though there is a pattern of less than good decision making by Omar and Jerry. They are not responsible for the injuries per se’, but they are responsible for how the injuries are handled and how the team is positioned to deal with them. Meanwhile, the season is very close to shot right now. They bear responsibility for that and it is not simply a matter of injuries, but how the injuries are handled and how strategies are developed to deal with them. The confidence in Omar and Jerry cannot be riding high right now. Overhanging all that is the financials of the Wilpon’s seeming to tie Omar’s hands in being able to source players to fill gaps and provide to the future. This is a very unfortunate turn of events during the Mets inaugural season at Citifield, in my opinion. The effectiveness of both mgmt and ownership is questionable.