Mets Merized Online

As we all know the Mets cannot do anything right this year.  One of their biggest weaknesses has been hitting home runs.  Playing in Citi Field does not make it any easier.

With under 40 games left in this dreadful year, the Mets have just passed Barry Bonds on the home run list.  In 2001, as everyone knows Barry Bonds broke a major league record by hitting 73 home runs in one year.  Currently the Mets as a team are at 76.

Just because pretty much every Met has gone on the DL this year and they play in a giant stadium, does not mean that they can string together a bunch of homers for the season.  Mark Reynolds, Chase Utley and the Yankees would agree with me on that one.

Then who is to blame for the Mets hitting woes this season?  Is it Minaya for not trading for any hitters, Jerry for managing the team poorly, or Howard Johnson for doing a bad job as hitting coach this year.

The correct answer is Howard Johnson.  Is Minaya and Manuel to blame for this too, yes, but most of the blame should be put on Howard Johnson.

Here are some interesting facts about how poor the Mets hitting has been this year.

• Not only is every other team have at leas 15 HR’s more than the Mets, the Mets top HR hitter, Jeff Francoeur (who hit half of his homers with the Braves), is not even in the top 100 players for homers hit this year.
• 9 players on the Yankees have over 10 HR’s on the year.  Jeff Francoeur is the only Met that has accomplished that feat.
• 8 of those 9 players on the Yankees have over 50 RBI’s each.  Mets only have two in that category with Wright and Francoeur
• As of today there are 3 teams that have over 100 more HR’s than the Mets this year.
• Mets are in the bottom half of the MLB for almost every single batting category except hitting for average and triples.
• Twice this year the Mets have had scoreless streaks of over 18 innings.
• The Mets have been shutout 8 times this year.

If the Mets want to be in the playoffs in 2010 then Howard Johnson must be shown the door.

With the Mets making absolutely no moves at the trade deadline, it makes me wonder if Omar Minaya has given up on this years team. After winning 6 of 9, most Mets fans are believing, but apparently Minaya is not.

Minaya has also not pushed very hard to get Reyes, Beltran, Delgado, Maine, and Putz back into the lineup. He is letting them take their time. If Minaya thinks that the season is over then he should of hung these guys up for the rest of the season, but he didn’t. The end of his term as Mets GM seems to come closer and closer when he yet again failed to make improvements at the deadline.

If he has not noticed, the Mets need help in many areas and none of them were addressed as the trade deadline came and went. He could of easily made improvements to one of the many problems the Mets currently have. He could of traded a few prospects for Cliff Lee to boost the starting rotation. The Phillies got him without dealing their top prospects. Even Jarod Washburn would have been a good fit for the Mets. Ryan Garko, Adam La Roche, Nick Johnson or Victor Martinez would have filled in at first and gave the Mets more power until Delgado comes back (if he comes back). I am sure the Mets could have picked up someone from the Pirates garage sale also. George Sherill could have made the bullpen more effective then it currently is. With Minaya failing to react, it makes it extremely difficult for the Mets to make the playoffs.

Maybe Omar was too caught up in the Adam Rubin incident or maybe Jeff Wilpon has no money left. Whatever the case is, please tell us.

Omar has to understand that without Reyes, Beltran, and Delgado, the Mets are not a playoff caliber team.  If he had only made just one or two trades the Mets could have been in good shape and maybe in a position to make a strong push for the playoffs.  I guess Omar does not trust his team or his coaches enough, and felt that even with some improvements the Mets will still not make the playoffs. If that is true than he should be fired as GM.

Now that we are pretty much at the halfway point of the season, it is time to look and see what is in store for the next half of the season. After 87 games the Mets are 42-45 and 6.5 back in the division and the wild card. 

Presumably the Mets want to get 88-90 wins to make the playoffs.  That means that the Mets will have to go 48-27 in the next few months.  That is a tough task for most teams and especially the Mets.

Can they pull it off? As Mr. Hopps said in his article, the next 27 games are crucial, 18 of the next 27 games are being played against teams that are below .500. The Mets have to get hot now and remain hot for the rest of the season or else they won’t make the playoffs.

The Mets will also not make the playoffs if Reyes, Beltran, and Delgado do not return by mid-August. The absence of these players leaves a big hole in the lineup. Without 3 of the “Big 4″ (other one being Wright) the Mets are lacking power, speed, fielding, and leadership. The troops are currently not doing a very poor job “holding the fort.” WE NEED YOU GUYS BACK. Unless Minaya pulls in some great players with a trade the Mets are doomed if Reyes, Beltran, and Delgado miss most of August.

Great pitching and defense wins championships. Well right now the Mets are horrible in both of those departments. Pelfrey needs to be the dominant pitcher he was in the second half of last season. And what the hell has happened to Livan Hernandez. He is giving up way to many runs early in the game and is unable to pitch out of the 4th inning. Manuel’s new 3 strikes and your out rule may help a little, but Manuel and the rest of the coaching staff cannot figure out a way to get these guys to field. Maybe my Little League coach from when I was 10 can help the team out. Every game for the past two months i find myself saying “You gotta be kidding me” at least three times a game. Hopefully during the much needed break the Mets learned how to field like a major league team.

I believe that all of these things have to go right in order for the Mets to reach the playoffs. Can they accomplish this, I don’t think so. But ya gotta believe.

Lets Go Mets!!!

Alright the Mets finished June with a 9-18 record, more injuries, more sloppy play, and they dropped below .500. June also, included an unforgettable dropped pop-up and losing 5 of 6 to the Yankees.

Now all Mets fans have to try their hardest to forget about last month and look forward to what July has in store.

The month of July started out on a positive note with the Big Pelf throwing a gem, resulting in a Mets win.  Even though the Mets only scored one run, Mets fans should be satisfied with the performances of Pelfrey, Sean Green, and K-Rod. 

July will be getting even better very soon.  Omar Minaya may finally make a trade for us and put us back in contention in the NL East.  

July is also the month that Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, John Maine, Oliver Perez, and possibly even JJ Putz return to the lineup after visiting the DL for a long period of time.

With all of these players coming back it will mean that the Mets will no longer be fielding a AAA team, Jerry Manuel’s lineups will make a little more sense, and hopefully we can all stop bashing the Mets everyday.  

With the All-Star break also occurring in July, our pitchers will be given some much needed rest and they will also have some time to figure out their issues. 

Maybe July could end up being like it was last year, when the Mets were 17-8 which included a 10 game winning streak.  

With this years Mets you never know.

Going into the WBC, everyone knew that this tournament would end up hurting a teams chances to winning the world series. That team is the Mets.  

The Mets led all major league teams by sending 15 players to the WBC.  Almost half of them have landed on the DL this season.  Coincidence? I don’t think so.  

JJ Putz, Alex Cora, Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, Oliver Perez, and now Carlos Beltran have all landed on the DL after playing in the WBC.  Perez has seen the biggest negative impact.  He was pitching on 8 days rest between starts. Thank you Mexico.  Now the Mets pretty much just flushed $35 million down the train.  $35 million that they could of given to a more capable player (Raul Ibanez).

Now the Mets have found themselves depleted, with their best power hitter being Sheffield who came out of retirement a few weeks before the season began.  They also find themselves floating 1 game above .500 and 2.5 back of the dreaded Phillies.

Hopefully the Mets organization learned their lesson.

No more WBC for Mets players.  

I understand that it’s important to represent your country, but the job that is paying you millions is way more important.