While Reyes was our starting shortstop since 2003, he was hardly a model of consistency when it came to playing everyday. As I stated above, he was a regular for 4 straight seasons, but from 2003-2004 and 2009-2011 he was an injury riddled mess.

This season it looked as though we were going to have a steady guy in Tejada who was going to play everyday and develop as a player. Instead he gets injured on a freak face plant where he hurts his quad and is taking longer than Jose Reyes to heal.

So far this season we have seen Omar Quintanilla, Justin Turner, Ronny Cedeno, Jordanny Valdespin and David Wright man short in Ruben’s absence. And of right now we are running out of options as both Quintanilla is playing banged up and Valdespin has been a disaster in the field.

There aren’t many options on out there for Sandy. Shortstop is a position that has grown weak in recent years. Many guys who used to play short have moved to other positions such as Hanley and Arod. While the majority of the new shortstops that have come up have been more defensive minded rather than a force offensively.

Right now we just have to hope and pray that Quintanilla’s finger injury doesn’t land him on the DL, and he can hold down the fort until guys like Turner and Cedeno can come back. Tejada’s recent setback means we may not see him for a while.

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But that didn’t happen.

The Mets have only confirmed that Johan Santana, Alex Cora, and JJ Putz are going to be the players who will miss the rest of the season.

But let’s face it. There has been little to no updates on any of the other DL-ed players. We have heard that John Maine has been doing long tosses, we have seen Carlos Beltran catching fly balls, we have heard David Wright taking ground balls, we have heard Carlos Delgado doing some light jogging.

But that’s it! Reyes had a set back earlier in his rehab and we have heard nothing since. Something tells me that the Mets rehab staff aren’t doing everything they can to get these players healthy.

We have no update on Jonathon Niese, Fernando Nieve, Fernando Martinez, Ramon Martinez since their injury. And now with Sheffield leaving a game for the third time because of an injury he will likely be taken out of the season.

Luckly the Mets even allowed Jeff Francoeur to play through his sore thumb or else he would be shut down for the season.

Even SNY is starting to doubt the Mets are doing much to get these players back.

At this point the Mets are so far in the abyss it doesn’t matter if any players return, but I’d still like a little honesty from the Mets about their players updates and returns… or lack of.

It is the curse of Citi Field.

I don’t believe in superstition. There is no God of Baseball to wear a headdress for and dance around a campfire while chanting stupid lyrics. But something is definitely up with this new ballpark. While the “Opening Day Cat” may not have been black, maybe it should have been. After all, it was a black cat that did the trick for us in 1969.

I have been watching baseball, specifically the Mets, for 19 years now, and I can’t ever remember a roster with so many names on the DL side. Coincidence? I think not.

We blame the dimensions of Citi Field for the lack of home run production by our beloved Metsies. However, other teams manage to hit their share of balls over the wall.

There have been so many “What the … ???” plays this year, I don’t even know where to begin. Missing the bag while rounding third base in an attempt to score, a dropped pop-up behind second base (for the last out of what would have been a win agains the Yankees), and an unassisted, game-ending triple play, just to name a few. 

The injuries speak for themselves. Reyes, Delgado, Beltran, Wright, Maine, Santana, Sheffield, Cora, Pagan, Schneider, Pelfrey, Perez, Putz, etc, etc, etc. have all been or still are on the DL . And while Luis Castillo never did make this famous list, the injury that kept him out for several games was certainly caused by one of the freakiest incidents I’ve ever witnessed – slipping down the dugout stairs – at, you guessed it, Citi Field.

While the team may be experiencing the physical pain, it’s the poor fans going through the emotional anguish. How many of us wish we could just put on a uniform and go out there and help? Our loyalty to the team is beyond words.

We are the ones watching. We are the ones waiting. We are the ones hoping.

The 2009 season is not over yet. As long as there are enough games left to play to make up ground on the Phillies, the Mets have a shot. But even if they did make a miraculous comeback, how far could they go with the team that they have? Is it better to just accept defeat and look ahead to a clean, healthy start next year, or to continue to hope and dream, only to be disappointed again, this year?