Another 13 runners left on base, was the dark side to an otherwise satisfying win Friday night against the Brewers. It’s a trend that has become all too prevalent for this offense which returned intact from last season.
Now with just ten games in the books, the Mets have left 89 runners on base. That amounts to almost nine stranded baserunners per game. As long as this disturbing trend continues, it makes it difficult for this team to reel off a nine or ten game winning streak and make some real gains in the standings as they did in 2006.
When you consider the handful of one run losses the Mets have already sustained this season, it’s not hard to see how adversely their lack of proficiency has effected them already.
David Wright is on pace for 225 strikeouts so far this season. You can see the pressure change the way he approaches each at-bat when runners are on base. Carlos Beltran twice failed to drive in a run in yesterdays game when he came to bat with the bases loaded. We’ve seen this before.
It was my hope that Omar Minaya would have addressed this aspect of the offense in the off season by acquiring someone with a flair for the dramatic and an ability to thrive under pressure, but it never happened.
Ironically, the one person who might help based on his past heroics is Fernando Tatis, but with just three at-bats this season, his butt is firmly Krazy Glued to the bench for now.
Lets enjoy the win, but unless the Mets solve the issue of hitting with men on base, the Mets will have a lot less wins than we were hoping for.
