Disgruntled Mets Fan

Nelson Figueroa’s welcome back to the Majors the beginning of this month was not a success in any way, shape, or form.  He lasted an inning and two thirds, giving up ten hits, six earned runs, and three homers.

He was immediately designated to the bullpen, and would probably still be there without the injuries that have ravaged the pitching staff.

In his first relief appearance, a mere two days after his horrendous start, Figueroa picked up a win throwing four and a third innings of scoreless relief striking out five without any walks relieving the injured Jon Niese after he tore his hamstring.

All in all, since his bad start, Figueroa made six relief appearances, throwing twelve and a third innings giving up five earned runs while walking five and striking out fourteen.  Nothing outstanding, but consistently decent in a relief role.

Figueroa was moved back to the rotation on August 25th when he put in a losing effort against the Florida Marlins.  He threw a solid five innings, only giving up one earned run, but the Mets were unable to back him up, only plating one and making two errors that cost the team, and Figueroa the game.

He seemed to find whatever he’s been looking for yesterday, in what was the best start of his journeyman career.

He threw seven strong innings, only giving up six hits and two walks while striking out a career high ten batters.  His stuff looked great throughout the game, working his fastball on both sides of the plate, and throwing his off speed pitches effectively both for strikes, and for swings and misses.

Figueroa has been a bit of a mystery in his time with the Mets.  He seems to pitch well enough to get a win in most of his starts, but rarely does.  He’s 5-6 overall in his two seasons with the Mets in ten starts and 26 appearances.  He’s got a 4.54 ERA with the team since he came back in 2008.  An ERA under 5.0 is something most Mets starters can’t brag about this year.

So the question that needs to be asked is, should Figueroa be a part of the plan for starting pitching next season?

The answer is, I’m not sure…

I think he’d be a good sixth starter (ie. someone there to fill a spot, or pitch some long relief), but nothing more.  The problem is his inconsistency, and the fact that he’s already 35 years old. He hasn’t been able to pull it all together so far, why should we be fooled into thinking he can do it now?

However, if he can string together some starts like the one he put together yesterday to end this season, he might pitch himself into 2010’s roster.

As usual, I’d love for Nelson to prove me wrong, but looking back on his career, I’m not counting on it.  He’ll likely remain in the Mets organization for his remaining years, but will get some frequent flier miles traveling back and forth between Flushing and Buffalo.

A lot of people, myself included, are giving the Mets somewhat of a pass for this abysmal season due to the $90 million on the disabled list.  It’s hard to find someone to blame (except maybe the trainers) when the team taking the field doesn’t even resemble the team that took the field at the beginning of the season.

The truth of the matter is, the Mets injuries may be just what the doctor ordered for the organization.  It may be masking a failure that was coming anyway.

The pitching staff, save for Johan Santana who was pitching through injury for half the season, has completely underachieved.

Mike Pelfrey is the only pitcher in the original starting 5 that has an ERA under 5.0, and if he continues to pitch this season there’s no guarantee it will stay that way.

The fifth starter, a spot that may not have a lot of importance on a deep staff, should have been doubly important to the Mets, who went into the season with one ace and three number three starters.

The organization addressed the problem with a trio of over-the-hill or never-was starters, Livan Hernandez, Tim Redding and Freddy Garcia.  Garcia was cut in April, Hernandez was cut this month, and Redding is now the third starter due to injury.

I know you can’t plan for this many injuries, but my point is the starting rotation was weak before the season started.

There was only a small sample of how the team would fare if all their pieces were in place this year.

Carlos Delgado went on the DL on May 11th.  The team had a .548 winning percentage with a 17-14 record.  Delgado’s bat is one the Mets haven’t been able to replace all season, as is evident by their glaring lack of power in the middle of the line up.

By extrapolating that winning percentage out to today, and the Mets would be sitting in second place with a record of 70-57.  Sure it’s better than what they’ve got now, but they’d still be trailing the Phillies.

Jose Reyes went down ten days later, but he was not exactly lighting the field on fire in his limited time before his injury.  He was only batting .279 with a .355 OBP in 36 games while swiping 11 bases.  Sure, it’s good production, but nothing to write home about.

Alex Cora’s numbers filling in at short stop were similar enough to make Reyes’ absence a little easier to deal with, and Angel Pagan’s emergence as a solid lead-off hitter made it even easier.

The Mets were able to stay somewhat competitive, staying at or around .500 ball, showing moments of greatness at times, until June 22nd.  That’s the date Carlos Beltran went on the DL.

The Mets were 35-33 at that point, but have consistently underperformed, going 22-37 since then.  Is this the fact that Beltran was such an integral part of the teams success?  Or was his injury the straw that broke the camel’s back?

His bat was on fire this season, and has been sorely missed.  He’s a true five tool player, and a nagging knee injury has threatened his career.  I hope we see him back at full strength next season, but it’s not definite.

In my humble opinion, the Mets at full strength may have made the playoffs, but they were never a championship caliber team.  They were likely not even the best team in the NL East, especially after the Phillies traded to get Cliff Lee.

The injuries are simply masking the problems that were there anyway, and may be there for years to come.

It’s been said that the Mets are on a budget for next season, so these problems may be here for a while.  One solution may be trading away some of the core players that we’ve grown to love so much in New York.  If I had to part with anyone, it would be Jose Reyes.

He’s a great defensive short stop, and a spark plug every time he takes the field, but he’s severely over rated as a lead off hitter.  Sure he steals a lot of bases, but that’s not the job of a lead off hitter, his job is purely to get on base.

Reyes has a career OBP of .337.  You don’t have to look far to find what I would consider a great lead off hitter, Derek Jeter.  Jeter has a career OBP of .387, and has put up one as high as .438.

The rest of the core, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, would all retire as Mets if I had any say.

I’ve been looking forward with hope for 2010, but the truth is, we may have a lot more disappointment in our near future.

Sung to the tune of the beloved Mets song “Meet the Mets”

Meet the Mets, beat the Mets,

Call the doc to treat the Mets.

Bring your bandaids, bring your ice,

Guaranteed to go right under the knife

Because the Mets are really dropping like flies,

Losing those pop ups, with sun in their eyes

Special, Surgery, everybody’s coming down,

To get an M, M, MRI, in New York Town.

The Nightmare that is the 2009 New York Mets season had one of it’s more unbelievable moments yesterday afternoon.  The Gods seem to be working some sort of sick magic against this team, putting a Murphy’s Law like curse on everything Mets related.

It all started back in March when Johan Santana had tightness in his left elbow.

We all held our breath waiting for the news about Johan, but the tightness loosened up and Johan was able to avoid any significant time off.  Maybe we used up all our karma on Johan, maybe Ray Ramirez used up all the morphine too quickly into the war.

Needless to say, this was just the beginning.

Mike Pelfrey battled a leg strain and tendinitis in his forearm before May.

Tim Redding started the season on the DL with shoulder fatigue.

In April, the core of the Mets starting line up started to pick up dings and dents along the way.

Brian Schneider went on the DL with a strained back muscle.

Luis Castillo was day-to-day for a while with back spasms.

Carlos Delgado missed some time with a strain in his hip.

May was the month that everything fell apart.

Oliver Perez’s ineffectiveness was blamed on right patellar tendinitis.

Carlos Delgado went from day-to-day to the 60 Day DL after having surgery on his impinged hip.

Three days later, Jose Reyes’ missed a few days with calf tightness and then calf stiffness.

After Reyes, his back up, Alex Cora tore a ligament in his right thumb sliding into second base.  With Reyes trying to work his way back, here-aggrivated his injury and wound up on the 15 day DL with what was now being called right calf tendinitis.

Next, Ryan Church strained his hamstring not stepping on third base and was placed on the 15 day DL.

Then Carlos Beltran bruised his tibia and battled the stomach flu, while Frankie Rodriguez battled back spasms to end the month.

June didn’t go any better than May.

On the first day of the month, Angel Pagan, who had been filling in admirably while Carlos Beltran was trying to mend his knee, strained his groin and was placed on the DL.

Two days later, Ramon Martinez, who had been filling in as a third string short stop while occasionally giving Luis Castillo a day off fractured his left pinkie and was placed on the 60 day DL.

The next day, JJ Putz’s injury came to light, and the following day it was decided that he needed surgery, and would be out eight to ten weeks.

Two days after that, John Maine’s shoulder became fatigued, and he pitched his last game of the season.

At the end of June Carlos Beltran was finally placed on the DL with a deep bone bruise in his right knee.  He’s been there since, and in my opinion, should be there for the rest of the season.

The Mets actually made it through the first week of July without anyone getting injured, but lost rookie Fernando Martinez and pitching phenom Fernando Nieve for the rest of the season before the end of the month.  Gary Sheffield also finally found his way onto the DL in July, as his right knee soreness turned into a right hamstring strain.

August started with a bang, as rookie pitcher Jonathon Niese toppled over in pain after tearing his hamstring covering first base only one day after Luis Castillo sprained his ankle falling down the dugout stairs…

Like I said, you can’t make this stuff up.

By the middle of the month, Alex Cora decided to get surgery to repair the torn ligaments in both his thumbs, which will probably mean he’s played his last game as a Met.

Finally, the last man standing, David Wright, took a Matt Cain fastball off the head and was placed on the 15 day DL with post-concussion symptoms.

The injuries are not the only things plaguing the Mets this season.

They’ve had a number of freak plays that was topped off by yesterday’s unassisted triple play to end the comeback rally the Mets were mounting in an attempt to take the series away from the rival Philadelphia Phillies.

With Luis Castillo and Daniel Murphy running, second baseman Eric Bruntlett moved into position to cover second base.  Mets batter Jeff Francoeur lined a ball that would have been a sharp single to center field moving the tying run to at least second base with no one out.

Instead, Bruntlett was in perfect position to field the line drive, step on second, and tag out Murphy who just reached the bag.

It was a ridiculous set of circumstances that had to all come together for the game to end that way, and of course it did.

Of course it did…

That’s just the way this season goes.

2010 can’t get here fast enough.

Here’s the thing about the 2009 season…

There hasn’t been much to smile about.

Injury after injury has turned a season that was full of high expectations into one of the worst in recent memories.  The team taking the field now is a far cry from the team we all expected to be making a push toward the playoffs.  I recently played of game of MLB 2K9 and it reminded me of how much the roster has changed.

Truth be told, even with a full roster, the starting pitching has been so shaky that the Mets may not have been making a run at the division anyway.  It could be that the injuries are masking what would have been a disappointing season anyway, but some run support from a stacked lineup has been known to make starting pitching look that much better.

I don’t know if I speak for all Mets fans when I say this, but a the series away from the Phillies might crack a smile on my face, something the Mets have been unable to do for a while.

The fact that the “Phillies Nation” will be in full force at Citi Filed will only make the victories that much sweeter.

Of all the teams the Mets play, I love to see them beat the Phillies more than anyone, even the Yankees.  With the exception of this season, it’s been one of the more heated rivalries around baseball.  The Phillies have certainly had the better of the rivalry when it boils down to it, making the playoffs for the last two seasons while notching a World Championship on their belts (barf).

I know winning this series won’t do anything as far as saving a season, but it might improve the mood around “Mets Nation”.  A mood that seems to be plummeting by the day.  We may be running out of chances to do anything positive because the rest of the team should be on the DL by the middle of September.

All we can ask for is that the team plays smart, plays hard, and gets some support from the crowd to give us all something to be happy about, even if it’s just temporary.

The Mets have their first three starters in order.

Johan is a clear ace.  Mike Pelfrey is considered a #2, even if only by Mets management.  Oliver Perez is so highly paid he has to be the #3 guy.

From there on, it’s been a roller coaster.

John Maine was the #4 starter at the beginning of the season, but he won’t be back to pitch this year, and Livan Hernandez (#5) rounded out the rotation.

Tim Redding (#6) and Nelson Figueroa (#7) had fill in roles throughout the season, but were unable to pitch consistently enough to keep a spot.

Fernando Nieve (#8) and Jon Niese (#9) both seemed to be doing well, but were lost to injury.

Bobby Parnell (#10) was moved from the bullpen to the rotation as a last resort.

Did I forget anyone?

I’m going to assume that to replace Livan, the Mets are going to give Redding and Figueroa starts, but it’s not out of the question that a guy like Elmer Dessens gets a few starts.  He would be #11.

I’ve never seen anything like this before.

Making a move for Cliff Lee seems like an even better idea now.

I can’t wait for 2010.

PS – Luis Castillo, you’re season is one of the bright spots of this team so far, except for the bone head plays you seem to make all the time.  I understand that it’s hard to concentrate during this type of season.  I’m having trouble concentrating just watching the games on TV, but really man.  Get it together.