Although the Mets haven’t lived up to the expectations set for them by Sports Illustrated at the beginning of the season, they certainly have done exactly what die hard fans expected. From Luis Castillo dropping a pop fly to Jose Reyes and his perpetually torn hamstring, true Mets fans expected this.
However, even with the loss of Reyes and slugger Carlos Delgado the Mets offense hasn’t completely laid down. In fact, they are hitting for a monstrous team average behind NL league leader David Wright. The injuries have given playing time to super prospect Fernando Martinez and Gary Sheffield has been an absolute beast thus far.
The bullpen has been steady. The loss of J.J. Putz has hurt a bit, but rookie Bobby Parnell has stepped up in a big way. Even if as a rookie he has to bring a little girls’ backpack stuffed with candy to the bullpen for every game.
The missing ingredient for the Mets is starting pitching. Omar Minaya needs to get a pitcher of at least the caliber of a Brad Penny if the Mets want to go deep into the playoffs. But with the guys on the roster now, there really is not that much need for worry. The return of Reyes alone will erase the three game lead the Phillies currently have. So as long as the infield can catch pop ups, there is no need for alarm. Baseball is a game where Steady Eddie wins the race. Once the Mets have weathered the injury storm they should be fine. Just don’t tell that to us die hard fans. We are convinced the other shoe is going to drop.
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