The Few Bright Notes of 2009

As painful as the Mets' 2009 season has been, as September draws to a close, it’s time to examine the few bright spots that give us hope that 2010 will be a better year. Amidst the misery that comprised much of this season, a few players stand out for either having exceptional seasons, overcoming adversity or for just plain gutting it out as team players when so many others clearly played for individual stats. So with this in mind, some kudos to those who rose above the cumulative mediocrity and gave us fans something to cheer about.

Luis Castillo

After a horrendous 2008 season where he batted a mere .245, Castillo came into spring training in better shape and determined to prove that last year was an aberration. While Castillo isn’t the best defensive second baseman, he has hit well in 2009, with an average hovering around .311. He has been in the middle of countless scoring rallies and also gets bonus points for the way he handled the dropped pop-up which cost the Mets a game against the Yankees in June. He has played in over 140 games this season and since that infamous dropped pop-up game, has batted .337.

David Wright

While David’s sudden lack of power and increased strikeouts this season has drawn the ire of many critics, the fact is, he is still hitting over .300 and has gutted it out to play pretty much every game aside from the few he spent on the disabled list. At various points this season, he was the lone Met regular in the line-up and deserves credit for not only playing without any rest whatsoever but also for coming back after being dangerously beaned in the head.

Daniel Murphy

After Murphy’s failed experiment in left field, most young players would not have had the confidence or ability to learn a new position midseason and show promise in the field. Murphy has done just that and has even shown some flashes of brilliance at first base. Though he struggled with the bat the first half of 2009, he has been hitting much better since July, raising his average to .266. Murphy is hitting .304 this September and is tied with Albert Pujols for the most extra base hits this month. He also leads the team in doubles (36) and home runs (11 – yes, pathetic…). Sadly, Daniel probably will become a star for another team next year as unless the Mets find some power in left field or behind the plate, his 11 home runs just won’t be enough from a first baseman.

Pedro Feliciano

Pedro Feliciano seems to have been in every game this season, challenging his own record for the most appearances in a single season set last year. The lefty specialist reliever is pitching to a 3.02 ERA and lefties are hitting just .227 against him. If only the rest of our bullpen was half as reliable…

Jeff Francouer

When the Ryan Church for Jeff Francouer trade first happened, I must admit to not being thrilled. In hindsight, though, this was a very good move by Omar Minaya. It seems a change of scenery injected new life into Francouer, who in 64 games with the Mets is batting .314 with a .342 OBP, seven HR and 34 RBI. You also have to love the grittiness and the desire to win that Francouer exudes. He is a true team player and a clubhouse difference-maker for 2010.

Honorary Mentions – Carlos Beltran and John Maine

Carlos Beltran and John Maine deserve kudos this year not for on-field accomplishments but for gutting it out through their injuries. The fact that both came back for the final weeks of September in a losing, meaningless season speaks volumes about their character as players. Most players these days would have just mailed it in and collected their paychecks until spring training. Here’s hoping both Beltran and Maine remain healthy and can play significant roles in the Mets’ 2010 comeback.
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NY Mets 2009 - DNR Now and Save 2010

After losing three of four to the putrid Arizona Diamondbacks this past weekend, it is pretty safe to say that any hopes of a Mets wildcard berth have pretty much petered out the same way this entire season has. With only 57 regular season games left, the Mets find themselves five games under .500, ten games out of first place and eight games out of the Wildcard with seven teams ahead of them. Though mathematically still alive, let’s face it, folks, our Metsies are currently on life support along with their beleaguered GM and possibly their manager. It’s time to pull the plug and look towards 2010.

As everyone knows, injuries to so many starting players and even key back-up players played a huge role in this disappointing season. At this point, I see no real reason to even try to rush Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran back so they can play at 80% and possibly cause more damage to their fragile selves. Why not shut them down now, let both rest for 2010 and err on the side of caution? Or if Beltran does indeed need that micro fracture surgery, do it now and get it over with so that the ten months it takes to heal does not kill all of next season for him. In fact, if surgery is what he definitely needs, this should have already been done weeks ago after it was deemed the bone bruise was not improving.

As for Delgado, Wagner and Putz, if these players can come back for 2009, by all means they should. As everyone knows, both Delgado and Wagner will be free agents after this year, and Putz is playing for his option year. All three want to come back and prove they are healthy so that the cash bells start ringing in the off-season. This is a can’t lose situation for the Mets. If they can help out, that’s fantastic. If they don’t, well, it was great knowing you, good luck in the future.

The one question mark for an injured players return this year is John Maine. Ah, my adorable Johnny Maine…so young and fragile yet with so much upside...Should the Mets try to rush him back this season just to test that fatigued shoulder and see if they should offer another contract for next year, or do you let him rest, offer a super cheap but incentive-laden deal for 2010 and take your chances? Or do you just walk away for 2010?

Given the amount of money this team has wasted on bad contracts like good old Ollie P’s, I would try my best to keep Maine a Met for 2010. When healthy, he has proven to be pretty reliable for a quality start and has even shown flashes of dominance. I’d trust a healthy Maine with the ball any day over Ollie. Plus, he’s young, seems to have a good team attitude, he’s adorable (worth repeating) and can likely be had for cheap. For a million / million and a half, if it doesn’t work out, you cut your losses and move on. The Mets would probably have an easier time trading a semi-ineffective, reasonably paid John Maine than they would have unloading good old Ollie without having to pay part of his contract.

Now, with all of this being said, I can almost write the script for the rest of the Mets 2009 season…As Murphy’s Law always has it, just as fans completely give up hope and start looking ahead to 2010, this team will give us some small reason to believe that they are not actually dead in the water. Maybe they’ll pull off a string of wins against St. Louis and on their upcoming road trip. Maybe their beards will grow to ZZ Top-like proportions and they’ll make it to .500…It’s okay…Mets fans are like Charlie Brown…we’re used to the football being pulled away at the last second. This year, though, we know that’s how 2009 will end. We’ll be good sports and kick through but we won’t land flat on our backs. It’s up to the Mets front office and how they deal with Reyes and Beltran to make sure 2010 doesn’t begin that way. Read more!

A Moment of Silence

I have been putting off writing my weekly post all morning because truthfully, I don't even know what to say anymore about these Mets. They get harder and harder to watch with every passing game so I have really been adhering to my self-imposed media blackout for the past week. If they win, well, it's a nice surprise. If they lose, well, at least I didn't waste my time and energy only to be disappointed. This is a terrible way to exist but I'm not sure what else to do at this point in the season.

This past weekend's sweep by the Phillies was a complete and utter disaster of anemic hitting, atrocious fielding and general malaise. The team might as well have just not shown up at all and forfeited. I know, the injuries, blah, blah, blah. I'm so tired of hearing about the injuries. No one expects the Mets to be playing like a championship caliber team right now but they aren't even treading water. This series with the Dodgers is pretty much over before it even begins. Sorry, call me a pessimist, but at this point, not only is the glass half empty, it's cracked and my lips are bleeding profusely.

The All-Star break could not come quickly enough - just so that Mets fans get a reprieve from the daily torture of this team. At this point, it is hard to believe that they can overcome the physical and psychological damage this season has wrought. As of now, the only player that looks to be coming back from the disabled list remotely soon is Angel Pagan, and given his injury history, I'll believe that when I see it. There's no hard dates set for Reyes, Beltran, Maine or Putz. And as for Delgado, I have my doubts whether he will ever wear a Mets uniform again. If and when these players do return, it is not going to be an immediate return to all-star form for anyone. After being out for so long, it's going to take some time to shake off the rust and get going.

As for adding player(s) before the deadline, no addition great or small is going to make enough of an impact to outweigh the loss of so many key regulars. The Mets farm system is in shambles as it is. Why give up future talent to try to patch an irreparable situation with a soon-to-be free-agent rental? No Mets fan wants another Zambrano for Kazmir debacle.

As frustrating as losing is, Mets fans have to sit tight and try to ride this one out. This 2009 season does not look promising but all we can really do is wait and see how it unfolds. With the exception for the Dodgers, the NL is mired in mediocrity right now. If it stays that way, the teams that get hot towards the end will be the ones playing in October. Hopefully, after a miserable first half and the collapses of '07 and '08, maybe the Mets will get some good karma sent their way for September and October. For now, though, at 4.5 games in back of Philly and 3 under .500, I'll hang my head in a moment of silence.
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