Even Costumes Can't Hide the Ugliness of a 90 Loss Season

Last night, the Mets lost their 90th game of the season to the Nationals’ Ross Detwiller, who earned his first Major League victory. Despite a good performance from journeyman pitcher Nelson Figueroa, the Mets anemic offense could not break through against the Nats. Playing another round of listless baseball, this team is clearly done for the year and is now just mailing it in until the season comes to a merciful close.

In April, no one would have expected the Mets to have the sixth worst record in baseball. After missing the playoffs by a hair in 2007 and 2008, Sports Illustrated even predicted this team to go to the World Series. Unfortunately, a ridiculous rash of injuries threw a wrench in that plan, but even so, there really is no excuse for the mediocrity this team has displayed on the field over the past three months. Lack of hustle and a complete ineptness when it comes to baseball fundamentals is what has put this team at 90 losses and counting. You can expect some degree of mental and physical mistakes when most of your regular 25 man roster is replaced by subs and young minor leaguers, but we have also seen a ton of mistakes this year from the veterans and it is inexcusable.

While I don’t necessarily advocate Jerry Manuel and the coaches being fired, some blame has to be shifted on to this staff because clearly, the team is not responding. The same thing happened under Bobby Valentine and Willie Randolph towards the end of their respective runs as manager as well. I can’t say that about Art Howe because the leadership wasn’t there with him from the very beginning, but that’s another story. But once the season ends, Omar and Jeff Wilpon really need to evaluate everything. This includes the major and minor league players and the coaching, medical and scouting staff throughout the organization. They need to find out what isn’t working and make changes. They also need to set a direction for the club so they have a specific plan in place to fill the areas of deficiencies both on and off the field. There is no cohesion within the Mets and that needs to change because next year could be another bust if they head into spring training and everyone isn’t on the same page.

You may ask yourself, how bad is the lack of direction the Mets have displayed this year? Well, it is so bad that the players can’t even get their rookie hazing ritual right. This rag tag collection of randomness just perfectly illustrates the lack of direction, cohesion and teamwork. Check out: Mets 2009 Rookie Hazing.

And on the flip side, you have the Yankees 2009 rookie hazing, which was well planned with a consistent theme – much like their team. And, their costumes don’t look like the $19.99 specials from the nearest Halloween Adventure stores.
Yankees 2009 Rookie Hazing.

Pretty obvious just in comparing these two photos which of the New York Teams are playoff bound and the other is preparing for a long offseason.


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The Washington Nationals Effect

By Chris Pollay

There is nothing like playing in the same division as the worst team in baseball. In fact, playing such a team 18 or 19 times throughout the season can unquestionably be the difference between playing above .500 and playing below .500.

That has largely been the case for the top three teams in the National League East. Right now, the Philadelphia Phillies are 77-57 and leading the NL East by 6 1/2 games. A large reason for this is the team's record against the Washington Nationals. They are 10-2 against them so far this season. If you take that away from their cumulative record, guess what? They become only a 67-55 team and are likely battling for their lives for a Wildcard playoff spot.

The Florida Marlins, second in the division currently with a 72-65 record, are 11-4 against the Washington Not-ionals. (In fact, they were 9-0 at one point, but have inexplicably lost four of the last six games against them.) Regardless, the Marlins would only be a .500 ballclub (61-61) without their 15 games against Washington.

The Atlanta Braves are in the same boat. If you take away their eleven contests against Washington this year, their cumulative record become 63-63. Instead, thanks to winning seven of eleven against the Nationals, the Braves boast a 70-67 record and are 8.5 games behind division leading Philly... a deep hole, to be sure, but they still have an outside shot.

While the New York Mets are pretty much completely out of the playoff picture and nobody is impressed by their 62-75 record, the team would be much, much worse if they had not played Washington twelve times (winning eight). Their record is 54-71 without those games factored in. Yikes.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate just how truly bad and inept Washington has been (and how good that badness has been for the rest of the division), is to look at the team's overall record: 47-90. That is a deplorable .343 winning percentage. At the current rate, the team will only win 56 wins in the 2009 season.

The Nats are somehow even worse against teams in their own division. They are 14-36 against the National League East, or .280! If you apply that winning percentage for a full 162-game season, the team only comes up with 45 wins (which is less than they have right now). Double yikes!

Oddly enough, the Nationals might continue to be a crucial factor in determining the playoff picture for the three remaining National League East contenders: Philadelphia, Florida and Atlanta.

Since Friday, Florida was able to gain two games on the Phillies (who seemed to discover their own personal kryptonite in the form of the Houston Astros), and it could easily have been three.

True, Brad Lidge blew his tenth save of the season on Saturday and yesterday's game was quite winnable for the Phils, but Florida was able to inch considerably closer towards the NL East title mostly because they played the Nationals in their weekend series.

The Marlins should have swept them. If not for a stunning comeback by the Nationals on Sunday (scoring three runs off two homers in the bottom of the ninth), they would have. It is precisely those type of games (i.e. against an opponent as hapless as the Nats) that teams need to win if they want to walk away with a division crown.

Now, Florida only gets to play Washington three more times in 2009. Meanwhile, the Braves will play them seven more times and the Phils will play them six more times. Those contests should easily translate to five or more wins for both of those teams in the remaining stretch run.

Contending teams simply cannot afford to let such golden opportunities slip through their fingers this late in the season.

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