New York Mets: A First Half Evaluation

Through the first half of the season, the Mets currently have a 42-45 record and stand in fourth place in the NL East. Although that sounds terrible at first mention, it really isn’t all that bad. The Mets are just 6.5 games out of first place, and the break couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Mets have been struggling, and obviously injuries have played a large role in the turmoil. With Beltran, Reyes, Delgado, Perez, Maine, Putz and more all out for extended periods of time, the Mets have been lucky to even stay afloat as they have done.

You can thank guys like Gary Sheffield for keeping the Mets in the hunt, and they can use the break to help themselves heal a bit.

But in this post, I am going to evaluate players who have been given an extended look thus far this season. Without further adieu, here we go.

Catcher—Brian Schneider
Grade: C+
Explanation: Brian Schneider has been a bit of a surprise with the bat thus far this season, and he has provided some unexpected power. He is really a run-of-the-mill catcher who I have learned not to expect much out of, although he provides solid defensive stability. I can’t expect much more than we have seen so far this season.

Catcher—Omir Santos
Grade: B-
Explanation: Omir Santos burst onto the scene with the Mets after being a career minor leaguer. He started the season by getting big hit after big hit, and he even hit a game-winning homer off of Jonathon Papelbon in Boston. It doesn’t get much better than that. Prior to yesterday’s game, Santos has been fizzling, and he has a rather pedestrian .264 batting average. If he added some patience to his approach, he would be much better off.

First Base—Daniel Murphy
Grade: C+
Explanation: Daniel has been an interesting case thus far this season. Teams have obviously figured out that he is vulnerable inside, and they have started to exploit that. Murphy is now at the stage in which he is trying to figure out how to combat the new attack. He played better than expected at first base, and he seems to be coming out of his funk.

First Base—Fernando Tatis
Grade: D-
Explanation: Tatis has been downright atrocious this year, and for some reason, he is still in the good graces of manager Jerry Manuel. He grounds into too many double plays and his swing is way longer than it was in his comeback year last season. His defense has been average, and the Mets would be better off just using him primarily as a pinch hitter. It took a lot for me to not give him an F here.

Second Base—Luis Castillo
Grade: B+
Explanation: Whether we like him or not, Luis Castillo has been one of the true constants from this team from the very beginning this season. Going into today’s game, Castillo had a .278 average, and he is really playing well at Citi Field. He has played an above average second base, and he has an excellent on-base percentage. Why he isn’t batting lead off every day is beyond me, but he has definitely surpassed expectations.

Shortstop—Alex Cora
Grade: C+
Explanation: I know a lot of people are going to be on me for being rough on Cora, but I feel like he has gotten a bit of a free ride from the critics in Mets’ land. Well, allow me to be the first one to take a stance. Cora may be an excellent leader and he may make one hell of a manager one day, but his .240 average doesn’t exactly have starting shortstop written all over it. I admire the fact that he is playing with a screwed up finger, but he is not helping the team with his 0-for-4 games and his limited range.

Third Base—David Wright
Grade: B+
Explanation: Nobody on the Mets has had a weirder season than David Wright. The homers are just not there, and the RBI numbers are decent, but yet Wright still manages to have a .323 batting average. He is heading to St. Louis to play in the All Star Game, and it would really serve him well to work on his swing. He already has scored 55 runs, and he has proven that he is the most productive Met. If he can add some more consistency in the power department, he will be the real deal. He needs to take that step though.

Left Field—Gary Sheffield
Grade: A-
Explanation: This is a guy who has surpassed all of the expectations. To be honest, I didn’t give him much of a chance to make the team in the Spring. The Mets took a flier on him at $400,000 after the Tigers got sick of his attitude and inconsistency, but all he has done since arriving is hit and be a model citizen. One example is after he hit his 500th homer. He had an engraved bat delivered to each of his teammates. He has been nothing short of a class act, and the Mets are lucky to have him right now.

Center Field—Jeremy Reed
Grade: B-
Explanation: Reed has been as good as we could’ve hoped for a replacement player, and due to the injury to Beltran, he and Angel Pagan have been asked to take a bigger role in center field. His bat can be a bit inconsistent, but his glove is stellar. I think Angel Pagan is better for the everyday role, but Reed has proven to be a valuable bench asset.

Starting Pitcher—Johan Santana
Grade: A-
Explanation: Santana has once again been the bearer of bad luck. His record currently stands at 10-7 after yesterday’s seven shutout innings, but the team fails to step it up when he is pitching. Whether it is defense or lack of run support, the troops always seem to be more anxious when he pitches, and that leads to lapses in judgment. I don’t think he has been bad, but he can certainly pitch better. We know he is capable of being the best pitcher in baseball. We just need him to take that step.

Starting Pitcher—Mike Pelfrey
Grade: B-
Explanation: Pelfrey has done well to earn himself a 7-4 record, but his ERA wouldn’t indicate that he has been that good. He is sporting a 4.47 ERA, and he needs to work on the middle innings. Today, it was another fifth inning that did him in. After throwing four scoreless while letting up just two hits, Pelfrey balked (literally) and allowed three runs to score. We need the consistency to carry through an entire start. He seems to hit a wall when we think he is good to go.

Starting Pitcher—Livan Hernandez
Grade: C+
Explanation: It seems like Livan has been held win-less since the first Bush was President, and now the Mets might be looking at the real guy they picked up off of the scrap heap in the off season. Livan became the first pitcher in quite some time to allow three runs or more in the first inning for three consecutive starts leading up to the break. That is really not something to be proud of. He is relying on that get-me-over fastball early in the count, and hitters are jumping on it. He has to mix it up more if he wants to be successful.

Starting Pitcher—Fernando Nieve
Grade: C
Explanation: I am kind of indifferent on the Nieve front. We have already gotten more than what was expected out of him. He was the first half’s Cinderella story, but the clock is soon going to strike 12 for him. Jonathon Niese is lighting it up at Triple A, and there is no reason for Niese to sit down there while Nieve is faltering. If Nieve wants to stay, he needs to get his act together—and quick.

Bullpen—Other than Closer
Grade: B-
Explanation: There have been some bright spots in the bullpen that were not expected. Bobby Parnell came out of the gate like a bat out of hell and he was pitching lights out before he hit a rough patch. It seems like he is coming back to life, and the Mets can really use his firepower in the second half. Pedro Feliciano continues to be the best lefty specialist in all of baseball, and Sean Green has been very good after a rough start. Pat Misch has even been good in mop up spots, and the Mets need to get Putz back to really get the bullpen at full strength.

Closer—Francisco Rodriguez
Grade: A
Explanation: K-Rod has exceeded expectations, and he is proving that last season was no fluke. He is dominant, although he likes to give fans a heart attack before he eventually completes a save. I love how he is fearless when it comes to certain pitches on certain counts. Sure, he has blown a couple of saves, but overall, Mets’ fans should be ecstatic that this guy will be a Met through 2011.