Mets First Half Review / Second Half Preview

2009 New York Mets First Half Review / Second Half Preview
07/13/09
by Karl Roman

    Needless to say, it’s been an underwhelming first half for the Amazins’. The team was victim to a whole host of injuries to key players. First Basemen Carlos Delgado, CF Carlos Beltran, and SS Jose Reyes have spent extended periods of time on the DL. None of them are currently on the active roster, and SP John Maine continues to be absent from the rotation while SP Oliver Perez just recently returned from a (never-ending) bout with wildness. The hallmark of GM Omar Minaya’s off-season was beefing up a bullpen that was part of the reason the Mets missed the playoffs in 2008, collapsing in the last week for the second straight year. This entailed the acquisition of setup man J.J. Putz from the Mariners and the signing of former Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez as a free agent. While Rodriguez has been a smashing success in Flushing, Putz has showed himself to be psychologically unable to make the transition to pitching the 8th inning after closing in Seattle. He was largely ineffective and it wasn’t long before he landed on the DL, where he remains to this day. The two starters who have been up and running all year; Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana, have been decent, although both, like the rest of the pitchers on the club, have suffered from a lack of run support. The Mets have incorporated some youth into the mix this year, either by choice or sheer necessity. Fernando Martinez showed promise but looked overmatched at the plate and in the field. Bobby Parnell and Jon Neise look to have good arms, but both look to be a little rough around the edges and in need of some more minor league seasoning. The bloom looks to be off of the rose with Fernando Nieve, but credit should be given to Minaya and Jerry Manuel for picking him up and getting as much out of him as they did, even if it was just a few quality starts. We think that the position for Daniel Murphy may be first base, but we know it is definitely not left field. We were told by the organization that they’d find a position for him, but they were sure he’d hit. He hasn’t been impressive thus far; but not horrible either. I think it’s fair to say the jury is still out on Murphy. It’s unclear weather Nick Evans projects as a starting infielder/outfielder, or a career utility-man like Fernando Tatis. Either way, he has value to the club, weather it is as a member of the team or as trade bait, but the best place for him right now is the minors, as the team already has Fernando Tatis on the roster. The catching situation has been unsettled. Brian Schneider has spent time on the DL, with Omir Santos handling the bulk of the duties. Now both are fully healthy and the Mets have a platoon of two backup catchers, while Jerry Manuel combatant Ramon Castro, superior to both, was dealt to the White Sox. With the exception of Tim Redding, who except for a couple of decent outings has been an unmitigated disaster, the veterans Omar Minaya acquired in the off-season have done their jobs and been quality professionals. A career backup, Alex Cora has been a leader as expected, but has struggled offensively as an everyday player. Gary Sheffield has been a pleasant surprise as he’s added an offensive threat and veteran leadership, although he’s showed his 40-year old body can no longer hold up to an everyday role. It’s fair to say Minaya didn’t expect either one of those guys, nor Fernando Tatis, Argenis Reyes, Jeremey Reed or Omir Santos, to be in the everyday lineup. Another positive in the first half has been the play of 2B Luis Castillo. After a poor showing in 2008 and questions about his commitment, Mets fans were ready to run him out of town, especially after Minaya refused to eat his contract to acquire Orlando Hudson, an all star second basemen who expressed his desire to play for the club. However, Castillo looks to have shed some weight, is running well, and has showed decent range in the field. He looks to be close to the punch and judy offensive player he was in his heyday. His dropped popup notwithstanding, Mets fans have to be pleased with his performance thus far. He has been one of the only Mets regulars able to stay healthy and on the field every day. The team hovered at .500 or a couple games over, and even withstood the losses of Delgado and Reyes to keep their head above water. It was the loss of Beltran that has pushed this team to the brink. The team is 42-45, and by all accounts should be much further behind the Phillies in the NL East then they are. Inconsistent pitching and a terrible home record by Philadelphia have allowed the Mets to hang around, if you call 6.5 games out hanging around. It’s a general consensus that the Phillies will continue to pull away as their starting pitching and bullpen stabilizes and their potent offense continues to run like a well-oiled machine. Minaya jumped at the chance to deal Jerry Manuel’s least favorite player in history Ryan Church for a young Atlanta outfielder who had fallen out of favor in his hometown and was in need of a fresh start. Although fans seem to appreciate the Ryan Church – Jeff Franceour trade as a positive move for the future, it’s unclear if it’s enough to make the Mets a playoff team in 2009. They’d need to leapfrog the Marlins, the Cubs/Brewers/Cardinals, and the Giants and Rockies just to win the wild card. It’s definitely an uphill battle. Although Minaya and Manuel keep telling the fans that they just need to hover around .500 until the reinforcements (Beltran, Reyes, Delgado) come, it’s unclear as to when (and if) that will be, and with the way the Mets diagnose injuries these days, I’d expect Billy Wagner back before any of the big three. In order for this team to climb back into the race, 3B David Wright will have to carry them on his back. Although he hit for average in the first half, his power numbers and production were down. Whenever people happen to be on base, (and it won’t be often) and he’s up, he must drive them in for this team to have any chance to win. He will have to be more consistent, drive in runs and produce every night, and find his power stroke at Citi Field. He has no protection in the Mets lineup, and he looked uncomfortable and overtired in the first half with the weight of the world on his shoulders. This is Wright’s team, and win or lose, he has to step up and be the vocal leader. Neither his best efforts, nor the returns of Delgado, Beltran, or Reyes, likely will be enough to save the Mets 2009 season. The heat is being turned up on Minaya and Manuel as the fans clamor for the GM to make a move for a power bat and for the manager to get the most out of his depleted roster. It’s unclear weather the organization is willing to take on extra money and contracts with it’s questionable finances, or able, with its depleted farm system, to make a blockbuster trade for a Roy Halladay or someone of that nature. I’ll say, that for those two reasons, on top of the fact that they probably feel that they’re out of it right now and one player, especially a pitcher who won’t receive any run support from his new lineup, won’t put them back in it, they won’t make such a move. The Mets series with the Braves right after the All Star break will prove crucial to their season. A strong showing might motivate Minaya to make moves to go for it in 2009, although it may be too late already. A poor showing against Atlanta, however, and the Mets ought to pack it in and start thinking about 2010.  If things start to further awry in Atlanta Washington, and Houston, don’t be surprised to see the Mets clean house with their coaches, weather it be hitting coach Howard Johnson or 3rd Base coach Razor Shines. This will likely be a prelude to them cleaning house in the off-season, and perhaps that means saying goodbye to, among others, Omar Minaya.