Injuries, Shminjuries!

Hopefully, Omar Minaya did his job right and the injuries (again) to two of the Mets big name stars (Beltran and Reyes) won't affect the team because the replacements he hired can hold it down until they come back. Realistically, the Mets are asking too much of bench players to fill the holes left open by all star caliber players. If the injuries go deep into the season like last year, it is going to be another long one. The Mets pitching staff is giving up home runs to the Nationals like its a stadium give away and Jerry Manuel and his staff still have not decided on the 4 and 5 spots in the rotation nor have they solidified the bullpen. How do they expect to compete against teams like the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, Rockies, Braves and Marlins?

Three years straight, pivotal stars on the Mets squad have had significant injuries to start the season and/or have had injuries that have made you say "hmmm?". How does Jose Reyes always seem to have some type of injury? First, when he came up from the minors, the Mets staff taught him the wrong way to run the bases and he had leg problems, then when Reyes figured out how to run and steal bases, he had hand and leg injuries, now his thyroid is messed up...huh? And Carlos Beltran is either a hypochondriac or the doctors that he is seeing aren't really asking him the right questions, like "do your knees hurt?" or "how long have they been making a clicking sound when you walk?". Mets fans are allowed to be frustrated by all these injuries. Imagining a full roster of the Mets stars is really just that, a figment of the imagination. It has been too long since the Mets were at full, healthy capacity and were able to compete with other healthy teams. What's left?....A brand new stadium, pricey tickets and concessions and a makeshift lineup with sub-par pitching behind Johan Santana....sorry to sound so negative and gloomy, but after a while you just can't take anymore.

The Coveted 5th Starting Spot Goes To.....

Nelson Figueroa pitched 2 solid innings for the New York Mets yesterday, in their Spring Training opener against the Atlanta Braves. He even struck out the side with 2 men on base in the 2nd inning. However, it is widely believed that Jon Niese, not Figueroa, will fill the final spot in the Mets starting rotation, barring any injuries or disastrous outings, but Figueroa is doing his best to keep the competition alive. So, if Figueroa and Niese both have strong pre-seasons, who should come out with the 5th spot??


Figueroa is 35 years old, and Jon Niese is 22. It seems much more logical to keep Figueroa in the bullpen as a long reliever and give Niese the chance to live up to his potential, but it's hard not to notice the hard work Figueroa has put in dating back to the end of last season. Having a veteran like Figueroa, coming out of the pen and straight out of Brooklyn, is a huge asset for the Mets since everyone other then Johan Santana is under the age of 30. Most Mets fans are just hoping for healthy pitchers. It's been a long time since all 5 of the Mets starting pitchers stayed healthy together. That has been the main problem for the organization, having to replace starters with a makeshift rotation from relievers and journeymen, that is something that they want to avoid this season. So whomever secures the 5th spot, his health will be the main focus because then the Mets can have a full strength bullpen backing up a 5 man rotation ready to compete for the NL EAST title.

More Home Runs for The Mets??

What will help boost the stat labeled "HR (homerun)" for the New York Mets in 2010?


Having hit the fewest "HR's" in the majors last season, the Mets' brass came up with one solution, cut the Center Field fence in half....hold your applause please. They also decided that adding a power hitter like Jason Bay was also a good first step. 


But what else can an organization do to help it's team increase it's power?


Recently, Rob Neyer blogged about the Mets attempting to "pull back from opposite-field hitting"...and to focus more on pulling the ball. This seems to be a lot to ask of one team.....wait for it, now let the applause pour in.


The focus, however, should be on the players staying healthy and getting used to playing at Citi Field. The winds, the outfield walls, the odd dimensions and the obvious uncomfortableness of playing in a new place, coupled with all of the injuries, all seemed to contribute to the Mets lack of power last season. Pushing players to pull the ball more, in this bloggers mind, could have an adverse effect on how they approach hitting all together. It could put more pressure on the hitters to try different things, while they are returning from injuries and attempting to figure out Citi Field. Howard Johnson, the Mets hitting coach and former hard-hitting third baseman, feels that there needs to be a change in how aggressive the hitters are going to be. That is an understatement Ho-Jo! 


Johnson said, "It would be like in football, and all you do is try to complete five-yard passes. You have to stretch the field at some point." Thank you Ho-Jo for explaining that, people have been running around, all very confused about how the NFL compares to hitting in the Major Leagues.  Hopefully, Ho-Jo can make an impact on the players. Hopefully he is helping them hit for average as well, so that when this "surge" of power miraculously appears, there will be guys on base to score more then the one run the Mets were used to last season. 

If the pitchers behind Johan Santana somehow come alive and execute, the Mets hitters should be more relaxed and aggressive at the plate. There are so many factors involved, when it comes to re-tooling an organization that has just gone through a serious drought. All the Mets fan around the world are hoping that the coaches, managers, trainers and players that have been put into place are going to (pun intended) "step up to the plate".