If you haven’t even been following baseball this year, you may still have heard about the incredible lack of luck the New York Mets have been experiencing this year. It is a lack of luck mostly brought on by injuries, although there have been some rather unlucky single plays that have contributed to the overall demise of the 2009 Mets as well. It is this that I ask you: How unlucky can one team get?
First, let’s start with the injuries. Most recently, it was reported that the staff ace—Johan Santana—is going to miss the rest of the season due to minor elbow surgery (which is actually a smart move; there is no point in rushing him back since this is a lost season anyway). David Wright, their star third baseman, was plunked in the head and was placed on the 15-day disabled list, although he will probably be back soon. Still, 15 days without your best player makes any stretch of games tough to play.
Then there is Carlos Delgado, who was the first big Mets star to lose time due to injury. He hurt his hip and strained his oblique, and he was placed on the 60-day DL. Whenever it looked like he may be making progress, something seemed to hold him up. The other Carlos—Carlos Beltran—was hitting .336 when he went down, a major loss to the team. Supposedly, he is due back in September…but the way luck has treated the Mets this year, he’ll probably trip and fall before his first game back and injure something else. Speedy Jose Reyes was another big star to go down. He hurt his hamstring and had knee inflammation, and he may miss the rest of the season.
In total, four of the Mets’ big offensive stars are currently on the disabled list. Even their replacements haven’t been spared the wrath of the (apparently) unhappy baseball gods, however. Alex Cora, who had been filling in for Jose Reyes at shortstop, injured ligaments in both of his thumbs and is likely out for the rest of the year. Highly-touted prospect Fernando Martinez, who hit .176 in 91 at-bats this year, tore his meniscus and was put on the DL. Ramon Martinez, who spent all of 12 games in the big leagues, dislocated his pinky and was placed on the 60-day DL. Gary Sheffield, who is leading the Mets in home runs with just ten, was on the DL earlier this season as well.
Oh, but there’s more. We haven’t talked about the pitchers yet: John Maine has been out for a long time, because he hurt his right shoulder. J.J. Putz was placed on the 60-day DL after breaking a bone spur in his elbow, and rotation replacements Jonathon Niese and Fernando Nieve are both out. Nieve may be back, but Niese is done for the year. Earlier in the year, Oliver Perez was on the disabled list also, although many Mets fans might agree that he wasn’t that great of a loss.
And the injuries keep coming. Jeff Francoeur, who the Mets acquired for Ryan Church, bruised his left thumb and may be placed on the disabled list too. Let’s tally them up, then: currently, the Mets have 12 players on the disabled list. Four are offensive stars: David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes. Three of the players were replacements for the injured stars—those being Ramon Martinez, Fernando Martinez and Alex Cora. Two are starting pitchers that began the season with the team, one who is excellent (Johan Santana) and one who is solid (John Maine). Two more are starting pitchers who came in to fill in the gaps that were left by the injured players, both of which were showing promise: Fernando Nieve and Jonathon Niese. They lost one solid reliever (J.J. Putz; although he wasn’t that great this year), too. To top it off, Gary Sheffield and Oliver Perez spent time on the DL earlier, and Jeff Francoeur might be heading there soon.
Right now, the Mets team is so rag-tag they should just move to Buffalo, where their Triple-A team the Bisons is located, and call themselves “Buffalo Bisons 2″. Just look at some of the names on the Mets’ current roster: Wilson Valdez, Pat Misch, Nelson Figueroa, Cory Sullivan. It’s kind of sad when your team is being anchored offensively by Luis Castillo, of all people.
Of course, it’s not just injuries that have contributed to the Mets bad season. Random plays have factored in as well—such as when Luis Castillo dropped the ball, literally, on a popup in a game in mid-June against the Yankees, causing a run to score and the Yankees to win. Just recently, Jeff Francoeur hit into an unassisted triple play to end a game, only the second time in big league history that that has happened.
And again I ask, how unlucky can one team get?
