The Roadtrip From Hell

Lets see if this sound familiar. 6 games ago the Mets were in 1st place and they were headed for Florida and then Houston. Six games later the Mets are 3 games back, and in 3rd place. Where have he seen this before? It seems like every season the Mets have to suffer the same old story.


If being in third place because of a 4 game losing streak wasn't bad enough, the injuries to critical people are starting to pile up. John Maine goes on the DL to heal his shoulder and free up a spot in the bull-pen. And why you ask is an extra arm in the pen needed? Because nobody in the pen can be trusted to close games except for Billy, AND HE'S HURT !!!!! So with Wagner's injury, the Mets wouldn't have a closer if Eddie Kunz hadn't been called up. Placing John Maine on the DL was more about getting a closer [Kunz] to NY than resting John. The Mets season could very well be resting on the broad 21 year old shoulders of Eddie. If Wagner goes on the DL, the Mets and we fans will be looking to Kunz and his strong right arm to save the season. His 96 MPH sinking fastball will come in handy and his closer's mentality is sorely missing from anyone else in the bull-pen. Sanchez and Heilman are headcases, and Schoeneweis and Feliciano are reverting to their helter-skelter selves.


As good as Reyes hit in Houston, that series proved who was the most valuable member of the Mets. That person is David Wright. Since his latest slump, the Mets have had problems scoring runs even when Delgado is hitting. I've said it before and I'll say it again. When David hits, the Mets win games. When he doesn't hit, they struggle to score. The starting pitchers are doing their jobs, but the Mets are not scoring when needed. All the SNY "Daily News Live" crew can't understand why the Mets lost in Houston with Reyes getting 11 hits there. It's simple, Reyes getting on base means nothing if David isn't hitting. Guinness and others worship at the alter of Jose', but David is the more important player. The stats prove it out. David hits well over .300 when the Mets win, and under .200 when they lose. Without David hitting the ball, Reyes gets stuck on base looking for a hit from someone. How many times on this road trip did the Mets leave the bases loaded and not score ANY RUNS !!!!! 5 times? 6 times? More than 6? A hit in any of those instances would have turned losses into wins.


If there is anything to be hopeful for it's the play of the youngsters. Evans and Murphy will share duties in left field. Both did a good job in Houston with that weird wacky wall in left field. Murphy had an outfield assist in Saturday's game, and Evans threw out 2 runners at 2nd base in Sunday's game. With Kunz in the pen and Neise maybe getting the start Friday or Saturday, we should be getting a good look at the future of the team. With any luck, they can shine a little light on a gloomy situation in NY.