How is it every time I look up I'm immersed in high batting averages? Even if the batting average has been devalued as a key determinant of offensive effectiveness, you'd figure a lineup in which six of the regulars are over .300 — Beltran and Castillo ranked 1 and 2 in the entire National League at the close of business Wednesday night — and a guy hitting .278, Delgado, is among the Top Five in RBI…you'd figure that team would be on fire, that it would be in first place or at least have a record that indicated they'd be there soon.
You'd figure wrong. Go figure.
Go figure 'cause I can't. The 2009 New York Mets are a page of imposing numbers in search of a bottom line. They don't add up, not on paper, not at all.
There's something missing, starting with wins, of course, but extending right into the way they play the game, every game, right through the most recent one, a bland loss to the Cardinals in which — despite the eternally suffocating presence of Joel Piñeiro — St. Louis didn't seem particularly imposing, just better equipped to prevail. Could have said the same thing about San Diego last week, could have said the same thing about Florida the weekend before that. There but for the grace of Johan, you could say that about every series the Mets have played.
Sometimes, as Freud theorized, fourteen tepid games are just fourteen tepid games, with 148 left to play, smoke 'em if you got 'em. And sometimes you can see your team has no core, no center, no sense of purpose. They're all swell sorts and they're all talented guys, but they're not much of a team.
The Mets aren't much of a team right now. They have appeared lackluster and wan for their last three losses, even when they seemed in command of the score Tuesday. Wednesday, at least, was not 1962 reincarnated, but if the present they are showing us is the immediate future we can anticipate, it's going to be a long, blah summer.
Nice stats, though. And nice guys. Ramon Castro's the belle of the clubhouse, we've been told since 2005. Could he block a plate? John Maine's a sweetheart. Doesn't move anybody off a plate, though, as Ronnie noted from the booth (though I could swear John used to). Doesn't emerge from trouble either. I was a little disconcerted after Maine batted in the fifth, trailing 5-1, and Mr. Darling recalled his own rookie season experience of being left in to fend for himself in a game when he was losing and he said it turned his season around. Next inning, Maine was perfect. Gary and Ron toasted this as a turning point for Maine '09, clear into the sixth…which was when John loaded the bases and had to be removed.
An isolated incident, but indicative, somehow, of the way this team (and it's not the broadcasters' fault), congratulates itself on achieving nothing in particular. Hey, John Maine retired three guys in a row! We're great! Well, sometimes a three-batter sequence is just a three-batter sequence. I'm not in Maine's head. Maybe he learned something Wednesday night the way Darling did in 1984 and he's on his way after coming back from injury. Or maybe he and we are stuck at square one. Maybe we'll keep not sliding into plates blocked by opposing catchers and maybe we'll keep not blocking plates being slid into by opposing baserunners and maybe we're going to keep congratulating ourselves for the way 80-pitch drills in Spring Training produced high batting averages the first two weeks of the season, but I wonder if maybe Jerry should have tried that exercise with runners in scoring position, because the Mets display a disturbing habit of stopping hitting in those situations.
On the other hand, Daniel Murphy didn't fall down and didn't drop anything in left field, so there's another little victory that won't show up in the standings — as opposed to the latest lifeless loss that is ingrained there with all the others that have occurred and however many more seem likely to come if the modern-day equivalent of Donn Clendenon or Ray Knight isn't dropped into this house of empty stats soon. This team needs something or somebody to push it to another level, preferably up.
Don't despair! There's still Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Mets, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or a bookstore near you. Keep in touch and join the discussion on Facebook.
Just an awful, listless, sad game which we barely seemed to show up for. Maine was afraid to throw anywhere near the plate because he knew he had no way to keep it where he wanted it. It's one thing for the nightmare who is Ollie to walk everyone but Maine? Painful to watch in every way. And once the lead got big it was over. These guys are supposed to be major leaguers; is there no way to combat a pitcher who you know is throwing the same pitch to the same effect over and over again? No way to make him get the ball up, jsut to keep rolling over weak groundball after groundball every at bat. I couldn't stay to the end. As always, playing the Cards makes you notice all the thngs we are not. Larussa contually has guys who play defense, make plays, work well in situations, listen to their pitching coach and just generally play baseball. With few exceptions our guys swing for the fences, hope for a lucky break, get by on talent and worry about tomorrow tomorrow. Just sad…
Joel
I think the time has come to try the futile & pointless..
Dust a hitter — perferably a superstar of the Pujols/Rollins/Hanley Ramirez stripe.
Bust up a double play spikes up.
Bowl over a catcher.
Start a brawl.
STOP being so fucking polite.
GROW A FUCKING PAIR!
Worried about suspensions? WHO CARES???? It isn't even May yet!
Worried about antagonizing an opponent? THEY ALREADY HATE YOU! May as well give them a reason to.
Do something to indicate you have a pulse.
Sick of this shit…
Hi Greg,
Something happened during the Tuesday night loss which nobody other than Bobby Ojieda alluded to — where was the on-deck hitter when Beltran went standing into home plate? Why wasn't Castillo there to signal that a slide was necessary?
This is of more concern to me than Murphy falling down, Perez falling apart or Maine walking the lead-off hitter (the opposing pitcher!) after being ahead in the count 0-2. Castillo was not doing his job and this is indicative of the lassie-faire attitude prevaliant under WIllie Randolph. I hope it isn't becoming part of the Jerry Manuel regime as well.
In 1962 the on-deck batter was always there to indicate slide even though the runner was almost certainly going to be called out anyway. They might have been lovable losers but Casey had them act like professionals. This doesn't seem to be the case today.
Can I be the first to say that Jerry Watch 2009 has officially begun. We need a real a**hole in the clubhouse. I agree completely that we need to fabricate a pulse if we cannot find it organically. In honor of the Bard's birthday, “Nothing comes from Nothing.”
Be careful quoting the Bard.
Remember what Hamlet said to Horatio? ” Heaven make thee free of it! I follow thee. I am dead,”
I think we need to add Keith back onto the 25 man roster.
i'm certainly not the charter member of the luis castillo fan club but i'll give him a pass there. after all this was a routine fly ball with a runner on second. beltran knows that the ball is on the infield and he has to plan to slide.
jerry watch? how many managers do you have to go through before you point the finger at the guys upstairs?
of course this team has no fight. this organization has systematically cleansed itself of any player that may god forbid actually provoke a little argie-bargie on the field. family friendly!
I can probably be considered a member of the Luis Castilo Fan Club but he definately does not deserve a pass at all on this one. Once the throw got past third Castillo had enough time to make (at most) the one-third distance Beltran still had to cover. He just never bothered.
This team needs the book “Baseball For Dummies.” The official “fire Manual” watch is on. Bring back 70s-stalwart Lee Mazilli to manage this team!
HI Greg,
In addition to my question of why Castillo was not near the plate alerting Beltran to slide I forgot to also ask why Ramon Castro stayed behind the plate when Murphy made that perfect, one-hop throw? Why wasn't he alongside the plate and be in perfect position to block it with his leg once getting possession of the throw? The throw beat the pitcher but he was able slide into home unobstructed because Castro had to lunge out to make his tag.
Hope things don't happen this afternoon that allow me to further voice my frustration about a lack of concentration (isn't bad starting pitching and runners left on base enough?).
Even if the batting average has been devalued as a key determinant of offensive effectiveness, you'd figure a lineup in which six of the regulars are over .300
And the Mets are somewhere around 12th in the league in slugging percentage, which is much more commensurate with their lackluster production to date. Scoring runs is much more difficult when stringing together single after single.
In may turn out to be a long, fruitless summer as you allow. I don't think there's any great mystery to it, however.
We currently see three starters with ERA's north of 7 and no power to speak of from either outfield corner.
That this team is something less than a juggernaut is disappointing, but it shouldn't be all that surprising.
This team is not very good in any respect. On the plus side, all the fair-weather fans will be looking to dump tickets by June so there'll be plenty of cheap opportunities to sample more world-class concession fare. I can't say enough about the three-taco combo platter across the way from Shake Shack.
Your 2009 Mets: Come for the fancy tacos, stay for the cookies, as served up by our starting pitchers.
My GOD, but this team sucks…
Imagine what the attendance figures could have been like had they remained at Shea without the lure of those fancy tacos and cookies?
Really it's like deja vu all over again with these guys, they have picked up precisely where they left off in 08. If they get a good start, they can't score. If they hit, the pitchers can't get anyone out. They leave droves of men on base. They're careless & sloppy. They appear to be tight & lackluster all the time. And they're boring too & bad & boring is the kiss of death. At least the bullpen seems better, although lately it's tough to notice.
see greg, this is why you're a published writer. i just start and end with “this team kinda sucks.”