Visit to Citi Field: Vision of a Dark Future

I nearly went to Thursday's game, but ended up at Wednesday's instead. Big mistake. Instead of seeing a spectacular comeback that will no doubt end up in the slim catalog of SNY Mets Classics, I got to see what a Met infield would look like without Jose Reyes or David Wright.

I did not find out until well after the fact that Terry Collins was even more annoyed than I was about the shoddy infield play that resulted in a steady stream of infield hits and helped the Pirates turn a 2-0 deficit into a 9-3 win. But what Collins really needed to be annoyed with was that Willie Harris is still on his roster and that Sandy Alderson has been no better so far at building a bench on the cheap than Omar Minaya was.

Things got a lot brighter Thursday when Reyes returned to the lineup and Harris returned to the bench. And then there was that comeback for the ages. So I deleted the gloom and doom post I started Wednesday night. After all, I did have a good time going to my first game of the year.

But ownership should know that even if fans can still have fun at the ballpark watching a lousy lineup playing a lousy game, my tickets in the fifth row of the promenade behind home plate were only $6.50 each, plus StubHub fees. And unless I missed it, they didn't bother to put the attendance on the scoreboard. It wasn't too long ago when the Mets would ask you to guess the attendance and put up four different figures, all much higher than whatever they are drawing now.

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If the Mets want to reduce the gloom and doom surround the club, how about putting an end to rumors that they might aim to keep Reyes, but then they would have to move Wright. What's next - Shake Shack will only have hamburgers or shakes, but not both? I actually read somewhere that this could be the best time to trade Wright, before his value goes down more. Yeah, when he's on the DL with a stress fracture in his back - that's the time to move him!

Wright, like Reyes, is a very good player who has done well in New York, unlike, say, Jason Bay. Nobody should be untouchable, but moves just to cut costs can help you end up with an infield like Wednesday night's - Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner, Ruben Tejada and Willie Harris.

Mets don't have Wright stuff in dealing with injuries

I miss the days when Met injuries were vague and shrouded in mystery. It is still not clear exactly how Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran got hurt, much less when they will return. But August has brought Jon Niese writhing on the mound in pain and now David Wright motionless on the ground.

At least the Mets actually remembered this time that baseball rules allow a player to be placed on the disabled list as soon as he gets hurt. But as Metstradamus notes, Jerry Manuel's comments on Wright ended up disparaging Ryan Church yet again.

All teams have injuries. But most teams eventually see most of their players get back on the field. If there is anything the Mets must figure out from this miserable season, it is how to deal better with injuries.

The Mets have a football mentality of playing their players despite injuries. And we see how well that has worked out. It has taken a gruesome injury to the face of the franchise for the team finally to be cautious from the start with one of their stars.

When Wright is scheduled to come off of the DL, the Mets, as Metstradamus also points out, will be in Colorado. Presumably, the Mets will not allow Wright to fly to high-altitude Denver, as they did with Church after Church's second concussion.

Maybe two weeks of rest is all Wright needs. Let's hope so. And let's hope the Mets become an organization in which we can trust that they will make the best decisions when it comes to the health of their players.

David Wright: No longer a home run hitter?

What's up with David Wright's power numbers this year? How is it that somebody who averaged over 28 homers a year only has four home runs this season?

Yes, I know that Citi Field is getting the blame. And I know that Wright is also hitting .346 this year. But why is it that even Wright's own teammates are outdoing him with homers, even with a lot fewer at-bats? Here are the Mets who have as many or more homers than Wright does:

• Gary Sheffield: 9
• Carlos Beltran: 8
• Daniel Murphy: 5
• Carlos Delgado: 4
• Omir Santos: 4
  

Wright has had 272 at-bats this year, more than anybody else on the team. The vastly less-talented Santos has as many homers as Wright, with 150 fewer at-bats. Gary Sheffield is about to turn 60 years old, and he has five more home runs than Wright, in over 100 fewer at-bats.

The Yankees are also outdoing Wright in the home run department. Of course, they play in a bandbox, but still, it's kind of shocking to see that Melky Cabrera has three more homers than Wright does:

• Mark Teixeira: 20
• Johnny Damon: 14
• Nick Swisher: 14
• Robinson Cano: 12
• Alex Rodriguez: 11
• Hideki Matsui: 10
• Jorge Posada: 10
• Derek Jeter: 9
• Melky Cabrera: 7

Wright's RBI numbers are also nothing to write home about. He has 39 RBI, the same as Nick Swisher. As WFAN's Sweeny Murti noted on his Twitter account, A-Rod has only two RBIs fewer than Swisher, and that's with 100 fewer at-bats - and with having a lousy season so far.

And several of Wright's own teammates - like Gary Sheffield and Omir Santos - are driving in RBIs at a higher percentage than the Met third baseman is.

I don't know what to make of these numbers, other than to note that Wright gets more of a pass for this than many other players would. He seems to have that Derek Jeter untouchable aura, only without the four rings!

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

Mets won't live long and prosper with this baserunning

When Jose Reyes initially got hurt, there was speculation that he was actually being benched because of a series of stupid baserunning mistakes. Now that Reyes is out indefinitely, remaining stars David Wright and Carlos Beltran are trying to pick up the slack - by making their own stupid baserunning mistakes.

Tonight, Wright was thrown out twice at third, while Beltran was also thrown out at third. Considering the Mets only had one run going into extra innings, losing three baserunners who would have been in scoring position is inexcusable.

Carlos Beltran has a historically high rate of success on steals. Now he makes questionable decisions on the basepaths seemingly on a regular basis.

Are Beltran and Wright trying to do too much as team leaders? Or are simply following a strategy always to try to take the extra base no matter what?

With their depleted lineup, the Mets can't afford these types of mistakes, and Jerry Manuel said as much after the game. But Jerry, why then do they keep happening? Trying to make up for Reyes' absence by being overly aggressive on the basepaths is not the logical thing to do.

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I've seen things this year I never expected to see. Gary Sheffield batting cleanup and the Mets missing his presence when he is out of the lineup. Alex Cora rushing back from the disabled list because the Mets desperately need him.

And Squawker Lisa, implacable foe of all things fanboy, writing separate posts on Star Trek and Spider-Man in one day.

As Lisa noted, the Binghamton Mets wore Star Trek-inspired jerseys at tonight's game. Alas, the B-Mets fell, 7-4, to the Connecticut Klingons. At least I hope they were called the Klingons tonight instead of the Defenders.

The game featured the Double-A debut of Brad Holt, aka the only Met prospect potentially close to the big leagues. The B-Mets site reports that Holt pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed three runs, two earned, two hits, three walks and struck out three.

I want Holt to do well enough that he can make it up to the Mets this year, but not so well that Omar Minaya trades him away in a panic move.

Squawker Lisa also noted that Spider-Man got into a fight at Yankee Stadium with the Vulture. I don't know if the comic reveals the identity of the Vulture, but I'm guessing it was Lonn Trost trying to prevent Spidey from watching batting practice from the good seats.

Squawker reader Uncle Mike has unearthed a 1977 Electric Company video that shows Spider-Man is a Met fan!

In the video, Spidey battles a villain called The Wall, who disguises himself as part of the outfield fence before running forward, upsetting the outfielder and causing a home run.

Kind of a cross between Jeffrey Maier and Bobby Abreu.