Too Many Mets Scarecrows

I just got my call from JCP&L asking me to conserve electricity so, being a good citizen (or a not so bad one), I turned off everything but the fridge and Francesa (necessities are after all necessities) and have my PC running on the battery.

There’s a lot happening in the sports world on which to comment, even if not much of it can be positive. The Mets, fuggedaboudit, they’re getting worse, but at least the NFL lockout looks to be ending and we won’t have to contemplate the angry visage of DeMaurice Smith anymore.

I had thought they’d miss the first four games of the regular season. My thinking had been based upon the knowledge that the owners were insured for the first four weeks. But, what I didn’t realize (and neither did the owners apparently) was that the players were insured too, to about 200 thousand bucks per player.

That latter fact certainly accelerated the pace of negotiations. And this marks the first time in my life ‘ve ever been thankful for the insurance industry.

Now we can all get back to perusing our fantasy football magazines while sprawled on the beach listening to some baseball game. And that’s not all. The delay and shortening of the signing period means that our next few weeks will be chock full of surprises, who’s being signed, let go or just asked to take one for the team…..heh-heh.

Meanwhile, as the July 31st trading deadline approaches, Mets fans can wonder how bad things can really get without K-Rod and now probably Beltran. From the looks of things thus far, they can get pretty bad in a hurry, just from the thought of losing Carlos.

I know I’ve become inured already to the poor play and lack of talent on my favorite team. Looking at the bright side, maybe the Mets will finally do something about these pieces of dead wood that litter the roster.

It’s not even so much the really raw players that exasperate me. It’s the players that have been with the team for a long while now, the Pagans of the world and the Bay’s and the Pelfrey’s that just seem to keep stinking it up.

I had thought that Jason Bay might be coming out of his funk finally after almost two years of playing worse than anyone could ever have imagined. Alas, it was not to be. His big day a couple of weeks ago was just a cruel aberration, just another reminder of how much we’re truly missing while he flounders. I mean, it’s not just the poor performance per se, but the opportunity loss of what the man could be.

The entire Mets season kinda reminds me of the Wizard of Oz. The Wizard would have to be the GM Alderson or Manager Terry Collins. The lion looking for courage could be Jason Bay. The scarecrow looking for a brain would definitely be Angel Pagan. The tin man seeking a heart could be Carlos Beltran, that is, seeking another team to love him.

But the Mets have too many scarecrows. Angel Pagan heads the list of stupid players but there is also Mike Pelfrey and especially Lucas Duda. And that sometime closer Bobby Parnell isn’t the brightest light in the heavens either. Willie Harris and Scott Hairston have all the brains they need to play but just lack any discernible talent.

That being said, any professional baseball team needs at least a bit of production from all 25 players. On the Mets, it’s easier to identify the keepers for next year. It’s a much shorter list. In the outfield there are no keepers unless you count Beltran. I suppose he could return after a brief sojourn with the Phils or Giants or Brewers but I wouldn’t count on it.

The infield could be good though. Ike Davis at first base, Justin Turner at second, Tejada at shortstop (if Jose should go elsewhere) and David Wright at third would certainly be representative of a real live major league team. The starters except for Pelfrey are all pretty good too. The catcher, Josh Thole, has a lot of potential and is good enough to be a regular.

As dealing Jason Bay would be next to impossible without a deep discount of some kind, I look for him to continue playing, at the very least, a very steady left field. Maybe he could be viewed as one of those defensive specialists, who are usually found at shortstop or second base. If Reyes could be retained, a weak-hitting left fielder could be tolerated.

So the Mets need to get rid of the dead men walking. That means Duda and Pelfrey and Pagan have to go. They are symbols of losing baseball. At least Bay is a smart player, good outfielder and good on the basepaths and, presumably, in the clubhouse.

So we need two outfielders. Surely there are two outfielders that can be had on the cheap if necessary, players who would make us forget Angel Pagan, Lucas Duda and the horror of Daniel Murphy out there. Murphy has value though, for sure, as a utility infielder who can spell Wright at third, Davis at first and Turner at second.

A couple of relief pitchers are also needed. Izzy and Beato and even Parnell could be keepers but that’s about all. Of the rest of them, only Tim Byrdak has performed pretty creditably. Surely something could be had in return for Beltran and K-Rod, and maybe even a big guy with some power.

Those are just the obvious moves. If one gets imaginative, it’s conceivable that David Wright could be traded as both Turner and Murphy are capable of playing there, if not providing as much power. But at this point anyway, I’d rather see a couple of good outfielders. Wright is the only player on the roster that could provide any appreciable value in return.

Get rid of all the scarecrows. A wizard could certainly do it.

One Mothful of an If

Lately I’ve been asking myself, “can a team be really serious about winning a pennant, or these days, just making the playoffs, if it has only one lefty relief pitcher? That, of course, is secondary to the other big question, namely “Why should I care”?

I mean, really, the Mets are now just the Buffalo minor league team with a few ringers named Beltran and Reyes and Bay. But they’re one hell of a minor league team! They proved that again last night when first baseman (using the term loosely) Duda muffed the grounder that gave the hated(by me anyway) Braves the win.

So, once again, the Mets fell below .500. And it’s not the end of the world. As Collins said after the game, they beat two of their best pitchers and finished the road trip 6-4. But, to me, it would have been great if all of Chipper’s heroics went for naught and if K-Rod could have come through with another save in that spot.

But he couldn’t. He parked a pitch around belt high and over the plate and some Braves nobody belted a 2-run homer for the tie in the ninth, setting the stage for Duda’s frolics at first base, or more accurately, about 10 yards out from that bag. Geez, Tejada could’ve had it too.

And that sequence of events is a lot like a lot of other events of the same nature that have happened to these ridiculous Mets. But it’s ok. They’ve also had those days when the pitching was great and the hits just kept coming. And I’ll take triples over home runs just any old day.

One wonders how long these guys can keep it up. The most prominent of “ these guys” would have to be Justin Turner. I mean, really, you can stick him in at second or third, and he just hits with men on base nearly all the time. He surely has more ribbies per at-bat than anyone else on the planet.

To me, the second “guy” is Reuben Tejada. I liked him even last year when he couldn’t hit to save his life. But, this year, he’s killing the ball, especially for him based on last year’s performance. He’s a natural at second base and plays shortstop in a pinch, that pinch one that may be experienced quite quickly, either this year or next.

Then there’s crazy Daniel Murphy who, it seems, will either win one for you or lose one for you in either the most unlikely or embarrassing way. You really don’t know what you’re going to get from Murphy, and, while that may not be a good thing, it surely is interesting to watch.

The catcher, Josh Thole, would probably be right up there with Murphy. Besides holding down the most difficult position on the field, he also seems to hit in the clutch. And he’s lucky, because most of the big hits I recall are just little Texas-leaguers down the line. You can’t over-estimate the value of luck.

And then there’s Duda. He’s not one of the “guys”yet. But he could become one really easy. He’s big and could be dangerous at the plate, if a home run is what you need. The problem with Duda Is that he never seems to really come through. A check on his BA reveals a paltry .139 average. But for him at least, it’s still early. He’s had 36 at-bats.

To me, Pagan isn’t really far removed from the rest of the bunch. He can be pretty exasperating for a veteran player. He surely won’t be on any of my favorites lists until he stops making mistakes on the bases. That drives me crazy. He’s supposed to be an asset on the bases.

Of course, there are the pitching “guys” too. They’re all coming through. Niese, Dickey, Gee, even Parnell, they’ve all been pleasant surprises. And thank the baseball gods for that! Without the excellent pitching in the last couple of weeks, that right around .500 clip could have been a lot worse.

The upcoming schedule is really ridiculous. Interleague play will be bringing us the Angels and the Oakland A’s. I don’t even know what to say about that! The only good thing about it is that we’ll play without a designated hitter, as always in National League baseball, while those teams will have to figure out a way of fielding nine and still maintaining a viable lineup.

But then it’ll be at Texas and at Detroit. That seems like bad luck to me. They’re both pretty much at the top of the heap in the American League. But, at the very least, we should enjoy seeing how Daniel Murphy will react to being a designated hitter. The man without a position will finally have his spot.

The only sure thing is that this team will probably be broken up. Beltran, K-Rod, and maybe Reyes will be gone. That’s the only move that makes sense, especially for a franchise having its financial troubles. But, as each player move will just be a rental for the receiving team, the Mets can’t even expect much in return that will help the team this year.

As that’s the case, life after the All-Star break for Mets fans could be pretty bleak. Tejada can move to shortstop and probably lead off as well. That’ll free up second base for Turner. And all that’ll be lost will be all those hits, all those triples, and all that excitement.

I’d hate to think Duda is the only answer to spell Beltran in right field. Jason Pridie, still another one of the lesser “guys”, is hitting just .234 as this is written, and, while he can provide some pop, he’s no Carlos Beltran. (Not that many others are).

If Jason Bay starts providing some pop, the absence of Beltran might not be so conspicuous, especially after Wright and Ike Davis return to the lineup. But that’s one mouthful of an if.