What’s Eating the Mets?
The New York Mets, sitting at the bottom of the NL East with a dismal 4-8 record, look like they’re in for another rough ride. Before the season started, it looked as if the Mets were going to be third best in the NL East (at best) with their question marks in their bullpen and rotation. The offense had some holes in it, but they were overshadowed by the lack of good starting pitching behind staff ace Johan Santana and relief pitchers in front of star closer Francisco Rodriguez. Also, the Mets were going to start the season without star outfielder Carlos Beltran, star shortstop Jose Reyes, and promising first baseman Daniel Murphy. Still, with their depth, it looked like the Mets would be okay offensively until those three returned. After all, they still had David Wright, Jeff Francoeur, and Luis Castillo and they brought in Jason Bay, Gary Matthews Jr., and Rod Barajas.
Surprisingly, the starting pitching has been more than acceptable. Johan Santana is giving the Mets what everyone expects of him. Mike Pelfrey, despite a shaky spring training, has put everything together when it counts and has a team-leading 2 wins, 1.29 ERA, and 1 save. A big question mark coming in to the season were Oliver Perez, John Maine, and Jonathan Niese. Perez has been good while Maine and Niese have struggled, but have been somewhat acceptable. The Mets bullpen has not been perfect, but has been more than acceptable as well. The blame for most of the Mets struggles has been their offense, struggling to get timely hitting. The 20-inning game has been a great example of the Mets struggles. The pitchers held the Cardinals in check the whole game, while the Mets struggled to find any offense. They were an abysmal 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Luckily, the Cardinals were a terrible 1-for-18. With the exception of Angel Pagan, the Mets were 6 for 55 that night. Wright, Reyes, and Bay were a combined 1 for 20. But these numbers don’t even tell the story of the struggles of the Mets offense.
What was surprising was the Mets inability to hit even Felipe Lopez, shortstop for the Cardinals. Lopez allowed only 1 hit and 1 BB in his inning and did not give up a run in his only inning of work. Fielder Joe Mather was not as fortunate as he gave up the 2 runs and took the loss. Still, he managed to only give up 1 run in the 19th inning. The Mets inability to generate runs are, without a doubt, the reason for their struggles.
Still, it is definitely too early for fans to give up on the Mets. The struggles of Jason Bay should not last throughout the season. Jose Reyes will only improve as the season continues, as he has been out for a long period due to injury. The eventual return of Carlos Beltran and Daniel Murphy will also provide a boost to the Mets offense. Barring any injuries, look for the Mets to climb out of the NL East basement.
