CHAT ROOM
Ailing Beltran sidelined.
Beltran had been playing through the pain, but after Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay, said: “I don’t feel I can play a lot of games the way it felt today. I’m a little bit worried, to be honest, because the way it was today, it was painful.”
Don’t forget, this is a guy who played with a fractured face. He’s played through pain before.
Beltran was initially injured his right knee in Los Angeles in mid-May. He served as the DH in the Boston series at Fenway, but missed two games against Washington, May 26-27. Beltran was diagnosed with a bone bruise and a cortisone injection seemed to work until now.
The Mets optioned Ken Takahashi to Triple-A Buffalo and will recall lefty Pat Misch.
Here’s tonight’s line-up for the game against the Cardinals, again, weather permitting:
Alex Cora, SS
Daniel Murphy, 1B
David Wright, 3B
Fernando Tatis, LF
Ryan Church, RF
Omir Santos, C
Jeremy Reed, CF
Luis Castillo, 2B
Tim Redding, RP
Only Murphy, Wright and Church were in the Opening Day line-up. That Tatis, who hasn’t been hitting lately is at clean-up is a sobering thought. Albert Pujols has more homers than the entire Mets’ batting order. Hell, even if Beltran were in there Pujols would probably have more.
This post was written by John Delcos on June 22, 2009
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The Mets are a hurting bunch, no doubt. But, championship teams must overcome adversity. The pressure is now big time on David Wright to produce. He will be pitched around now more than ever. The pressure will also be on the starting pitching and that’s suspect. Santana hasn’t done well, Pelfrey is a question, Maine and Perez are gone. These are the cards they’ve been given. They have to deal with it or the season will be lost.-JD
There is no way the Mets can survive this season with all these injuries, no team could survive these injuries. I can’t even see Minya making a trade because one player isn’t going to make a difference when you lose three quarters of the core and half of the starting pitching and the set up man in the bull pen.
The Mets will now be faced with the decision of whether to package guys like Fernando Martinez and Bobby Parnell to acquire a slugger in order to save the season, or at least give them a chance. Afterall, there’s no guarantee on when, or if, Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes will be back any time soon.-JD
1. Disagree. You’ve lost 300 RBI and about 100SBs. The pressure is on the other guys to each step up a little. If Wright has to increase his RBI by 300 then he might as well join the others on the DL. But, a few HRs wouldn’t hurt too much.
tomg (2): Where have you been? You’re right by the way. One guy won’t make the difference. They need a couple of guys in several areas, a starter, a reliever and a hitter, and they don’t have the chips to get all that.-JD
Harry (4): Of course, but Wright needs to hit with more power. That’s the point I’m trying to make. It will be hard, because he has a tendency to press and he can’t afford to play outside himself. … You’re right, though. Other guys need to step up. Sheffield is ailing. Tatis has done next to nothing. Paging Ryan Church, paging Ryan Church. And, we need to see more from Murphy.-JD
(3) If I was Minya I would not make any trades because other GM’s will try and take advantage of the Mets misfortune and ask for allot. I would ride the season out.
I’m afraid it’s time we ask a brutal question of ourselves, as the injury-riddled, barely treading water, often mentally incompetent and fundamentally deficient Mets:
Why are we still watching this team?
Do any of you honestly think the Mets have a reasonable chance of making the post-season and if they get there, winning a series?
With Carlos Beltran now going on the DL and Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado already there and a long way from returning, the Mets will now be offensively unproductive at five (2B, SS, CF, 1B and RF) of eight positions. With John Maine and Oliver Perez already on the DL, the Mets’ starting rotation now consists of an ace, a No. 3 starter elevated to the No. 2 slot and three pitchers no team wanted as far back as Spring Training.
Neither Bobby Parnell nor Sean Green are reliable 8th inning options to setup elite closer, Frankie Rodriguez, after being forced into that role when J.J. Putz turned out to be damaged goods.
This is turning out to be an incredibly disappointing season, following two consecutive last day of the season chokes, following a playoff heartbreak in which the Mets were outplayed by a vastly inferior opponent.
Some serious changes must be made at the end of this season, in which the Mets will almost certainly finish below .500.
tomg (7): That is definitely an option they’ll consider. I might think about giving up F-Mart in a deal for Dunn, but not him and Parnell. Of the two, I’d keep Parnell. There’s an upside to both, but I think it’s easier to get a hitter via free agency than a pitcher.-JD
(5). Haven’t been here to often because I haven’t been watching the Mets like I normally do and with all the injuries there isn’t much to say concerning the Mets.
i wouldnt trade fmart and bobby for a bat.
you want them on your team. maybe not this year but for the next 5-10.
parnell has nice stuff. he has no secondary pitches and it seems he is either missing or the other team is waiting on the fastball.
fmart supposedly will be good.
the only way to trade them is if you get an under 30 power hitter. are we getting that?
bobby has hit a rough patch and needs to work on his stuff. beltran is hurt and i will not criticize him. he has played hurt before. i do not question his desire to play.
can we clone nieve? trot him out a couple times a week and we should be ok.
Gil (8): The answer to your question is easy. Their odds are slim right now, and if they get there I can’t see them going far. You watch, because you’re fans. They are your team. You guys are passionate about the Mets. You don’t give up on somebody, or something, you love. At least I don’t.-JD
(9) There is no way I would give up F-Mart for Dunn. Dunn alone will not save the mets season. There is way to many injuries on this team now where they need a few players and giving up the only decent positional player in the farm system is foolish.
dave (11): I wouldn’t trade both. I would deal F-Mart in the right deal. That would be a relatively young slugger that will stay around. I wouldn’t deal him for a rental.-JD
tomg (13): No, Dunn wouldn’t make the difference. He didn’t in Cincinnati or Arizona. There would have to be other additions.-JD
gil(8)
how disappointing is it?
in the offseason they did not do enough to improve the team. many questioned the lack of a legit LF, and I for one did not want to bring back the same rotation that failed for the past 3 years.
We did both. we have injuries. you make your bed.
(15)it would be a disaster if Minya would mortgage the future for Adam Dunn. Where not talking about Pujols here. Where talking about Adam Dunn. There isn’t much Minya can do here, to many injuries. I would ride the season out.
dave (16): In hindsight, they should’ve done more with the offense. But, they addressed the priority, which was the bullpen. Putz pitched poorly and is now hurt; Parnell pitched well but is now a mess; Feliciano is overused; and by his own admission, Manuel said he hasn’t done a good job handling the pen.-JD
tomg (17): That might be what happens. This has a potential to be a disastrous week. Imagine where the Mets would be if the Phillies were playing well. Hey, if the Phillies went .500 in their last homestand they’d have another three, four games on the Mets. They were swept by the Orioles for goodness sake.-JD
(18) I always kill Minya but the Wilpons have a budjet and it always appears they never let Minya go for it all the way like the yankees when it come to free agency and filling the holes.
12 You’re right, you don’t give up, but I think it’s time we face reality and look toward next year, not this.
Trading what few good young players there are in the system, such as F-Mart and Parnell would be foolhardy. There are hardly any players out there that would represent noticeable upgrades that merit mortgaging the farm for.
One young player who should’ve been dealt in the offseason when his value was at its peak was Daniel Murphy. If many of us suspected that the rest of the league’s pitchers would figure him out and exploit his weaknesses, why couldn’t Mets’ management? He is not the bussing superstar brass made us believe he would be. He is a one-dimensional contact hitter, much better suited for an AL club.
Ryan Church hasn’t developed the way the Mets hoped he would.
Investing the years and money Omar Minaya did in Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez have proven completely foolish.
Dealing for J.J. Putz now looks like Minaya got hornswaggled for damaged goods (anyone else wonder at the time why the Mariners appeared to be so eager to get rid of Putz for not much in return?).
At least in 2004, the last of the horrible Art Howe years, we could watch David Wright’s and Jose Reyes’s careers in their infancy. We could see glimmers of hope.
The rest of this year?
We’ll be treated to a bunch of castoffs, including tonight’s starting pitcher.
(19) it’s like the Phillies realize the Mets are hurting big time and don’t want to run away with the division so they will keep it close until September where they like to stuff it in the mets faces.
JD (12)- perfect response, right on….this team is snake bit at the moment…i know it will cost a ton but a move for a bat must be made..if only dunn didnt cost an arm and 2 legs from DC
I’m going to say something that might get me booted out of here, but I actually sort of like the Mets better when they don’t win. Yeah, I loved the ‘86 team, but the truth is, when they won the Series I felt kind of lost — like they weren’t “my” team anymore. And I actually thought the ‘85 season was more exciting, when they were chasing the Cardinals all year; they weren’t expected to be that good, but they nearly pulled it off. Probably the single game I will always remember is when Ron Darling pitched his heart out for 9 innings in St. Louis, going against the Cards’ ace (funny, now I can’t remember his name!) and they traded zeros until Darryl hit one off the scoreboard clock in the 10th inning. Now THAT was a game!
I’ll keep watching these Mets, because they’re the Mets, and they’re interesting. There’s always a chance something unexpected will happen. But who thought that the whole team EXCEPT Santana and K-Rod would wind up on the DL?
Gil (21): Getting fleeced is certainly a possibility. If Minaya believes his job is in jeopardy, he might pull the trigger to save the season and thereby his job. … Putz hasn’t worked out. … Castillo and Perez were obvious mistakes, which me and others on this blog pointed out several times.-JD
Is there a reverse Comenack Player of the Year award? Fernando Tatis could win that easily. And he’s tonight’s cleanup hitter? He of the whopping two home runs? Oh yeah, that’s right. The other option would be David Wright, he of the whopping four home runs.
John (12) A perfect answer for Gil who apparently will only cheer for a team when things are good and winning is in sight.
jeff (24): You’ll never get booted from here. What you’re saying is what they say about Cubs fans. There’s something addictive about the misery.-JD
(25) JD, I don’t see Minya losing his job. 1- because of all the injuries and 2- the biggest reason is his extension he signed in the off season will go into affect next year.
come on fernando….a hot streak would be huge from him
Gil (26): Somehow, Wright has to start hitting with more power. But, I’d rather see him hitting like this than go outside himself and starts trying to pull everything. That’s when he goes into long slumps.-JD
john(18)
i was not one pushing to get more offense. i would have liked a legit OF/tag team type. we got a bunch of athletes where are not being used or who also got hurt.
we got 3 pitchers for two spots. i would have preferred they got Lowe if they were going to get redding/ollie/livan. i thought they had stopped at ollie.
the putz thing could not be helped, but you know as well as i that much of the pen problems the past few years has been a weak rotation.
we came back with the same rotation but a stronger pen. oh yeah, we got cora. that was our offseason.
pretty lame if you ask me.
Jeff M (24) No, it’s not going to get you kicked out of here.. you are saying what all real fans say – they are my team, no matter what. They need us even more, now.
crazy talk jeff.. i think wed all be too happy if this team won a WS
jim (30): A broken bat single would be huge for Tatis these days.-JD
John (28) I think that’s the definition of marriage, too.
jim (34): Or even a regular season series.-JD
NEED to get a productive out here and get a run…come on mets, one itme big rally
Grand slam here would go a long way.
DAMN..just missed it ryan
well, almost got one but he hit it to the deepest part of the field.
jeff (36): Nice line. I hope you don’t have a wife of GF who will read that. … How about that, a RBI for Church. He’s another guy who has been MIA.-JD
25 If Minaya hastily makes an impulsive deal that literally gives away the farm to try and get into the playoffs this year, in an attempt to save his own ass, it will be the most selfish act we’ll have ever seen in a team sport (but I’m not naive enought to believe other GMs haven’t done the same thing).
It would be the ultimate fart-in-the-elevator-then-get-out-and-let-the-other-poor-saps-inside-it-suffer move.
But the risk for Minaya would be this: Would a desperation deal, on top of some of the other bad moves he has already made sandbag his attempt to get another GM job?
come on omir, big hit here
awful baserunning by tatis…little things man…they just make too many stupid errors…thats on the players AND the manager
big hit omir
tomg (39): The cynic in me says Pujols has another three at-bats and Redding is pitching. I don’t know how long a way it would have gone. Two runs won’t win this.-JD
well we got two.
jim (45): It wasn’t even close. He’s got to have his head more in the game than that.-JD
(46) well, it went a long way, just not long enough, LOL!!
27 Annie, give me a break.
Please don’t lecture me about being a fair-weather fan, OK? I went to Shea year after year for dozens of games from 1971 until 1986. I’ve hung in there with this team through thick and thin. I am hardly alone now in my frustration with the Mets, since coming so close in 2006.
What I am most frustrated about is that the team which came so close then has consistently regressed since then. Good organizations don’t allow that to happen.
I see the Mets are still running the bases like little league, awful.
(50) AMEN Gil, I couldn’t have said it any better. I feel the same way.
Gil (50): I don’t doubt your loyalty. They have regressed since 2006. They were a powerhouse in 2006, but a considerably flawed team the past two years. They had a great bullpen that year.-JD
This team now has to learn how to play small ball, if they can do that they might be able to score enough runs to win games. Of course there starting pitching needs to step it up.
Gil (50) It’s obvious we have a difference here – with me it’s not all about winning, it’s how you played the game.
hopefully we can outscore them today.
perhaps redding will have one of his good games.
come on alex… 2 out rbi here
cora really works the pitcher in most spots
lets see if murphy has made progress.
come on murphy
Annie (55) Of course, it would be a lot easier to watch the way these guys play the game if they were doing more winning…
Annie (55): Sorry Annie, but you’re wrong here. In pro sports it’s always about winning. There are no points for looking good. This isn’t Little League when you’re trying to promote sportsmanship.-JD
Annie, people get fired in this game when they don’t win.-JD
come on redding, keep pumping in strikes
John (62) OK, you’ve got a point there.
55 Annie: Isn’t the goal of playing, winning?
What about the spirit of competition?
Or are the 30 Major League Baseball franchises out there playing only for money and fun?
Frankly, I don’t want Mets players who accept losing and let it roll it off their backs. There is no joy in mediocrity. I want Mets players to be on the quest many of us have, of them becoming champions.
Gil (66): Remember Green Acres when Oliver Douglas would talk about farming and the fife music played in the background? I could have sworn I just heard a trumpet sound the charge.-JD
Damn, two-out RBI hits can add up to be killers.-JD
That folks is bad pitching. Grooves a fastball down the middle.
That pitch has to be caught.-JD
more sloppy baseball, wild pitch….come on redding geto ut of this
67 LOL! Yeah, I remember “Green Acres.”
But I was thinking more of the orchestral sounds building to a crescendo in “Animal House,” when Blutarski poses his idiotic question, “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”
God, I hope Pujols never gets linked to steroids. It would be a shame.-JD
nice change from redding
Gil (72): Yeah, I hear that, too.-JD
73 I’ve had my doubts about Pujols for years. Wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
so far redding is doing well
i wouldnt be surprised either.
Gil (76): I know. He’s adamant about it. Says, “test me.” Of course, Palmeiro was adamant about it, too. I just am sick of steroids. I was pissed off at Rodriguez. I just don’t want the game to have another black eye. Pretty soon, I won’t have anybody to vote for the Hall of Fame.-JD
and we have a pitchers duel.
who will break first?
by the way how is their pen?
john(79)
you dont.
it is the lost decade or two.
last year we had minor leaguers doing it.
dave (80): Not sure, but it has to be better than the Mets with the exception of the closer.-JD
dave (81): Griffey has never been linked to steroids. He’s also been injured enough for you to think he hasn’t taken them.-JD
dave (81) here in CT we have high school players doing steroids – so they can win -
john(82)
too bad for us.
annie
and that of course is one of the reasons the pros shouldnt do it.
Annie (84): So much for how you played the game.-JD
79 Syndicated radio show host Jim Rome often jokes, “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.”
Sadly, this is historically true of baseball players, from Pete Rose betting on his own team and the amphetimine and coke-enhanced Mets of ‘86, to ‘roiders and sign-stealers…
Take THAT, Molina!
A hard charging Met scores right past you!
cool
Gary yelled “and it’s 3-0 Mets!” Guess he forgot about that Cardinal run.
Jeff M (91) Howie and Wayne at least know the score
Maybe Gary’s having a bad night – I don’t know how he is on TV.
Folks, my beautiful wife has just cooked us a wonderful dinner, so I’m recording the rest of the game to watch later so I can spend some quality time with her.
Hope Redding maintains his good pitcher impression and the Mets somehow win.
Chat with you guys tomorrow!
How about this team?
perhaps the field is not too big after all
dave (95): No …. you have to play the season out. The ball travels when it is warmer. We’ll see some long balls this summer. How many by the Mets remains to be seen.-JD
John (96) Are you saying it will get warmer this summer? Is that a promise?
Great to hear Felix Millan (guesting in the TV booth). Always one of my faves.
Jeff M. (97) Today is the first day of summer – somehow it doesn’t seem like it.
I get the point that is being made that every year should be about winning but sometimes enough things happen that it just might not be the Mets year.
I have said this before and I will say it one more time. The 86 Cards waived the white flag and came back in 87 to go to the World Series.
No dumb ass trades just play F-Mart and be sellers at the trade deadline.
Jeff (97): On second thought. Can’t promise it will be any dryer, either.-JD
Scott (100): Don’t forget, there is always the wild card and more than half a season left.-JD
JD (102)
That true but I would not bet on Beltran being back till after the All Star break and who knows when Reyes will be back. If I had to bet not till at least Aug 1.
John (101) Howie just mentioned that it is raining now…..
its nl east or nothing.
no wild card for us.
Annie (104): And, you’re surprised at that?-JD
I’m getting this feeling that this might be as good as it gets for Church.-JD
And, that hit by him does nothing to change that feeling.-JD
Eight was obviously too much. Redding did a good job tonight. So did John Maine in a rehab start. Oliver Perez? Not so good. We might not see Perez until September when the rosters are expanded. There’s no reason to rush him back.-JD
only 12 million reasons
dave (110): Yeah, but when you’re that crappy that’s not enough.-JD
A show of hands please. How many of you are confident with Stokes v. Pujols?-JD
Wow, Brian Stokes
Amazing. Great job by Stokes.-JD
Anyone remember Darren O’Day? He has a 1.08 ERA with Texas… he might look decent in our bullpen right now
John (114) Amazing, yes.
kevin (115): He’s gone because they wouldn’t DL Pelfrey and have him miss one start. Stupid.-JD
The ump was out of position at the plate. The Mets might have caught a break there.-JD
john(111)
yeah i know.
just wanted to get that in.
Howie has put this game ‘in the books’ – just to show that sometimes the Mets really can be amazing.
As Tug would say “You Gotta Believe”
See you tomorrow.
that was nice.
now we need the next one.
Whoever these guys are, they won! Always a good feeling.
Just when I was writing off the season… Thank God and country for Cora. And Santos had a quiet 4 for 4.
good win for the metsies..go get em tomorrow MASH unit and livan
hmm. what won this game?
wait .. could it be.. no it couldnt have been singles. No not at all.
(125) Steve C: Your logic is flawed. Let’s take inning number one for instance and look at it this way…Murphy singles, D.Wright hits 2 run homer and it’s 2-0. Tatis singles and then with two out, Omir Santos hits a 2 run homer and it’s now 4-0 after one inning instead of 2-0. And it’s 4 runs on 4 hits. And if you’re trying to tell me that if Wright hit a homer then no one else would do anything in the inning, well it’s a stretch.
why does omar make the mistake of once again carrying ZERO backup IF…makes no sense..if cora couldnt play, tatis at short is a disaster