On the scale of epic disappointments, the modern-day Mets rank up there with jetpacks (with one possible exception), flying cars, Esperanto, and Ryan Leaf. The team is theoretically packed with talent, with dynamic players at third base, first base, shortstop, center field, ace, closer No. 1, and closer No. 2. Surround that core with even a few decent players, and you've got yourself a winning team.
Unfortunately for the Mets, average players seem to be a rarity in the vicinity of Citi Field. The injury bug has bitten the team, removing Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran from the equation for long stretches of time. Their replacements -- such luminaries as Alex Cora, Daniel Murphy, and Fernando Martinez -- have not exactly covered themselves in glory during their tenures. The Mets have gone long stretches of the season without scoring runs, perhaps due to the fact that they have zero power. When your purported team MVP has exactly four home runs on the season, that's somewhat of a problem. Aside from Johan Santana, the starting rotation has been a disaster. Tim Redding, Livan Hernandez, and Mike Pelfrey have all logged major innings for a team that purports to compete for the World Series. For all the money the Mets spent upgrading their pitching staff, the team is 11th in the National League in runs allowed. There's a lot of blame to go around. The only question is, who will shoulder the most responsibility for the Mets' collapse(s)? Management is safe for now, but the end of the season could bring big changes.- Almost 90 percent of SportsNation thinks the Mets will miss the playoffs.
- New York fans are boo-happy, but most of SportsNation thought they'd boo their own team over Manny Ramirez.
- SportsNation saw this coming early -- almost two-thirds thought the Mets would falter if Carlos Delgado was out for too long.
- Groups: Let's Go Mets! | New York Mets Club | New York Amazin Mets Fans
“Omar Minaya has assembled a roster chock full of older veterans and guys prone to injury. He has depleted and not refilled the minor league roster. He gave poor contracts to guys like Oliver Perez. He did not supply the minor leagues with adequate depth to deal with the inevitable injury, not to mention losing 1/3rd of the team to the DL. He made bad trades (Church, Bannister in particular). The injury bug only masks a much deeper problem. This is a poorly assembled roster with no depth. There is absolutely no question that Oman Minaya is to blame for assembling this pathetic mess of a team. Fire Minaya. That probably means that a new GM will want to hire his own guy, and I'm OK with that, too. Not quite sure about some of Manuel's moves this year anyway.
” -- BirishB
“Minaya AND Manuel should be fired. Keep Santana, Wright and K Rod and clean out the older broken down players like Sheffield and Delgado and the prima donas like Reyes and Beltran. I love listening to NY radio and hear the Mets clowns acting like it was some major blockbuster to get Jeff Franceur. LOL. Francuer = Church, an average player at best.
” -- GIANTDAYNE34
“As for Jerry Manuel, I don't think the Mets have the team chemistry (which is hard to achieve when you have a lot of injuries to key players) which works with a managing style like Manuel's. He seems to have more of a laid-back approach, similar to Charlie Manuel, but the clubhouse lacks the type of J-Roll player that spices things up a bit but also can demand respect and inspire teammates to play better. It probably doesn't help to be playing in NY either, where the fans seem to demand success a lot more and voice their opinions when things do not go well (similar to how Eagles fans are in Philly). As for Minaya, he seems to be stuck in that NY Yankee mentality of throwing money at big name free agents with the hopes of buying his way to a championship.
” -- DaEagles4
“This is preposterous and an outrage... This is remininscent of of Isiah Thomas destroying the Knicks. It's like they waiting to really finish depleting the farm system at the helm of this ID10T before they say enough. Please people don not support this team until a change is made at the top.
” -- orbmega
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