Category Archives: Baseball

New York Mets

David Wright Suffers Concussion

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Well, that’s the last of ’em.

With David Wright suffering a concussion after being hit in the helmet by a fastball in this afternoon’s game against the San Francisco Giants, it became official: Every one of the New York Mets’ star hitters have gone down with an injury.

Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Jose Reyes have already missed most of the season (in addition to pitchers such as JJ Putz, John Maine, and Billy Wagner). Wright, the face of the franchise, was the sole survivor.

But earlier today at Citi Field, Wright took an 0-2 pitch off the left side of his head, sending his helmet flying and his body to the ground. He was clearly dazed as the Mets trainers helped him to his feet and into the clubhouse.

It has since been reported that Wright suffered a concussion, the severity of which is not yet fully known. But it doesn’t matter if it’s mild, serious, or somewhere in between.

Wright needs to be shut down for the remainder of the season.

It might be a hard pill for Mets executives to swallow. After all, if ace Johan Santana wasn’t pitching, Wright was the only reason to show up at Citi Field this season. Unless, of course, you love overpriced pulled pork sandwiches.

Despite the strange season Wright is having–105 strikeouts and only eight home runs–he was unquestionably the top player on the team, leading the healthy players with a .324 average, 55 RBI, 74 runs, and 24 stolen bases.

Wright has carried the offense for nearly the entire season, and his numbers must be analyzed knowing that he’s had little protection in the lineup.

The Met offense has been lackluster with Wright; one can only imagine how bad it will be without him. But a glance at the standings will tell you that sitting Wright for the rest of the season is inconsequential. The Mets sit in fourth place in the division, 12 back of the leader. There are seven teams and 10 games between them and the top spot in the Wild Card.

In other words, the Mets won’t have to worry about the last regular season game ending in heartbreak for the third straight season. They are all but mathematically eliminated from the postseason.

Therefore, what are the pros to Wright returning in 2009? Other than ticket sales, there are none. Ryan Church, now with the Atlanta Braves, had a concussion last season, and the Mets badly mishandled the situation, allowing Church to fly cross-country and do some light running way too soon after the injury.

The Mets medical staff is already viewed as a joke, as seemingly minor injuries have turned into months and months of missed time. One minute a guy is coming out of a game with leg cramps. Four days later he’s on the DL.

The team and the training staff has a chance to make the correct decision this time, though, by keeping Wright out of action for the rest of the season. After all, there are only seven weeks left.

Mets fans can only hope nobody else goes down in that time.

New York Mets

Open Letter to the New York Mets

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Dear New York Mets,

As you probably know, you have a game tonight, a nationally-televised game no less. (I say “probably” because at times this season it seems you are unaware that you’re competing in an actual game.) I write to you because so far this season you’ve done nothing but embarrass yourselves and, in turn, your fan base, while playing on the national stage. Perhaps tonight will be different.

First, let’s recap what you’ve done so far in 2009.

May 2, at Philadelphia Phillies, FOX: Oliver Perez walks six in 2.1 innings and Sean Green walks in the winning run in the tenth. Mets lose, 6-5.

May 17, at San Francisco Giants, ESPN: Mike Pelfrey balked not once, not twice, but THREE times. Two of them led directly to San Fran runs, as the Mets lose 2-0.

June 28, vs New York Yankees, ESPN: More Sunday Night Baseball embarrassment, as Francisco Rodriguez walks Yankees closer Mariano Rivera with the bases loaded in the ninth, giving the Yanks an insurance run they wouldn’t even need as Rivera locked down his 500th career save. Mets lose, 4-2.

There are other bad, nationally-televised losses, but not bad enough to say they were embarrassing. But I think these three should suffice.

In all fairness to you, the New York Mets, you’ve played pretty terribly on regular, locally-televised games too. I mean, that time you dropped the pop-up to lose the game and the time you missed third base to lose the game—neither of those were on national TV. So maybe this is just how you play.

But make no mistake about it: It’s a lot worse when it happens on FOX or ESPN. We Mets fans get enough crap from Yankees fans—we don’t need to hear it via e-mail and text message from Tigers, Red Sox, and Dodgers fans, too.

So maybe tonight you could not embarrass yourselves. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t even have to win. You can lose; that’s fine. Just don’t lose in an absurdly laughable way.

Please.

Sincerely,

New York Mets Fans

P.S. You know what, do whatever you want. I don’t think I’m going to watch.

Baseball

MLB All-Star Game: Home-Field Advantage, Streaks, and the DH

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Last night in St. Louis, the American League defeated the National League 4-3. It was the AL’s fourth straight one-run win, but far more impressive is that it was their twelfth straight All-Star Game victory. The AL has not lost since 1996!

The thing is, the mid-summer classic is known for long winning streaks. The National League won 19 of 20 from 1963-1982, during which they had win streaks of 11 and eight games. The AL won 12 of the first 16 games, starting with the first-ever contest in 1933.

Even with all these long streaks, the overall record is very close, with the senior circuit posting a slightly better record of 40-38-2.

Perhaps it’s the designated hitter, a more talented team, luck, or a combination of all these factors that has led to the American League’s recent dominance. Just don’t be surprised if the NL goes on another long winning streak in the near future.

Speaking of the DH…

Why isn’t there one in every All-Star Game? Does anyone want to see Roy Halladay hit? No, but last night he did since the game was in a National League ballpark. Now I’m not in favor of the DH, but if you’re going to have it, why not use it in the one game it makes perfect sense?

The trend in recent All-Star games is to get as many players into the game as possible, so this would help the managers do that. Fans watch the game to see the star hitters hit and the star pitchers pitch.

I don’t expect Bud Selig to come up with what would be an overwhelming well-received rule change, but perhaps the next commissioner will.

Home Field Advantage?

While the use of the DH is rarely discussed, the debate over whether or not the All-Star Game should determine home-field advantage in the World Series rages on.

I don’t feel strongly about this one way or the other, but if I had to choose I’d say I’m in favor of the current rule. Anything that might make the players take the game more seriously and, in turn, produce a more competitive game, is fine with me. But is it fair that, say, a guy like Heath Bell, last night’s losing pitcher and member of the last-place Padres, contributed to the NL not getting home-field advantage in this year’s Fall Classic?

No it’s not, but is it a big deal? There have been six World Series’ since the All-Star game has been “meaningful,” and while the American League has had home-field advantage in all six, they’ve only been victorious three times. So far, no real advantage.