I'll break down the Mets' failure into three parts; the predictable, the unpredictable, and the bullpen (which doesn't fit perfectly into either of the former categories). I start with the predictable. These are the flaws in the team's design that were foreseeable last offseason.
- The continued physical breakdowns of Moises Alou, Pedro Martinez, and El Duque: Old, injury-prone players never get younger and healthier. To be fair, I was all for resigning Moises Alou. He was the '57 Chevy that looked awesome around town but spent a lot of time in the shop. This was the year the engine completely crapped out. Disappointing for the Met fan, but certainly not shocking.
- The unreliability of their 2nd thru 5th starters: After Johan, this is how the rotation looked going into this season. Pedro hadn't been healthy since 2005. We already vintage Pedro was long gone. El Duque is well into his seventies and had alternated between injury and mediocrity for years. Ollie had been awful in 2.5 of the previous three seasons. Maine had been maddeningly inconsistent, particularly down the stretch last season. Pelfrey appeared to be a semi-bust in his Major League stints, coming into the season.
- The general lack of production out of second base and catcher: The Luis Castillo signing was perhaps the most inexcusable transaction of Omar Minaya's Met career. When completely healthy, he has been your bog-standard second baseman.* So Omar locks him up for four years on the downside of his career, as his gams rapidly become more suited for murderball than baseball. Brian Schneider simply should not be a starter in the Major Leagues. He can't hit a lick and he is only average defensively. Perhaps he had a reputation as a good handler of a pitching staff, but the Expos/Nats pitchers hadn't had a whole lot of success over the course of his career.
The blame for these problems fall directly on Omar Minaya's shoulders.
(*I'm an anglophilic douche. Bog-standard is a British phrase I nicked from a Ricky Gervais podcast. It means "run of the mill")
1 comment:
wouldnt you have the shea cermonies prior to the game happening? who ever organized that should be fired. nothing is better than having the same team knock you out each year and then you have to sit there and watch tim teufel run around shea.
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