March 2010
I Told You They Were Sick!
On June 2nd, they were still at 28-23. As I recall they were right behind the Phillies, a close second in the standings. Between June 2nd and June 6th, four days, the team lost the services of Ramon Martinez, J.J. Putz, and John Maine, and that was on top of losing All Stars Delgado, and Reyes weeks before. Still they kept an even keel. They kept winning. Two weeks later, still one game over .500, the big blow came: team leader Beltran injured his knee and was out for the season. On August 2nd, due to unexpected heroics from lesser known players, the team was still at 50-54, and hoping for a miracle. Instead, they lost their All Star closer, Billy Wagner. By August 15th, 2009, they had sunk to 54-62 and a certain spark had left the team because most of the team had left the park. It was on that day that David Wright got hit in the head with a 94 mph fastball from Matt Cain. He was held overnight at a hospital, where it was determined he suffered a concussion but with no internal bleeding. Wright was placed on the disabled list but was able to come back and play a few games before the end of what was to become a most dismal season. The worse that one could say was that some of the players were faking, but David Wright’s injury was no fake. That was not ketchup, folks. There have been some strange reports about miscues from the medical staff that may indicate part of the problem, but no one I know has been able to construct even the most threadbare conspiracy theory, and I know some really paranoid Mets fans.
Here is a breakdown of all the major injuries and how they affected the team’s win-loss record. I think you’d have to be either an idiot or a Yankee fan to miss the relationship. (I love the Yankees, it’s the loudmouth fans I don’t love)
Carlos Delgado
Injury – injured hip/strained oblique
Last game played – May 10th
2009 Salary – $12 million
Mets record at time of injury 17-13
Jose Reyes
Injury – hamstring/calf/knee
Last game played – May 20th
2009 Salary – $5.75 million
Total DL salary $17.5 million
Mets record at time of injury 21-19
Record of games without Delgado but with Reyes, 4-6
Ramon Martinez
Injury – fractured pinkie
Last game played – June 2nd
2009 Salary – $750,000 (split contract)
Total DL salary $18.25 million
Mets record at time of injury 28-23
Record of games without Delgado or Reyes, but with R. Martinez: 7-4
J.J. Putz
Injury – bone spur/elbow surgery
Last game played – June 4th
2009 Salary – $5 million
Total DL salary $23.25 million
Mets record at time of injury 28-24
Record of games without Delgado, Reyes, R. Martinez, but with Putz: 0-1
John Maine
Injury – pinched nerve/shoulder weakness
Last game played – June 6th
2009 Salary – $2.6 million
Total DL salary $26 million
Mets record at time of injury 29-25
Record of games without Delgado, Reyes, R. Martinez or Putz, but with Maine: 1-1
Carlos Beltran
Injury – Bone bruise in his right knee
Last game played – June 21st
2009 Salary – $18.5 million
Total DL salary $44.5 million
Mets record at time of injury 34-33
Record of games without Delgado, Reyes, R. Martinez, Putz, or Maine but with Beltran: 5-8
Fernando Martinez
Injury – right knee surgery
Last game played – July 3rd
2009 Salary – $400,000 (split contract)
Total DL salary $45 million
Mets record at time of injury 39-40
Record in games without Delgado, Reyes, R. Martinez, Putz, Maine or Beltran but with F. Martinez: 5-7
Fernando Nieve
Injury – torn right quad
Last game played – July 19th
2009 Salary – $414,000
Total DL salary $45.5 million
Mets record at time of injury 43-48
Record in games without Delgado, Reyes, Martinez, Putz, Maine, Beltran or F. Martinez, but with Nieve: 4-8
Billy Wagner
Injury – ligament replacement surgery
Last game played – August 2nd 2008
2009 Salary – $10.5 million
Total DL salary $55.5 million
Mets record at time of injury 50-54
Record in games without Delgado, Reyes, Martinez, Putz, Maine, Beltran, F. Martinez or Nieve, but with Wagner: 7-6.
Jon Niese
Injury – torn hamstring
Last game played – August 5th
2009 Salary – $400,000 (split contract)
Total DL salary: $56 million
Mets record at time of injury 51-56
Record in games without Delgado, Reyes, R. Martinez, Putz, Maine, Beltran, F. Martinez, Nieve or Wagner, but with Niese: 1-2
David Wright
Injury – concussion
Last game played – August 15th
2009 Salary – $7.5 million
Total DL salary $63.5 million
Mets record at time of injury 54-62
Record in games without Delgado, Reyes, R. Martinez, Putz, Maine, Beltran, F. Martinez, Nieve, Wagner, or Niese, but with David Wright: 3-6
Record in games after August 15th, with 11 players out or in recovery, including David Wright:
16-30
Final record 70-92
Total New York Mets salaries in 2009, $135,773,988.
Total loss in salary to DL/injuries particularly after August 11th, $63.5 million. (Almost half the team salary) With that money you could buy the (players of the) Florida Marlins, the San Diego Padres, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Washington Nationals, or the Oakland Athletics. In fact, with that money, you could purchase the salaries of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, a team that made it to the World Series ($43,820) and still have $20 million left over to pay Beltran’s huge salary.
Imagine that injured Mets ward back from the dead: Delgado at first, Martinez at second, Reyes at short, Wright at third, Wagner pitching, R. Martinez, Beltran, and let’s say Maine in the outfield, with the also seriously injured Schneider catching. I would certainly throw them at the Pittsburgh Pirates if I had to and take my chances.
So, all you naysayers who say the 2009 Mets died on their way to their funeral, well, I told you they were sick!
Ten Greatest Homers of 2012
With MLB Cracking Down on HGH, Its not Hard to Predict Manny Ramirez’ Ten Greatest Home Runs for 2012
Evan Pritchard for Amazine
MLB is really coming down hard on performance-enhancing drugs this week. Now the Mets may be affected as well. If steroids and other performance enhancing drugs become totally unavailable by 2012, a lot of today’s major league baseball players will not be able to hit the long ball any more. It will change the meaning of home run. In fact, nowadays, a lot of folks are using the term home run to mean “Any decisive act worthy of acclaim.” It could also mean “Any surprising show of ability in any category,” or “Any positive unexpected turn of events,” or “an act done well enough to incur bragging rights.” For example it is now common to hear the expression, “You really scored a home run with Phyllis at the party last week when you sang her happy birthday.” Soon, that may be the only kind of home run we are likely to hear about. With this in mind, let us take a look into the future at : Manny Ramirez’ ten greatest home runs of 2012.
1. On April 10th, 2012, Manny will remember to pick up milk for his mother each day while playing the Yankees in a three game series. That would score a “home run” with the family.
2. On May 1st, 2012 during a luncheon with two other players, when asked what the current name of Ceylon is, he will correctly reply “Sri Lanka” without having to look it up. “Home run!”
3. On May 24th, 2012 Manny will remember his aunt Selma’s birthday and give her a call. “Score!”
4. On June 4th, 2012 Manny will sing “Smooth” at a Karyoke bar and remember all the words, hitting that song “out of the ballpark.”
5. On July 5th, 2012 Manny will find Johnny Damon’s 2004 World Series ring in the outfield and return it to him. “Grand slam!”
6. On August 7th, 2012 Ramirez will send $200,000 to Haiti for earthquake relief. What power in the clutch!
7. On August 10, 2012 Manny will stop being Manny for one day. “Homer!”
8. On August 21, 2012 Manny will be seen mentoring three minor league players without drawing attention to himself. “Going, going, gone!”
9. On September 4th, 2012 Manny will go a whole day without causing any trouble. That’s “outta here!”
10. On September 15, 2012 someone will ask directions to an art museum and Manny will not only know, but know the admission price and theme of the month as well. It’s high! It’s far! It’s deep! Another big “home run” for Manny Ramirez!
mlblogsamazine1
Recent Comments