I Told You They Were Sick

Copyright c 2010 Evan Pritchard for Amazine

We are at an important juncture in Mets history, coming off a season of record-breaking injuries and a terrible-sounding losing record.  It is easy for the Mets’ detractors to make cat-calls and say they stink, and their players are no good. In fact one man called into WFAN and said that the Mets’ poor performance in 2009 had nothing to do with injuries, they were just a bad team. I felt that this was going too far. I suspect he has attended more than one Yankee game and was under the spell of John Sterling and those meaningless 27 World Series pennants on the walls of the House that Ruth Would Not Have Built. Sour grapes are in season in the Big Apple. Okay so the Mets lost a lot of games. But the discerning fan asks themselves the  Socratic question, “Why?”

But to deny there is any relation between the Mets’ illnesses last year and their record is like saying there is no relation between the bullets in Mahatma Gandhi’s body and the fact that he is dead. Many experts had picked the Mets for the NL East title in April 2009, based on team talent. Some are even picking them in 2010, even after a stunning 90 loss season from H…. (H?) That certainly implies that injuries had an effect on the season that no amount of talent or management could overcome.

On June 2^nd, they were still at 28-23. As I recall they were right behind the Phillies, a close second in the standings. Between June 2^nd and June 6^th, 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 2^nd, 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 15^th, 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 2^nd 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 15^th, 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!