And It Begins

As everyone is already well aware, Moises is out for 4-6 weeks with a hernia. Since nobody reading here missed last season, it's safe to say that we can assume that means more like 6-8 weeks. Why is this inevitable injury such a big deal? I'm glad you asked, fellow sports fans.

It's a big deal because it exposes the ridiculously laughable lack of productive corner outfielders in the organization. Fiery comments about the Lastings trade aside, it's a touch comforting to know that even without the Lastings trade we'd be stuck in the same predicament -- except Da Edge would be in RF instead of the man who currently vomits everytime he sees daylight.

Omar held a press conference today to address the "Alou situation" and claimed that there was a good chance the team would fill the hole "with someone internal right now." I'd imagine so since there's nobody left to trade besides F-Mart and Niese and I'd imagine they're both untouchable right now -- but assuming Omar does stand pat, let's take a look at what will be coming out of the LF spot for the first month and a half to two months of the season. Drumroll...

Angel Pagan: Impressive so far this spring, but underwhelming for his career. His 2008 PECOTA looks like this: .249/.313/.389. Not terrible, but not what you want from a corner outfielder. He's good defensively though!

Endy Chavez: Oh, that's right. He's injured too! We know he's great with the glove - but we also know that when he plays every day he's just not a servicable option in a corner OF spot. 2008 PECOTA: .282/.334/.362

Damion Easley: Oops! Another one bites the dust. Plus the fact that he's an infielder.

Marlon Anderson: Another IF whose holes become glaring if he plays everyday. His PECOTA looks better than Pagan's though - but perhaps not enough to offset the defensive dropoff: .264/.346/.430

Now let's take a trip down trade-some-more-prospects-for-a-quick-fix lane and examine some options that are universally regarded as "available" should Omar decide to make a deal:

Xavier Nady: Perfect fit and would love to see it - but who are we trading to get him? 2008 PECOTA: .280/.340/.470

Matt Murton: Meh. In the words of BP: "Let's be honest, Matt Murton is a good, well rounded hitter, but it looks as though he's going to peak as about a .275-EqA bat, and you can subtract a few points from that for his propensity to make boneheaded plays in the OF" PECOTA puts him around the same offensive output as Nady: .295/.359/.462

Scott Hairston: Yeah. That'll work. .258/.332/.469 - Maybe if he could replicate his .644 SLG from last season's stint with the Padres, but I doubt it considering that number was preceded by a .222/.301/.358 performance in Arizona over the first half of the season. He has had a SLG above .600 in AAA but he strikes out a ton and doesn't walk nearly enough. The verdict? Let him stay in SD and forever curse Trevor Hoffman's name.

Nelson Cruz: Find a non-die hard who even knows who he is and I'll mail you a dollar. PECOTA's got him at .256/.323/.453 for 2008. Not terrible, but not worth giving up anything to get in return.

So that's it. That is your depressing tour of what one of the "power" positions will likely look like for April and most of May 2008. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2008 New York Mets!

Exhale Slowly

Jose Reyes will play today. After a scare in a meaningless AB last night (this morning) against the Cubs and Bobby Howry, Reyes slapped an opposite-field single and seemed to limp to first base. He was immediately taken out of the game and replaced by Ruben Gotay. As Keith, Ron, and Gary speculated, Mets fans across the country held their collective breath.

Also, a great job by Kevin Burkhardt to get some insider info from the clubhouse and ease the feeling of dread before any official reports were published or announced.

It also looks like Carlos Gomez will get some more playing time as Moises Alou was placed on the 15-day DL to make room for today's starter Jason Vargas.

On a side note, Gary noted that the Mets starting lineup last night (this morning) was the first ever in MLB history to feature three players named Carlos. Quite an honor for the ballclub.

The Legend Of Joe Smith

I knew there was a reason to go to a Marlins game

Despite a second straight loss to the Fish, there were a few positives to take away from tonight's game. Conversely there were a few negatives as well. Shall we?

Positives:

1. Mike Pelfrey settled in nicely after a shaky 1st inning. His command improved dramatically after he took some speed off his fastball. He went 6.1 solid innings and should have secured himself a few more starts.
2. David Wright began snapping out of his April daze after being moved up to the #2 hole, going 3-4 with his first HR since last July...well first HR of the season.
3. Joe Smith continues to amaze, improving his season-opening scoreless streak to 13 innings after coming in after Pelfrey in the 7th with two runners on base.
4. Carlos Delgado also picked up a couple of hits, going the other way both times and getting himself over the Mendoza line.
   

Negatives:

1. Aaron Heilman gave up a monster shot to the new Pat Burrell - Josh Willingham. Heilman has been erratic and inconsistent all season...If he's hurt, I'm with Metsradamus, put him on the DL.
2. Moises Alou doesn't look good at the plate (although he had another sparkling play in the field) since the shoulder situation on Saturday.
3. The hitting with RISP has been bad all year - .245 to be exact compared to a MLB-leading .287 overall), and it's starting to kill rallies now that the team isn't winning games in blowouts.

Overall it's not quite time to panic. If Pelfrey can be a reliable #5, than the team should be fine until Duque and Valentin get back.

Oliver looks to save the series tomorrow afternoon against Anibal Sanchez. It should be interesting to see if Willie keeps David Wright in the two hole or if he drops him back to fifth...it's more likely that David stays up top, with LoDuca probably getting the day game after the night game off.

The Team To Beat

After two rain outs in a row, the Mets dismantled the Team To Beat again. There's not much to say other than Charlie Manuel blew up on this glory-seeking waste of a radio talk show host. The recaps of the incident are linked to by CSTB here and here.

Metsradamus has a nice piece following Moises' breakout game (HR wise) and cogently points out that Freddy Garcia never topped 85 mph on the radar gun last night.

Tonight the Mets try and extend their lead in the division when they travel to beautiful Dolphin Stadium to take on the D-Train and the Marlins.

In case anyone forgot, Dontrelle is 11-2 all-time against the Mets with a 2.02 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 115 2/3 innings. We'll see what happens.