Treading Water -- The Springtime Plummet Back to Earth

Between the end of last season and this beginning of this one there was an awful lot of doom and gloom surrounding the Mets, most of which was directly attributable to the fragile house of cards built by Madoff situation.    The team played this spring pretty much as everyone expected – as a second division squad that would be fighting to stay out of the basement.

Then something unpredictable happened.  They started winning.  Santana was back.  Murphy picked right up where he left off last year.  Tejada showed that his .280 finish was not an illusion.  Dickey pitched some quality games.  Niese was even rewarded with a contract extension.  Nieuwenhuis was doing his best to be considered Rookie of the Year. 

Then there’s David Wright’s hitherto MVP resurgence that has everyone screaming for the Mets to dole out whatever earned or ill-gotten gains they have to keep him in Queens for the remainder of his career. 

That’s not to suggest all has been rosy since day one of the regular season.  Jason Bay was still the NY Mets version of Jason Bay.  Lucas Duda started off very slowly.  Torres was gone by day 2 with a recurrence of the same injury that felled him in Port St. Lucie.  Dillon Gee has looked like a batting practice pitcher.  The entire bullpen has been horrific most of the time with the exception of Bobby Parnell (who is apparently in Collins’ doghouse) and the already overworked Tim Byrdak. 

Then there’s the special case of Ike Davis.  Whether it was nearly an entire season of accumulated dust and rust or the after effects of the Valley Fever he contracted, the fact remains he’s so bleak at the plate right now that fans are clamoring for him to be sent down when Bay returns.  Is this a Bizarro-World version of the Mets where the preference is to play JASON BAY over IKE DAVIS?  Still, I’d have to be counted among the fans that support this twisted notion – as bad as Bay has been during his Mets tenure, right now Davis is far worse.

Then there are the accumulated injuries.  A couple of starts notwithstanding, Pelfrey’s only positive attribute we’ve heard ad nauseum (emphasis on the nausea part of the word) is his durability.  Now he doesn’t even have that. 

Tejada gone.  Torres gone (though that was addition by subtraction).  Thole gone.  Batista gone.  Bay gone.  Cedeño gone (but unfortunately not forgotten).  Sometimes it seems as if this club is somewhat snake bitten when it comes to injuries. 

So, going forward where do we stand?  Can we field a team with Duda at 1^st, Murphy at 2^nd, Tejada at SS and Wright at 3^rd, Thole behind the dish, Bay, Torres and Nieuwenhuis in the outfield (at least until Ike Davis recaptures his mojo)?  In the rotation Gee just bought himself another month of starts, but what of the 5^th starter slot?  It seemed to be Batista’s, but now it’s going to Hefner until we hear the 6 Million Dollar Man theme song and the rebuilt Chris Jones is ready to take a start or two (any more than that would be too Pollyanna-ish for words).   Neither of the dynamic duo in Buffalo is setting the world on fire.  Mejia is another long shot but right now he’s probably needed more out of the pen than in the rotation.  

For now, however, expect more games with the lineup featuring a plethora of sub .220 hitters like Torres, Cedeño, Nickeas and Davis.  When you’re giving up half your ABs with sure outs, it sure makes winning games much tougher.  But hey, the team is still above .500 and if they finish that way, then Collins ought to be manager of the year.