Robert Ippolito - The Blame Game

With last night's game in the bag, the Mets currently sit at 9-13. Not really the ideal start we all had in mind after resigning Yoenis Cespedes this past off season. So much was set to hinge on our "centerpiece" for the offense and a starting rotation that was compared to the best in the bigs. A month later, our rotation has a lot of question marks and our star power is on the 10 day DL with a bum hammy. We can only hope for the best in regard to Noah's health, praying that the Mets aren't trying to hide a more serious issue.

I have my doubts, however, and I don't think that they are without reason. Instead of putting Cespedes on the DL with his first instance of hamstring issues, he was given minimal rest and put back into games. While nobody can say for sure if this was management's or his decision, it should have never been an issue to begin with. I get he is pretty much our entire offense, or at least it feels like it, but being so early in the season means we get him healthy to have down the long summer stretch. The real questions start when we start pointing the finger. Do we blame Yo for telling everyone he was ok to play? Or how about Terry Collins for inserting him back into the lineup too early and not 100 or even 85%. If you can barely stand up for batting practice, how does anyone expect you to play in the field or run the bases.

Lets not forget about our GM, Sandy Alderson. With so much pressure to succeed this season, and not much of an offensive haul this past winter, does he pull Terry into his office and tell him who needs to play and when? I'd say we could monitor the Michael Conforto situation, but with limited players as it is, we all know he is going to play now. Another superstar to match with Yo this past off-season, and maybe we don't miss him that much. Who am I kidding, we miss him regardless! While we are still playing the blame game, can we throw David Wright into the mix. An inability to stay healthy has cost our Captain many games and more than likely the rest of his career. While we are all holding our breath and hoping for the best, it might be time to face the cold hard truth.

Even if Wright never plays again, he is not the right person to blame for this mess. A front office that should have never gambled house money on his health...seems a bit more fair. Continuing down the line, lets not forget about Ray Ramirez and his crack team of condition coaches and trainers. When players proactively run the opposite way from this man, that says a whole lot more about the issue than I want to know. I could continue to go down the list of options, but lets get to the point before I commit anymore run on sentences. There is no one reason or person to blame for this unexpected start. Its a team effort on and off the field, and this is no different. That being said, its still early and there is so much baseball left to be played. Lets all take a couple of deep breaths, wait for some players to return, and hope we can win the division...or at least another wild card birth.

Let me take this time to offer my thanks and appreciation to Mack and the rest of the guys on the blog for allowing me the opportunity to contribute this season. Let's Go Mets.