Tom Brennan - UNHAPPY RECAP

Prior to spring training, I wrote about this team being the 100 Win Express.  I was excited.

That Express sucker sure derailed.  Let's recap:

Spring training starts with the hope that after two long years' absence, Zach Wheeler would return to form, and that Matt Harvey would overcome his thoracic surgery and be the Dark Knight of old.  Hopes also were that top-line closer Jeurys Familia would get a short start of season suspension stint that the fresh early season bullpen would weather things until his dominant return.

Jake, Thor, Matz, Lugo and Gsellman would (along with Matt and Zach) give us 7 great starters to choose from, after Lugo and Gsellman were major pleasant surprises down the stretch for the Mets in 2016.

The Mets' offense was stacked with home run hitters, promising high scoring; the fans' biggest concern offensively seemed to be about how long the paths to the big leagues of Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith would be blocked by so many hitters.   Yoenis Cespedes talked MVP, and many including myself felt that he'd have a legitimate shot at it.

Then reality struck:

Seth Lugo suffers a partial tear of his UCL in the March WBC, and misses close to 3 months.

Brandon Nimmo pulls a hammy in the WBC, and then hurts his hand rehabbing - so he only returns to Las Vegas in late May.  One bright light was that Michael Conforto got to truly shine in Nimmo's absence - but more on Conforto later.

Steve Matz has spring training forearm issues that shelve him until mid-June.  With Matz and Lugo unavailable, the Mets have to hope everyone else of the 5 guys in the 7 man starter pool pitches well - but Matt Harvey and Rob Gsellman pitch poorly.

Cespedes tweaks his hammy in April, misses 5 days, but with the Nats series looming, the Mets decide to let him play through it rather than go on the DL for 5 more days.  He then really pulls it and misses a couple of months.

With that gaping hole in the line up, the need for other hitters to step up is huge, as the division rival Nats have gotten off to a red hot start.  But Jose Reyes and Curtis Grandson have abysmal Aprils while playing virtually every day.  Neil Walker, back from back surgery, starts slowly in April too.

Things go from bad to far, far worse in early May as 2 expected 2017 cornerstones go down - Thor tears a lat muscle and looks like he'll miss virtually the whole season, and the recently returned Familia gets a blood clot in his shoulder requiring surgery -  two injuries of what, over the season, would turn out to be several very unusual injuries. Familia's injury causes him to miss about 16 weeks, and any games not saved by Addison Reed in May, June, and July were mostly blown saves by other fill ins.

Also in May, Lucas Duda and Travis d'Arnaud get injured in plays at their respective positions, missing about 3 weeks apiece.  Now the wheels are starting to come off.

As Mets fans fervently hope for a pitching shot in the arm from the soon-to-return Matz and Lugo in mid-June, the Flying Wallenda Juan Lagares gets hurt doing acrobatics to catch a liner just at that time.  Juan was finally getting hot for at the time of his injury, which kept him out for 8 weeks.  As of August 27, he has 136 at bats and 10 RBIs.

Of course, you've heard of the one-two punch.  Neil Walker hit like Daniel Murphy from the beginning of May until mid-June (.320/.380/.550) then pulls his hammy trying to beat out a bunt, missing 6 weeks.

Make that a 3 punch - Matt Harvey goes down with a shoulder scapula injury in mid-June (another unusual injury of long recovery duration) and misses the rest of June, July, and August. 

TJ Rivera steps up to very pleasantly surprise with his .290 bat, playing more and more frequently - but then another unusual injury occurs - a position player getting a partial UCL tear - and TJ gets shut down in late July.

Zach Wheeler's cautiously promising start to the season withers, as in 8 June and July starts spanning 37 innings, he surrenders 31 runs.  The man I fondly call Fragile Zach ends up with a stress reaction in his arm and gets shut down.

Steve Matz returns well, initially, but then is simply awful from July 9 thru August 17, when it is determined he needs the highly unusual ulnar collateral nerve relocation surgery ending his season.  Jake deGrom said it's not that unusual an injury, really, if you happen to be a Mets starter.

The returned La Potencia got in mostly healthy play from mid-June to the second half of August, looks much like the Cespedes of old - but the Nats curse rekindles, as he again pulls his hammy severely against the nemesis Nats and will miss the last 5 weeks of the season.

At the same time, emerging star Michael Conforto in highly unusual injury fashion tears his shoulder swinging at a pitch, with rumors his repair and rehab could prevent his return until late in 2018.  The final brutal gut punch.

With a few more minor injuries sprinkled in, this season injury-wise looks like Vito Antuofermo's face after a tough bout - brutalized.  Only difference? His face healed much faster.

Of course, after playing just 75 games in 2015 and 2016, Captain America David Wright has not played in a single major league game, but is rehabbing as we speak.  So I remain highly optimistic.

Look at the bright side, though - we get to see lots of healthy minor leaguers play in Queens.  

For example, with about 6 outfielders in Queens ahead of him in late July, Travis Taijeron (owner of 355 minor league extra base hits in 2633 minor league at bats) suddenly finds himself in late August promoted to the Mets and likely to start quite a bit down the stretch if he actually hits.  Brandon Nimmo was similarly buried but now will play every day, finally getting a chance to show if he is real, or Memorex. Fellow first rounder Gavin Cecchini was having a regressed 2017 season at Vegas, but also suddenly and unexpectedly gets playing time in Queens.

Miracles for some do happen.  Even as disaster strikes for the many unfortunate others.