Jose Reyes watches from the dugout
Exactly one half of the players that were in the New York Mets' opening day lineup are on the disabled list. One half. Delgado, Reyes, Church and Schneider. Four out of eight, and that very well could have been five, with Carlos Beltran having received a cortisone shot on Tuesday to treat a bone bruise.Yes, the Mets are battered and bruised, but despite what some might call bad luck, the timing of these injuries has been the silver lining. Having survived a tough 10 game road trip (5-5), New York is now in the midst of a 13 game stretch that includes 6 games against the woeful Washington Nationals, 4 more against the sub-.500 Pirates, and three against a Florida Marlins team which, since starting the season 11-1, has gone 11-25. Since being swept by the Dodgers last week, Jerry Manuel has guided his Mets back into first place, as New York has won 5 of its last 6 games.
With half of "the core" on the DL and Beltran out the past few games, the Mets have displayed, as many have called it, much more "grit." The pressure to perform has certainly risen significantly, and the unsung heroes have come through in a big way.
(left to right) OF Gary Sheffield; C Omir Santos; OF Angel Pagan
For those who didn't want the Mets to sign the outspoken Gary Sheffield, it turns out that the controversial signing of the outspoken 40 year-old has been one of Omar Minaya's better management decisions. In Delgado's absence, Sheffield has blossomed into the power bat the Mets hoped he could still be. In 45 at-bats since May 11th, Sheff has 18 hits, raising his batting average 109 points (.186 to .295). He has swatted 4 home runs and driven in 14 from the cleanup spot over those last 15 games.
Hindsight is 20-20, but imagine if the Mets had allowed the Phillies to acquire Sheffield and gotten this kind of production? It would have been an utter disaster. Clearly the signing has been a steal, and completely worth the risk thus far. They are paying Sheffield the Major League minimum $400K, while getting leadership in the clubhouse on top of his immense production in the heart of the lineup.
Brian Schneider's injury has allowed the Mets to uncover a hidden gem in 28 year-old Omir Santos. Santos has split time with Ramon Castro behind the plate, collecting 15 RBI over 75 at-bats. That's one RBI for every 5 at-bats, an amazing 20% rate that would translate to 100 RBI over a 500 at-bat season. Obviously these are just projections, but as long as Santos maintains his solid play, it would be a mistake for the Mets to rush Brian Schneider back, and perhaps to bring him back at all.
Angel Pagan had been last year's hidden gem before he injured his shoulder and was lost for the rest of 2008. Pagan was recalled on May 16th, one year after his injury, and has performed admirably. In a roundabout way, Pagan has not only replaced Ryan Church, the man whose roster spot he took over, but essentially has filled in certain gaps left by three players.
Without Jose Reyes, Angel has become the Mets new leadoff hitter, and has filled Jose's shoes respectably with 6 walks, 6 runs and 4 stolen bases in 11 games. He has also been good defensively in center field as Carlos Beltran nurses his knee injury. It remains to be seen whether or not Pagan will stick around once the Mets are healthy, but his strong play will make it hard for the Mets not to keep him on the Major League club.
KEY PERFORMANCES OF THE PAST WEEK:
- Gary Sheffield- Sheff has walked at least once and driven in at least one run in each of the past 6 games- 8-for-17 (.471) 3 HR, 11 RBI.
- Daniel Murphy- Murphy drove in 5 in Wednesday's 7-4 Met victory to sweep the Nationals, including a controversial home run, which umpires concluded hit off the facade in right field. Murphy's RBI were his first since May 15th.
-Luis Castillo- Castillo has walked 5 times in 10 plate appearances over the last 2 games. He went 3-for-5 with 4 runs scored in that span.
- Livan Hernandez- Hernandez pitched a complete game in Tuesday night's 6-1 win against Washington. Livan scattered 9 hits, striking out 6 in his first complete game since May 7th, 2008.
- Mike Pelfrey- Big Pelf turned in 7 strong innings against the Red Sox on Saturday. Pelfrey struck out 6 in the no decision, allowing 2 ER in dropping his ERA to 4.31 on the year.
- Pedro Feliciano- The Mets' lefty specialist has logged 2 holds and a win in his last four outings. He has struck out 3 in 2 and 2/3 innings, allowing just one hit and no walks.
- Fernando Martinez- The 20 year-old outfielder made his Major League debut on Tuesday, recording his first career RBI on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded.
(left to right): Hernandez' complete game; Murphy's 2-run HR; Martinez' first RBI
