In baseball, the shortcomings of an organization are sometimes rooted deeper than the 25-man roster, the manager and his coaching staff. For the New York Mets, those entities have taken a lot of heat this season, and while it is justifiable to assign blame to these men, to me something hasn't felt right about the Mets as an organization for a few years running.
From Jerry Manuel to hitting coach Howard Johnson, from the starting rotation to the position players, everyone in the Mets dugout has been under fire during a 2009 season that has been chock full of disappointments, injuries, and unfulfilled expectations. What has taken place on the field is a function of what goes on off of it; 16 different Mets have spent time on the disabled list this year, which calls into question the quality of the medical staff.The injuries haven't been minor, either. Three of the Mets four core position players are on the shelf, and injuries to complimentary players, both starters and utility men, have prompted call-ups of minor leaguers who frankly, probably don't belong near a Major League lineup.
Wilson Valdez? Emil Brown? Jon Switzer? Casey Fossum? There's a reason these players haven't really stuck anywhere. They haven't posted any significant numbers with any consistency at any point in their careers.
Then there are the other callups, the prospects in the New York Mets farm system. The likes of Fernando Martinez, Nick Evans, Jon Niese and Argenis Reyes. Granted, they are still young and developing, but their relative lack of success playing with the big boys has led many to question the quality and depth of the organization. Why these players are not yet viable replacements is due in part to their age, but also in part to their development in the minor leagues.
There has been something plaguing the Mets in recent years that has flown under the radar. The feeling that something just wasn't right within the organization, and it wasn't all Omar Minaya. Though his questionable actions or lack thereof have received scrutiny- and from myself included- no GM is perfect. Yes, I have gotten on Omar for his lack of moves in wake of all the injuries, but let me take this opportunity to come to his defense, just a little bit.
Pedro, Beltran, Delgado, Wagner, Lo Duca, Valentin, Bradford, Sanchez- all of these players were instrumental parts of the 2006 squad that was one game, nay, innings away from the World Series... and oh yeah, how about that Endy Chavez? We can thank Omar Minaya for him, too.
How about that Johan Santana? Thus far, that blockbuster trade has pretty much been a heist, though the Twins are such a solid franchise that even the loss of their ace hasn't sent them into oblivion. Of course the bullpen let Johan down last season, but without Santana, the mini-collapse of '08 would not have been possible; the Mets would not have had so much as a whiff of the playoff picture.
Then there's this season. So much was said about what wasn't done, who wasn't signed, that people seem to forget about K-Rod's arrival. Remember, the Wilpon's lost many millions in the Madoff debacle, which may have limited Minaya's spending this past offseason. Still, Heilman and Schoenweis got the boot, and the Mets bullpen has been relatively stable, despite having its blips here and there, which is to be expected. Luis Castillo has saved Minaya quite a bit with his bounceback season, silencing the once loud murmurs about Orlando Hudson. I did like the Francoeur trade, as noted in my post about the deal. Plus, Omar can't control the injuries on the field. With so many players out of commission, the Mets just don't have the pieces for Minaya to move, and for that, the blame goes elsewhere.That brings us to Monday, when the Mets addressed the development aspect of the franchise, firing Head of Player Development Tony Bernazard.
To be honest, while I do know a little bit about Bernazard, my knowledge of him before today was limited to two instances: Bernazard's alleged role in last season's firing of Willie Randolph, and last week's tirade in which he ripped off his shirt and challenged the Double-A Binghampton squad to a fight.
These two things alone were grounds enough for me to be ecstatic upon hearing the news; I received a text message update at work today and smiled. In looking further into Bernazard's antics, I also found out that Bernazard was involved in a dispute with a scout over a seat in the ballpark, and had gotten into a confrontation with Francisco Rodriguez on the team bus after the Mets' 11-0 loss to the Braves ten days ago.Now, I'm not exactly sure what K-Rod did to deserve such treatment, especially considering that he had no role whatsoever in the 11-0 game. Maybe it's those 23 saves, the 2.12 ERA, or those 9.25 strikeouts per 9 innings- I don't know. What I am sure of is that I was right to smile about the decision to rid Bernazard of his duties.
The little I knew about Tony Bernazard was not anything positive, and nothing I've researched has been any different. According to Bart Hubbuch's article in last Wednesday's New York Post, a veteran Mets player who asked to remain anonymous, called Bernazard "crazy," citing that he was disliked by everyone. Former Mets minor league pitcher Nick Abel (who happens to have gone to my High School, graduating a few years before I did), told NY Daily News' Adam Rubin, "If you're developing people by saying, 'Look, I can fire you,' is that really development or is that intimidating people?" http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2009/07/26/2009-07-26_bernazards_hot_under_collar.html
In Bernazard's absence, the Mets won just their fourth series in the last two months, exploding for 22 runs on 38 hits this past weekend in Houston. New York had scored just 16 runs in their previous seven games. Even more encouraging was the sudden power surge, as the Amazins' blasted three home runs in Saturday's 10-3 victory, then smacked three triples the very next day, taking the rubber game 8-3 from the previously hot Astros.
The Mets returned to Citi Field tonight and brought their bats with them from Houston to take on the wildcard leading Colorado Rockies. After falling behind 2-0 and 3-1, Manuel's troops scrapped and faught their way back into the game. Luis Castillo led off the 6th inning with an infield single, scoring two batters later on the heels of subsequent singles by David Wright and Daniel Murphy. Two sac flies would bring Wright home with the tying run before Omir Santos' fly out to right ended the rally.
More fireworks came in the 8th inning, which again started with Luis Castillo, who drew a leadoff walk from Juan Rincon, on in relief of Ubaldo Jimenez. Wright walked as well, and after Murphy sacrificed them over to second and third, Jeff Francoeur was intentionally walked to load the bases. Pinch hitting for Cory Sullivan, Fernando Tatis delivered his second grand slam of the season, putting the Mets on top for good, 7-3. The win was the Mets' third straight victory, marking their first winning streak of more than two games since they won four straight at the end of May.
In the grand scheme of things, the odds are stacked against them greatly; they must overtake seven teams in the wildcard hunt, and must surpass Florida and Atlanta before they can even think about having a crack at the Phillies, who are still a full 10 games better than the Mets. However... the Rockies, who currently hold that wildcard position, are now just 6.5 games ahead of New York. Should the Mets stay hot, they have the potential to close that gap to just 3.5 by Friday, putting them right back into the scope of the playoff discussion.
Before I get too carried away, here's a reality check: Assuming it will take at least 90 wins to make the playoffs, the Mets must win over 67 percent of their remaining games. That means to hit 90 wins, they must go 43-21, which seems improbable, especially considering that they still don't have Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and John Maine. Additionally, 90 wins does not guarantee anything, except probably job security for Jerry Manuel in 2010, playoffs or not.
Look, the Mets are wounded. They're not dead. If they can't make additions by additions, maybe addition by subtraction is the way to go. And as bizarre as it may be, I believe the firing of Tony Bernazard is a huge, huge step in the right direction. No, Bernazard hasn't screwed up on the field, but a cancer like Bernazard in the clubhouse can be enough to say, at least contribute to a 2007 collapse, or the floundering of the organization since said collapse.
Believe it or not, the Mets can still turn in a 13-12 record for the month of July, and in a season full of negative after negative, there are still plenty of significant positives to be had. On the mound, Oliver Perez has been fair- not great, maybe not even good, but fair- and has at least given the Mets a shot in his four starts since returning from the DL earlier this month. Jon Niese turned in an extremely strong performance on Saturday, going 7 strong innings allowing just one run. The bullpen has bent, but certainly not broken, and K-Rod is still one of the best closers in the game.
At the plate, Jeff Francoeur is batting .327 (17-for-52) with 2 home runs and 15 RBI in his first 13 games as a Met. Luis Castillo may easily be the comeback player of the year, and is now batting .305 with 55 runs scored and an on-base percentage of .400. Angel Pagan can play a pretty solid center field and isn't too shabby as a leadoff hitter either. They've uncovered a hidden gem and solid catcher in Omir Santos. And inexplicably, the Mets have hit 5 home runs during this three game winning streak, a sign that perhaps they are breaking out of their season-long power outage.So just when they looked like they were about finished, just when even I was begining to say they were done, the New York Mets are reeling us back in. By no stretch am I about to declare them the 2009 NL East Champions, a lock for the playoffs, or a World Series contender. With all the injuries, the less than lofty expectations for the remainder of the season, the pressure on this club is relatively low, especially for New York. But with the good vibes flowing on the field, and the bad Tony Bernazard vibes off the field now gone, I won't hesitate to call the Mets very much alive.
For the Mets to make the playoffs this year, it would seemingly take a miracle. But hey, it is the 40 year anniversary of those Miracle Mets of '69. As hard as it may be, why not keep believing? Call me crazy, but I still have some shred of hope that at the very least, the season can still be salvaged, if not more.
