About a week ago today, I was just thinking about what made this 2011 season bearable. (Some would call it great, but that’s only in relation to expectations. A good season would probably be more like it.) What made it work was that there wasn’t one of “those” losses. Like when Ryan Church missed third, or Luis Castillo dropped the pop-up, or when the outfielders decided to play Twister in the third inning (that was fun).
In the last week alone: four of “those” games. Two where they tied it with home runs in the ninth only to lose it in the next half inning. Then, the Justin Turner fiasco. And then Sunday … if there was ever a signature Mets loss, this was it. Two players get injured, one for the season, and Larry Jones wins the game for the Braves. If ever there was composite misery for a Mets fan, or composite joy for a Mets hater, Sunday was it.
Daniel Murphy? Gone for the season … done in by an errant spike by Jose Constanza (yeah, those Seinfeld jokes don’t seem so f***ing funny anymore, do they!) Besides doing in the Mets for the short term hitting wise, Murphy’s injury also drops his price in a potential trade in the offseason. You might say I’m crazy, but if Murphy had ended this season healthy, and Ike Davis was assured of coming back healthy in 2012, Sandy Alderson could have seen what Murphy was worth via trade to an American League in what might be the peak of his value. Sure, you’d like to see what Murphy could do at second base for a whole season, but he returns to the position for one damn inning and look what happens. I swear the Mets are like a Final Destination movie. Murphy, if he would have finished top 5 in batting probably could have brought back a significant amount in a trade if they had gone that route. Now, this pretty much assures that both Jekyll (at the plate) and Hyde (in the field) come back in 2012. If Murphy keeps hitting like he has, that’s not a bad thing. But remember, Angel Pagan reached his peak last season and wasn’t traded. Now what can you get for him? Not much. Murphy? You could still get something for him but not as much as you would have gotten if he had stayed healthy. I dig Murphy and his sweet bat and even his adventures in the field on a good day. But if Murphy would have given the Mets a couple of decent pitchers and perhaps a mid-level prospect, it would have been worth pursuing. Now? The flexibility is gone (maybe in more ways than one.) See you in March.
Jose Reyes? A mild hamstring strain. The last one took three weeks away from his season. So anyone who thinks this is automatically a one or two day thing is way too hopeful. Ruben Tejada is already up for Murphy. If Reyes has to miss any amount of time, I have a solution: Kirk Nieuwenhuis.
That’s right, Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Now I’m not Mr. Minor Leagues, and I can’t say I’ve seen him play. But let’s think about this for a second: Say the Mets bring up Fernando Martinez. First off, he isn’t going to play. Second, this probably means a steady diet of Nick Evans at first base, Lucas Duda in right, and Angel Pagan batting leadoff. If this is the lineup, heaven help us … because it’s a sure-fire epic disaster. Now I have no problem with this if Terry Collins wants to say “well, we did all we could to hang in this far anyway, and we’re playing for 2012 anyway.” Fine, because that’s absolutely true. I don’t have an issue with that. And if Nieuwenhuis isn’t ready, it’s a moot point. But I have the sneaking suspicion Collins doesn’t want to give up on this season yet. Nieuwenhuis has a .908 OPS in Buffalo, and he’s more of a leadoff hitter than Martinez is, and at this stage of the game, I’m not sure he isn’t a better option batting leadoff than Pagan (.589 OPS leadoff, .789 OPS batting sixth). If Nieuwenhuis is ready for the majors in the opinion of Tim Teufel and company, and Collins really wants to explore a 2011 miracle, then why the hell not? Move Pagan to right for Nieuwenhuis if you have to (most of Kirk’s experience is in CF). Sure it’ll piss a few people off, notably Pagan. But what has he done this season to earn the right to hold on to center field? And it comes down to this: would you rather have Nieuwenhuis in the lineup, or Evans? Would you rather have Nieuwenhuis batting leadoff, or Pagan? Or even Tejada?
Either way, the season is toast. I’m at peace with it, so good night sweet princes. And good night Terry Collins, whatever you decided. It was a good run this season with a less than stellar roster, trading away two of his best players, and a ton of important players down because of injury. I still hold to it more than ever: If T.C. can survive the rest of this season and remain near .500, he’s the manager of the year … hands down. Clint Hurdle is out of the running after a ten game losing streak. Bruce Bochy has Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and now Carlos Beltran. Charlie Manuel? Hell, Jerry Manuel could run that team. Kirk Gibson might be the only manager with a case, but let him try to manage the Mets and all their problems and we’ll see how he does.
This team fought back even after watching Murphy hop around like he was playing defense for two innings. I have no reason to believe they aren’t going to stop fighting. Now, it’s just about survival, and hitting enough to give the starters a glimmer of hope … which will be extremely tough the rest of 2011. (With the lineup they’re going to put out there, it’ll be easy to think that the Mets have given up. Don’t buy it. Not being able to hit has a way of making a team look like dogs. It’s an illusion.) But it was never about 2011 anyway. 2011 is the placeholder for better things that Sandy Alderson is working towards. I assume a prospect like Nieuwenhuis is part of those better things, and oddly enough he’s probably the best option for the present as well. Again, if Nieuwenhuis is ready, I see no reason not to give him a two week audition. There’s nothing to lose at this point.
At least Zack Wheeler pitched well. (I have a feeling we’ll be paying a lot more attention to him.)
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