The Time Machine From Hell

There seems to be something about the Mets and injuries that seem intent on destroying Xavier Nady’s life.

Sure, you can say that about most people on this planet, but Nady’s life was changed forever because of an injury to a Met. He would have played in the playoffs in 2006, and maybe gotten a big hit that would have turned the NLCS around. Instead, Cecil Wiggins drank and drove, and the Mets were stuck with Oliver Perez. And when I saw Nady at first base for a first place team, I was heartened by the possibility of Nady finally going to the playoffs that he was robbed of in ’06.

Then Dillon Gee broke Nady’s hand with a pitch. Figures. And if Nady’s out for the season it’ll prove that the circle of hell never ends for that guy. Nady missing the playoffs would make it seem like 2006 all over again (except in 2006 the Mets would have probably won in Arizona).

As for Gee, Nady’s broken hand illustrates a problem with Gee lately … he can’t control the off-speed stuff. The pitch that used to run inside just enough is now hitting guys. Perhaps, and just a guess on my part, to try to keep that under control, he’s gotta take a little something off it, making his repertoire very hittable. Justin Upton taking him to the moon is one thing. The 7-8-9 hitters knocking him around like he’s … um, Oliver Perez, then that’s a problem. And it was a problem for the first two innings. The last three were fine, but the Mets couldn’t do enough off Ian Kennedy and company to erase all of Dillon’s mistakes.

I found it hysterical that the death blow was delivered by J.J. Putz … Omar Minaya had to be sitting on the couch at home with his family saying “You see? You see? We didn’t need to give him a physical, he looks perfectly fine!” But I’m a masochist and I would find things like that hysterical. Not quite so hysterical but seriously ironic is that both members of 2009’s “Bullpen 2.0” pitched on Friday, and one of them got hurt … and it wasn’t J.J. Putz.

And as long as we’re talking about ex-Mets, did you see that two of them fought each other the other night? Yes! And between Tony Phillips and Mike Marshall, they got more hits in this fight than they had combined when they played for the Mets. In fact, when Marshall swung and missed at Phillips, I thought it was 1990 again! It’s like I’m in Bill and Ted’s time machine.