The Mets Are Losers: Plain and Simple

Going into tonights game with the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets are 9-12 and 4.5 games behind the Florida Marlins. This must be a disappointment to Mets fans as the bullpen was viewed as the anchor that took the team down and out of contention last year. It appears that even with the addition of two solid relief pitchers in K-Rod and JJ Putz, that the problem wasn't relief pitching.

The Mets have stars on the team, that there is no doubt. David Wright is a great third baseman who can put up numbers that will rival the greats of the game. Delgado, Reyes, and Beltran are all bonifide hitters although Jose is over-rated and streaky at best. What these four cannot seem to do is get their team to win due to lack of heart.

Unlike their opponents this evening, these great yet gutless players in the Mets lineup are, for lack of a better word, losers. The Phillies' Jimmy Rollins willed his team to the playoffs in 2007, while Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are clear leaders for their club. And no matter what the Mets try to do to improve, whether its spending a ton of cash for a starting pitcher or using the manager as the scapegoat for the team's lack of winners, they will fail.

This weekend, all should be revealed. The Phillies do not have their best pitchers on the mound and they won't need to. The Phillies have the Mets' number and by the time the Mets leave Philly, that number will be 0, as in the number of wins they will have against the Phils. New York, since 1986 anyway, has been wannabes. They have had some mild success, but only due to a weak division. Now that their rivals have gotten better, they can be seen for what they are: a sub-.500 team that will fall short when the going gets tough.

Thank you and have a nice day.

Breaking Down the NL East: Third Basemen

The NL East has arguably the best set of their basemen in the League, including its AL counterpart. It consists of two solid All-Star caliber players, a defensive whiz, one up and coming guy, and a no-namer. One is a borderline hall-of-famer. Another, should he keep on keepin’ on, has the potential to be enshrined as well. But this blog post isn’t about who may or may not be hall of fame material, no, this is about the NL East third basemen and where they rank in the division. So here goes.

First (Score 1.75): A winner of a tie break because of his overall performance at the position, New York’s David Wright is possibly the most offensive third baseman since, well, the guys that’s number two on this list. Averaging nearly 30 home runs and 116 RBI, he is a machine at the plate who makes an overrated Jose Reyes valuable as a run scorer. A really good hitter overall, he maintains a .300 average and a decent OBP. He has also been a done well in the clutch hitting .306 and slugging .510 with runners in scoring position. This year I project him to do much of the same, .306/33/122, as he continues to carve out an outstanding career.

Second (1.75): Chipper Jones, whether a left fielder or a third baseman, has to carry a team even despite any contributions from Brian McCann. Hopefully for Atlanta and Chipper, the Braves’ pitching will surprise the world and become the reincarnates of the early 90’s teams. Unlikely as it is, the Braves’ best shot at winning the division will Chipper and his ability to pound the baseball. If he manages to flirt with .400 late into the season, and stay healthy, the rest of the lineup will have plenty of opportunities to not be a detriment. While I don’t expect Chipper to hit .380, .350 is not out of the realm of possibility. I also expect him to maintain a nice output power, hitting around 23 dingers and driving in at least 80 RBI. It all depends on the rest of that lineup.

Third (2.875): Philadelphia Phillie, Pedro Feliz has had a steadily decreasing offensive output the last three years. That being said, he is probably the best defensive third baseman on the list and why his job is extremely secure in Philly as long as he can come back from his back problem. It’s almost a shame that his back can’t be blamed for an abhorrent on base percentage (.291 over the past three years). But despite that, onlookers need to understand that Pedro doesn’t need to be money at the plate. He’ll be batting seventh behind guys that will take care of all of the offense, as long as he covers the hot corner.

Fourth (3.625): A couple of years ago, I would have thought that the Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman would be pushing David Wright for the top spot on this list, but after a completely lackluster 2008 he will have to come out like gangbusters and totally annihilate opposing pitchers. Still considered by many to be a rising star in the league, he needs to prove that he can do it with RISP, particularly with two outs as he hasn’t hit better than .217 over the last two years. If he can come back to form, barring any lingering affects from a 2008 injury, I’m proposing that he will hit .280/16/75 this year, which may be low since he now has Adam Dunn behind him in the lineup.

Fifth (5.95): I would say that Don McPherson is going to be a horrible third baseman starting for a horrible Florida Marlins team, but that would be horribly premature and shortsighted. For years this team had young players come through for them and this guy might just be ready to break out. Who knows? He’s played a total of 128 games in his career and what better place to play and get experience than in front of 37 fans? Much like Andersen Hernandez, the second baseman of the Nationals, McPherson just doesn’t have the track record to warrant anything but fifth place on this list. I would be surprised if he hit anything more than the minimum to keep him in the show. He goes for .227/4/31 in my book.

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