The Stretch Run - Outfield
The Mets’ outfield plan this year was Moises Alou, Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church, and Endy Chavez. Alou began the season on the DL and the plan shifted to Angel Pagan, Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church, and Endy Chavez. Alou’s early injury kind of set the tone for the entire season. The Mets then injured their way through Plans B though F and have settled somewhere around Plan G — which surprisingly involves the guy who was supposed to be their back-up corner infielder and two guys from Double A Binghampton.
LF - Daniel Murphy/Nick Evans/Fernando Tatis: I’ll get in to Murphy and Evans a little more in the “bench” part of this little write-up — both of whom are Double A guys who skipped directly to the show and one of whom is making a statement for being the starting left fielder until Church returns. Fernando Tatis has been an interesting story. Omar Minaya has a thing for bringing in Expos players who weren’t particularly good even when they were on the Expos. Tatis’s major league career ended with the Expos in 2003. In 2004, he was unable to make the Devil Rays squad and effectively left baseball. In 2006 he had a cup of coffee with the Orioles before ending up in the Dodgers’ minor league system. He was released from there and ended up on the Mets Triple A affiliate. Tatis was called up following Angel Pagan’s injury and has put up NL Comeback Player of the Year type-season. Mets bloggers, a very… uh… groupthinky bunch have been predicting doom-and-gloom and a strike of midnight for Tatis since mid-June. On my short-lived and maybe someday-to-be-resurrected Mets’ Blog, I posed the question: “how many at-bats does it take before people realize that maybe, just maybe, Tatis is a guy who only had two full, uninjured seasons and was otherwise mired on crappy teams? Now, on a good team with a healthy body he’s finding the same stroke that he had back before he got hurt?” As a rule, I like “last gasp” players. He may turn back in to a pumpkin next year and hopefully the Mets will let some other team pay for his next three decline years but, for now, I’m happy with it.
CF - Carlos Beltran: Never has a center fielder who hits .270/.850 with 35-40 HR been more reviled and had his career more defined by one at-bat. Does Beltran make too much money? Yeah, probably. Is there a better all-around center fielder in the league? Arguable. The only complaint I have about Beltran, and it’s kind of a silly one, is that he still is way too happy to take a walk to be a good 4/5 hitter. And, if we weren’t saddled with the top-of-the-infield power of Luis Castillo I still argue that his speed and his ability to walk make him a much better 2-hitter for David Wright and Carlos Delgado to knock in. But, I guess with the Mets’ frustrating need to sac-bunt out of the 2-hole in any and all situations that it’s good he’s not in there.
RF - Ryan Church: Speaking of old Expos players — the Ryan Church debacle has been a microcosm of general Mets’ mismanagement of situations. Now, I will grant that concussions are an unexplored problem in baseball, but what’s gone on with Church is almost comical. Following the concussion, the Mets let Church take a couple of days and allowed him to dictate when he was ready. Then immediately put him on multiple cross-country flights. Within a day he had the Steve Young Doll-eyed look. They finally put him on the DL and took him off to play against the Yankees. Then he had a migraine and he’s been back on since. Now, they’ve gone completely in the other direction and are bing absurdly over-cautious. After weeks of rest, he was cleared by a neurologist on 8/9. Nearly a week later and he still doesn’t have a rehab schedule. It’s a shame that this debacle has ruined what was, to this point, an All-Star (and on the road to MVP quality) season. He needs to get back for no other reason to see Hanley Ramirez’s knee knocked the baseball out of him.
It’s somewhat of a concern that the Mets are in the middle of August and really couldn’t tell you who their starting outfield would be in a playoff situation. But… it’s better than the bullpen.