I’m having a hard time understanding why Metropolitan fans have been so angry this season. I get being disappointed, but the anger puzzles me. I don’t get it.

I’m getting a bit frustrated with all the talking heads and their lopsided analysis. Some say fire Omar Minaya while others suggest Jerry Manuel has lost his mind. And others claim it’s all the Wilpon’s fault because they don’t spend enough money. Being disappointed in where we hoped the Mets would be prior to the All Star break and where they actually are is totally understandable. But some of the reaction is just plain bizarre. I’m sure the frustration of the last two seasons has a lot to do with it.

This season, the Mets have been ravaged by injury. The disabled have not been the role players. It’s been the stars of the team. Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, now Carlos Beltran have left a gaping hole in the lineup. The tandem of J.J. Puts and Francisco Rodriguez were to have been the best game ending 1-2 punch in the game. But a bone spur in Putz’s elbow had other ideas. Important starters John Maine and Oliver Perez were to have improved and helped make the rotation one of the best in the game. But Maine’s surgically repaired shoulder has been barking and Perez just returned from being disabled with a bad knee. Brian Schneider and Ryan Church also spent time on the disabled list.

Then subs were injured too. Alex Cora and Angel Pagan have taken their turn with injuries. Cora continues to play with a completely torn tendon in his thumb and Pagan may be back soon to fill in for Fernando Martinez who is also suffering from a sore knee. The Mets have basically been a MASH unit all season long.

Whose fault is it? Is it Omar’s fault that players were injured? You think Fred and Jeff Wilpon are happy the team has suffered such colossal injuries considering they sign the checks for the second most expensive team in the game. Is it Manuel’s fault?

Let’s take some of the arguments one by one…

If Omar had built a better farm system, players could have come up and taken the place of the injured like on other teams. Now let’s be fair. Would the Mets be in the same predicament if only one of the three core players were out? If it were only Delgado, then Daniel Murphy likely would be a reasonable substitute. He lacks the experience at first that Delgado has but his glove is likely better. And if he was the only offensive replacement, he might be able to relax and hit the way he did last season. The same could be said for Cora subbing for Reyes or Fernando Martinez picking up the slack for Beltran. But when all three go down, Mets fans expect the same production from these three really young players. That’s a bit unfair. Can you let me know what other organization has so many farm hands waiting in the wings to replace three super stars on the Major League level?

The Wilpons did not want to spend the money to get better offensive players in the off season like Manny Ramirez or Bobby Abreu. Well what would Mets fans have said if Manny was a Met then got suspended for 50 games? Abreu would have been nice but the Mets are trying to get younger and they felt Nick Evans or Daniel Murphy would become that kind of hitter. They still might. First off, any Mets fans that complain of the Wilpons being cheap are simply not doing their homework. The Mets have the highest payroll in the National League, second highest in baseball next to the Yankees. Then some say they pay out a lot of money but they don’t spend it wisely. Johan Santana wasn’t wise? K-Rod and Putz wasn’t a wise move? What about Beltran, Delgado, and Pedro Martinez a couple years back. They were bad signings? Sure, there is always a clunker or two but even criticizing the Perez signing is premature.

Minaya should be fired if he doesn’t make a deal. Who is he going to acquire? Mets fans think that major league general managers just sit around waiting for the Mets to call. It’s as if their one goal is to help the Mets get better. No GM is going to give the Mets their star players. First off, teams have to match up. Secondly they must get equal talent in return.

There is one area where Mets fans have a legitimate complaint and that’s the defense. The Mets have been simply terrible this year in the field and on the base paths. Manuel and his coaching staff must be held accountable for that. But realistically, as bad as the Mets have been defensively and running bases, had the injuries not occurred, they would likely be in contention regardless.

The way I see it, Minaya is making the right decision. Stay the course and hope Beltran, Delgado, and Reyes get back before its too late. The other option is to over pay with prospects for marginal players at best who may not make any difference. And knowing Mets fans, when some of those prospects flourish in other organizations, they will scream to high heaven of what a short sighted decision it was to trade them.

Mets fans, its tough luck this year. These are not the Mets of Art Howe or Jeff Torborg. There are better days ahead. Unfortunately, we will have to wait for them a bit longer.

It’s just another typical baseball summer in New York.  At least that’s the way it feels. I must admit to feeling a bit sorry for myself and all Mets fans. We have to be one of the most disappointed fan bases in baseball. With all due respect to those who root for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, and Kansas City Royals, what group of fans root for a team with a payroll that matches the New York Mets then witness failure upon failure? We Mets fans are once again in the midst of a terribly disappointing baseball season.

I’m sure Cubs fans don’t want to hear us complain. But our pain is our pain. It is unique and we should not feel as though we cannot express it. Since 1994, the Mets have lived in the shadow of the mighty Yankees. We have seen the swing fans move over to the Bronx in droves. We saw that start to change in 2006 when the Mets cruised to the playoffs. Even in 2007 with 17 to play, we thought that with two playoff appearances in a row, the Mets were making inroads to take back New York the way they had owned it in the 1980s.

But that all fell apart as the Mets authored one of the greatest collapses in baseball history. Then in 2008, although nowhere near as colossal as in ‘07, the Mets fell short again on the final day of the season as we said goodbye to Shea Stadium. The bullpen, the prime culprit, was addressed over the off season. We thought this year would be the year. But once again, the Mets are brought down. This time by massive injuries, injuries that befall a team perhaps once in a generation.

The injuries have been devastating for the Mets. They did not sideline bench players or a fifth starter. These injuries disabled three quarters of the team’s core group including Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran. Plus John Maine and Oliver Perez have been out for what seems like forever. Then there were injuries to those that were subbing for the primary injured. Alex Cora completely tore a ligament in his throwing thumb. Angel Pagan went on the DL. Gary Sheffield, brought on board to be a role player, has had to play every day with a bum knee. Ryan Church has had fits and starts because of a ham string injury and so did Brian Schneider. And now even 20 year old Fernando Martinez has a sore right knee.

Players like Daniel Murphy, Nick Evans and F-Mart have been put in the position of having to deliver while the veterans can get healthy. But the pressure and lack of experience are taking their toll. These are players that simply do not have the ability to replace a Reyes, Beltran, and Delgado, at least not yet. Nor were they suppose to. Evans and Murphy were supposed to have worked their way in. The pressure has been so great that mental mistakes and physical errors have grown out of proportions. In fact, defensively, the Mets have become the laughing stock of baseball. There is so much footage of fielding blunders, MLB could put out a blooper reel just with Mets highlights, a very dubious DVD indeed.

And while all this is going on, the Yankees are playing serious pennant style baseball. The Bombers are only a game behind Boston, 15 games above .500. A Met fan can only ask why us? Why does it always seem to happen to the Mets? Why does everything work out for the Yankees and it never seems to for the Mets? I don’t know who can answer that but to Mets fans, it does feel that way.

But this is where Omar Minaya and the Mets hierarchy must be careful. Realize this is not Joe Torre’s dreadful Mets of the late 1970’s or Jeff Torborg’s underachievers of the early 1990s or Art Howe’s lethargic group of the early 2000s. Believe it or not, and contrary to the screaming talking heads on WFAN and ESPN Radio, this is a talented Mets team that has experienced uncanny, untimely, and debilitating injuries.

 As I wrote the other day, no team currently in contention could overcome similar losses.  You could argue that the depth in the Mets organization is not there but I challenge anyone to tell me what team has the players in waiting to replace a Jose Reyes, a Carlos Beltran, a Carlos Delgado plus a couple of starting pitchers.

Some in the media are claiming that if Omar does not make a deal, he is sending the message the Mets have given up on the season. Making a deal when every other GM knows the Mets are desperate could be just the gasoline added to the fire we do not need. Giving up top prospects for an Adam Dunn for instance, may improve the team’s homerun output but is it really going to make a huge difference in the grand scheme of this season?

David Wright is struggling, mired in a terrible slump right now. His power numbers have disappeared. Is it entirely his fault or is it his fault plus he has no one in the lineup behind him to offer protection and no one in front of him to drive in. It’s easy to blame Wright, especially when he grounded into a double play thwarting one of two scoring opportunities the team had all day yesterday.  But in baseball, one person cannot do it alone. Part of the reason Albert Pujols leads the league in RBI is because he has people on base to drive in (not that I am comparing Wright to Pujols).

With half a season to go, you cannot give up hope. The Mets are only four games out even though they are three games under .500. If the rest of the division continues to struggle, the Mets have a shot, maybe a long shot, but a shot to get back in it once the core gets healthy again. But there is also the possibility things do not get better and the season is a total loss. It happens. It happened to the Tigers last year, not for the same reasons, but it happened. Detroit has bounced back nicely this season currently leading the AL Central. While I and Mets fans feel as though the baseball gods are entirely against us, we don’t want this feeling year in and year out. That’s why I really don’t mind if Omar doesn’t trade away the future because of what has happened this season. The injuries are a fluke. Chalk it up to bad luck. Imagine where the Mets might be had they not have had all these injuries. A year from now, maybe we will know.

You have to give the Mets credit. The fourth inning, in the field, was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I mean belly laugh funny.  The F-Mart pratfall was absolutely hysterical. Then the “Little League” grand slam that followed was hilarious too. I was actually laughing out loud.

Please don’t get me wrong, I know it was painful. And to all the Mets fans who suffered through this latest chapter in ineptitude, I feel your pain. I guess I have basically given up on this team. My expectations are so low, that I was not at all surprised the Mets gave up the lead. Therefore, I was free to enjoy the slapstick moment in all its glory.

You realize, the type of play we have seen from these Mets over the last five games is what fans saw daily back in 1962. Half the fun of that team was wondering what whacky plays would be invented on any given day. But of course this is not about comedy. It was supposed to be about championship caliber baseball this season. Injuries have taken that away from us. And all the whining and crying Mets fans are doing, hoping for a miracle deal, is nothing more than an exercise in futility.

In order for the Mets to improve, they would have to somehow acquire other team’s best players. That’s not going to happen.  At some point, Mets fans have to understand that the injuries that have befallen this team are insurmountable. There will be no post season in 2009 for the Mets. In fact, the Mets may not even have a winning record when all is said and done on October 4.

Let’s face the facts. Carlos Beltran, after his latest examination on his ailing knee, will require rest through the All Star break. Then he will have to work himself back into game shape. Likely he will not return until the end of July or beginning of August. Jose Reyes will also not be back until after the All Star break. Maybe he too, will not be at full strength until the end of the month.  Carlos Delgado, the big power threat of the team, will not be ready till sometime in August.  J. J. Puts will likely not be back till September and who knows about Perez and Maine.

Assume the best case scenario is that the Mets are close to full strength on August 1, one month from today.  The question then becomes is how far behind will the Mets be in 31 days? Even if the Mets were to make a minor deal or two, a logical fan would half to assume the Mets to be at least five to ten games back by then, maybe more.  Given such a scenario, the Mets would have to play incredibly hot baseball for the remainder of the season requiring every player to be at the top of their game and remain injury free. It’s not impossible but it is likely improbable.

That’s why I have written off this season and do not want to see Omar Minaya make ridiculous moves to improve a team that really has very little chance of winning.  Guys like Nick Evans, Daniel Murphy, and Bobby Parnell are going to require time to develop. Fernando Martinez could very well be the heir apparent to Carlos Beltran when Beltran’s contract runs out after 2011. The last thing I want to see are these players doing well in other organizations while we lament the has-beens that we got in return.

And do you really think Jerry Manuel can lead this team to a championship. You have to question how he manages this team. He says the hot hand will play but then he sits Nick Evans after he gets three big hits against St. Louis last week. Daniel Murphy finally got hot going 10 for 30 and then he warmed the pines.  David Wright finally hit a home run last night, the first since June 1, but Manuel is going to rest him today. And what of the mixed message he sends through the clubhouse when he tells the press he needs some bats. I’m sure that does a lot to inspire the team. Where is Bobby Valentine when you need him? Don't forget, Valentine took a Mets team to the World Series with Benny Agbayani leading off.

Some day it will all come together, the question is when. Not that I am some genius prognosticator but I wrote after the 2006 season that just because the Mets got so close does not mean they will win it all the next year. I warned to be prepared for the Mets to take a step or two back. Building a consistent winner takes time. I hate it when I’m right all the time.