The Mets August is over. One month to go, 31 games left. They can’t be completed soon enough.

This is not about injuries, a depleted farm system, or if the Wilpons will ultimately sell or not (btw, I say they won’t). This is just about the state of the Mets without looking at what got us here.

The Mets record is currently 59-72 having yet to win their 60th game of the season. By comparison, over the previous four seasons, the Mets achieved win number 60 on August 16, 2005, July 26, 2006, August 1, 2007, and August 7, 2008 respectively. This season, win number 60 will not happen untill at least September 1st or later. Kind of puts things into perspective.

These Mets are simply unwatchable. Even when they win, it’s hard to care. It reminds me of the late 1970s when the Mets were totally irrelevant. How many games will the Mets finally win this season? Here are some things to consider.

The Mets have had only one winning month this entire season. That was in May when the Mets had a record of 19-9. Even with Jose Reyes on the shelf, you had to assume the Mets were going to compete having completed such an impressive month. But in June, it all fell apart with a 9-18 record. July got a bit better at 12-14 but the just concluded August schedule ended at 10-19, just dreadful.

Add to that the Mets have not won a series since July 27 through 30 when they won 3 of 4 from Colorado at Citi Field. Since then the Mets have split a two game set and a four game set and lost seven three game series. I guess the ultimate optimist would say at least the Mets were not swept in a series during this stretch.

So to answer the question of how many games the Mets will win, I would assume their rate of victories would remain the same considering none of the injured is likely to return except David Wright. No offense to David, but I can’t imagine he will make much of a difference coming back from a concussion.  

The Mets have ten series left, all are three game sets except for a four game set in Philadelphia because of a rain out earlier in the season.  Of the seven teams the Mets must play, only two, Washington and Houston, are not in contention. Colorado, Chicago, Atlanta, and Florida all have a shot at the post season with Philadelphia being a lock. And all these clubs, perhaps even the Nationals, are better than the Mets.

Let’s assume the trend continues and that the Mets win one game in each three game series and split the four game series in Philly. That would give the Amazin’s eleven more victories this year for a staggering 70-92 record.

But let’s take it a bit further. Does anyone believe this group of Mets, with their depleted pitching staff and anemic lineup, can really take two of four from the Phillies in Philadelphia? Let’s take a victory away from that series. Now the Mets record would be 69-73.

The Mets have six games with Washington. Currently, the Nationals lineup is superior to the Mets. I would not be surprised, especially the way the Nats play the Mets, that Washington could win five out of the six remaining games. Now the Mets record is reduced to 68-94. Maybe I am being extremely pessimistic but we have had five months to become very cynical.

Whether the Mets win 68 or 70 games, this will be the worst season since 2003 when the Mets finished 66-95 in last place 34.5 games behind Atlanta.

If the Mets can somehow win 13 games the rest of the way, they could beat their 2004 record of 71-91. Considering that the Mets won 12 games in July and 10 in August, that doesn’t seem likely. Like I said, these Mets are simply unwatchable.

Over the weekend, Mets CEO Fred Wilpon gave Omar Minaya a vote of confidence that he would return for 2010. As expected, the backlash from Mets fans was not pretty.  I have been very critical of Omar too lately, mostly because of the bizarre way in which he handled the Tony Bernazard affair. But is the criticism of Omar fair? Does he deserve to come back or should he be let go?

The popular response is to fire him. But how much of that opinion is tempered because of fans’ anger and frustrations of a team with the largest payroll in the league playing so poorly because of injuries beyond repair?

No one can blame Mets fans for the anger they are showing. When a fan base has been promised a winner and when they are expected to pay exorbitant prices to attend games, souvenirs, and eat at concession stands, those fans have a right to be heard.

But is firing Minaya fair? Does he really deserve to go after a season when the team has been decimated by injuries, the most recent being to ace Johan Santana? Would any team be doing better under the same circumstances?

A common criticism in the media has been that the Mets farm system is barren and the Mets had no one to call up to fill in. Is that fair considering the number of major injuries the Mets suffered? Whose farm system could have replaced the homerun and RBI production of Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado? What club can boast a minor leaguer that could have replaced 50 to 60 stolen bases when Jose Reyes left for the season?

Emotionally, I wanted Omar fired too. However, intellectually, is it fair to not give him another chance considering the ridiculous number of players that were hurt and missed huge amounts of time this season?

As I recall, I did not hear many complain when Minaya brought in Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez, Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner, Xavier Nady, Paul LoDuca, Jose Valentine, Chad Bradford, Endy Chavez, Duaner Sanchez, Darren Oliver, John Maine, Pedro Feliciano, Orlando Hernandez, Oliver Perez (the first time), Shawn Green, Damion Easley, Jorge Sosa, Fernando Tatis, Marlon Anderson, Guillermo Mota, Brian Stokes, Ryan Church, and Johan Santana.  Each one of these players has contributed greatly to the Mets success from 2005 through 2008. I know many will disagree with 2007 and 2008 as being successful seasons but they were winning teams ending in second place, not the stumble bums from the Jim Duquette/Art Howe years. And the deals made for this year would have likely paid off if not more than half the team spent the summer on the DL. Francisco Rodriguez, J.J. Putz, Sean Green, Jeff Francouer, Alex Cora, and Angel Pagan all helped the Mets this season until the wheels fell completely off.

And in regards to the minor leagues, Omar and his staff drafted Mike Pelfrey, Jon Neise, Bobby Parnell, Joe Smith, Daniel Murphy, and Eddie Kunz. All have contributed to the Major League club to some degree. They are not the greatest prospects of all time but each has shown potential to have very good major league talent given time to develop. Also, there does appear to be a lot of talent at the lower levels of the organization. They were not ready this year to fill in and probably won’t be ready for a couple of more years. And don’t forget that some minor league prospects were used to acquire Santana, Delgado, and others.

What are some of the bad moves Omar has made?

He should have never let Chad Bradford go to Baltimore after 2006, haggling over a two year deal then giving a two year deal to Scott Schoeneweis who never worked out.  He traded Heath Bell and Royce Ring to San Diego for Ben Johnson and Jon Adkins, both since released.  Omar then sent power arms Matt Lindstrom and Henry Owens to Florida for Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick, both released. He traded Brian Bannister to Kansas City for Ambriorix Burgoes, also released.  He let Darren Oliver go to the LA Angels where he still enjoys success and signed aging player Moises Alou who could still hit with the best of them but could not stay healthy. Omar traded for Luis Castillo who was dreadful until this season. He brought in Brian Schneider who has had trouble staying healthy and never lived up to the hype in terms of being a great pitcher’s catcher. He acquired Tim Redding for 2.25 million, whose shoulder was not in good shape when signed then resigned Ollie Perez, giving him 36 million, not recognizing they had likely gotten all they could have from the left handed enigma.

A bigger problem with Omar was what the handling of Tony Bernazard revealed. Attempting to blame New York Daily News writer Adam Rubin for having to fire his crony was completely out of line, immature, and totally unprofessional. I say that with the notion that some of the Bernazard flap was blown out of proportion.  Bernazard was trying to teach his AA players that abusing alcohol would not be tolerated.  Regardless, Minaya handled the situation poorly.  Bernazard was a loose cannon who thrived on intimidating minor league players and other organization underlings. Why didn’t Minaya handle the situation sooner avoiding much embarrassment to the organization?  The fact is Minaya would have kept Bernazard, enabling an apparent abusing employee, than to do the right thing. I find that more troubling than any negative trade or signing he has made.

Could some of this communication breakdown be going on with trainers and doctors too? You have got to wonder if some of the Mets injury issues are partly due to less than adequate training personnel whose friendships, like Bernazard, Omar is protecting.  What damage will this do for acquiring other Major League players who may be targeted by the Mets in the off season? Carlos Beltran and agent Scott Boras, so distrusting of the Mets medical staff, sought their own opinion when Beltran’s knee became so problematic. No other team, regardless of record, has suffered the amount of injuries the Mets have this season. Is it completely a coincidence?

2009 is hard to completely blame on Minaya. The injuries to the Mets are like something I have never witnessed while following the Mets for so many years. The other two seasons that come to mind in regards to injury are 1972 and 1987 but even they do not compare to the disaster of this season.

Wilpon says Minaya will be back. However, as pointed out by Ed Coleman, he didn’t say as GM. Omar is under contract for three more years. That means the Mets could move him to a less volatile position.  We’ll see.

Once again, you scratch your head in regards to moves made in the front office.

I’m not talking about Livan Hernandez, please, enough already. Get him out of here.

What I am referring to is Gary Sheffield who was placed on waivers, the San Francisco Giants claimed him, the Mets pulled him back because they could not work out a deal for a prospect they liked. I can’t entirely blame the Mets but they had to consider that possibility being prepared to accept prospects that may not have been at the level they wanted. At least they would have gotten something.

Now the Mets either hold on to Sheffield who will be a cry baby the rest of the way or they release him for nothing.

Apparently the Mets had also placed Pedro Feliciano on waivers. And like Sheff, he was claimed and the Mets pulled him back. That move I can understand because Feliciano will likely fit into the Mets plans for 2010.

The idea, proposed in today’s New York Post, that the Mets kept Sheffield to sell tickets in September is a bit silly. With the Mets going nowhere, I find it hard to believe that sophisticated Mets fans will head off to Citi Field to see Gary Sheffield bat.

Perhaps the Mets still want Gary around next year but don’t want to give him a new contract now. You have to give Sheffield credit. At age 41, he performed better than anyone expected in a roll no one anticipated. Let’s face it. He was only signed as a backup and pinch hitter. No one projected him with all these at bats at the outset. Only when almost the entire team went on the DL did Gary become an everyday player.

Some have suggested that Sheffield should be back next year as an extra outfielder. I’m not one of them. His legs are brittle and he will be 42. I think the Mets can do better and get younger and healthier bats for backup outfield spots. Some may already be in their midst.

The subplot this season has been the front office and how they go about their business. It has played well next to the main story theme of injury upon injury. The Mets season could have been scripted as one of the great summer disaster films of all time.

Frankly I’m tired of it and I hope some significant changes are made in the front office and on the field. The Mets are going to have to come to the conclusion that they must sever ties with the last three seasons. The meteoric rise to a championship fizzled after 2006. The collapse of 2007 broke Mets fans hearts. 2008 made them an angry mob and the injury riddled 2009 has exposed much dysfunctional behavior with the Mets hierarchy.

The ballpark is great, no question. Now the organization needs to figure out how to put a team in it that Mets fans can get excited over. And I really don’t think it will take much. As long as the Mets stars can get healthy, a shrewd GM should be able to tweak and get all cylinders running. However, the cunning GM in question will have to radically change the starting rotation. Depending on the likes of the Livan Hernandezs of the world must end. Now just who that GM is remains to be seen.

With a record of 55-63, the Mets must go 26-18 to reach the .500 mark by the end of the season. With the four core players now gone from the starting lineup, such a feat seems just about impossible.  It’s not, but what hope is there for the remaining 44 games, the Mets have the capability of turning it on all of a sudden.

The Mets have completed competition with the west except for three games with the Rockies in Colorado. The Mets also must play six with the Cubs, whom they have yet to face. They have three remaining with the Astros that conclude the season at Citi Field. All three out of division teams are contending and will not be easy for the Mets to handle.

Realistically, the teams in the NL east they have yet to conclude season series with won’t be a picnic either. The Mets have nine games each with the Braves and Marlins. They have eight with the Phillies and six with the Nationals who always pose a problem for the Mets. Accept for the Nats, the other three east rivals have their sights set on the post season.

The Mets find themselves in the company of the Nationals as spoilers. Realistically, it’s the only thing left to play for.  It would be interesting to see if the Mets left standing, come late September, can pay back the Marlins for the last two seasons.  Florida is only 4.5 games back of the Phillies and look hungry to challenge the defending world champions.

The Braves are in the hunt too. They are not as talented as the Phillies but Bobby Cox has a way of motivating his players. But I still consider Atlanta the long shot.

Frankly, this season can’t get over fast enough. But when it does end, we will have to endure the constant coverage of the Yankees in the playoffs—ugh! It will be as if the Mets never existed.  Unless the Wilpons can Minaya and others at the end of the season, there will not be much to talk about till the post season ends which could be as late as November this year.

The Mets do have a chance to produce the best sub .500 record in their history, a modest goal I admit. In 1991, the Mets completed the season at 77-84. If the Mets can play .500 the rest of the way, they have a shot at bettering that mark. Pretty sad, isn’t it?

A general manager usually gets five years to put a plan into action. When Omar Minaya took the job as the Mets GM, I recall him talking about such a plan. We heard of how the Mets would be aggressive in signing quality free agents, how trades would be another avenue for success, and how he and his staff would work hard to build a top of the line farm system.

In 2005, things started out great. Minaya lived up to his word and signed premier center fielder Carlos Beltran to a 117 million dollar contract. He also gave over 50 million to Pedro Martinez. Minaya hired the first African American manager in New York baseball history when he brought Willie Randolph aboard. The Mets were a competitive team heading in the right direction finishing in third place with a better than .500 record for the first time since 2001.

In 2006 Minaya added closer Billy Wagner via free agency and outfielder Xavier Nady. He traded for Carlos Delgado and catcher Paul LoDuca, brought in relievers Chad Bradford, Dauner Sanchez, and Darren Oliver. Minaya also traded for starters John Maine, Orlando Hernandez and when Sanchez went down, Minaya quickly re-acquired reliever Roberto Hernandez and starter Oliver Perez. It seemed every move that Omar made turned to gold.

The Mets cruised to their first division title in 18 years easily out pacing the rest of the division in ‘06. They swept the Dodgers in convincing fashion in the NLDS and reached game seven of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals. In that game, another great Minaya find, outfielder Endy Chavez made one of the greatest catches in post season history robbing a home run that would have given the Cardinals the lead. Eventually, the Cardinals did take the lead when Aaron Heilman gave up a two run homer to Yadier Molina in the top of the ninth. The Mets rallied in the last of the ninth but fell short when Carlos Beltran was frozen by a curve ball straight from hell from reliever Adam Wainwright.

…and the Mets have not been the same since.

Up to that point, everything appeared to be headed in the right direction. The 2006 club was a perfect blend of youth, veterans, and roll players. Willie Randolph could make you scratch your head at times but really did a fine job in guiding the Mets to the playoffs. But following the 2006 season, the wheels started coming off the bus for the Mets.

Chad Bradford, who pitched so well in ’06 was not resigned over a dispute between giving him the two years he wanted vs. the one the Mets wanted to sign him for. Darren Oliver, who was as steady a lefty as any reliever in the pen, was not resigned. He went to Los Angeles of Anaheim where he still is pitching well. Minaya traded current San Diego closer Heath Bell and Royce Ring to the Padres for outfielder Ben Johnson and pitcher Jon Adkins. He sent power arms Matt Lindstrom and Henry Owens to Florida for Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick. Starter and farm hand Brian Banister, who showed promise but was injured and missed most of the 2006 season, was sent to the Royals for Ambiorix Burgos who required Tommy John surgery, was convicted of beating his girl friend, and then committed double vehicular manslaughter in the Dominican Republic. All of a sudden, Minaya was making some very questionable deals.

Never the less, the 2007 Mets got off to another good start. At the end of May the Mets were in first place leading the pack by 4.5 games looking to take off like they did in ’06. But in June the Mets struggled. At one point the Mets lost eight of nine. It was the worst stretch in two years. It appeared the Mets had lost the killer instinct they showed so much of the season before. Maybe part of it was due to the division being better as a whole in ’07. But some claimed and perhaps rightly so, the players were not playing as intense. One of the reasons the Mets ran away with the NL east in ’06 was because the rest of the division was not very good. Did Minaya, Randolph, and the rest of the club not recognize that?

However, not playing with the same intensity of a year before, the Mets still continued to lead the division through the rest of the summer. On September 12, after having defeated the Braves 4-3, the Mets held a seven game lead with only 17 games left in the season. For the first time in franchise history, the Mets were poised to win back to back division titles. But instead, the Mets authored the worst collapse in regular season baseball history. On the last day of the season, a day after John Maine pitched the best game of his career to get the Mets back even with the Phillies on top of the division, Tom Glavine got no one out in the top of the first as the lowly Marlins sent the Mets home for the winter. A stunned Shea Stadium crowd sat with hands over faces, tears rolling down some cheeks, in shock over what had happened.

The phone calls on talk radio echoed the frustration and anger from the Mets fan base for weeks. It wasn’t until Omar acquired Johan Santana in February of 2008 did the fans begin to think positive about the team again. But in 2008, the Mets did not own first place like they did for the majority of the previous two seasons.

Even with ace Johan Santana the Mets struggled. In June, Willie Randolph was fired in a strange turn of events. Prior to leaving for a west coast swing, Willie was assured his job was safe. A day later, after flying all night, Omar Minaya fired Randolph. There were rumors that vice president of player development Tony Bernazard had a lot to do with getting Randolph fired.

However clumsy the firing was, the Mets did respond to new manager Jerry Manuel. At the All Star break, the Mets were a half game back of the Phillies, seven games over .500. The Mets finally reached first place at the end of July but could not shake Philadelphia. Through August, a three team race ensued including the Phillies and Marlins but the Mets held a slim margin through the end of the month providing hope to the fan base that atonement for ’07 might be in the works. 

But with 17 left to play and the Mets holding a three game lead, it was déjà vu all over again. In surreal fashion, the Mets season ended much like the year before. This time, the bullpen was the culprit. So poorly built by Minaya and so overused because of starting pitchers' inability to pitch six or more innings, the relief core blew game after game. The Mets needed to win two of three for a playoff spot in the final series against the Marlins. After losing the opener, Johan Santana pitched the game of his short Mets career in the penultimate game much like Maine did the year before. But in the final game, Shea’s final game, a game where a grand closing ceremony was planned, the Mets lost to the Marlins again denying a post season berth on the last day of the season for the second consecutive year. 2008 might have been considered a decent year if it weren’t for the fact the Mets had collapsed so badly the season before.

And as the current season continues to unfold, there will be no similar end like ’07 and ’08. By the end of this season, the Mets will be totally irrelevant. Major injuries, a farm system without major league ready talent, and perhaps the lack of a plan have doomed the Mets to a less than .500 team. This was not the way ownership wanted to inaugurate their beautiful new home.

2009 marks the end of five years that Omar Minaya was given the keys to the franchise. Regardless of a contract extension and his best intentions, could anyone blame the Wilpons if they let Minaya go at the end of the season?

You can’t say that Omar was not capable of making good deals. He did and plenty of them. His staff also has drafted good players too like Fernando Martinez, Jonathan Neise, and Mike Pelfrey. They currently have five or six gems in the minor league system but accept for Fernando Martinez, who is injured again, no one is ready for the majors. Omar has made bad trades and bad free agent signings too. Getting rid of Bell, Bradford, Oliver, Lindstrom, and Owens, when the Mets needed a bullpen most was key to the Mets failures of 2007 and 2008. Although Luis Castillo has had a bounce back year, the four year deal Minaya gave to the second baseman was unnecessary and excessive. And it appears that the deal awarded Oliver Perez was ill conceived, perhaps a reflection of not being able to determine when a player no longer can be productive.

In fairness, Omar turned the Mets into a competitive team and made them relevant again. As bad as things have become the last three seasons, they are far better than they were under Jim Duquette and Art Howe. But that only goes so far.

The bottom line is that in a market where you are expected to win and ownership has paid out the highest salary in the National League, plus having to play in the shadow of the Yankees, Omar Minaya and his staff have not delivered. His plan peaked in 2006 and has taken a step back each year. Add on to that the bizarre and embarrassing way in which he handled the Tony Bernazard affair.

The question the Wilpons must ask themselves is this: can they continue to let Minaya make the baseball decisions in light of what has happened since 2006? The Mets fan base is likely the angriest of the 30 major league clubs and they have a right to be. Citi Field’s ticket prices are astronomical compared to most other clubs. Fans who bought season tickets assuming they could resell many through ticket brokers for a profit will think twice before purchasing next season. You know the Wilpons, Saul Katz, and David Howard have to be concerned.

From a baseball perspective, the Phillies will continue to be a top rated club with a young core and a fine system for a number of years. The Marlins have a new stadium coming on line in three years, an excellent farm system, and will not need to sell off their top players as they have done so in the past. The Braves are slowly making their way back into an elite team and even the Washington Nationals have good young players on the farm and will likely be able to select 16 year old sensation Bryce Harper in next year’s amateur draft.

The Mets still have a good core group and some fine players on the horizon but management is going to have to make a decision after this season. Jeff Wilpon’s recent candid remark to writer Bob Klapish “The team has been headed in the wrong direction for years” is telling. What message will Jeff send Mets fans to give them hope through the winter ahead? Unless a miracle of all Mets miracles occurs between now and October 4th, regardless of recent words backing the GM, the Mets will likely make sweeping changes within baseball operations and they will be justified in doing so.

According to Websters, one of the meanings of curse is - a prayer or invocation for harm or injury to come upon one. So who put the curse on the Mets?

My first thought was George Steinbrenner. He always hated the Mets. But honestly, I know he’s not in the best of health so I have a hard time believing he did it. Maybe Hal or Hank but I don’t see the same fire in their eyes when it comes to the Mets the way it did for George. Besides, they have too much on their mind this weekend with the showdown series with Boston.

Perhaps it was the ghost of Bill Shea or someone in his family. After all, the building that was named for the New York lawyer was torn down and they didn’t name the new facility after him.

I saw on the Internet, banter wondering if Citi Field was built on top of an ancient Native American burial ground. Now there’s an interesting thought. Perhaps it was the same Native Americans who were duped into giving up Manhattan for $24 worth of beads. Maybe they are getting their revenge.  

Actually, I don’t believe in curses. I don’t believe in UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle, or the Mayan Calendar. But I do believe Americans landed on the moon.  I also am beginning to believe that maybe the Mets trainers are not very good.

I’m not sure that is fair but it is getting to the point where the mounting injuries is becoming a bit more than coincidence. And since I don’t believe that ghosts or curses are the reason, something has to be.

You have to begin to wonder if the players are preparing properly before games. Do they do enough stretching or do they do too much. If anything, the Mets need to review procedures over the off season and make changes if necessary. They may need to change trainers for the simple reason to make players coming to the Mets feel confident. The Mets medical staff right now can’t be considered one of the better ones in the game with the rash of injuries that have befallen this team.

Of course it could also be just the breaks. Nothing more than an unfortunate turn of events, a once in a generation season that when everything can go wrong, it does.

In 1972, injuries caused the Mets to miss the post season. At the end of June, the Mets were 41-26, tied with the Pirates for first place. But injuries took their toll, especially when Rusty Staub went down. The Mets finished in third place that year. The 1987 club suffered a rash of injuries to the pitching staff making it impossible to repeat as division champions. However, the Mets farm was loaded with arms and at least they remained competitive winning 92 games losing out by just three games back.

This season is the worst in 48 years of operation in regards to injuries. In combination with a farm system not abundant in talent, it’s been a season making Mets fans long for the winter meetings. Hopefully it’s a once in a lifetime occurrence.  Hopefully next season, the Mets will be healthy, whoever those Mets players are.

When you look at this list of Mets injuries I have compiled from Mets.com, it’s startling. In all my years of following baseball, I have never seen anything like this season. 2009 is far worse than 1987 when the Mets rotation was decimated with injuries and was the main reason the Mets did not repeat as champions. That year, the Mets still finished a strong second with a 92-70 record. Had there been a wild card then…but I digress.

Anyway, take a look at this list of Mets injuries this year and try not to laugh when you get to the last one that occurred in the Mets dugout during the game.  It’s really not funny anymore.

March  - Tim Redding – Shoulder tendinitis, Billy Wagner is on 60 DL while recovering from Tommy John surgery

April 15 – Mike Pelfrey diagnosed with forearm tendinitis. He will miss a start, does not go on DL

April 17 – Brian Schneider is placed on the 15 day DL with a muscle strain in his back

April 27 – Castillo leaves game with back spasms – misses a few games

April 27 – Carlos Delgado sits with hip discomfort – returns to action on May 4

May 7 – After several dreadful starts, Oliver Perez is placed on the DL with tendinitis in his knee

May 11 – Carlos Delgado sits with hip acting up again

May 14 – Jose Reyes sits with tight calf

May 14 –It is reported that J.J. Putz is struggling from a bone spur in his elbow

May 16 – Carlos Delgado goes on DL, Reyes still out of action

May 18 – Alex Cora goes on DL with torn tendon in thumb

May 18 - It is announced that Delgado will undergo hip surgery.

May 18 - Tim Redding and Jose Reyes return to the game action

May 19 – Delgado has surgery, will require 10 weeks to recover

May 21 – Mets doctors diagnose Jose Reyes with tendinitis in calf, leaves game, may have to go on DL

May 22 – Mets announce Reyes will not go on DL

May 23 – Ryan Church leaves game with sore right hamstring

May 23 – K-Rod has back spasms so bad he is taken to Mass General to spend the night.

May 26 - Ryan Church goes on the DL with sore right hamstring

May 26 – Jose Reyes placed on the DL

May 26 – It is announced that Carlos Beltran will have an MRI on right knee

May 30 – Brian Schneider is activated

May 30 – Carlos Beltran is sidelined with stomach flu

May 31 – Angel Pagan leaves game with strained right groin

June 2 – Ramon Martinez breaks his pinky sliding into home requiring surgery

June 2 – Beltran and John Maine still have stomach virus

June 3 – Angel Pagan placed on the DL with groin pull

June 3 – Gary Sheffield is out of the lineup with a tender hammy

June 3 – Carlos Beltran returns from stomach flu

June 4 – It is diagnosed that Reyes has a slight tear in his right hamstring after running in rehab. He will resume rehabbing after two days of rest

June 5 – J.J. Putz is placed on the disabled list with an elbow bone spur. He will have surgery and miss at least two months of the season

June 7 – Ryan Church returns from the disabled list

June 12 – John Maine is placed on the DL with fatigue in his right shoulder

June 15 – Gary Sheffield has sore right knee. First he will have an MRI then he won’t have an MRI

June 18 – John Maine has a setback in rehab, in a simulated game throws 60 pitches and feels a pinch in the back of his shoulder

June 20 – Another  MRI is scheduled for Carlos Beltran’s balky knee which he got a bone bruise in late May

June 22 – Carlos Beltran is placed on the DL with sore right knee

June 29 – Carlos Beltran gets second opinion from Colorado specialist who treated Alex Rodriguez.

June 30 – Colorado knee specialist concurs with Mets doctors that Beltran does not need micro fracture surgery

July 7 – Oliver Perez returns to the rotation

July 9 – Fernando Martinez is placed on DL with inflammation in his knee

July 10 – Angel Pagan returns to lineup

July 19 – Fernando Nieve tears muscle in right thigh, will miss six weeks. Placed on 60 day DL.

July 25 – Mets place Gary Sheffield on the DL retroactive, eligible to return on Aug 2

July 30 – Dr. James Andrews confirms diagnosis that Maine’s problem is weakness in right shoulder

August 4 – Jose Reyes returns to New York for another examination after feeling tightness in his right hamstring

August 4- After Luis Castillo grounds out, he falls down the dugout steps and sprains his ankle.

Update Aug 5, 4:40 EDT - August 5 - Jonathan Neise left the game with a strained right hamstring and so did Gary Sheffield - you just can't make this stuff up.

Update Aug 16 - David Wright is placed on the 15 day DL after being hit in the helmut with a fastball from Matt Cain.

Update Aug 17 - Alex Cora is done for the season and will require ligament surgery on both thumbs.

Update Aug 24 - Jeff Francouer tears a ligament in his left thumb. He is day to day. Also, the Mets announce that Johan Santana will miss his next start because of elbow soreness. Santana will see Dr. David Altchek on Tuesday, August 25.

Update Aug 25 - Johan Santana will have season ending microscopic surgery on his left elbow to remove bone chips. Sanatan should be ready to go in spring training. Also J.J. Putz will be shut down the rest of the season with a partial tear of the ulner nerve in his right elbow. It is likely that Putz has thrown his last pitch for the Mets. Jerry Manuel also hinted that Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Jose Reyes are done for the year too.

Update Aug 26 - It was announed that Oliver Perez has petella tendon tendinosis. The madaldy will require surgery that will end Perez's season. He will be ready by spring training.  

At the rate the Mets are going, soon they are liable to look more like ZZ Top than a .500 team.

I think its great the team is showing such unity and has agreed not to shave till they get to the .500 mark. It’s been several days already and now will require a four game winning streak to get clean shaven as soon as possible. Here is a case where the Mets may have thought with the Diamondbacks coming to town, the razors would be sharpened sooner than later. So much for the best laid plans.

With yesterday’s lack luster loss, the Mets have fallen back to four games under the .500 mark. Tonight they must face Dan Haren, the Dbacks ace, and tomorrow and Wednesday, the Cardinals come to town before the Mets head to San Diego where they were swept last season.  I’m not saying the Mets won’t get back to the .500 mark. All I am saying is the Mets, at least facially, may soon look like the Metropolitans from the 1880’s American Association than the modern day version.

Let’s be realistic, the Mets chances of making the post season this year are looking slimmer each passing day. Forget the division. That would require a feat bigger than game 6 of the 1986 World Series for that to happen at this point.

The Mets are currently 9.5 games back of the division leading Philadelphia Phillies who acquired Cliff Lee to bolster their pitching staff before the trading deadline.  The Mets, by contrast, did nothing to help their beleaguered players. Mind you, I was not for giving up the entire farm to acquire a Victor Martinez. If the Mets were healthy and needed just that one piece to put them over the top, that’s one thing. But to have Martinez for just this year and next when there are so many things that must be addressed would not have been a good move.  I credit Minaya for sticking to his guns and holding on to his best prospects even though he likely won’t be the GM much longer.

And as for the wild card…let’s look at the numbers. The Mets currently trail the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants (tied) by 7.5 games in the wild card. The Mets have 58 games remaining. Let’s assume that one of those two leading clubs simply goes 28-29 the rest of the season while all the other contenders do worse.  That would give either Colorado or San Francisco a record of 86-76. In order for the Mets to win 87 games, they would have to go 37-21 the rest of the way. That’s a .638 winning percentage.

The best record the Mets had so far this season was at the end of May when they were 28-21, a .571 winning percentage. And for part of May, the Mets still had Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran. So how can any Mets fan logically conclude that with no changes to the roster other than Jeff Francouer or injured players returning to peak performance, the Mets will suddenly become a .630 team? And this scenario assumes less than mediocrity from the teams in the wild card hunt.

Even if the Rockies and Giants were to fall flat on their clean shaven faces, what are the odds of the Cubs, Marlins, Braves, Brewers, and Astros all tanking as well? The reality is that one of the seven teams in front of the Mets will play far better than .500.

This is why you can’t blame Minaya for not making any deals at the deadline. Unless the farm system could have netted the equivalent in talent from the fallen Reyes, Beltran, and Delgado, what would have been the point?

My wishes are simple. I hope the Mets can at least finish above .500 (as I am sure the player’s wives do too). I would like to see the streak of winning seasons continue for the 5th consecutive year. Say what you want but in retrospect, it’s better to see the club you root for having finished above .500 then under it.

This has been a difficult season. For me, being realistic, rooting for a .500 season is about all that is left to hope for.