Carlos Beltran has taken Angel Pagan under his wing this spring

BY AARON YORKE
STACHE WRITER

I’ve always thought team chemistry was overrated in baseball. Unlike football, basketball or hockey, which feature a bunch of players sharing the ball and moving at the same time, baseball is a game that is won or lost mostly by individual performances. A team does not need to communicate with each other to put together a multi-run rally. It could help to communicate, such as when a lead-off batter takes an extra pitch so the next guy up can see what he is dealing with, but such tactics are not necessary to have success. It’s the same deal on the other side of the ball, where the pitcher by himself has the biggest impact on how many runs the other team scores.

It’s for these reasons that I never really paid attention when the Mets’ failures of the last three seasons were blamed on a “bad clubhouse.” I figured even if everyone in the clubhouse hated each other, it wasn’t going to make the team hit more and strike out less. The tough part is that there’s no way to prove or quantify the effect of leadership or chemistry on winning games. It’s even tougher for those without clubhouse access to analyze.
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It will be at least 12 more weeks until Beltran can return to action

There’s still a month to go until pitchers and catchers report, but already the Mets season is trending toward disaster. Carlos Beltran decided to have surgery on his injured knee based on symptoms that caused off-season conditioning to become “too painful” according to a Mets press release.

The most important news coming from the Mets is that Beltran should be able to “return to baseball activities” in 12 weeks. That means he would be set for a late April return, but as with all return dates, it should be taken with a huge grain of salt. We really don’t know when Beltran will be ready.
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Its gonna be a long time before we see Carlos Beltran healthy (Courtesy of Newsday)

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Three words. Micro fracture surgery. I just know it’s coming.

Guys, Beltran is not coming back. I just have a hunch that he’ll opt for the surgery. Which really is the only way to truly heal a bone bruise as severe as Beltran’s even though the micro fracture king himself, Dr. Steadman, recommended rest. The problem is that rest has not been the wrong answer thus far as the bone bruise has not gotten better.

Now your going to ask me where I’m getting this information from and the answer is nowhere but between my dirty ears. But I’ve been a Mets fan my whole life and know that when the $h*t hits the fan in Met Country it hits at 100 mph. I mean how else do you explain a pitcher that replaced an injured pitcher getting hurt trying to beat out a ground ball.

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Omar needs to hit a Home Run at the Trade Deadline

BY MATTHEW FALKENBURY
ASSISTANT EDITOR

As July 31st gets closer and closer, the questions surrounding what exactly will Omar Minaya do come the Trade Deadline become louder and louder. With Beltran, Reyes, and Delgado still out for at least a few more weeks, the fans, including yours truly are wondering just what is the plan for this team.

If they are going to sell, what exactly can they get back in return? That answer is actually quite simple, don’t worry about it cause Freddy and Friends wont sell with a new ballpark in its Rookie Season.

Of coursethey could always stand pat and just wait out the injuries, which isn’t too bad an idea. Then again, if your like me, I have a hard time thinking that Beltran, Reyes and Delgado will come back and start hitting the cover off the ball. I have this odd reasoning that states that players coming back from injury need to readjust to Major League pitching, odd right?.

Then their is door number three, which is that Omar goes out and makes either a big move or a few small moves to try to keep the team afloat until the three musketeers or is it muscle-tears come back from their stints on the DL. With that I wanted to present to you the Top 5 players the Mets and Omar should look into acquiring at or before the Deadline to help keep our season alive.

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Carlos Beltran needs to get healthy and back in the lineup.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse on the injury front. It looks like Carlos Beltran will be held out of today’s starting lineup due to a stomach virus that causes him to leave yesterday’s loss to the Marlins. Instead, the Mets will put Angel Pagan in center field, and they will hope for the best.

Fernando Martinez will get another start after his biggest game of his young career. He had two hits, one of which was of the RBI variety. The young stud is showing flashes of excellence, although most of us have come to the realization that he is not up here right now to stay. Fans always love to take a look at what the future holds, and Fernando Martinez could be a full time player as soon as next year.

If that does pan out, that means there would be two holes in the outfield. The Mets will probably look to free agency for one option, and then they would plug Carlos Beltran in Center Field. That means that Ryan Church would likely be he odd man out, and he may be getting dealt before all is said and done anyway.

Today is a big game. If the Mets win, it will conclude a nice week. After the crap that we saw in Los Angeles, the Mets have a chance to go 7-2 in the nine games since. That is exactly what they needed to get themselves back in the right place.

BY GREG BARRA
STACHE WRITER

Going into the month of May, the New York Mets were still trying to find themselves. They were 9 -12 and it looked as if the starting pitching wasn’t going to shape up. Well, they’ve shaped up big time. Since May 1st, which is has been 12 games, no Met pitcher has given up more than 3 earned runs on any start. The Mets are 9-2 during these 12 games and have improved their record to 18-14.

One of the reasons why the New York Mets have improved their record is because of the improvement of Mike Pelfrey. After his horrible performance against the Sad Diego Padres, which he let up 8 earn runs, Pelfrey has allowed 3 or less earned runs in his last 4 starts. Also in his last two starts Mr. Wichita State has gone 7 innings and only walked one batter in each of those games.

Also, the Mets have gotten tremendous hitting from Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Luis Castillo and have gotten help from Alex Cora, and Fernando Tatis on the bench. Luis Castillo has slowed down a bit but he has been a pleasant surprise so far this season. David Wright seems to finally be getting it right at the plate and he is currently hitting .317. Beltran has been nothing but spectacular thus far this season. He kept his bat on his shoulder to end the game tonight but it actually ended in a Met win this time. Beltran already has 46 hits on this young season. Great bench play from Cora and Tatis has also contrubited to the Mets hot streak in early May.

Tomorrow’s game is extremely important I feel because they need to take as many games from division rivals as possible.

It is not easy to find a hotter hitter in baseball than Carlos Beltran.

BY GREG BARRA
STACHE WRITER

When the Mets signed Carlos Beltran they were expecting the player who had a stellar postseason with Houston. Besides his first season as a Met which was dreadful, I believe the Mets got what they bargained for. This season Mr. Beltran has been lights out at the plate and he has the Mets have the world baseball classic to thank. This gave Beltran more at-bats in a meaningful atmosphere then he would have had in spring training. Carlos has reached base safely in the past 30 games which is a Met record tied with the great helmet wearing first basemen John Olerud.

Beltran is hitting .404 so far this season, as well as, hitting well over .300 with runners in scoring position which has always been rough for the Mets.

He’s a great centerfielder who has won several gold gloves while on the team. I would say he’s been well worth the 117 million he was given. Hopefully he’ll make up for his only blemish as a Met by continuing to tear the cover off the ball and to take the bat off of his shoulder in game 7.

Castillo seems like a man on a mission, and he has shown some value here in 2009.

BY GREG BARRA
STACHE WRITER

Could we be seeing the resurrection of Luis Castillo? Last year he was a dismal player and when he came to the plate you could say he’d be almost an automatic out. His fielding took a step back because of his ailing knees and he’s speed on the base paths also suffered. This is all true but in 2009 we are not seeing the same guy. He’s on fire at the dish and is doing a very good job patrolling second.

Through the first fourteen games of 2009, Luis has collected eighteen hits bringing his average to .383. In his last 10 games Castillo has had multiple hits in five games and was held hitless and only two. To go along with those numbers, his on base percentage is through the roof at .889. The most important number of them all is that he is hitting he’s batting .385 with runners in scoring position, which has been tough for most Mets thus far.

I’m glad to see the Jerry Manuel has placed Castillo in the second slot in the lineup because he has earned it. And a little side note – Carlos Beltran is now batting a cool .400 on the year, they need a big year from him if the Mets are going to go anywhere this season.

Daniel Murphy hit safely in each of the first three games.

BY: GREG BARRA
STACHE WRITER

Well they weren’t going to go 162-0, but we can take a few things from the end of the first series. First thing is that the starting pitching needs a little boost. I’m not really worried about either Pelfrey or Oliver because I think the nerves got the better of them for the most part. Each pitcher showed shades of brilliance within their poor outings. And Johan is Johan. We expect a W every time he take the mound.

Second thing we can take from the first series is the bullpen is actually good. Granted yesterday was shaky at times and Darren O’Day let up two huge runs in the fifth but other than that they’ve done quite well. I am excited to watch the bullpen lock down games all season long. Speaking of the bullpen, did you see Brian Stokes? He really impressed everyone with his outing today.

Third, the meat of the Mets lineup batters 1-6 and really hit. Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado have gotten out to a pretty good start and that’s a great thing for Met fans to see. In the past these two have gotten off to a show start this can really help the Mets explode off the blocks. These two along with Jose, Murphy, Wright, and Church are all on the right track.

Even though the Mets didn’t get a great showing from Oliver Perez they showed great poise to keep chipping away at the Reds four run lead and the bullpen kept the game in reach. Now they head to Florida to face the powerful and young Marlins, this is going to be a true test for the Mets. Thankfully Mike Pelfrey will not be pitching against the Marlins because he cannot beat the Marlins to save his life. It was a good first series all and all and most importantly they’re still a game up on the Phillies.

BY ADAM KRAMER
STACHE WRITER

It’s a dilemma that many Mets fans have each and ever year. Who and when do I take my favorite Mets players in my fantasy baseball draft? There’s plenty of differencing opinions on the issue, and perhaps it depends a lot on the seriousness of the league, but taking good Mets fantasy options at the right time can be crucial to the success of your fantasy team.

Let’s face it; we all want a Met that we like on our team. This doesn’t mean you should draft Daniel Murphy with one of your first three picks, but you should/can tie in both fantasy and fandom together, if you do it right.

Here is a breakdown of the top ten fantasy players on the New York Mets and when you might want to grab them.

1) David Wright– He’ll go in the top five in every league, and in the top three in most. He’ll have tons of opportunities, and there’s no one outside of Pujols and Hanley Ramirez that I would rather have.

2) Jose Reyes– Reyes is another “no doubt” first rounder. He does everything, and is sure to come close to 200 hits and 20 homers again this season. As a huge Reyes fan, he’d be perhaps the most entertaining player to have on my team.

3) Johan Santana– The injury was a bit of a scare, but many still consider Johan the top fantasy pitcher now that everything seems to be okay. The new bullpen will help his numbers greatly. He’s either a late first or early second round pick.

4) Carlos Beltran– I really like Beltran this year as a fantasy option. He looked great at the WBC, and his legs look they healthiest they’ve been since he joined the Mets. He’ll go anywhere from the second to third round, and is going to have a big season.

5) Francisco Rodriguez– People aren’t as high on K-Rod as some of the other closers, but I am. The Mets will give him the possibility to get more than forty saves, and like Beltran, he also looked amazing at the WBC.

6) Carlos Delgado- 30 and 100 once again? For the Mets sake I hope so, and chances are it’d be a good bet to make. Delgado is a guy that may fall to a middle round and might even be considered a veteran sleeper in a free agent year.

7) Mike Pelfrey– Mike certainly showed off some of his ability last year and has had a good spring in 2009. He’ll pitch innings and a revamped bullpen should get him a few more wins. I don’t see a letdown coming, I see a nice sleeper here.

8) Oliver Perez– Which one will you get? If Oliver plays the role of “good Oliver,” he’ll be a great fantasy option. He could move up this board drastically if he lives up to his contract, but he’s sure to have a few outings that make you scream. Wait on him, unless you’re a big time believer.

9) Daniel Murphy– If you’re in a league with fans from all over, you may make them scratch their head with this pick. Anyone who has seen this young man hit however, knows he’s destined for good things. Guaranteed at-bats mean major production from the smooth swinging lefty.

10) Ryan Church– Staying healthy is key for Mr. Church, and if he puts up the numbers similar to those pre-concussion, you’ve got a major sleeper. Certainly a viable outfielder in larger leagues, and he’s very capable of driving in close to ninety runs. Good late pick.