A plague of pain

They have fallen like dominoes in the first three months of the baseball season, as if someone stuck pins in voodoo dolls bearing their likenesses.

The New York Mets thought they had everything figured out. While the Yankees spent nearly $200 million on free agents like CC Sabathia, Mark Teixiera, & AJ Burnett, the Mets refortified their bullpen by bringing in JJ Putz and Francisco Rodriguez. Everything was going just fine, until the injury bug bit. Over and over again. Putz is gone until the latter part of August, maybe September. Two of their starters, Oliver Perez & John Maine, are also out, though Perez might be back by the All-Star break. Three of their core players, outfielder Carlos Beltran, shortstop Jose Reyes, & first baseman Carlos Delgado, are also on the disabled list. Delgado is also due in either August or September. Beltran and Reyes? Maybe by the end of July, but who really knows for sure.

The common link is that with the exception of Maine, all of the front-line injuries the Mets have suffered can be traced to their participation in the World Baseball Classic back in March. In fact, Rodriguez, the record-setting closer who came over from the Angels as a free agent, is the only Met who hasn't been injured since returning from the WBC. He had back spasms that sidelined him for a day or two, and that's been it.

This rash of injuries has forced the Mets into a very precarious position. Their current 5-game losing streak has put them two games below .500 for the season, but they're still just three games off the lead in the National League East, largely because the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies haven't been the dominant force they were at the end of last season. Philadelphia hasn't gone on a major tear yet to open some distance between them and the rest of the division, and if the season were to end now, they'd be a #3 seed in the playoffs. The Mets are fortunate to find themselves within striking distance, but if all the injuries hadn't been so close together, maybe the Mets are the ones clinging to the top of the division. Or maybe not.

But with the Mets now resembling a M*A*S*H unit, management has strangely been hesitant about trading for some help. Prized rookie Fernando Martinez has been a disappointment since being called up, rushed before he was really ready to face major league pitching. Aside from Rodriguez, the bullpen has run into the same exact problem that has killed them late in the season the last two years, and that's overuse. Pedro Feliciano leads the league in appearances, and reportedly is on a pace to pitch in 100 games, which would be a record for relievers, I think. Jerry Manuel has fallen into the same trap with his pen as all managers usually do. He has a set pattern of which relievers to use depending on if the Mets are winning or losing. If they're winning he has his bridge to K-Rod, the brilliant closer, although Rodriguez has proven to be quite mortal of late, as two of his three losses have come against the Yankees. If those bullpen arms are already tiring at the end of June, they're almost certainly dead in the water come September.

By then, though, Putz should be back, and possibly also Billy Wagner, the forgotten man who was lost last season when he underwent Tommy John surgery. Wagner is due in August at the earliest, and could be a big help in the stretch run. The Mets certainly can use him. By then, the rest of the wounded should be back, but will they be at full strength after all? At this rate, the Mets might need to invest in some rosary beads or have group prayer meetings before games to turn their fortunes around.

Above all else, Manuel cannot be the fall guy if the Mets fail to make the post-season. You can't prepare for injuries, after all. You try to work around them, but if too many fall at once, as the case has been, then the mountain only becomes a longer, steeper climb.