Monday, August 5, 2013

If it isn't an injury, something else always hurts the Mets.......

When it rains, it pours.
                                     ----Old Morton Salt slogan.

Not only has the Citi Field injury curse struck again, but the Mets have other problems to address.

Last week, All-Star third baseman David Wright went on the disabled list with a strained hamstring, and will be gone for at least a month, but if by this time next month, the Mets are totally out of contention, I'd not be surprised if ownership decides that Wright should sit out the remainder of the season and prep for 2014. Second-year reliever Josh Edgin also went down, but in his case, it's a rib injury that could finish his year as well. However, the injuries are the least of the Mets' problems now.

Yahoo! is reporting that Jordany Valdespin, recently demoted to the team's Triple A team in Las Vegas, may also be done for the year, but for a different reason. After getting hit with a 3 game suspension for starting a fight last week, after he'd showboated upon hitting a home run, now comes word that Valdespin's name has been added to the list of players suspended for use of performance enhancing drugs (PED's).

If Valdespin really was using PED's, they certainly didn't help his performance at the major league level this year, otherwise he wouldn't have been sent down to Vegas. It isn't helping that he ripped into manager Terry Collins on the way out. The immaturity alone would almost be enough to write Valdespin's ticket out of town, ending his time with the Mets' organization, but a PED suspension certainly seals the casket, doesn't it?

The Mets were expecting to lose another minor leaguer, outfielder Cesar Puello, to a PED-related suspension, but you can imagine there's a whole heap of face-palming going on.

On a positive note, veteran outfielder Marlon Byrd manned up and accepted responsibility for some misadventures in right field in Sunday's loss to Kansas City. If anyone can relate to the misfortune of Puello & Valdespin, it's Byrd, whose 2012 season ended with a PED suspension after being released by Boston. The next move for him would be to counsel his younger teammates to avoid the mistakes he, Valdespin, & Puello have made and let their natural talents mature instead of succumbing to peer pressure and putting their futures at risk.

Would that a certain Weasel in the Bronx would also man up, and stop being so selfish, to the point where the New York Post, in today's editions, made a 2-word suggestion under his picture:

"Just go!"

Some guys just don't get it, and for Valdespin, maybe the sad saga of A-Roid should be a wake-up call, even if he does get shipped out of Queens.

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