Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
If there is one thing a coach will tell you about managing a championship team, it is that it takes the efforts of a large group of people all working together in order to achieve the overall goal.
Operating as a unit is crucial for teams; however, the luxury of having a fully healthy roster is rarely enjoyed for long no matter what sport you’re talking about, a reality that the New York Mets are beginning to face.
Since the 2000 World Series, the New York Mets have been an afterthought, if not a literal joke in Gotham City when compared to their rival, the New York Yankees. It seemed like no matter how big of a star they landed, something went wrong regardless of the pieces in place.
After re-signing Cespedes, solidifying themselves as a serious deep-playoff threat and putting together an exceptional pitching staff, it was beginning to feel as if the era of darkness for Mets fans had come to a conclusion. Unfortunately, to their dismay, Mets fans are beginning to see flashes of the old Mets that would fold like a chair randomly from a series of unfortunate events, typically injuries.
As spring training kicks into full gear, the Mets must keep a close eye on their now fragile franchise superstar, David Wright, who is coming off of injury. However, David Wright is only the start of their worries. Lucas Duda, the Mets first baseman who had been plagued with back injuries throughout the 2016 season, has been sidelined and has needed to receive cortisone shots due to the pain in his back throughout spring training thus far.
To piggy-back all of this, the Mets ace, Matt Harvey, is still recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome, a devastating elbow injury that has sidelined the pitcher.
Brett Fortune, a life-long Mets fan, spoke on how he can never let himself get excited for a successful Mets team, for injuries shortly follow.
“Just think about the awful things that happen to us. We get Jason Bay, he starts to perform terribly. We get Carlos Beltran, he seriously injures himself. We get Pedro Martinez, and he injures himself. Nothing is going to go right. I just seriously hope that Duda’s bat can find its way into the lineup for 100 games at least this year.”
Ultimately, the Mets pitching staff can be as good as anybody, but if the team lacks the leadership and offensive production that Wright and Duda bring to the table, competing deep into the playoffs seems unlikely.
One thing Mets fans have to look forward to is a deep farm system in the minor leagues that could eventually provide some relief for a New York Mets team full of potential, but so consistently battered by injuries and poor luck.
mvolpe2@ramapo.edu
