For me, Winter begins today because the NY Mets did not make the playoffs, and in a word, the 2009 season for the Mets, sucked. In my entire life I have never seen a team suffer as many injuries as the Mets did, this season. If you were going to script a bad season for a team, and had to pick the four most important players to go down, it would have been the four that actually did go down for part of, or most of the season. In addition to the four major injuries, the Mets almost seemed to be cursed with little fluke injuries as well. For example one day when Luis Castillo was walking into the dugout after being on the field, he tripped on the stairs and twisted his ankle. A minor injury to be sure, and he was back in a few days, but very emblematic of the kind of season the Mets were having.
Despite the terrible season, there were plenty of things to be positive about, as well. Due to all of the injuries, the Mets ended up having to bring up lots of guys from their farm-system, to fill those holes. We got to see their super-prospect Fernando Martinez, and when they expanded the rosters in September, a talented young catching prospect named Josh Thole. One interesting little factoid about Josh is that he was actually born the day after the Mets won the World Series in 1986. For the record, that little factoid makes me feel old!
The injuries also meant that many veterans like Gary Sheffield and Nelson Figueroa got second chances, and took full advantage of them. While not a veteran, Daniel Murphy, who was expected to play left field all season, ended up filling in at first base brilliantly after he did not perform well in outfield. The Mets also made a quick trade to acquire Jeff Francoeur from the Atlanta Braves. This was one of those classic 'change-of-venue' trades where each player traded hadn't been fitting in on their team, and management has hoped new venues would benefit both players. From the looks of it so far, the Mets got the best of the deal, and I expect Jeff Francoeur to be patrolling right field for a long time. Also, veteran backup shortstop Alex Cora showed us just how tough he was playing for months with a torn ligament in each thumb.
The Mets front office definitely has some work to do in the off-season, but I believe that Mets fans have much to look forward to next season, and I fully expect that they will reach the playoffs. After all, how can they not? Karma owes them an injury-free season. :-)
Despite the terrible season, there were plenty of things to be positive about, as well. Due to all of the injuries, the Mets ended up having to bring up lots of guys from their farm-system, to fill those holes. We got to see their super-prospect Fernando Martinez, and when they expanded the rosters in September, a talented young catching prospect named Josh Thole. One interesting little factoid about Josh is that he was actually born the day after the Mets won the World Series in 1986. For the record, that little factoid makes me feel old!
The injuries also meant that many veterans like Gary Sheffield and Nelson Figueroa got second chances, and took full advantage of them. While not a veteran, Daniel Murphy, who was expected to play left field all season, ended up filling in at first base brilliantly after he did not perform well in outfield. The Mets also made a quick trade to acquire Jeff Francoeur from the Atlanta Braves. This was one of those classic 'change-of-venue' trades where each player traded hadn't been fitting in on their team, and management has hoped new venues would benefit both players. From the looks of it so far, the Mets got the best of the deal, and I expect Jeff Francoeur to be patrolling right field for a long time. Also, veteran backup shortstop Alex Cora showed us just how tough he was playing for months with a torn ligament in each thumb.
The Mets front office definitely has some work to do in the off-season, but I believe that Mets fans have much to look forward to next season, and I fully expect that they will reach the playoffs. After all, how can they not? Karma owes them an injury-free season. :-)
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