Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Citi Field: Home to Amateur Baseball

Citi Field opened its door to amateur baseball so it only makes sense that the closing month would feature amateur baseball as well. St. John's University baseball team played the first ever baseball game at Citi Field, and right now I might rather have their lineup and starting rotation than what the Mets will put on the field this week.

21 players will have seen the disabled list before the end of August. The Mets can now add Johan Santana and Jeff Francoeur to the list of casualties as both appear to be done for the season. Santana's injuries open up a Pandora's box of questions and issues that are sure to stir the winter hot stove fire for months to come.

For those optimists out there, there is a bright side. Let's get the blood letting done now while we're still numb to the pain. Let's clean house in August and get ready for an extremely busy and anxious offseason unlike any the Mets have ever seen.

If you thought last September was painful, September 2009 might be worse. The games will be without interest and meaning. It's sure to flood Mets fans with memories of those glorious seasons of 1994 or 2003 where baseball was merely a gap to fill between basketball and football.

I will say this. There is no team, I repeat no team, out there that could that have predicted or withstood this onslaught of injuries. The Mets could have made moves to improve their team, but it's undeniable that preparing for an injury epidemic of such magnitude could have been prevented. The Mets disabled list looks like an All Star lineup featuring Beltran, Wright, Reyes, Delgado, and now Santana.

But what this does for the Mets is force them to start over and build anew. The focus must be on starting pitching and then filling the holes of a power bat and a few bench adjustments.

If you thought the wait from last season's end to this season's start was long, you've just been given an extra month to endure this offseason. The wait for 2010 starts today, August 25th, 2009.

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