The Mets Leave 1,600 Men On Base

Based on some stats from ESPN.com, the Mets are on pace to average leaving 10 men on base a game this season.

10 men a game.

That's over 1,600 men being left on base for the entire season. And you wonder why we missed the playoffs? I've been a major voice in saying that the Mets issues last season were with the bullpen. Fix the bullpen and you'll fix the issues. But now I'm questioning myself.

The bullpen absolutely needed to be fixed, but the clutch hitting will hurt our chances almost as much. If you leave over 1,600 men on base over the course of the season, there's no way you're winning a division. Now I expect that average to drop as the months drag on, but the lack of timely hitting may be the Mets achilles heel this season.

You'd like to place the blame on a particular player or two, but you really can't. The whole team has issues with driving in runs with 2 outs. I don't know what the answer is to this problem. Can you really do anything to fix a lack of clutchness?

I have a feeling it's a mental issue and until there's a 3 or 4 game stretch where Mets batters start coming through in a tough spot, I think we'll see this trend continue.

Will the Real David Wright Please Stand Up

David Wright is quietly the 2008 Mets' version of Alex Rodriguez: Nice stats, awful in the clutch. I say 'quietly' because no one, other than Dave here, is really commenting on it. Finally, Gary Cohen and Keith discussed it during Wright's putrid 8th inning "K" to Gagne, but let's face it, Wright has been brutal all season with men on base. In recent weeks, he has been up numersou times in key spots only to fail. If he had come through in some of those situations, there wouldn't have been as much pressure on the bullpen. Take a look at the numbers:

Runners On: .271
RISP: 240
RISP (2 outs): .224
Bases Loaded: .214

He's so unclutch this year that I actually have zero confidence in him coming through in a big spot. There are at least 5 maybe 6 other guys that I would rather see hit in key situations: Reyes, Delgado (of course), Tatis, Beltran (sometimes), Church (coming around) and even the kid, Daniel Murphy have all proven they can get it done. Yet, Wright is supposed to be the best hitter, which tells you that it's all mental.

I love Wright as much as anyone, but there is no doubt he is pressing. He's starting to remind me of Jeff Kent when Kent was on the Mets in '92, '93. Kent was so predictable, wiffing at all of those junk sliders away, in the dirt. It was so painful to watch AB after AB, that I was happy to be rid of him for a bag of baseballs let alone Carlo Baerga. Course...Kent goes on to a Hall of Fame career and Baerga, well...

David needs to relax. Clearly easier said than done, but he needs to get back to basics. I'm sure HoJo is telling him this, but David has to go the other way with pitches. That's his trademark and it makes him one of the most difficult outs in the game. But right now, he's very pitchable and it's getting to his head. You can see his frustration, even when he's walking to the plate for his ABs. He's already defeated before stepping in to the box. Tonight, David should take extra BP and be forced to hit every ball to the opposite field. If he pulls the ball, he should drop and do 30 push ups.

David, we need you down the stretch. You are the best hitter on this club. Relax, get back to that Mike Piazza style of hitting and drive the ball to right center. When you start doing that again, you will make the Phillies and any other NL foe afraid to play against this team.