Depth is Good

Well, not too much can be said about this past weekend. Losing a series for only the 5th time this year is still a tough pill to swallow. But, at least the Braves lost yesterday, so the lead stays at 3.5 games. One thing the Mets have in their favor is depth, though at the moment, that is being stretched thin.

Now, I know other teams have been beset by numerous injuries. The key though is that those teams do not have the depth the Mets have. Take a look at the guys who have missed significant time this year who were on the roster on Opening Day:

Alou
Green
Valentin
Beltran

You are talking about your starting second baseman, plus the entire outfield. Alou is apparently not coming back this week. Green is hopefully back against the Tigers as soon as he is eligible to be activated. Beltran claims he may be back tomorrow, but since he feels pain batting right handed, he may sit out against the lefty Moyer. Valentin is apparently close to coming back, as he will start his rehab game stint this week.

In their places, the Mets have played Endy, a top flight 4th outfielder, who would start on a hell of a lot of teams (though I still think he is best suited as a backup), Easley, who has had some key hits, Ben Johnson this past week has played a bit, and Carlos Gomez, a 22 year old kid who has looked lost at times at the plate, Gotay, who is starting to come around with the bat (sorry A-Hern, your not coming up till you learn how to hit). Not to mention the fact that Easley played left field one game, Julio Franco had to play 3rd Friday night in place of Wright, Newhan has played (I do not think he is good by the way). Add to all of that the fact that Delgado has not totally turned it on, and Wright has had his ups and downs, and you would think that they would be hard pressed to be in the running for the Wild Card, much less leading the NL East. Omar did a brilliant job for the most part constructing his bench. The only "weak" links would be Newhan and Franco. Franco has trouble catching up to a good fastball at this point. He is a great leader, but he is not someone who can be counted on in a key situation against a good pitcher. Newhan is someone who may not be counted on against pretty much anyone. I know, he has had a couple of good games, but he is not consistent enough for my tastes. Then again, if the biggest complaints I have are about a couple of spare parts, I should probably just shut up.

I'm not going to get all pissed about this weekend. They played totally short-handed, yet still took a game against an extremely hot team. Perez battled yesterday without his best stuff, and still only gave up 2 runs. Maine pitched well on Friday, allowing only 2 runs in 6 innings. Sosa was very good again on Saturday. The rotation is damn good. Now if we can get some of our bats back, and Delgado can get consistently hot, we can do some damage. June is a tough month schedule wise. Take a look

Phillies (3)
@ Detroit (3)
@ Dodgers (3)
off day 6/14
@ Yankees (3)
Twins (3)
off day 6/21
A's (3)
St. Louis (4)
@ Phillies (4)
@ Colorado (3)
@ Houston (4)

The next off day is the All-Star Break, starting July 9 after the Astros series. So they have over 2 weeks straight of games. The open the 2nd half with 4 at home against the Reds.

The back-ups are going to get their share of games in the coming month. Let's hope they are up to the task. And let's hope Green can come back hitting as he was, and that Alou can heal up. Maybe Milledge can be ready at some point if needed, assuming his foot injury has healed.

The good news, tomorrow Pedro throws from the mound in a bullpen session. I can't wait to hear how he looks. I would love to get him back in August. What a shot in the arm he will give the rotation at that point. What an embarrassment of riches. Glavine, El Duque, Perez, Maine, Sosa and Pedro. Wow.