New York Mets

Everyday I lie in wait. Squirming at the HDTV in my house which plays ESPN, believing that a day will pass without hearing the name of another New York Met pulling up lame or contracting a peculiar strand of the flu.

I have previously mentioned in posts that I believe somewhere in a secret study, in a room hidden behind the 2008 championship trophy, Phillies GM Ruben Amato Jr is dressed in robes, decorated in face paint poking at voodoo dolls in certain Mets likenesses.

How much longer before he sticks a needle in David Wright's back?

At this juncture, there are not many of us that would trade places with Mets manager Jerry Manuel.

His team has been decimated by freak injuries and lingering illnesses to the point where they are out of major league-level players. The lineup these days looks like one out of an early March split-squad game.

The Mets last played the Nationals on May 25. The Mets had just taken two of three from the Red Sox and were fresh off a tough 12-5 loss. When the Nationals rolled into town, the New York did exactly what was needed by sweeping the series with ease.

Now it’s time for the Mets to do the same in hostile territory. It isn’t going to be easy with so many injuries piling up, but this is going to be a true test to see what the Mets are made of.

New York Mets at Washington Nationals; JJ Putz to have surgery

The first time the Mets played the Nationals, it was late April and the Mets were on a four game losing streak, coming home after getting swept in St. Louis. New York won the opener of that series and took two of three from the worst team in baseball.

The New York Mets announced that relief pitcher J.J. Putz will undergo surgery for a bone spur in his elbow. He will most likely miss the next eight to 12 weeks.

Putz started the season off strong, but began to lose consistency on his pitches through the last few weeks.

In 29 games, Putz has pitched himself to a 5.22 ERA with a record of 1-4. This is not what the Mets were expecting when they acquired Putz from the Seattle Mariners in a three-team deal in Dec. 2008.

With Jose Reyes, J.J. Putz, and Carlos Delgado out until August, it seems like the Mets will need a miracle in order to get ahead of the Phillies in the standings anytime soon.

But who says we need that miracle?

In my mind, the only day being in first really matters is the last day of the season, as us Mets fans have learned quite often the past couple seasons.  The key is to keep ground, and not let the Phillies get too far ahead. 

So the merry-go-round continues for the Mets, who seem to have had every ailment and injury known to man, as Ken Rosenthal broke the news that J.J. Putz will likely be sidelined eight to ten weeks after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow.

The news comes shortly after an MRI showed that Jose Reyes had a slight tear in his hamstring tendon that may keep him out a month.

With the Mets clubhouse looking more like an infirmary, officials might be starting to believe that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has various Mets player voodoo dolls.

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As if the news that J.J. Putz may need elbow surgery wasn’t bad enough. Now we learn from SNY Reporter Kevin Burkhardt via Twitter that Jose Reyes has a tear in his hamstring.

The Mets have not yet disclosed how long he will be out, however the word around the blogosphere is that he will be out until at least the All-Star break. Even then, one has to wonder how healthy Reyes will be, especially since speed and running are a huge part of his game.