A brutal weekend that saw the Mets drop nine games back in the wild card race and 10 behind the Phillies, more or less proves that reaching the playoffs are a nearly impossible task. Regardless of mathematical analysis, the mere act of adding Bobby Parnell to the starting rotation suggests the Mets are looking to 2010.
Now, I was no math star in high school. While the study of theorems first came up in geometry, I was busy writing the epic comic Joe the Leper, a stick figure who would comment wryly on events of the day until his arms fell off.
But does it not logically follow that if we now know the Mets are not a playoff team, the unMets -- the group of Mets who have been disabled this season -- are a playoff team?
Let's take a look. My only rule for joining the UnMets roster is that the player had to miss time due to injury during the 2009 season.
2009 UnMets Lineup
C Brian Schneider
1B Carlos Delgado
2B Alex Cora
3B Ramon Martinez
SS Jose Reyes
LF Gary Sheffield
CF Carlos Beltran
RF Ryan Church
Bench: Angel Pagan, Argenis Reyes, Fernando Martinez
A strong team, without a doubt. Obviously, the big hole is at third base -- David Wright's decision not to get injured in 2009 is arguably the missing piece to the UnMets' running away with the National League.
The team not only has depth in the lineup, but flexibility as well. Should better range and defense be desired late in games, Argenis Reyes is available to replace Alex Cora. With Oliver Perez, the most extreme fly ball pitcher on the UnMets, on the mound, Angel Pagan replaces Gary Sheffield for a truly impressive defensive outfield.
The UnMets even have a stronger right fielder than the Mets do. Despite the lovefest for Jeff Francoeur, he has posted a .776 OPS with the Mets in 101 at-bats, drawing just three walks. If this were roughly the average performance one could expect from Francoeur, he'd have been a solid pickup. However, this is best-base scenario; his normal performance has often been far, far worse.
Meanwhile, Church has an .844 OPS with the Braves. While this is a small sample, it does mean Church has outperformed Francoeur during the following periods: 2009 since the trade, 2009 prior to the trade, 2008, 2007, and over both of their entire careers. The UnMets made a wise move holding on to Church.
Too bad Ramon Castro, dealt because of his injury-prone nature and inability to handle pitchers, didn't get hurt in 2009, making him ineligible for the UnMets. Instead he managed to catch the 18th perfect game in Major League history for the White Sox. A shame -he'd be a perfect catcher for the UnMets.
Starting rotation, UnMets
SP Oliver Perez
SP John Maine
SP Jon Niese
SP Fernando Nieve
SP Tim Redding
Make no mistake about it, the UnMets don't have the same depth in the starting rotation that they have in the lineup and bullpen. But there are plenty of mitigating factors that should make this a reasonably competent unit.
In Oliver Perez, the UnMets have a solid top-of-the-rotation starter. How do I figure? In 2008, Perez took 12 starts to get going, then possessed a 3.56 ERA over his final 22 starts. In 2009, Perez has made 11 starts and only in his most recent outing did he look like that pitcher the Mets thought they were signing. Pretty clearly, those other starts Perez provided in 2008 haven't been for the Mets, but the UnMets where Perez has been worth every penny of the three-year, $36 million contract.
As for John Maine, the combination of his 2008 and 2009 makes for a pretty solid rotation member: 201 2/3 innings, 4.28 ERA. Jon Niese pitched to a 4.21 ERA before going down, Fernando Nieve to a 2.95 ERA, and Tim Redding-well, we'd hope that UnMets prospects Brad Holt and Jenrry Mejia, both of whom have also suffered injuries in 2009, could push him for the fifth spot.
Bullpen, UnMets
RP Billy Wagner
RP J.J. Putz
RP Carlos Muniz
RP Dillon Gee
RP Tom Martin
RP Brad Holt
RP Jenry Mejia
One of the reasons the 2009 UnMets are such a difficult matchup is their shutdown bullpen. A healthy, reconstructed Billy Wagner and bone-chip-free J.J. Putz give the UnMets an eight- and ninth-inning bridge, a righty-lefty combo reminiscent of McDowell-Orosco. Carlos Muniz is solid enough in the seventh, and Holt and Mejia are another pair of high-intensity fastball pitchers to throw at teams late in games.
Gee, a control artist, had a 42-to-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 48 1/3 innings for Buffalo before being lost for the season. He'd have been a good long-relief option. As for Tom Martin, his multiple injuries allow him to slot in as the lefty specialist-just another example of the astoundingly good luck the UnMets have enjoyed in 2009.
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