Thames, N. Johnson, Nady, some insurance please. Easier said then done, but do it. Delgado will bat .250 with 24 HR this year, if he even makes it to 150+ games.

delgado needs glasses

well - with the acquisition of santana and then all these injuries the whole thing seems to be 2 steps forward 1 step back (ok maybe 5 steps forward 2 steps back…) we always seem to have some injures, its just the number that worries me. El Duque, Delgado, Beltran, Easley, Anderson, Gotay, Church, Chavez. Thats 8 out of 25 or almost 1/3 of our likely opening day roster who aren’t playing/practicing right now because of some injury or recovery or other. Even though only 4 of them are starters, and 3 of those guys (Delgado Beltran Church) probably will be playing when the season starts, its hard not to be a little concerned…

This didn’t seem to be a concern by many fans in the offseason, much like Delgado’s minor hand surgery last offseason. We paid dearly for Delgado’s inability to hit anything on the inside of the plate as his bat speed, possibly brought on by the hand injury, declined. When Delgado did hit the ball it was into the shift. His offensive disappearance for a month at a time cost the Mets the division. Other factors did too, Reyes’ second half production drop-off, Glavine getting blown up in game 162, Randolph’s mishandling of the bullpen, Guermo Mota for simply existing. But none more consistently than Delgado’s suckage. And now Carlos Beltran’s “minor” knee surgery has David Lennon of Newsday reporting this:

“Beltran shagged fly balls yesterday, but there’s one hitch: He can run in a straight line, but stopping is a challenge. And he can’t plant his feet to make a throw.”

I’ve seen a couple of reports about thames. the guy has a sick HR to AB ratio, one of the best in the game. he doesn’t hit for high average but it isn’t like I expect high average out of Delgado anyway. The Tigers need bullpen help. Maybe Schoenweiss and a portion of his contract for Thames. Or Jorge Sosa?

Thames can handle the corner outfield and 1b. He can platoon versus lefties in RF for Church. or start when Alou goes down. or when Endy is playing for Beltran’s fragile legs in CF, Thames could definately take LF. Or when Delgado is out cuz of thehip, or against lefties there too.

Delgado went 0 for 4 from the tee with three strike outs and a pop out.

Here is where Willie really hurts the Mets. Instead of sensibly carrying 11 pitchers and allowing an extra position player on the roster, the Mets need 12 pitchers to try and cover for Willie’s inability to manage a staff.

As of right now, Church and Delgado lack adequate backups.