Q & A: The Mets and the World Baseball Classic
On Wednesday, in a post to Twitter, I asked fans the following question:
“What effect do you think the 2009 WBC had on the #Mets with regards to injuries, durability, player/team performance? Any? Some? None?”
The following were some of the responses given by fans:
@Ceetar Except Perez, which could’ve been prevented, I don’t think the WBC had any effect. It could’ve been positive.
@Matt_Pignataro All of the above, especially Ollie Perez.
@JasMollica None.. it didn’t affect Jeter or Rollins much.
@Chris02M a lot
@MetsGuide A very big impact.
@mets_girl The fact that the #Mets sent an MLB high 15 players to the WBC & then all the injuries can’t be JUST a coincidence.
In addition, MetsBlog’s Mike Nichols added:
@michealnichols None. Just bad luck.
I received an email from Metsblog reader Moshe Miller which he originally sent to the Mets beat reporters this past September, and with regards to players around baseball who either under performed in 2009 or landed on the disabled list, Moshe asked if the WBC might be a reasonable explanation for that.
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post thought this was a good theory, adding that this had been gaining credence as the season was progressing, while Ken Davidoff of Newsday believed while the WBC had been a factor for some players, such as Oliver Perez, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Matt Lindstrom, it wasn’t a factor for everyone.
…there is no real way to know whether or not the WBC is a key factor in player injuries or under performance, as there is SO MUCH that goes into why players either succeed or fail, including injury and age as well as the stadiums they play in at different points of the season coupled with the matchups they encounter…although with guys like Lindstrom, it’s very possible his arm injury was the result of lack of preparedness for competitive baseball, but for sure, holding the event in March undoubtedly alters a players off-season routine and it adds competitive games to the schedule during a time the players should be preparing to play virtually every day for six consecutive months, and that i believe takes its toll in one way or another…
…with regards to the situation surrounding Carlos Beltran and the Mets specifically, I think the issue is significant, simply because I think it’s impossible to not tie the fact they had such a bad rash of injuries take place with most of the players who participated in the tournament, and when you couple that with players who simply have bumps and bruises along the way or actually get injured on the field during the season, like Alex Cora and John Maine, it can lead to a lost year for players and the team, and then, questions have to arise about the necessity for these players to participate in a tournament before the regular season starts…now, the handling of their injuries is another story and obviously has less to do with the WBC and more to do with the fact management probably just wants these players who got injured to be back as soon as possible, and in the end, while their intentions i’m sure lie with the best interest of the player and the organization, i think they might have lost sight of what was ultimately important, which was their long term health…
…i very much respect the fact these players want to represent their country in international competition, and I am ALL for them participating and playing their hearts out, just not in March when their job is actually prepare to win a World Series with their respective clubs…for years, Major League Baseball has held a Japan All-Star tour which has sent prominent Major Leaguers to Japan to compete with the best Japanese players, but this has always taken place in November, which I feel is a more appropriate time for an exhibition…
