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Are the Mets Cursed?

Back to baseball….

mets_injuries.jpg

As my three year old son asked me yet again yesterday, “Daddy, tell me about David Wright”, it occurred to me that the Mets might actually be cursed. If not cursed per se, then is it possible that they are having the absolutely worst run of injury luck for any major league baseball team ever? So far this season, they have lost to injuries:

  • Their four best position players: All Stars David Wright (3b) Jose Reyes (ss) Carlos Beltran (cf) and Carlos Delgado (1b)
  • Two of the five original members of their starting rotation: John Maine, Oliver Perez
  • Two highly touted rookies called up to replace injured startes: Jonathan Niese (p, who hurt himself covering first base) and Fernando Martinez (of, although he was kind of a bust this year anyways).
  • A big off season trade acquisition in the bullpen: closer-turned-set up man: J.J Putz

And just to top it off, their starting second baseman, Luis Castillo, hurt himself walking down the dugout steps. Seriously, at this point the Mets injury report only lacks a catcher and a second baseman to be able to field one of the top teams in the National League.

So here’s the challenge: can anyone come up with a team that has been more decimated by injuries than the 2009 NY Mets? Please?

Posted by Joshua Tucker on August 20, 2009 11:30 AM |

Comments

They’ve been more than decimated if they’ve lost more than a 10th of their roster.

Posted by: Peter | August 20, 2009 01:20 PM

Surprisingly enough, yes. The 1996 Phillies placed 17 different players on the DL 23 times in all. 10 of those players were out for the for the season. Although salaries were not as high as they are now, the loss of most of their starting pitching staff (including Sid Fernandez and Curt Schilling) and All-Stars like Lenny Dykstra landed the highest paid Phillies on the DL.

And as for that curse, I’m tempted to embrace it, if only to lay the responsibility for two eerily similar collapses at the feet of the supernatural, not the NY Mets.

Posted by: Mariya | August 20, 2009 07:37 PM

The Cubs ain’t doing much better this year.

Posted by: Eric | August 21, 2009 01:27 AM

And now a game-ending unassisted triple play.

Posted by: Lee Sigelman | August 23, 2009 07:14 PM

“Surprisingly enough, yes.” Spoke too soon.

Posted by: Mariya | August 26, 2009 01:05 PM