Dog Days of June

By John "Metstradamus" Coppinger
Posted Friday, June 8, 2007

Is it time to panic quite yet?

I mean, I’ve been unusually positive so far this season. The Mets, despite what Jimmy Rollins may say, are the best team in the National League East. It says so on the most important piece of paper there is: the standings, on which our Mets are still head and shoulders above everybody else. Other teams we can name that are of close proximity to Queens have a hill to climb that is a lot tougher than the one we have here. So there has really been no reason for me to want to jump off a tall building proclaiming that the sky is falling.

Until now, that is.

This recent stretch of four losses in five games has got me a little worried. I’m worried not so much because the Mets lost two out of three to the very talented Arizona Diamondbacks. And not even so much losing the first two games to the Phillies…even though the team couldn’t get a key hit, and the supposed strength of the team known as the bullpen has given the Phillies two wins that, really, after they kicked the ball around on Tuesday and Wednesday, don’t deserve (but the Mets deserve much less).

No, I’m worried because this schedule in June is a killer. Starting tonight, it’s the A.L. champion Detroit Tigers, whose presence on the schedule only serves to remind Met fans how the World Series should have looked. Then, it’s the L.A. Dodgers who are 34-24 and a half game out in the N.L. West. And then, guess what? Why it’s the Yankees in the Bronx! Another series where you throw out the records (why, oh why) with the crowds trying to get their Yankees fired up. Then it’s back to Shea for the Twins and Athletics before finally getting somewhat of a break with St. Louis coming to town.

Damn, when do the Indians, Red Sox, and 1993 Blue Jays come to town?

I don’t mean to get all cliché on you folks, but when it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter who the Mets play…because when they’re playing the ball that they’re known for playing, they can beat anybody. When they’re playing the ball they’re playing now, they’re in big trouble. Not to mention that when they’re losing outfielders as frequently as Lindsay Lohan goes into rehab, we have serious problems.

And I don’t want to blame it all on injuries, but I wonder if we all can appreciate Shawn Green now that he’s gone. We know now the difference between having Green in the lineup and having Carlos Gomez and Ben Johnson in the lineup. It isn’t so much about production as it is about the mere threat of production. A Mets lineup that has Moises Alou batting sixth, Shawn Green batting seventh and Jose Valentin batting eighth is impossible to negotiate. This is in stark contrast to a lineup that has Ruben Gotay, Ben Johnson, and Carlos Gomez at the end of the order. Comparatively, those three are a water fountain in the middle of the Sahara, leaving more energy for the pitcher to face the rest of the desert. We’ve always heard that the Mets lineup is greater than the sum of its parts. Well, less parts, less sum. It’s as simple as that.

With June being as tough as it is, it would be nice to have all those guys back. And it looks like they’re all very close. And with the rest of June looming, it’s a welcome relief. But until they’re all in uniform, I reserve my right to look up at the sky and wonder why it looks like it’s caving in.
 

And until the sky does finally cave in, I’ll be cowering under the table in the little shack known as The Musings and Prophecies of Metstradamus. Come on in and join me for a cold drink, but find your own table or bed to hide under.