September Should Be More Fun Than August
By Howard Megdal ~ September 8th, 2009. Filed under: Howard Megdal.
If there is a bright side to the remaining games in the Mets’ schedule, it is that they aren’t likely to be less entertaining than the August matchups. Between the return of David Wright, the scheduled comebacks of Carlos Beltran and John Maine, and the presence of Josh Thole, Tobi Stoner and Nick Evans, there are a multitude of reasons to tune in that simply didn’t exist a week ago-unless you were really excited to see Pat Misch start.
In Wright and Beltran, the Mets can deploy a pair of stars to help make that trip through the New York lineup a little less Cory Sullivan-dependent. Recent home runs aside, that has to be considered a good thing.
Maine’s start, currently scheduled for Sunday, will be a fascinating one. If Maine manages to pitch well in September, he has to be in the team’s plans for 2010. But given his difficulties staying healthy for a full season, the Mets also need to have a backup plan for him.
Whether that backup plan can be Tobi Stoner remains to be seen. It is incumbent upon the Mets to let Stoner start, and get a sense of him at the major league level. Surely, Tim Redding and Pat Misch can’t be important enough cogs in the future plan to earn starting nods over Stoner.
As for Josh Thole, there is a player who needs to play every day. The idea of platooning him with Omir Santos, when Thole has displayed no platoon split in the minor leagues, is ludicrous. Getting the most playing time under Thole’s belt is the key- only Thole, not Santos, can be a viable major league starter at catcher. Omir Santos was a sub-.700 OPS minor league hitter, and he is a sub-.700 OPS major league hitter. That he is durable is great, to a point- it means the Mets can lock in that below-average performance. Only if the alternative is Brian Schneider should this be considered a good thing.
Also, what Mike touched on earlier today should be repeated: how is it possible that the Mets think Cory Sullivan is a better use of September at-bats than Nick Evans? Even if he isn’t in the plans, let him perhaps catch fire and develop Mike Jacobs-style trade value!
Regardless, there is meaning in the September games- some life, after an August as lifeless as any I can remember in recent Mets history.
