Time to expand the active rosters?

As a Met fan, I have been overwhelmed by the frequency, severity, and impact of injuries this year to top players such as David Wright, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Lucas Duda, Steven Matz, Travis d'Arnaud, and Yoenis Cespedes. 

While many baseball analysts have focused on the impact of better testing for strenghth-enhancing substances that build muscle and confidence, I have long wondered about the less-noticed impact of testing for amphetamines. 

Baseball players have used various forms of speed for decades to handle the daily grind of a baseball season. It helps with focus and decreases fatigue, one of the major causes of injury. 

Given that the Mets are just one of many teams getting decimated by injuries, maybe it's time to finally add one or two players to each team's active roster. Owners will object, perhaps, because that's another $1 million or so per year on the payroll. 

What is that loss compared to all the lost playing time for the game's stars?

Other viable options are shortening the regular season to the historical 154 games, shortening spring training, or going back to allowing some types of speed. 

What do you think?

Porcelain Dolls, Why Do They Keep Breaking?

Again TC is babying a young player. Last year he refused to move Flores off SS even though it made no sense to play Tejada at 3B, because it would be too much to ask of Flores. Now, Flores is struggling with the adjustment to being a utility IF, which is his obvious role on this team and could have been last year. 

Conforto has volunteered to try 1B. Why not let him practice the position and at least see what he looks like. Why make a blanket statement? I'm so tired of watching MLB teams treat players like porcelain dolls. 

If TC really won't try Conforto, how about Granderson? The guy plays fundamentally sound defense, is a great team player/leader, has a poor arm, and is an aging player with only 1.7 years left on his contract. 

Really, just buy a box of righty and lefty 1B mitts and toss them around the clubhouse. 4-6 weeks of Duda-free baseball requires more than Eric Campbell and Wilmer Flores to chip in.

Not to mention the need for a semi-regular 3B to keep Wright fresh. Mets, please be active instead of dragging your feet for a change.

The Blown Statistic

It has bothered me for years that a relief pitcher could get a blown save in the six inning, even though he had no chance to stay in the game long enough to get a save. 

Then last night, Jeurys Familia, the dominant Mets' closer, blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning, and did not get charged with a blown save, because it was not a save situation. 

It is time for some statistical redefinition. If you are a relief pitcher and you allow the tying run to score, you should be charged with a blown lead, regardless of the score or inning. 

When a reliever enters the game with a lead, his statistical possibilities would be:

hold

save

blown lead

none 

I would also like the Hold Rule to be amended to allow the official scorer to withhold a hold (dehold?) if the pitcher was ineffective. I have seen pitching lines where a reliever came in with a three run lead, and proceeded to allow two runs in less than one inning. If the team wins, it is in spite of that performance, not because of it. 

Dark Knight of the Soul

If you are a super hero, your job is to handle adversity. To solve problems, stop the bad guys, and save the world. 

Not unlike pitching. So congratulations, Matt Harvey, AKA The Dark Knight of Gotham, you have finally experienced the kind of personal challenges that most people have gone through, although not in front of so many people, many of whom have no compassion for you. 

This is a time for deep introspection. To go away and find your Yoda. To stop trying harder and learn to try softer. To make this game fun for you again. 

Your problem is not one that can be solved by pitching again in five days for the Mets. You need to step away from the glare for a bit and start over one small step at a time. 

Don't fight it. Surrender to the process of stripping away the false self and discovering the authentic man underneath. Find your humility, friend. 

The only way to become the Dark Knight again is to surrender to your Dark Knight of the Soul. Be humble, ask for help from those wiser and more experienced than you, such as Bartolo Colon. 

Let go of the trappings of fame and power, and focus only on being your highest self. Control is an illusion. The only thing you need to control is your next pitch, whether it is in Port St. Lucie or Columbia, South Carolina. 

Many Met fans have compassion for you now. Be grateful for your life, and surrender the illusion of control. You will be back, better than ever. 

Wilmer Flores Rehabs

I like and appreciate Flores as much as anyone. However, he needs to adjust to being a utility infielder both in the field and at the plate. The Mets obviously see him as the 3B of the future and a good deal of the present, and he needs to produce.

TJ Rivera plays all four IF positions, and has hit at every level in the minors. If he was already on the 40 man roster, he would probably be in the Mets instead of Reynolds or Campbell right now. 

Mets have very little depth at 3B in the farm system. The best prospects are in the low minors, and none are sure things.

How creative will the Mets be if/when Wright ends up on the DL or even retires?

Alejandro De Aza Volunteers to Play 1B

Good for De Aza to step up. A few more players need to follow suit and try some new positions. Cespedes in RF, Wright at 1B, Conforto and/or Granderson at 1B, Conforto in RF. 

And how about Walker and eventually d'Arnaud at 3B? Walker has played 3B in the past, so it may be relatively smooth. 

Don't want to see any more games with Reynolds and Campbell at the infield corners! We were a Mayberry Jr, away from the (re)cycle.

Happy Harvey Options

Matt Harvey is discombobulated. Is it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual? Yes. It's definitely one or more of those things. So what's a team to do? Here are the options, with pros and cons:

DL (cons: he gets upset, he doesn't pitch for the Mets for 15 days, Boras will keep talking. pros: gets time to regroup, gets away from NY media, team can replace him, he doesn't pitch for the Mets for 15 days.)

Skip a start (cons: he gets upset, can't be replaced on roster, someone else has to start, Boras will keep talking. pros: has a little time to regroup, someone else gets to start.)

Send him down: (cons: he gets very upset, he doesn't start for the Mets for at least ten days, Boras will keep talking. pros: he can be replaced, he has time to regroup, he gets away from NY media, someone else gets to start.)

Keep sending him out there, including against the Nationals next week (cons: no one will be able to watch, probably get hammered again, Boras will keep talking. pros: he doesn't get upset until during the game and getting upset causes stress.)

The Mets are considering skipping a start. Not the worst option, but not the best either. He needs a longer break and some mental and physical space, so I would DL him with the dreaded "dead arm."