New York Mets Remaining Players Have To Carry The Load

First-it was Zack Wheeler and Josh Edgin who both required Tommy John Surgery to repair a torn UCL (Edgin-Bone Chip in UCL), discovered during spring training.

Then, the projected closer, Jenrry Mejia, who felt elbow stiffness and was placed on the DL-April 7th, was suspended 80 games for using performance enhancing drugs.

From that same bullpen, Vic Black is currently progressing through a Double-A rehab assignment, recovering from right shoulder tendinitis.

Even without the men listed above, the New York Mets got off to a hot start, and claimed an early lead in the National League East, currently 11-3 on the 2015 MLB season, which unfortunately came with a price.

In their series-clinching game against the Miami Marlins, a 7-6 win which capped off a 4-game sweep, the Met's lost reliever and lefty-specialist, Jeremy Blevins-in the 7th, on a Dee Gordon come-backer which fractured his left forearm and Travis D'Arnaud later in that inning on a hit-by-pitch.

And add "The Captain", well, our captain, David Wright, who was off to a torrid start-hitting .333, with a homer and four rbi's, who found himself on the DL, just last week with a mild right hamstring strain.

In the third week of the season, the Met's, the 2015 Met's, whose off-season's theme centered around an organization moving in the right direction, minus the last eight years, due to an abundance of young and live arms, a revamped farm-system and a mixture of veterans and young position players will face their toughest test of the season, now.

Will they survive?

It's pretty obvious that the Met's have put the National League East on notice, early this season and I'm pretty sure the baseball experts and analyst did not pick the Met's as the division leaders, despite this small sample size.

Even still, here we are, and the Met's, currently on a nine-game winning streak, a feat they haven't accomplished since the 1985 season, with their 7-1 win against the Atlanta Braves last night (first game of a three game set), will have to do what is necessary to remain on top until the cavalry arrives.

The Met's will have to rely on a select few of individuals to offset the injuries and of course persevere collectively.

One of those individuals is the no.2 prospect in the Met's farm system and the no.6 overall catching prospect according to MLB.com's, 2015 Prospect Watch: Top 10 Catchers, by Jim Callis, in Kevin Plawecki, who has been optioned up to fill in the void and become the everyday catcher, with Anthony Recker remaining as the back-up.

In his major league debut against the Braves, Plawecki caught a one-run game thrown by Jon Niese, who picked up his second win of the year, while collecting two hits and scoring twice.

It’s exactly the type of debut that gives the fans, the Met's and their front office the confidence that Plawecki can perform in D'Arnaud's absence.

Plawecki contributed to the win, added to the momentum and did it all in his first game in the big leagues, looking like he's been there before.

"It's special, we’re here to win, I'm just happy to be a part of it and happy to be along for the ride," Plawecki said post-game to SNY's Steve Gelbs.

Like Plawecki, who has to step up and be the everyday catcher, Alex Torres has to step up and become a player he was not destined to be, at least for the start of this season.

Torres was brought here from the San Diego Padres to give the Met's lefty insurance out of the bullpen, along with Blevins who was acquired for the same role in the aftermath of Edgin's season ending injury.

And now with Blevins out for the foreseeable future, Torres has to claim that role, something he is not used to doing, but tonight, with his protective hat and all, Torres relieved Eric Goeddel in the bottom of the 7th, and with two men on-base, struck out Freddie Freeman after falling behind in the count to end the inning.

That was big.

Another name that has to perform and or continue to perform is Eric Campbell, the versatile utility-man optioned up from Triple-A Las Vegas last week to fill-in at third-base.

Since his call-up, Campbell has responded picking up five hits in his first eighteen at-bats of the season, three rbi's and seven runs-scored, including two runs scored in the Met's 7-1 win over the Braves.

The Met's don't need Campbell to be Wright but to be the best version of Campbell he can be and so far, his exploits at the plate, on-base and on the field will do.

Continuing on the bases, position players like Curtis Granderson, Michael Cuddyer and Lucas Duda have to lead this squad until some of the core players return.

They are veterans and fortunately for the Mets, all three haven gotten off to great starts.

Granderson, placed at the top of the order, leading-off, which almost seemed like a terrible call by manager Terry Collins, has paid off for the Mets, as Granderson has gotten on-base with consistency (leading the league in walks-12) as well as come-through with the bat like he did tonight.

Granderson picked up three-hits in five at-bats, driving in four runs.

That has to continue.

Although Duda went hitless in this game, to start the season, the first-basemen has arguably become the Met's best hitter leading the team in batting average, .327 and second in rbi's in eight.

Also must continue.

And Cuddyer is actually in a three-way (Granderson, Duda other two) tie with runs-scored in eight.

You know the rest.

It doesn't hurt that Juan Lagares, a gold-glove honoree and Wilmer Flores, a capable short-stop are finally joining the party at the plate.

We all know what the starting pitching will bring so there's no reason to further their praise, but I will anyway.

In the Met's 11 wins presently, the pitching staff of Bartolo Colon, Jacob DeGrom, Matt Harvey, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee, along with the bullpen have limited teams to three-runs or less including four, one-run games and a shut-out.

Harvey and Colon lead the league in strikeouts per walk, 24.00 and 18.00 respectively and Jeurys Familia, who is the closer replacing Mejia, is in a tie with Atlanta's Jason Grilli for the most saves thus far in six.

I believe the Met's can continue this trend.

They just have to continue to pitch well, hit in critical spots and avoid additional injuries to anyone else.

In other words, they just have to play survivor.

"Can't Stop, Won't Stop," seems enough of an appropriate title for this post due to the constant action the New York Mets are displaying, led by GM Sandy Alderson. The phrase "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" is more than a phrase used for motivation, it is also a novel, the title of an album by a group called The Maine and has served as the title for two songs from recording artists Usher and the Young Gunz. Now let's dive into what's significant and what is current at the moment. The Mets have agreed to a 2-year $20-million contract with free agent starting pitcher Bartolo Colon.

Toyota promotes the moving forward campaign and that's exactly what the Mets are executing. Met fans may miss Matt Harvey on the field in 2014; it is a tough steak to chew and digest. However, the signing of Colon has the potential to aid and provide the gravy we will need to digest that loss. Here's why: Colon, 40 years old (40 is the new 20 by the way, get over it) is coming off a year where he finished sixth in the AL CY Young voting. He also manufactured an All-Star appearance, an 18-6 record and a 2.65 ERA. Sounds good enough to me.

Colon was tested for PED's, suffering a suspension on August 22, 2012 for 50 games by the MLB police, who in the last decade has prioritized disinfecting MLB. Colon's resurgence with the New York Yankees, as Mr. Clean has only added to his stint with the Oakland Athletics, re-establishing his pitching prowess and his future with the Mets. This move further displays Alderson's understanding of the fan base and its desire to win now. He's fully taking on the challenge to resurrect the Mets franchise back to shades of 2006. Hopefully the addition of Colon relieves the Mets of finding a starter to replace Harvey while also fusing him with what's left of the starting rotation of Zack Wheeler, Dillon Gee and Jonathan Niese. The 5th spot in the rotation will now feature a competition between the likes of Jenrry Mejia, Carlos Torres and possibly farm-hand Rafael Montero. Colon's presence alone will have a positive impact on the next generation of arms that the Mets have at its disposal in a nurturing effect, with his pitching style in pounding the strike zone, which can influence many. Like Harvey's ascent to the majors, Colon's presence will provide enough time to thoroughly promote top pitching prospect Noah Syndergarrd to the big stage, a process which appeals to Alderson, as he very much dislikes rushing young talent.

All in all, the Mets are not done and they should not be satisfied with this recent player confirmation. The shortstop position must be addressed due to SS Ruben Tejada's inability to advance the ball past the infield. For positive momentum, as well as, finding a suitor to unload either 1B Ike Davis or Lucas Duda, preferably Davis, who has already uninspired and frustrated the fan base due to his struggles so early into his career. With OF's Chris Young, Curtis Granderson and now Colon in the mix, it sparks excitement to see who else we will welcome to the city that never sleeps. At this time, I guess the Mets are wide awake.