Unfortunately for the Metropolitans, the most feared bat in their lineup in Carlos Delgado, will be out until late July at the earliest.
Daniel Murphy is no longer the starting left fielder, Church is no longer the starting right fielder, and no one knows when Brian Schneider will be back (and to be honest, it doesn't seem like many people care when he will be back).
The only fortunate thing for the Mets, is their pitching staff has not been hurting at this time, it's just been the offensive players.
And while Church and Murphy are not hurt, they don't seem to be on the best of terms with skipper Jerry Manuel. Church certainly didn't help his cause by missing third base as the lead run in the 11th on Monday night.
The past three games, the Mets have been rather sluggish—and making big mistakes. Right after winning 12-of-15. Why? Of course Delgado being out of the lineup has an impact. But I think there's a bigger one:
Lack of lineup consistency.
And what exactly does that mean? It means the Mets at the current time do not have a starting left fielder, right fielder, first baseman, or catcher. I don't think the idea of having someone different out there everyday is fair to the players, the overall goal of the team, and especially the fans.
I think Jerry Manuel needs to go into his locker room, in front of all 25 guys, and say: "You're my starting catcher until otherwise stated.... You're my starting right fielder until otherwise stated.." etc.
As stated before, the four positions are catcher, first base, left and right field. The best options:
Catcher: Ramon Castro. Omir Santos is starting to come back down to Earth a little bit. Not to mention, Castro is money while hitting with runners on base, hitting .323 with runners on base, .368 with RISP.
First base: Daniel Murphy. Let's finally see him there, okay, Jerry? He's way too good of a pure hitter to not be in this lineup every single day. And he's a natural infielder, so the ground balls will not pose a problem.
Left field: Gary Sheffield. He can still start three out of four days, which makes him good enough to be my starting left fielder. Helps fill the power void with Delgado out.
Right field: Ryan Church. He's hit in every game he's been able to start lately. Also has a hell of an arm, just ask Yunel Escobar. Keep him out there, his hitting ability and arm make him viable to keep his job.
That makes our everyday lineup:
SS Reyes
2B Castillo
3B Wright
LF Sheffield
CF Beltran
1B Murphy
RF Church
C Castro
Pitcher
And that's not that bad.
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