Obviously, RBIs are a poor way to compare one player with another, but I think they’re a very fair way to judge a player’s contribution to a team which is what I’m doing here.

While it’s true that RBIs are a stat of opportunity, you can’t say that Wright has had more opportunities than last year or the year before. Indeed the team’s current OBP is lower than the last two years. So most likely his chances for RBIs this year are lower. Yet he’s on pace for the most RBIs in his career.

First off, I never said Wright was hitting “well against righties.” My point is that to imply he was a total failure against them the way Tiffany did is “absurd.” He is after all leading the club in RBIs vs. righties. So at the very least, he is getting the job done against righties when it counts. And, overall his stats are fine. If he’s hitting lower against righties this year, he’s made up for it with better performance against lefties.

You want triple slash stats, Keith? I’ll use OPS which incorporates triple slash stats because it’s simpler. Here is Wright’s OPS for this year, for the first half of last year, and for his career:

.882 (2008)
.879 (1st half 2007)
.917 (career)

So, he’s hitting a tad better than the first half of last year, and he’s just 4% off his career OPS.

Bottom line: Wright is not a major issue on this club when it comes to the offense. Nor is Reyes. Beltran can do better, but he is what he is—a very streaky hitter from month to month who nevertheless usually ends up with good numbers at he end of the year. Plus, he also is currently just 4% off his career OPS.

If everyone were hitting no worse than 96% of their career OPS and/or contributing RBIs close to their career norms, this team would be in a lot better shape. Wright, Reyes and Beltran are all doing that. Delgado and Alou aren’t even close.

I couldn’t disagree more. Especially in regards to Pedro and Delgado.

Send me the custard-filled ones.

And even if what you say turns out to be true, that is irrelevant. No one is saying these players will turn out to be all-stars. Not even Flores. The point is that all are good, serviceable major league players who could have helped the club the last few years and the next few, supplanting older, creakier, more expensive, and in some cases less productive players.

That’s true with some organizations, but not with all. I think Omar’s AAA teams have taken top honors in recent years for stocking it with useless flotsam like Gerald Williams and Ricky Ledee.

Sure. But after 3-1/2 years, you’d expect more than just F-Mart at AA. Can you even name one promising player at high from the international market?

Really only Pelfrey made the jump almost straight from AA. And he’s the exception to the rule.

Who cares what his splits are? The bottom line is he is on pace to drive in the most RBIs of his career. But you’re worrying about his split or about how clubs may pitch him in the future? Unreal.

Huh? Wright has 24 RBIs against righthanders right now. He leads the team in RBIs vs. righthanders. I don’t know where you’re coming from. It’s bizarre.

LOL, that’s what streaky hitters do. They have good months and bad months. Beltran has been a streaky hitter almost his entire career. And name a Met who hasn’t had bad months at the plate the last 3 years? Bottom line—Beltran is close to his career norms in terms of offensive production.

Yup, and many have conceded that those expectations might have been too high for him. Maybe what we’re seeing from him this year is his talent level.

But they are producing. And I just proved it by showing all are either currently above or at their career norms.

And I disagree with you about both Delgado and Alou. Especially Delgado. Both were still supposed to be key parts of the offense. Delagado is still supposed to be a big bopper in their lineup. He’s only a pipsqueak now.

And as proof, many fans, even on this blog, projected Delgado to have a year closer to 2006 than 2007. I think even JD thought that.

RBIs win games. More than HRs. More than OBP. And besides, as pointed out, Reyes is above his career average for OBP.

Also, as already mentioned, your “Wright can no longer hit righties” spiel is way out of left field. He’s leading the club in production vs. righties.

How about Alou, Delgado, El Duque, Castillo and Pedro? How much production have the Mets gotten out of them? Their creakiness is Omar’s fault.

No, he went wrong here: Bannister, Flores, Bell, Lindstrom, Owens, and Keppinger. How are the returns on those players doing?

Why are there so many retreads at AAA? Do you think Omar will ever have it in his heart to part with some of that AAA flotsam so he can promote one of those three guys at Bingo? Or Niese? That Martinez kid sure does seem to get hurt a lot.

Omar has been here 3-1/2 years. There is not one single prospect at AA or AAA who he’s acquired ready to help the club right now. Unless you count Murphy. But Omar’s regime rarely if ever lets players jump from AA to Shea.

I don’t think it’s much hyperbole, Keith. They constitute a “large portion” because they were supposed to be your #2 and #4 starters and one of the big righty bats in the lineup. And the rotation was supposed to be the Mets’ strong point.

Yes, he made the choice to divert more of his resources to Latin America. But as you mention, that entails a longer development time. So a smart GM would not have left the high minors so barren in the meantime. And can you name anyone besides F-Mart who appears promising and even close to the majors from his international recruiting?

There’s a way to get around that by offering players who leave arbitration. It’s the way the Red Sox have been able to keep their early round picks while still signing free agents. It’s called: “Don’t sign so many aged broken down players who you can’t offer arbitration to.” And you get this nifty side benefit to that strategy—more productive players who don’t spend most of the year on the DL.

Leaning heavily on free agency is becoming more and more a bankrupt strategy. That’s because a lot of the best talent these days is signed to long extensions by the teams who developed them. And the talent that remains can command more dollars and years than they are usually worth. Clubs then become tied to long underperforming contracts that weigh the team down.

This Mets team hasn’t come together like Omar envisioned it because Omar has this blind spot when it comes to aging veterans. Even given the FA and trade route, he didn’t need to saddle the team with so many aging creaky veterans all at once.

Oh no? Wright has a .900 OPS. He’s on pace for 126 RBIs which would be the most of his career. What were you expecting instead?

There’s too much pressure on Wright now to carry the burden and so expectations have been raised. But IMO, he’s performing up to the level he’s been at in the past.

Beltran has always been a streaky hitter. But right now he’s on pace for 104 RBIs and an .832 OPS. This is not too far off from the production he’s given the last two years and is very close to his career norms.

Reyes is on pace for 71 RBIs which would be the second highest total of his career. And his OBP is slightly above his career average.

I think because of the pronounced struggles of Deglado and the prolonged absence of Alou, expectations and pressures have been raised on all the other hitters. And we’re viewing their current performance through the prism of these raised expectations and the disappointments of the season. That’s not really fair.

Since Wright is on pace to put up the most RBIs of his career … and Beltran and Reyes are close to their career highs in RBIs, it’s a big stretch to say they are the cause of the team’s offensive woes. Especially when these 2 black holes—Delgado’s struggles and Alou’s absence—are staring us all right in the face.

Even though Church, Wright, Reyes and Beltran as a group are producing roughly to expectations or even a little above, these 4 are no match for the Phillies and Braves lineups. I don’t even think it’s close. But it wouldn’t be too bad if the Mets’ supposed strength, starting pitching, weren’t so watered down by the absence of El Duque and Pedro. Or, of course, if Delgado and Alou weren’t so creaky.