Bruised, battered and broken

A quiz: How many of the Mets’ opening day starters have spent time on the disabled list? Well, as of tonight, it’s five — add Carlos Beltran to the list. Only Luis Castillo, Daniel Murphy and David Wright have stayed healthy — and Murphy lost his leftfield job because he proved to be an awful outfielder.

Three important pitchers — starters Oliver Perez and John Maine and setup man JJ Putz — also are out of commission.

In addition to starting shortstop Jose Reyes, second-stringer Alex Cora and third-string shortstop Ramon Martinez have been on the shelf.

They’re still above .500, but if they don’t get healthy they won’t be for long.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet