Mets bad luck… or is it poor decisions?

The injury bug has plagued the New York Mets once again.

We’re not even a month into the season yet and the majority of this team has landed themselves on the disabled list at least once. To make matters even worse, our biggest bat Yoenis Cespedes and our ace Noah Syndergaard are currently both on it.

Welp.

Yes, injuries are bad luck. That’s not a secret. But, this can’t just be a case of bad luck. There has got to be more to the story. I’m not one to believe in coincidences at all.

Last year’s injuries were out of control, and from the looks of this season, we’re following suit quite well.

Which raises the question, how does Ray Ramirez still have a job?

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No, I’m not going to use this as solely a Ramirez rant… because it’s the Mets fault as well. The organization seems to not be communicating well with its players, in many different aspects.

First there was Steven Matz and his strained flexor tendon that the Mets didn’t even know about. He was not diagnosed by the team’s doctors, and Matz himself was the one who revealed this injury to the public (and evidently to his organization as well).

Then there was Cespedes, who is videoed bending over in agony during batting practice last Wednesday… and yet still played. We all know how that turned out on Thursday afternoon when he left the game early, and landed himself on the DL.

Didn’t see the video? Here it is.

This is on top of the fact that Cespedes returned to the team without fully recovering from his “left hamstring cramp” — sorry, that wasn’t the injury? That’s what the Mets had told us it was because more miscommunication, of course.

We all know how badly Cespedes wants to be on the field playing, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was back in the lineup because he wanted to be. But it should be the organization’s determination of if the player is ready and healthy enough to be out there, not the player’s. Decisions should be made on the team’s best interest… and of course taking into account the full health of the player.

Which brings us to Syndergaard.

Thor. Our ace. The one we all thought would be untouchable. We were wrong, as Syndergaard is now on the DL as well due to a torn lat muscle, with no timetable for return.

This comes just days after his start against the Braves last Thursday afternoon was scratched due to a “tired arm.” The team wanted to send him for an MRI (which would have been the responsible thing to do) but, Syndergaard said he didn’t need one. And instead of the team insisting that he had to go get one, they took his word for it. The Mets let him start on Sunday… and he made it to the second inning.

Should Syndergaard have gotten the MRI after his first start was scratched? Yes, he should have. But, on top of all this, should the Mets have insisted he got one? Yes, they should have. I know during Monday night’s game Gary Cohen stated that the players are in charge of their own medical decisions, but still, you have to imagine that the team has major influence.

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These are just three examples — all within the past couple of weeks. It’s not just bad luck that is contributing to the Mets so far this season, it’s poor decisions and poor management as well. It’s miscommunication between the organization and it’s players — and it’s the organization not taking charge when it should.