Can the Mets make a run at the NL Wild Card?

Let’s face it the New York Mets have had a miserable 2009 MLB campaign. While they opened a new stadium this year, Citi Field, and had one of the best looking teams on paper heading into the year success has been slow to follow. With a rash of injuries, and some bizarre behavior displayed by their front office the Mets are looking to get a few of their injured players back, and determine if it is too late to make a run at the National League Wild Card spot.

Currently the Mets sit 9.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in their own division. Since the Phillies added Pitcher Cliff Lee, and are now the team to beat in the NL it seems unlikely that the Mets could mount a significant charge at the division crown. Now the Mets are 7.5 games behind in the Wild Card race, and with the glut of good teams in front of them it seems as unlikely that the Mets could mount a charge on that goal either.

This is not all the fault of the front office, or the coaching staff. The Mets are been completely derailed due to injuries. Their disabled list reads like a all star game lineup. Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Ramon Martinez, JJ Putz, Billy Wagner, and Fernando Martinez are all on the current 15 day DL.

While the Mets expect to get many of these players back by mid August it seems that this will be too late for the 2009 Mets to make a run at a playoff spot.