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March 9, 2008

Team Health Reports

New York Mets

by Will Carroll

The Facts
Head Trainer: Ray Ramirez
Player Days Lost: 1,087
Dollars Lost: $23.27 million
Three-Year Rank: 21

In light of current events, you might expect that this report has changed a bit since we first ran the numbers... or has it? The Mets' injury situation is certainly one that reminds us of that of the Yankees last year, but I'm hardly the only one to notice that. I may, however, be the only one that noticed that the Yankees ended up OK last year. Does that mean that Mets fans should step away from the ledge, and that it's better to be injured earlier in the season?

The answer is yes, Mets fans shouldn't get carried away with despair, because the answer to the second part will help Mets fans feel a little better about their fates and fortunes. While an injury is never good, and having the depth to cover for it always is, there's no real pattern in the data to account for the timing of an injury. Chase Utley's going down didn't slow the Phillies' pennant pursuit, the loss of a significant portion of the Rockies rotation actually improved it*, and while injuries aren't all random, there is a randomness to their distribution. What a grouping of injuries tests for the Mets (or any other team) is its depth and the resources of its medical staff.

So, the issue for the Mets isn't the number of injuries, but is instead what they do well and not so well. This organization sees a double bias in the rankings, one that leads to the disconnect with their reputation within the game. Ray Ramirez and his staff have to handle a number of accepted risks by GM Omar Minaya, and are responsible for players like Moises Alou, Luis Castillo, and Pedro Martinez, but those risks are taken in part because of the excellent reputation for rehab work by Ramirez and his crew. The addition last year of Chris Correnti, Martinez's personal rehab coordinator (and a big reason the Red Sox got their first ring this century) has only added to that capability. Because of this tolerance for risk that is the product of a solid relationship with the front office, the Mets see more days on the DL than one would expect, but unlike many teams, they don't look to cook the books.

This acceptance and its part in the construction of their roster prevent them from being too high in the rankings here, but the team is more interested in bringing home a World Series trophy than a Dick Martin Award. There's a point at which a team can take injuries, a "bend but not break" mentality in the training room that's built on depth and a bit of a Moneyball-esque injury arbitrage. Whether the risks they've taken will range past the breaking point remains to be seen.