NY's NL This Week

By jrhippe

Three losses in a row, four wins in a row.

That was this past week for the New York Mets, but the current four game winning streak and sweep of the Rockies is not the big news.

With the team's number one pitcher already on the disabled list, number two may be out for the rest of the season. Lefthander Tom Glavine (12-6, 3.92) has a suspected blood clot in his pitching shoulder, which could spell the end to not only his season, but his Hall of Fame career.

After a start in Philadelphia last week, Glavine felt on a finger on his pitching arm was cold -- a symptom of a blood clot. At time of publishing, he is still scheduled to receive a CT Scan and an angiogram on his arm and more specifically shoulder.

If the results of the tests come back positive, he'll require surgery ending his season and maybe last week's loss against the Phillies will be his last ever start. It is worth noting that Glavine has never been on the DL in his 20 years in baseball.

What does this mean for the Mets? If he's out for the remainder of the season, the rotation for September would look like Hernandez, Trachsel, Maine, Bannister and a call-up, like Pelfrey again. With such a large lead in the division and now league, neither seem at risk, however this setback would significantly hurt the team's chances at a deep run in the playoffs. Glavine has the experience of postseason baseball and would sorely be missed in October as he would love to get a second ring.

Nothing is for sure yet regarding required surgery and this finger coldness in the finger could turn out to be something else altogther. Who knows? We'll have to wait for the results before jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge.

Now a quick recap of the week that was on the diamond:

The Mets were slashed in their first three games in Philadelphia being outscored 27-4 (13-0, 11-4, 3-0), which including Martinez giving up six runs in the first inning on Monday and having to be put on the disabled list again this season. New York salvaged a win on Thursday. The team continued to roll with their second consecutive three game sweep at home defeating Colorado. Hernandez pitched six innings on Sunday giving up five hits and no runs. Billy Wagner saved all three games to bump his total up to 31 on the season.

BASE HITS
- This past weekend featured a celebration of the 1986 Mets World Series championship. It included an elaborate ceremony before Saturday night's game, which can be seen here.
- The Mets also wore their 1986 jerseys on Saturday and Sunday to honour the last championship team in Queens.
- Here's another reminder of the three fans votes that are going on from MLB: Carlos Beltran is a candidate for NL Comeback Player of the Year, David Wright is the team's rep for the Hank Aaron Award and pick a classic Met in the Hometown Heroes promotion.

ON DECK
- The nine game homestand continues with three games against the National League's number two team, the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite falling behind recently, the NL Central leaders can still catch the Mets for home field advantage in the playoffs.
- A weekend series against the Phillies. They just played a week ago and destroyed the Mets in Philadelphia taking three of four. How will New York respond?

NY's NL This Week is a regular feature here at YankeesSuck.com, appearing on Mondays.

Questions, comments, conundrums, concerns? email: jrhippe@canada.com

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