Down and Out?

What hope do the new-look Mets have of recapturing the hearts of their disenchanted fans with such poor fortune so early in the season? Having lost Orlando Hernandez, Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church, Moises Alou, and Carlos Delgado in the spring, fantasy free-agent Mets are quickly becoming draft-day flat-tires.

1. Moises Alou was declared out for 4-6 weeks today with a hernia.
2. Delgado is coping with a right hip imingement, proving the recalcitrance of his hip woes and giving fantasy owners little hope of seeing him surmount 500 at-bats.
3. Carlos Beltran is having issues with his surgically repaired knees - so don't hold your breath on a return to 30 steals.
4. Ryan Church suffered a "grade 2" concussion after a spring training collusion chasing a fly ball.
5. Orlando Hernandez had foot surgery and is still not season-ready at this point in spring.

There are a bevy of additional Mets of lesser fantasy interest following suit and riding the pine, injured. While not an advocate of avoiding an entire team because of the misfortune of a few - it si hard to imagine a fast start for David Wright or Jose Reyes with little else around them that qualifies as protection. Exercise caution in drafting presently injured Mets since players like Alou, Delgado, and Beltran may miss considerably more time than anticipated throughout the season. Happy drafting and auctioning.