Following today’s game, GM Omar Minaya reported that OF Moises Alou tore his right hamstring while diving for a ball last night in a rehab game. Minaya said that if Alou decides to have surgery, he will miss the rest of the year. Minaya also stated OF Angel Pagan could make his return shortly after the All Star Break.

I think this is the end of the line for Alou. Get well soon Moises.

One of the main problems for the Mets this season has been the fact that the Mets’ bench players (or as Gary Cohen so affectionately calls them, “The Irregulars,”) have gotten a little too regular.

This is not exactly a new problem, considering the Mets’ outfield was also decimated in 2007. Moises Alou was missing in action from May 13 through July 26 that year and only played in 87 games. Before Alou was injured, Lastings Milledge was hurt in the minors, and he didn’t return until July 12. Endy Chavez lost nearly three months of his season after a base-running injury on June 6 in a forgettable game against the Phillies. A young, not-yet-ready Carlos Gomez started in their stead until July 12 when he too was injured, shelving him for two full months. Even Shawn Green had a short D.L. stint from May 29 - June 11.

This year, though, Alou has only played a mind-boggling 15 games, putting him on pace for a much lower total. Alou is also on his third disabled list trip of this season as the Mets hit the halfway mark. Angel Pagan was impressive in spring training and April, but he hasn’t seen action since May 12. Ryan Church finally returned today and hopefully he is handled with kids’ gloves. No whammies.

This has led to a plethora of players getting the opportunity at starting for the Mets in left field and right field this season. One could argue that many of them should not be starting a major league baseball game in 2008.

Distancing himself from the likes of Brady Clark, Abraham Nunez, and Gustavo Molina, Fernando Tatis actually made a contribution for the Mets in 2008. He’s tailed off since his start, but he is at least maintaining statistics good for a bench player. The key phrase in that sentence is bench player. It’s time for Tatis to stop getting starts and start being solely a right-handed bat off the bench. These 1-for-4 and 1-for-5 days aren’t helping much.

One of the strategies that Jerry Manuel said he’d employ as manager is to use the No. 2 hole to get guys going. I guess one of the main guys he meant when he said that was Marlon Anderson. Anderson has gotten two starts at the spot under Manuel and went 1-for-6. For some reason, Anderson is one of the guys the Mets view as a potential No. 2 hitter on some days. He’s 1-for-14 when in the No. 2 hole at an atrocious .071 clip. Currently, Anderson is batting .198 as just another left-handed bat on the Mets. As such, he probably shouldn’t even be on the team, let alone getting the occasional start.

Trot Nixon today added his name to the long list of Mets’ outfield injuries over the past two years. When the Mets traded for him, the move was mildly praised as everyone mused, “Intangibles! Nixon’s got ‘em!” Hopefully, he’s leading the team in grit and determination because he’s not leading the team in anything else. Admittedly, it’s a small sample size, but since the Mets acquired him on June 15, he’s batted .171. His lone saving grace was a solo shot he hit against the Rockies during a blowout. Oh, and he had a decent first game against Texas. Considering Nixon is a guy who is limited to outfield play, unlike some of the others, it’s probably best to cut the cord on this project.

The Andy Phillips move just doesn’t make sense for the Mets. For the Yankees, Phillips was known as a light-hitting defensive alternative, and outside of a half year with the Yankees in 2007, his stats match up with that. He did bat over .300 this season for the Reds’ Triple-A Louisville, but when called up to Cincinnati, he batted .143 in 21 at-bats. Since that Carlos Delgado platoon is never going to happen with anybody and since other guys can play first base, the Phillips move is puzzling.

With Church back, right field is hopefully taken care of. As far as left field goes, just starting Chavez every day isn’t such a bad idea. He hardly ever gets at-bats versus lefties, but what’s funny is he’s actually batting for a higher average. That’s obviously skewed, but Chavez’s average against lefties from 2005-2007 is actually .328 in 128 at-bats. Chavez is hitting about as well as any of “the irregulars,” and he’s certainly the best defensive outfielder of the bunch. Why not just start him in left field for the time being?

Strangely enough, the same thing is happening to Damion Easley this season. He’s batting .215 in 93 at-bats against righties and .333 in 42 at-bats against lefties. Like Chavez, Easley is hitting about as well as any of the “irregulars.” In a perfect world, he could be used as a utility infielder, starting whenever someone in the infield is out. Unfortunately, Luis Castillo has been too injured for that.

Going into the season, the Mets’ outfield looked like a strength, actually. Pagan was slated as a hot-hitting No. 4 outfielder, and Chavez was actually the Mets’ No. 5. Who knew all these guys would end up getting time?

Bart Hubbuch of the NY Post’s Mets Blog is reporting that Jose Valentin has called it quits for the remainder of the season.

The 38-year-old infielder called the team Friday night from Triple-A New Orleans and said he plans to take the rest of the season off.

Valentin, cited chronic pain from elbow and neck injuries for his decision to depart the Zephyrs.

In other injury news Adam Rubin of the Daily News is reporting that Angel Pagan may need shoulder surgery and Fernando Martinez is scheduled to return from his hamstring injury tomorrow.

After an outstanding spring training and a productive start to the regular season, it is hard to deny the impact Angel Pagan can have as a key utility outfielder for the Mets, much like Endy Chavez. And also like Chavez, Pagan’s injury could set him back a bit.

With everyone healthy, the Mets have some of the best outfield depth in the majors, a corps that relegates Pagan and Chavez to bench roles. During many Mets games, opposing teams’ announcers will single out Chavez as a player with an arm, some even suggesting he has a better one than Carlos Beltran. That is definitely hyperbole. While Chavez is a better-than-average fielder, Beltran is a gold glover, making some difficult catches in the field look easy with his expert route running and timing.

But then what causes announcers to make that distinction about Chavez, an occasional starter but still largely a bench player and defensive replacement? All Mets fans know the answer to this question. It’s a little thing known as “The Catch,” the amazing grab Chavez pulled off against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series. It was the baseball playoffs on national television, and Chavez’s national reputation was born from there.

Chavez experienced a renaissance when coming to the Mets. In 2003 and 2004, Chavez was very mediocre as a starting outfielder for the Montreal Expos. He batted .251 in 2003 with 5 HR, 47 R.B.I. and 18 SB. In 2004, he improved a bit, batting .277 with 5 HR, 34 R.B.I. and 32 SB. Chavez spent 2005 largely as a bench player for the Philadelphia Phillies, and he struggled mightily with the transition to pinch hitting, batting a paltry .216 in 98 at-bats.

Chavez settled into the role much more nicely in 2006, hitting better down the stretch and capping off the year with his famous HR robbery of Scott Rolen. He rode that high into 2007, never batting below .300 until June 2, and that’s including several starts. Just days later, Chavez injured his hamstring trying to break up a double play on June 6 against the Phillies.

Chavez didn’t return until August 28, and he hit inconsistently to finish the season. He’s struggled mightily at the plate in 2008, spending much of the season thus far with an average below the Mendoza line, despite already amassing 84 at-bats. One could argue that his inconsistency could come from sporadic playing time, but that is the daily grind of bench players. Chavez was a successful one in 2006 and half of 2007 but has mostly struggled this season.

Four years younger than Chavez, Pagan has less experience, but the similarities are a bit disturbing. He was average at best in limited at-bats in 2006 and 2007 with the Cubs, which led to him landing on the Mets. He then became the hero of April for the team before tailing off around when Moises Alou returned from the disabled list. He then suffered an injury on May 12 that has kept him out of action for nearly three weeks and potentially much longer.

Perhaps it’s too early to make such a comparison, but when Mets Blog relayed a tidbit from Adam Rubin’s New York Daily News blog, one might immediately think of Chavez upon reading. Rubin said in his June 3 entry that since Pagan cannot bat from the right side of the plate yet, he may not be close to returning from injury. It reminds of the postponements in Chavez’s recovery, which led to him losing almost three months of his 2007 season.

Pagan was a player that made Alou’s first stint on the disabled list in 2008 bearable. Since Pagan was already hurt when Alou landed on the D.L. a second time, the Mets were forced to give more starts to Chavez, Marlon Anderson, Fernando Tatis, Nick Evans and the like. Those injuries, coupled with Ryan Church being out of action, made the Mets outfield a nasty patchwork of mix-and-match options.

The Mets need Pagan back in lieu of a stronger contingency plan for the frequent losses of Alou, a man who should definitely not be re-signed no matter how well he hits down the stretch. Unfortunately, even when Pagan eventually returns, he may have to endure the same struggles as Chavez has.

The Mets made some roster moves today…

Courtesy of Metsblog.

The Demoted:

• P Nelson Figueroa
• P Jorge Sosa

The Promoted/Activated:

• P Claudio Vargas
• P Matt Wise
• IF Fernando Tatis

The DLed:

• OF Angel Pagan

Vargas, not Adam Bostick, will start tomorrow’s game…