The Citi Field Cat Takes Its Latest Victim

After all this time being the sole representative of the so-called "core of four" not to miss time due to an injury, David Wright has now joined shortstop Jose Reyes, centerfielder Carlos Beltran and first baseman Carlos Delgado in the walking wounded category.

As you probably already know, during the fourth inning of Saturday's 5-4, 10-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants, David Wright was hit near the left ear flap of his batting helmet by a Matt Cain fastball, estimated to be traveling at 93 MPH. He was given a CT scan and was diagnosed with a concussion. Although he was released from the hospital Sunday morning, he will continue to be monitored for his PCS (post-concussion symptoms). As a result, the Mets placed Wright on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his career. He will be eligible to come off the DL on September 1.

The Citi Field Cat from Opening Day has now claimed every position player from the Opening Day lineup except Daniel Murphy. All of the other everyday players have either spent time on the DL or missed games due to injuries, with the most recent being Luis Castillo when he missed four games after falling down the Citi Field dugout steps. If Murphy is to survive the rest of the season uninjured, he should recruit some help to rid the Mets of the Curse of the Citi Field Cat. There are a few candidates to consider for the job, including Muttley and Underdog.













Muttley was intereviewed by Murphy for the job, but was immediately rejected once Murphy conducted a background check. Muttley was discovered to have been affiliated with the Really Rottens, a team of mischievous criminals whose main purpose was to foil the Yogi Yahooeys and the Scooby Doobies in order to earn gold medals in the Laff-A-Lympics.

In addition to his affiliation with the Really Rottens, he was also spotted often in the company of Dick Dastardly. Together, they were spotted in their "flying machines" trying to stop a messenger pigeon, which they failed to do repeatedly. If Muttley could not stop the pigeon, what chance would he have of capturing the Citi Field Cat? REJECTED!

Underdog was a different story. Murphy found his qualifications to be excellent and was impressed by how affable he was. His many years of service as a superhero appeared to make him a fine choice to take on the cursed cat. Unfortunately, right before Murphy could say "you're hired", he came across one minor detail about our costumed canine that was going to cause a problem.

You see, Underdog tended to speak in rhymes. When he entered the interview room, he greeted Murphy with his trademark "never fear, Underdog is here". This wouldn't have been a problem, except that the cat who cursed the Mets has been named the Citi Kitty. Murphy was afraid that Underdog would side with the cat because of his rhyming name. REJECTED!

That only left one candidate to consider. Since he was the only one left who came in for the job, he was immediately hired. Who will now be protecting Daniel Murphy from the so-called Citi Kitty?

That's right, Mets fans! McGruff the Crime Dog is now on the job! With him on the job, no cat would dare enter the field. Daniel Murphy will be spared the fates suffered by Wright, Reyes, Beltran and Delgado.

McGruff's résumé includes speaking against the use of drugs and bullying. He also has spoken about safety and encourages kids to stay in school. Now he is given the daunting task of keeping fellow Irishman Daniel Murphy on the field. (McGruff is an Irish name, right?)


Once McGruff does what Muttley and Underdog were not hired to do, Citi Field can be a player-friendly ballpark again. The cat doesn't stand a chance against McGruff. Let's just hope that while he's searching for the cat, he doesn't come across Shake Shack in center field. If he does, he might be taking a bite out of a Shake Shack burger when he should be taking a bite out of crime.

Kiti Field Photo/Graphic by Metstradamus