Co-Captains for Mets Given Reduced Roles, Take Them Differently

If these are the final days of the New York Mets’ careers of Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter, the co-captains are going out quietly.

Their bats, in the rare times when called upon, are silent. Their leadership is muted. The Mets are fighting to stay alive in the pennant race, and Hernandez and Carter are left to do little more than just watch.

Hernandez has accepted his reduced role with resignation. He was stunned to see his name in the lineup Wednesday night. “I was mentally prepared to pinch hit the rest of the season,” he said.

With Carter, the bitterness shows. If indeed the Mets choose to retain neither of them, then the unofficial transition of this team took place Sept. 3. After a 4-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants, Mets Manager Davey Johnson called Darryl Strawberry into his office and asked him to show leadership.

“I guess he went to Straw and pleaded to him,” Carter said. “I guess he got down on his hands and knees and said, ‘I need you.’ Instead of going to one of the co-captains, he goes to Darryl. That’s his decision. He has his own prerogative to do whatever he wants. But to single a guy out ... What he should have done was invited everybody in. It’s not just me. Other guys felt slighted.”

Since then, the Mets are 5-5, Strawberry has hit .194 (6 for 31) and Hernandez has started four times and Carter only twice.

Hernandez and Carter have combined to hit .208 in 327 at-bats, with four homers and 24 RBI. Since they returned from major injuries--Hernandez, a broken kneecap, and Carter, a torn knee ligament--they have hit .198 without a homer and with only seven RBI in 131 at-bats.

The captains’ power has been stripped. Realizing that, Carter put on that telling show in the clubhouse in Philadelphia Wednesday night. When he heard Strawberry was out of the lineup because of back pain, he clutched his heart in mock horror and exclaimed, “Oh, no! Our leader went down!”

“I have a total of 50 at-bats since I came back,” said Carter, who returned July 25. “If that’s a chance, then I tend to disagree. I fought my way to come back and was told I’d be given an opportunity. I haven’t been given that chance.”

Carter has complained to Johnson about his playing time several times, including one 40-minute meeting in San Diego Aug. 26. He said he was finished trying to persuade the manager to play him.

“No more,” Carter said. “I’ve run out of breath trying. He hasn’t said boo to me since. There’s just no communication.”

Carter recalled a day in San Francisco when, assuming he wasn’t playing again, he worked out hard before the game. After Carter finished riding a stationary bike for 23 minutes, “One of the guys says to me, ‘You’re in there,’ ” Carter said. “Then (Johnson) said he was going with the veterans. The next day I went from being the No. 1 catcher to the No. 4 catcher.”

Johnson is playing Dave Magadan instead of Hernandez and Barry Lyons instead of Carter because he believes, in each case, those players have better skills. The bottom line is the manager believes the lineup that has the best chance to win does not include his co-captains as the Mets, who are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for second place, try to overcome their 5 1/2-game deficit to the first-place Chicago Cubs in the National League East.

Privately, Johnson is personally troubled by that decision. Even if it is the right move in his mind, he is finding it difficult to sit Hernandez and Carter because “they’ve done so much for this team, for New York, for me.”

“If he’s felt that way,” Carter said, “he certainly hasn’t shared it with me. I’ve not felt it. That hasn’t been expressed.”

Hernandez said he sees no need to speak with Johnson. “I can sit here and sulk and be a negative influence,” Hernandez said. “But I’m not going to do that. I understand what Davey is doing. I missed a lot of the season. I’m not sharp.”

The injuries to Hernandez and Carter have made it more difficult for the Mets to judge how much baseball each has left. The club is likely to decide before the end of the World Series--when the free-agent filing period begins--whether they want them back. Hernandez will turn 36 next month. Carter will be 36 in April.

“Playing in New York is great,” Hernandez said. “But it wears on you. Would I be happy playing part-time, having to watch and pinch hit at this stage of my career? I’m getting a taste of it now. It’s a tough job. The toughest job in baseball. It’s tough getting any kind of consistency. It would be a big adjustment.

“It’s not the right time to think about it. We’re not out of this thing. If we can get to 3 1/2 (back) by the time we go to Chicago (Monday), sweep them and get to 1 1/2, we’ll be right back in the hunt. After the season, then I’ll think about all my options, whether I want to be a role player, a pinch hitter, a guy who comes in for defense. When the time comes, I’ll make that decision.”

Said Carter, “I’ve been a starting player for 14 years. All of a sudden I’m thrown into a reserve role. It can be accepted, but I really don’t know if I’m ready for that.

“I really don’t know what their plans are. They certainly haven’t given me any indication. It’s just a matter of wait and see. I can play the waiting game.”