The Mets officially announced that Lucas Duda has been shut down from baseball activities for another 30 days because his back is still cracked. The stress fractures haven’t quite healed. Well that’s that. Duda’s season is over. Toss another body in the pile. I suppose this will temporarily silence the raging Loney vs. Duda debate on #MetsTwitter. Or maybe the injury will increase the chatter among the fan base? I don’t know. I don’t care.

It’s crazy to me that fans are genuinely split regarding which player is “better”. Obviously I’m on team Duda because Lucas is a more productive offensive player. That’s a fact. As Poppie once said on Seinfeld, “On this issue there can be no debate!” He hits more home runs and gets on base at a higher clip. James Loney has done a nice job filling in and has a steady glove, but he’s not on Duda’s level offensively. The advanced metrics don’t even tell that glowing of a tale about Loney’s glove. Although I fully acknowledge he’s very good at scooping all those horrendous throws from our infielders at first base.

All that being said, I’m really on team health. I am so sick of the stench of death that surrounds this ball club. Do healthy players exist? Can we fire Ray Ramirez and the training staff and hire a team of experts who are capable of pinpointing the healthiest players in the sport? I only want those players on the roster. If they can use sabermetrics and advanced stats to identify the most productive players, there must be some combination of math and science skills that will help us bring in talented players while simultaneously maximizing the health of the roster. It has to be possible.

I have a feeling this Duda injury is endangering his future with the team. I mentioned it in my game recap this morning, but Gary Cohen was talking about non-tendering Duda last night in the booth. That’s insane. If the Mets are dead set on getting rid of him, they at least have to tender Duda a contract and then try and trade him. So much for that long-term deal talk. Remember when the Mets supposedly put that on the table? Good luck getting paid now Lucas.

Judging by the Daniel Murphy/Dilson Herrera situation, I’m guessing this is how first base plays out. After the 2017 season (or maybe even this season) we will let Lucas Duda walk, and the front office will hard sell first base prospect Dominic Smith as the heir apparent. Then we’ll bring in some mook to hold the job the following year and halfway through that season we’ll trade Smith at the deadline. We’ll probably package him with a pitching prospect and trade him to the Braves for Kelly Johnson.

So much for my 2016 dream of having the Neanderthal brothers Lucas Duda and Jay Bruce in the same lineup. RIP Lucas. Send our regards to the rest of the dead Mets hanging at the morgue (Port St. Lucie).