Mets First Half Report Card = B-

Don't you just hate a B-. It's like the professor thought you deserved a C, but because of your past history in class he/she gave you the lowest possible grade that's still somewhat acceptable.

That to me sums up the Mets first half of the season as we head into the All Star break. Remember April? Besides the 20 rainouts, Alou & Green we're both in the top 10 in batting in the NL. How far we've come in 2 months.

Of course injuries have played a major part of the season. Chavez, Alou, Green, Perez, Sosa, El Duque, Valentin, Gomez, & Beltran all saw time on the DL.

There were some great stretches like sweeping the World champion Cardinals to open the season at Busch Stadium. And then there were down times like the entire month of June.

The pessimist in me doesn't like the way things are going. We're not beating teams were supposed to be (a.k.a. Colorado Rockies), and we're not coming back to win games. If our starting pitching doesn't keep the opponent under 3 runs, we're in trouble.

The optimist in me looks at all the injuries, the losing streaks, the inability to beat the Braves, the eternal slump of Delgado and says "Hey, we're still in first place!"

Amazing. Two things need to happen in order for the Mets to hold onto their perch atop the NL East. First they need to start hitting with runners in scoring position, especially with 2 outs. Over the last month the Mets are batting below the Mendoza line with runners in scoring position and 2 outs. Champions come through in the clutch.

The second thing is the bullpen needs to improve. I don't care if it's through a trade or if the existing crew just man's up, but the bullpen needs to be strong. I'm not asking them to be perfect, but they need to be as good as they were last year. You heard me, Blowenweiss.

Enjoy the All Star Game and be thankful David Wright is not in the home run derby. Let's sweep the Reds later this week. Let's Go Mets.