Trying to Stay Positive as a Mets Fan

Last night's game was a great pitching performance all around, but it's hard to get excited about Mets baseball after last week's let down and a serious lack of wins since the All Star break. However, I'm trying to look at the glass half full and find a few things to stay positive about at least for today:

• Mike Pelfrey looked fantastic on the mound...his pitching was good too.
• The Mets haven't lost a game in two consecutive days.
• All winning streaks start with 1 win.
• The Rockies are a team that's worse with runners in scoring position than the Mets.
• Pray Rod has pitched consecutive 1-2-3 9th innings his last two starts and pigs are flying over NYC.
• Jeff Francoeur is unbelievably consistent...he swings at every first pitch.
• The Phillies got spanked.
• Yesterday's starting lineup consisted of 8 players who came up in the Mets farm system.
• The Mets are finally starting to man up and sit players who can't perform regardless of contract size.

 The last point is my favorite. It's about time the Mets starting putting the play on the field as the preeminent indicator of who deserves to be marched out there every day. If that means the kids play, so be it. It's signings like Castillo, Perez and Cora that have put us in a bind the last two seasons with injuries and inconsistencies.

I welcome the chance for the kids from the farm to see what they can do. This year is done for the New York Mets so let's start planning the right way for the future.

Dark Cloud or Sunny Outlook for the Mets?

Welcome to the All Star break. Last year at this time the Mets were on a roll winning 8 straight heading into the All Star game. This year the Mets limp into the break (both literally and figuratively) but find themselves only 4 games out of the top spot in the NL East.

I want to be positive about this team's performance so far, but part of me is waiting for the dark cloud to settle in. 2010 has been a surprise for me based on the moves the Mets did or didn't make during the off season, the fact that two starting pitchers have done absolutely nothing this year, and Jason Bay looks like Jeromy Burnitz at the plate.

So there are two sides to the Mets outlook for the future. Let's take a look at the top issues from both perspectives.

Starting Pitching
Sunny Outlook: Dickey has become a legit #4 starter. Niese is fantastic. Santana is a second half guy. Perez is banished to the minors.

Dark Cloud: Pelfrey is plummeting. Mets missed out on Cliff Lee. No way Dickey can sustain this level of play. Omar is going to bring up Perez if Dickey falters.

Jason Bay
Sunny Outlook: His second half can't get any worse than the first half!
Dark Cloud: He's this year's David Wright of 2009.

NL East Standings
Sunny Outlook: Mets are only 4 games back. Phils are hurt. Atlanta can't be this dominant all season.
Dark Cloud: 11 game West coast road trip to start the second half will bury the Mets.

Carlos Beltran
Sunny Outlook: Beltran is back this week!
Dark Cloud: Beltran won't return to be the Beltran of yesteryear, and he'll cause issues with Pagan and Francoeur platooning.

Jose Reyes
Sunny Outlook: Reyes has been the comeback player of the year so far.
Dark Cloud: Reyes' injury will hamper him for the next month or so.

Bullpen
Sunny Outlook: We have K-Rod.
Dark Cloud: We have Pray Rod.

Statistics Prove the Fall of KRod

ESPNNewYork.com has put together a statistical analysis of the fall of KRod (hence making him Pray Rod). Hitters are batting an unbelievable .340 on balls in play, meaning that basically anytime a ball is hit that's in fair territory KRod is getting tagged.

The article goes on to show his velocity is down 4-5 mph and his control is off as well. The analysis is saddening, but it's a truth the Mets have to address. See the chart below for more.

KRod - Last 5 Seasons

	06	07	08	09	10
In zone pct	48.9	46.7	48.0	48.7	52.0
Miss pct	32.3	34.4	31.6	30.1	29.1
BB pct	9.5	12.2	12.0	12.9	9.1
BABIP	.288	.301	.303	.256	.340

The Mets Have a Problem and His Name is Pray Rod

A 3 run lead in the 8th inning against the perennial bottom dwelling Nationals should be enough to seal a win for the Mets, but that was not the case on Saturday afternoon.

RA Dickey outpitched universal phenom Stephen Strasburg,but has absolutely nothing to show for it. Parnell gave up what appeared to be a harmless run to make it a 5-3 game only to have Pray Rod enter victoriously in the 9th to blow it.

Pray Rod was in mid season form out there walking the first batter he faced on 4 pitches and proceed through the inning without any semblance of control. The crazy thing is a 2 run lead with your closer should make you feel pretty good about your chances of winning. Not so much with Pray Rod. He has an uncanny ability to make the most comfortable of margins appear slim. He appears to be bouncing his fastball at least once an appearance and hangs his offspeed pitches high in the zone.

In summary, he's becoming worthless. Tell me what Pray Rod offers that Parnell, Feliciano, Dessens or Igarashi don't? What makes Pray Rod so worthy to be the Mets closer? Nothing.

But his contract, his career and his attitude make him the de facto option and thus he continues the Mets long history of closers who have a knack of crumbling when you need them most.

Jerry Manuel keeps whining about the Mets need for an 8th inning guy. Jerry, maybe the problem isn't the 8th inning. The Mets now have 10 walkoff losses on the season. Do the math Jerry.

But for now Mets fans, get on your knees and pray when #75 enters the game. It's our only hope for a favorable outcome.

No Doubter from Davis for the W

In the bottom of the 11th inning, there was no doubt the Mets were going to win this battle. Ike Davis demolished a fastball well into the second deck of the right field stands to cap off yet another heroic home victory.

I honestly thought Angel Pagan's triple just an inning earlier was going to end it, but Davis' shot was an absolute no doubter.

Mike Pelfrey made the rare feat of going 9 innings with no walks and no win to show for it. Pelfrey was on target tonight. He got into some trouble, but always seemed to find a way to get out of it. In a miracle to beat all miracles, Pray Rod pitched an uneventful 10th inning and looked like he had the most command that I've ever seen from him while in a Mets uniform.

This was a fun game to watch as Pelfrey was on his game and to see Reyes tie it up with a homer and then watch the team celebrate with Davis was just baseball at its best.

A win for Santana tomorrow is the only thing I can think of that would be better.

The Boostrap Mets

Sunday's game should have been a loss. In fact last year I would have guaranteed a loss when the Mets found themselves down 5-0 after Takahashi gave up his second homer of the game to Cody Ross. But what a difference a year makes.

This team has a "pull 'em up by the bootstrap" mentality. They fight. They claw. They don't give up. Sure Freddy Gonzalez's questionable moves, namely the short leash he gave Ricky Nolasco, helped open the doors for a Mets rally but the guys still had to put the ball in play.

Everyone in the lineup contributed to this comeback, save for Reyes. Franceour had the clutch home run of the year tying the game at 6, but Wright, Ike, Barajas, Cora, Bay and Pagan all had a hand in this W. The 8th inning was a microcosm of what a difference the 2010 season is from 2009. Pagan leads off with a single. Pagan runs on a 2-2 pitch to Bay which Bay slaps for a single allowing Pagan to move to third. Davis hits into a DP but Pagan scores.

Go ahead run. Game winning run.

Sure Pray Rod and his arsenal of theatrics made the 9th inning more than interesting, but in the end it's a W in the books and a revenge sweep of the Fish.

The best part is Pelfrey pitches the next game and for the first time in a long time I have confidence that a streak will continue.

Don't Panic But Mets Look Good

Try not to get anxious. Let's not panic just yet, but the Mets look pretty good of late. The team is mixing the right ingredients together at just the right time to put together a winning recipe in this wide open National League.

Timely hitting? Check. Sound defense? Check. Solid starting pitching? Check. Reliable bullpen? Check. Speed on the base paths? Check.

Over the last four games the Mets have done everything right. I can't point to a single glaring mistake, other than Pray Rod's 9th inning histrionics against the Yanks on Sunday, that this team has made over this stretch. Everybody appears to be getting hot at the same time.

But we're Mets fans. We know the other shoe must fall. That this can't last forever. That right now everyone is red hot which means everyone will be ice cold in a matter of days. Or does it?

This is a team that has lost 3 starting pitchers, has their top power hitting free agent with only 3 home runs and their best hitter leading the world in strikeouts. The Mets should be irrelevant. They should be getting blown out. They should be struggling to put more than 2 runs on the scoreboard.

But somehow they're resilient. I want this run to last. I want this team to make me forget about the letdowns of yesteryear. They don't have me there quite yet, but I can see the potential.

A sweep of the Phils would go a long way.