Mets Fans, Let's Remember When...

The calendar has turned to July. Be gone June. A 9-18 record in June has found the Mets below .500, riddled with injuries and looking more like the Bad News Bears than a big league club.

It's times like these that make reflecting back on the good ol' days so much more painful enjoyable. Do you remember when...

-Daniel Murphy was our every day left fielder?
-We had a lockdown 8th and 9th inning?
-Reyes used to get on base and score without the Mets getting a hit?
-Omar Minaya talked about defense being so important?
-Gary Sheffield wasn't on the Mets?
-The thought of walking a pitcher was laughable?
-The thought of Johan Santana walking a pitcher was ludicrous?
-Fernando Tatis was decent?
-Ryan Church batted 6th in the order?
-Angel Pagan was alive?
-Signing Oliver Perez was the "smarter choice" than signing Derek Lowe?
-John Maine was looked at as our #2 starter?
-Carlos Delgado played first base?
-You wanted Fernando Martinez to play because he had the potential for greatness?
-Alex Cora was just a backup?
-We used to win series?
-You thought this year was when the Mets were going to make the playoffs?

July is a welcome sight. It can't get any worse than June...right?

Hope vs Reality: The Mets Sworn Enemies

Hope: The Mets can hang on until at least one of their All Star bats can return from injury.
Reality: The Mets won't win a series before that happens.

Hope: David Wright can be more consistent.
Reality: David Wright will never be consistent this season with all the turmoil around this team.

Hope: That replacement pitchers like Redding and Nieve can keep the Mets in games.
Reality: Replacement pitchers like Redding and Nieve can't be relied upon.

Hope: Johan Santana will save us from having this losing streak continue.
Reality: The Mets will struggle to score one run for him today.

Hope: Omar Minaya can make a trade to help this team immediately.
Reality: The Mets need a fantasy baseball league draft to help this team immediately.

Hope: Oliver Perez can return to his old self and win some games.
Reality: Oliver Perez will return to his old self and win some games, but get absolutely destroyed in others.

Hope: The Mets can stay at .500 until the All Star Break.
Reality: The Mets will be games under .500 by the All Star Break.

Hope: The Mets can turn this around with a good series against Philadelphia.
Reality: The Mets might still be under .500 even if they sweep the Phillies.

Hope: Fernando Tatis will break out of this season long slump.
Reality: Fernando Tatis will lead the league in double plays.

Hope: Nick Evans can get a chance to play.
Reality: The Mets hate Nick Evans.

Hope: Fernando Martinez turns out to be the CF everyone's been talking about.
Reality: Fernando Martinez will need to see a sports psychologist before the end of July.

Hope: I need to watch the game tonight because the Mets just might win this one.
Reality: I don't need to watch the game tonight because torture is just not as enjoyable as it once was.

Monday's Miserable Mets Mailbag

It's Monday. We know you're miserable so it's time to take your miserable Mets questions about last night's game or any game from this past week. So have at it:

Why is Fernando Tatis playing every day? 
HatingRivera; Brooklyn, NY
Excellent question that has a simple answer: He's right handed. By simple birthright, Fernando Tatis finds himself in the lineup on a regular basis. There's no other reason for him to be in there. He's on the all-world team for hitting into double plays. He's batting below .200 with 2 outs and runners in scoring position. He's not that good of an outfielder, but he's the only right handed bat the Mets have left that can play multiple positions.

I'm not saying that's a good reason for Tatis to be playing. I think he should take a long walk off a short pier, but that is the world we live in.

Why did Jerry Manuel leave Fernando Martinez in the game last night to face Brian Bruney with 2 runners on base?
Easypopup; Mahawah, NJ
Again simple answer: The Mets enjoy destroying the hopes and dreams of young players. Don't give me the lefty vs. righty scenario because Jeremy Reed was sitting on the bench at the time and would have been one of a couple options for Manuel in this spot. Sure FMart doubled and drove in a run earlier, but it was in a much less tense situation and against a very different pitcher. Bruney throws high and hard, and FMart just can't catch up to those pitches.

I was sitting there waiting for Nick Evans to pinch hit, but I'm sitting here still waiting for that to happen. So FMart strikes out on 3 pitches and then they bring in Rivera for the 4 out save. The Mets would have been better off having FMart bunt for a base hit than letting him swing away.

What's the matter with KRod?
Luv2WalkPitchers; Hartford, CT
KRod is suffering from a syndrome called hatingus losers, which is where you are infected by the inability to win that is running rampant through the veins of the people surrounding you. KRod gets no excuse for walking Mariano Rivera. That's all on him. No excuse there whatsoever.

But you got to wonder what's going through this guy's head when the players behind him can't catch a pop up every time he's on the mound. KRod needs some real save situations to get him back on track.

Is there any hope for David Wright?
Ohfor30; Parsippany, NJ
Yes, there's hope. You see David Wright has been so awful of late that we're bound to have an 18 for 25 hit streak waiting for us this week, which he'll probably use against the Brewers and Pirates so he can start a 0 for 85 streak against the Phillies this weekend.

Which injured player do the Mets miss the most?
FlorenceNightengale; Westchester, NY
Honestly, I think it's Carlos Beltran. The Mets miss his doubles desperately. David Wright misses having him looming in the on deck circle behind him. He's arguably the best (and smartest) base runner on the team. But most of all they miss his glove.

In my opinion, he's the best fielding center fielder in the game today. There's a certain sense of security when Beltran is roaming the outfield that some extra base hits just won't fall in. He was batting well over .300 and added a presence in the lineup that the Mets now desperately miss.

The Honeymoon is Over

The good feelings about this scrappy Mets team are starting to fade. Reality is setting in and these young bats look totally overmatched by the top two Yankee pitchers.

Errros have been rampant. Absolutely no rallies have been started. Meanwhile, the Mets starting pitching has had one bad inning in the last two games that ultimately decided the fate of the game.

Fortunate for us the rest of the NL East doesn't care for interleague play either. The Mets still find themselves within 1.5 games of first place, and even with a loss tonight coupled with a Phillies win at worst will be 2.5 games out.

The Mets need to show some backbone tonight and come out swinging. Too many first pitch strikes are being let through and quickly finds Mets batters in an 0-2 hole.

This is the first time the Mets have lost a season series to the Yankees since 2003. They need to at least save face and win the final game in their own ballpark on national TV. Wang is on the mound so there's no excuse not to put some runs on the board.

Once the Yanks are through is when the real test begin against the Brewers and Phils. Please, let's get one tonight.

This Mets Team is Scrappy

Craig Carton over at WFAN has declared this Mets team's nickname to be Scrappy-Doo, and I can't argue with him.

The Mets team that we've seen this week is a very far cry from the opening day roster, and is completely different from any Mets team I've seen in the last decade.

It's full of youth.

You've got Murphy, FMart, Nick Evans, David Wright & Omir Santos all contributing (okay, FMart isn't really contributing, but he does play a good CF). Then you've got Nieve, Parnell, and Pelfrey on the mound.

Throw in Church, who's relatively young, and you've got one of the youngest Mets teams in recent history. Outside of Wright & Santana, there are no big name stars and there are absolutely no home run hitters.

This is small ball at its best and quite frankly, it's kind of fun to watch. Now how long will this honeymoon last? Who knows. It could end tomorrow. The Mets could lose the next 5 games or more, but who would think we'd find the Mets a half game out with this squad of Scrappy-Doos?

If the Mets can remain in contention while the kids are out playing and having fun, this may be one of the most entertaining and enjoyable baseball seasons in a long time. I'm still waiting for Beltran/Delgado/Reyes to come back and heaven knows how badly I want some power back in this lineup, but in the mean time I'm going to enjoy seeing what this team of feisty youngsters can do.

You should too.

Welcome Back Nick Evans

Man was it good to see Nick Evans back in a Mets uniform yesterday.

The forgotten kid had all been left for dead until the Mets called him up yesterday from the dead to fill in for Gary Sheffield who (surprise!) is out with an injury for a few games. Last month Brad Bortone at Bugs & Cranks wrote a great post about Nick Evans and the raw deal he's gotten from the Mets, but yesterday Evans let his play do the talking.

In his season debut, Evans went 2 for 3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI. Evans turned on a high first-pitch fastball in the 4th inning yesterday that was scorched into the left field seats. If you watch the replay of Evans swing, you'll notice that he swung so hard that he almost fell over after he made contact. The kid was swinging from his heels and probably putting all his frustration about being stuck in obscurity and jubilation for being back in the majors into that one swing.

I don't think I've felt happier for a Mets player this season than I was for Nick Evans last night. I'm not here to crown Evans the savior of the Mets lineup or that he's going to become the next Ted Williams. I'm just glad the kid is getting a chance to play in the majors so we can see what he can do.

Welcome back Nick Evans. Hope you're here for a while.

David Wright and the Scrubs

The Mets banded together last night to pull out a much needed victory. With the news of Carlos Beltran heading to the DL and the previous week's painful losses, the Mets needed a victory to take their minds off of all the bad and to stop the bleeding.

But what was most evident to me last night, besides the fact that Fernando Tatis is an automatic double play with a runner on first and one out, is that this is now David Wright and everybody else.

Wright is going to be walked more in the next two weeks than he has all of the previous games this season. If you're an opposing pitcher why on earth would you want to pitch to Wright when you can deal with Tatis or Murphy or Santos behind him?

The scrubs will put up a good show for the next few days, but then reality will set in and they will start playing up to their potential instead of exceeding it. This is going to be a trail by fire for David Wright. Can he be consistent? Can he be a leader not just in the dugout or clubhouse, but at the plate by coming through when he's needed most?

These injuries the Mets have experienced are unbelievable, but in a way this could be the struggle that David Wright needs to turn him into the reliable and clutch performer that we need him to be. Or the weight of this team could crush him and he'll rival Ryan Howard for being the strikeout leader.

Either way it appears as if David Wright will be getting zero help from the front office in the way of a trade for additional support. The Mets seem to be willing to ride out this wave of injuries and play with the hand they've been dealt for better or worse.

So get used to the power core of bats you saw in the lineup last night and say a little prayer for David Wright (and Johan Santana while you're at it).