Ok Met fans… repeat after me.
“It’s only seven games. It’s only seven games.”
Try extending your arms, close your eyes and breathe deep. Repeat your new mantra and rotate your arms in a small circle.
Does that feel better?
Ok, no, I didn’t think it would.
I’d like to tell people to relax… that it is WAY too early to get those feelings of despair. That there is 155 games left in the season. That a 2-5 start isn’t actually a season killer.
And while all of this is true, it’s hard to believe it, isn’t it?
Listen, as much as I’m all for patience and understanding, at some point the Wilpons need to take a seriously hard look at the way their franchise has performed and has been run. Right now, confidence is at an all time low. Except for two blowout wins, the team isn’t scoring runs, and the guy they have tagged as their number two pitcher followed up a rather lackluster start last week with a downright horrible one last night.
So is there a simple solution? I don’t think there is. The Mets are in a very bad spot here. It’s too early to panic, but their past history shows a string of bad decisions and uneven play. The Phillies are already 6-1 and despite the likely loss of Jimmy Rollins to the DL that offense is not going to struggle too much to score runs in his absence. The rest of the division is struggling also and most of the NL is looking average at the moment. However, at this point the Mets need to face facts… they are a franchise that is not taken very seriously and is regarded as being the modern equivilant of the Keystone Cops. Two straight year end collapses and last year’s injury nightmare was followed up by an offseason of indecision and inactivity for the most part. Well, it might be time to change that.
While rumor has it that pitchers like Adam Harang and Roy Oswalt are on the market (both who I think would be good fits in Flushing). Both are making some good money and likely can be had without trading any real talent if the Mets would be willing to take on the contracts. It’s time for the Mets to make up their minds on something… they either want to win or they want to save money. They have the fourth largest payroll in baseball (behind the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies) just ahead of the Cubs and Tigers. At this point they are not getting a return on their investment. As much as I like John Maine, the leash on him cannot be long. He needs to show some improvement in his next start in St. Louis or the Mets need to start thinking about a replacement and one that can handle a front half of the rotation role.
They also need to rectify the 1st base situation. Forget that Ike Davis is hitting over .450 in AAA. As much as I like the kid, he needs some time in AAA. Don’t rush him. Get Chris Carter up here and send Mike Jacobs packing.
As far as I am concerned, Jerry Manual needs to get this team going. The situational hitting is not there. They need to be aggressive. You have to start thinking about batting Angel Pagan second in the order between Wright and Reyes and starting to use the speed you have by pumping up the running game two fold. For a team with so many guys who can steal, the Mets are hardly running.
I’m not in panic mode, but the Mets should be prepared to go in a different direction if things do not start to change in the next week to a week and a half. It’s early, but it won’t be for long.
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