Terrible... just terrible

And so, once again, the Mets waste an amazing performance from Johan Santana, and continue to be unable to win even ONE series on the road. It’s the worst road start for the Mets since 1983.

Tonight was one missed oppertunity after another. K-Rod looked bad last night in getting a save and he was bad again tonight in blowing one.

No matter how great Santana and Mike Pelfrey pitch… no matter how well Jose Reyes, David Wright, Rod Barahas and Ike Davis hit… no matter how fast Carlos Beltran gets back from injury… no matter how great they play at home… if this team cannot win on the road at at LEAST a .500 mark, they will not go anywhere.

This game should have been over by the 7th inning. Instead it’s going to be a long flight home and a lot of “What If” talk.

And please, the next time Jerry Manual send up Gark Mathews Jr to hit, the man should be immediately fired. Will SOMEONE get this total hack off the team?

TEAM NOTES: Well, the other night aginast the Padres was a night to forget. 18 runs? Ouch. No one had it last night. Lost in the shuffle was the fact that Oliver Perez gave up 2 runs in 2.2 inning of work and LOWERED his ERA. The Mets scored 6 runs in the first six innings and usually that means things should be good, but yesterday it was basically two field goals to the Padres two touchdowns, 2 two-point conversions and a safety.

Speaking of Oliver Perez, the Mets have made yet ANOTHER plea to the bewildered lefty to accept being sent down to work on his obviously messed up mechanics. This time the Mets told Perez he could go right to Florida and work with Phil Regan instead of going to Buffalo. No word on what Perez has said yet, but word is that many of the Mets players are extremely unhappy with Perez and perhaps will look to peer pressure him into accepting it. Perez has been adament about staying with the club so far and hasn’t given any signs he will relent. At this point the team does need to draw a line in the sand.

The team continues to look very shakey on the road. It’s quite strange that they can look so good at home and look so bad as visitors. The bizarre split makes it very hard to really get a firm grasp on who this team really is. Thankfully Mike Pelfrey and his 7-1 record and 2.56 ERA takes the mound tonight to try and right the ship.

Looks like Luis Castillo is now a platoon player. With the problems he’s been having with his foot, Mets skipper Jerry Manuel has been sitting Castillo vs. right-handers. “I’m going to probably go that way until Luis starts moving a little bit better on that foot,” Manuel told reporters. Alex Cora has been getting the bulk of those starts that Castillo sits during, but keep an eye on Daniel Murphy who is getting work in the minors at 2nd base. Word is, that Murphy can become the Mets version of Mark DeRosa and be able to start at a number of positions.

Jonathan Niese should be off the DL and back with the Mets in a starting role come this upcoming Saturday against the Marlins. He’ll take his spot and send Fernando Nieve back to the bullpen.

Fans still seems to be totally down on David Wright. While I will agree his strikeout total is concerning, I think once again Mets fans are barking at nothing. Wright’s numbers are lower then you would think they should be (especially his .258 bating average) but his numbers aren’t as bad as you might think. Tell me, what does Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, Chase Utley, Ryan Braun, Mark Texeria and Adam Dunn all have in commen? ALL have less RBIs and SBs and all but Utley and Dunn has the same or less home runs totals than Wright. Before this weekends explosion, so did Albert Pujlos. Wright has 8 home runs, 35 RBI and 9 SBs. He has struggled at different times this season and the strike outs are worrisome, but it’s not like he’s a liability. Relax will ya?

Slowly Getting It

Another one bites the dust and it’s about time.

The Mets figured out that another one of their dead-weight players was not going to help the team and cut him loose. Frank Catalanotto was designated for assignment yesterday and Chris Carter was brought up from Triple-A Buffalo to replace him.

Frankly, this is a move I would have made weeks ago. Carter has been doing nothing but hitting the ball like a madman in Buffalo, hitting a rock solid .339 with 16 extra base hits and 20 RBI in 28 games. He looked great in spring training. In fact, as I have stated many times before, once Daniel Murphy went down with his injury, I would have made Carter my opening day 1st baseman. Obviously he won’t be doing that since the 1st baseman of the future is already there in the exciting Ike Davis, but Carter can play the corner outfield spots as well as spot Davis at first.

As with Mike Jacobs, I like Catalanotto, but he just wasn’t getting the job done. He was a drain on the bench batting .143 in 21 at bats as a pinch hitter, with five strike outs.

The Mets are starting to get it. It’s important to not wait to make the moves that will improve this club. Jacobs was a mistake, and thankfully they realized it quick enough that it wasn’t a disaster. Davis came up and breathed new life into the team, and they’ve played much better since. Catalanotto was next and while it took longer it’s still the right move early enough to help.

Now, it’s time to get rid of Gary Matthews, Jr. I don’t care how much he’s getting paid (not too much, but he is making a million this year). Matthews is worse than Jacobs and Catanotto were. After “pinch hitting” in the 7th (I use quotes because what Matthews has been doing cannot honestly be called actual hitting) and striking out again, he is batting .136 with 18 strikeouts, 0 RBIs and two extra base hits in 44 at bats. Keep in mind Matthews had a double in his 1st at bat on opening day which means he’s only had 3 base hits in the 43 at bats after that. He is BEYOND a disaster. At this point *I* could likely make more contact. He needs to go.

So far, this team is playing above what many expected of them, and without the overworked bullpen blowing a few games in the Reds series and in the last game of the Giants series, this team would be doing even better. You need to put guys in the clubhouse to helpo, not make things worse. Please Omar, keep up the right decisions in cutting out the dead weight and get someone else in here to replace Matthews. It’s already too late. Don’t let it be later.

Glaring Issues in Queens

Well it’s only been a week (six games to be exact) and a lot of Mets fans are ready to jump off a bridge. After a 2-4 start and two straight losses to the lowly Nationals it’s hard to blame them, but it HAS only been a week so the need to panic should not have set in yet.

That is not to say the Mets don’t have a few glaring issues however. Right now I would say their inability to hit with runners in scoring postion is the largest. It’s something that the Mets always seem to have a problem with, no matter who is on the team. It’s bizarre.

To me though, one of the largest problems is first base. While Jacobs did hit a home run yesterday (a towering shot in the 8th), he was 2 for 16 before that and has basically been unreliable at the plate. It’s exactly as I feared… he’s all power and no substance. He’ll hit you home runs (maybe even as much as 30 to 35 in a full season) however he’ll do nothing else. This is beyond frustrating when you see Chris Carter doing well at AAA Buffalo after having a great spring. It’s not even like Jacobs is so good with the glove that you’ll take the lousy batting average and non-contact at-bats. The entire thing makes no sense.

It doesn’t help that Gary Mathews, after a good opening day has been as “unclutch” as you can be. He’s been up at least six times with two out and runners in scoring postion (four times yesterday alone) and hasn’t gotten one hit.

Overall the Mets are 10 for 53 with runners in scoring position. That’s a .189 batting average. That is 2nd worst in the NL (behind only Houston). Seeing that Jacobs and Matthews have been hitting mostly in the 4th, 5th and 6th positions you can see where a lot of that lost production is coming from.

It’s only been six games. Jacobs himself has only started in four. However, it’s already getting to be time for the Mets to see what they have in front of them and act. Release Jacobs (or send him down… trust me… he’ll clear waivers), bring up Carter and start playing Pagan in Center at least four or five times a week until Beltran returns.

The starting pitching hasn’t been amazing, but it hasn’t been downright horrible either. Niese and Pelfry both had good starts while Maine and Perez’s starts were lackluster but not disasters. The bullpen has been outstanding so far. Reyes has looked a little sluggish since his return but I would expect that to improve quickly.

It’s offical…

… Omar Minaya has lost his mind.

So Gary Matthews Jr. is a Met (for the 2nd time by the way) in a trade involving RHP Brian Stokes.

The Angels will pay $21.5 of the $23.5 million left on the remaining 2 yrs of Matthews contract.

So my main question here is… WHY?

Paying 2 million for a lousy ballplayer who had basically one good (steriod infused) season, PLUS giving up a pitcher.

Couldn’t we just have picked up Eric Byrnes for the Major League minimum (saving over a million dollars), got the EXACT same production (with a MUCH better attitude and much more hustle) and better defense WITHOUT giving up a pitcher?

What in God’s name is Omar thinking?

This is a horrible move.

No, it’s not just a horrible one… it’s a stupid, non-sensical move.

Please, someone put the man out of his misery. I’m waiting now to hear he gives John Smoltz a two year deal worth $22 million.

Oh the humanity…

There has to be more to it than this

The Mets pulled off a trade today. They have acquired OF Gary Matthews Jr. from the Angels, who will pay off “a majority” of the remaining $24 million left on his contract. No word yet who the Mets are sending but word is that it is a “low-salary pitcher off the major league roster” (Which means it’s not Oliver Perez).

If this trade included sending Luis Castillo I think it might have made some sense. But it does not involve Luis Castillio.

So my reaction is thus: There has to be more to it than this. HAS to be. If this is the only move and nothing else connected to it happens… well… then the Mets need to commit Omar. Just get him some psychiatric help… because even if the Mets only have to play like $3.5 of the $24 million owned… it’s STILL too much.

So, I will hold out and say again: there has to be more of it than this… because if there is not… well… someone has lost his frigging mind.