N.Y. METS ~ Lose and Win; Night and Day; Jekyll and Hyde

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR.MET

NEW YORK METS:  Jekyll and Hyde Team Follows Last Night's Whiff With A Win This Afternoon.

Terry Collins was flat out exasperated after last night's white-washing at the hands of Tim Lincecum and the defending Champion Giants.  Coach kept on grumbling something over and over again into the microphones about getting two-out hits.  Yea well, welcome to Flushing Terry.

Coach called the team out in a sense by saying these guys were Major Leaguers (too), and that they have to fight and come through sometimes as such.   He said, "Stop guessing at pitches and ...Step Up!"   To that I say, Good for Him!  Those have been the strongest words spoken by a Met manager since Bobby Valentine.   But just like the Mets' sixteen strikeouts last night, I'm afraid that line will also be just another swing and a miss if David Wright has anything to do with it.   It's a shame too, because one, it's not Terry's fault the team is in last place, and two, because Chris Capuano pitched a decent game.

The manager resorted to pressing the Panic Button once in April already.  Last night's loss made the Mets 12-17 and after a few more losses, Coach Collins will probably have to resort to pressing the Panic Button again at some point.  But how many times will that work? 

Or, will he have to at all?

This afternoon, the Jekyll and Hyde team (more Hyde) from Flushing showed it's other side again.  They do that from time to time just to tease and confuse the fan base.  That's bothersome for a guy like me who is just sitting around twiddling my thumbs waiting for the demolition to commence.

Carlos Beltran uncorked a home run over the Flushing Bay Retaining Wall in left; Jose Reyes tripled and had 2 RBI while no doubt sending the Giants out of town salivating for his services; Mike Pelfrey controlled an offensively challenged San Francisco squad over 7.2 innings; and Frankie Rodriguez was his typical self walking two and striking out two in earning his 7th save.  That's a text book day in METropolis.

Last night they were lethargic with a bat in their hands.  Today the Mets were 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position bringing Terry Collins' blood pressure down if only slightly.  They only left four men on base today. Reyes; Hu; Beltran; and Bay accounted for 7 strikeouts this afternoon which is a far cry from the 16 times they whiffed last night (and none by Wright).

They avoided getting swept by the Giants today and so after thirty games of the 2011 season, the New York Mets are now 13-17, .433 pct.
 
I'm one of those who subscribes to the "You Are What Your Record Says You Are" school of thought.  But if they stick with today's text book lesson plan, perhaps April showers can lead to May flowers for the Mets....instead of just making mud at Citi Field.

That concludes the optimistic portion of this post.  Thank you for reading.


The Seven Year Itch Making Met Fans Scratch Their Heads.

It happens to relationships and marriages; between men and their cars; and for us Met Fans - between a team and it's players.  I think we are all in agreement when I say Carlos Beltran is playing his last weeks in Flushing.  That's already been well established.  The divorce papers are all but signed.  With Jose Reyes however, we see the writing on the wall, but so many of us are still reluctant to entertain the idea of trading him away.

Like it or not, the rumors about who wants Reyes have already begun on the heals of the mini-audition he staged for the San Francisco Giants during this last series.  The Giants have admitted there have been internal discussions about Jose.  Now the latest scuttlebutt to surface is the Red Sox being interested. 

Intriguing...isn't it?  My guess is the interest in Reyes will only grow from here on out.  Let these teams get into a bidding frenzy.  Two alleged teams in the mix, early in this unfortunate process, bodes well for the Mets if they are to maximize a deal for our shortstop.  The old adage - "The Early Bird Gets The Worm"  may very well apply here.  And it might get us the best package for our beloved, home-grown star.

With Beltran however, all has been quiet.  But the better he plays, the better deal the Mets can get for him.  He's been quite the productive player and getting better by the game.  And although the Mets have little leverage in this trade scenario, Beltran can still play himself into a reasonable offer for the Mets to consider.





Mike.BTB