N.Y. METS ~ A Likeable Team During Strange Times

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

New York Mets: Anxiety, Thy Name Is Jose Reyes.


Saturday's game was another chance to be a .500 team again.  But like times before during this season, the Mets got close only to let it slide just out of their reach.  And that's the way things have gone for this team; Good; but not good enough.  We're playing like a .500 team.  But we're just a game short (after Sunday's win).  We might achieve that win that gets us to .500 tomorrow.  But then that would make us just that, a .500 team.  And that's exactly what I thought we'd be since Spring Training.  I think you know that if you read me.


Unlike our most recent years past, I'm having more fun watching this edition, than say...the last two years?  I think we (..us Met fans) all feel similarly.  Changes in the Front Office; at manager; and several players on the current roster have all contributed to give this season a wholly different feel than ones we've been subjected to in the recent past.


But; yes, there is always a but; I compartmentalize.  So, while I'm enjoying the team's tenacity and the chances our starting pitchers have been giving this team to win, I am a stickler for adhering to The Plan. 


Yes, The Plan.  We all knew what The Plan was coming into this season and we all knew why we were in the position we found ourselves in.  I'm not going to try and beat you down tonight with opinions I've shared many times before.  But because I can't totally walk away without saying anything, I'll only say this tonight:


I won't be teased again.


Now, having said that, this season, I live in the moment with this team while I keep an eye on said Plan.  ........As such, R.A. Dickey was a hard luck loser again Saturday.   His eight inning effort should have, for all intent and purpose, earned him a win.   But the Mets' offense hasn't been that kind at times.   And against the Pirates, attribute the Mets' 3-2 loss due to going 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.  I'd feel better if it wasn't the Pirates.   But Baseball is like that.   Otherwise, for yet another game, not just Dickey, but the staff as a whole pumped out another competitive start.


Then Sunday, the Mets had the kind of rebound game that keeps them on our good sides.  And it was Chris Capuano this time, who pitched-in with his fifth-share effort as a member of the New York Mets pitching staff.  And what an effort it was.



Chris Capuano's Line:
7 ~ innings.
95 pitches; 62 strikes.
3 ~ hits.
0 ~ runs.
2 ~ walks.
5 ~ strikeouts.


Capuano, Izzy, and Bobby Parnell combined to shut-out the Pirates.  Only this time, the Mets offense gave the staff seven runs to work with after pounding out twelve hits. 


Watching him hit a home run today, it's disturbing to think about Jose Reyes' future not wearing a Mets' uniform.  And today we stand closer to having his Met future determined one way or another than we did on Opening Day.  Only with great anxiety can we enjoy this great season he's having.   He stepped up to the plate in Pittsburgh this afternoon and just continued to rake; like he has all year long to the tune now of a .346 batting average.


What a bizarre situation we fans find ourselves in with regard to the greatest shortstop this organization has ever known and/or groomed.  How is it that Jose Reyes chose to have The Best of Times, during the organization's Worst of Times?  How did the timing of Jose Reyes' final emergence as a star and the downturn in organizational stability so diabolically work against us?  It's disheartening.  I share that with most of you.  But; yea, there's always that but....


We don't know what will happen with Reyes.  But we are getting closer to finding out.  In the mean time, he helped us get to within a game of .500 again.  And despite growing anxiety as July looms closer, perhaps the Mets can attain that elusive .500 mark on Monday in Pittsburgh, and make being a Met fan fun for another day running, back here in METropolis.


Let's Go Mets!








Mike.BTB