Mets? Boo!!

I’m embarrassed. I root for a team that has no left fielder. I root for a team that can’t care enough to slide. I root for a team that almost never produces with the game on the line, a team with a stupid lineup and even more stupid players

This team looks for ways to lose. Who can root for a team like this? This was the worst Mets loss yet. And that’s saying something. They lost a game they should’ve won, that’s nothing strange, that’s happened lots of times before.

That was usually because of relief pitching though. Last night’s loss featured my favorite Met, Carlos Beltran, fail to slide at home in a tie game. That has to be a first. Almost as painful was seeing a guy I’ve been pulling for, Daniel Murphy, make another huge error in left field.

Some things we’ve seen before. We’re used to seeing Oliver Perez blow up in the fifth inning. We’re used to the whole team leaving men on base. But this 2009 version of the Mets seems to seek out failure with a verve seldom seen on a major league baseball field.

I’m off the Jerry Manuel bandwagon too. All the moves that worked last year are coming up deuces in 2009. I hate the lineup. Why does Beltran have to follow Delgado and precede Church? Church pays no attention to the man on base. Twice last night he took Beltran out of a stolen base.

And this lineup simply doesn’t work. Beltran has speed that shouldn’t be wasted in the fifth spot. Murphy should be sent down to AAA Buffalo. Maybe that will calm him down. He’s not such a powerhouse at the plate to warrant a major league team, supposedly a contending team, playing a guy who can’t field his position. I was all for giving him a chance. He’s had his chances and has fallen short. He’s not ready..

Give me Castillo at the 2 spot, especially now that he seems to have found his way at the plate. Wright can’t handle the three-spot. Wright doesn’t hit with men on base. I don’t care what his batting average is. Move him down in the lineup. Beltran should bat third. To recap, that’d be Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Delgado, Wright, Church, Tatis, Castro and the pitcher.

While I’m ranting and raving, maybe Manuel should be put on notice too. His management of the team in Sunday’s game was ridiculous. We needed a bunt to move the runners over. We didn’t get it. Not only didn’t we get it but we had a guy at the plate who probably was incapable of doing it. That would be Tatis. We have a strong and versatile bench. It’s not being used.

I’m so sick of bad baseball. Maybe Beltran should sit down for a game or two as well. Let him know his butt is expendable. A player with his talent should be an inspiration, not a guy who makes the big mistake.

A contending team, a hopeful pennant winner, just can’t live with a guy in Murphy who has a coronary episode every time the ball comes his way. And he had his own chance to slide at the plate but passed, instead electing to step on the catcher’s hand? I still don’t know what he was trying to do.

Perez? What can you say? He walked in a run in the fifth and then the new relief guy, Fossum, walked in another. I’d recommend long relief for him if we had a stronger starting rotation. But we don’t. We have Maine, Pelfrey (maybe) and Livan Hernandez. Perez throws at one speed. He needs another pitch. And a brain.

I hate to say it but the Yankees are playing good baseball. Their centerfielder made one of the greatest catches I ever saw last night to rob Giambi of a triple….well, maybe a double being that it was Giambi.

Pettite looked good. Damon looked good. Heck, they all looked good. They play as if they care, even with all those stars. Too bad they’re playing in front of so many empty seats. With their new ticket pricing, the Yanks finally turned all that arrogance back on their fans. I listened to horror stories of Yankee fans all afternoon, already expensive $190 seats that were raised to $590. Unbelievable. That team and those fans deserve one another.

So maybe I should just calm down. I can still afford a Mets game. Their tix may be exorbitant too, but I could at least justify going to one or two games a season. If Mets tix jumped as the Yanks tix did, I’d abandon the team entirely. Talk about insults!

Manuel will maybe stop being such a genius and start doing some smart things again. And maybe he’ll start holding players accountable for their failures. God knows he needs to. And maybe Minaya will get him some honest-to-goodness help, not in the form of a Sheffield or a Fossum.

He really shouldn’t need any more help though. Manuel should be able to win games with the hand he was dealt. He’s got to instill a sense of urgency in his guys though. Virtually every game they’ve played thus far has been close. They never seem to pull away. They either eke out a close win or EEK! out a close loss.

As they did tonight. BOO!!