It's Just a Game

Well, here we are on Sunday afternoon, the Mets game just starting, and we’ve got Johan Santana going against the hated Yankees. Again. The Yanks have A.J. Burnet going so it should be a game more reminiscent of the opener, the one Luis Castillo lost.

Let’s not forget that in our rush to forgive him. I know he said some things after the game that made everybody happy, and he performed pretty well in Game 2. But his gaffe was a classic choke. He was overwhelmed by the moment. That doesn’t bode well for the future.

It should have been a great Friday night. (Luis just caught a popup to derisive applause). Instead, what we got was misery. It should have been a story of Joba and the equally as stiff-necked Jorge Posada fighting for four innings, it should have been about Joe Girardi totally blowing the game by inserting Mariano Rivera into the game in the eighth, a move that totally backfired when David Wright ripped a double to right center. It should have been the tale of K-Rod vs. A-Rod, a bout clearly won by K-Rod as he induced the easy popup to second base.

But no, what we got was a stumblin’ bumblin’ Luis Castillo. You knew he was going to miss it from the start. His legs weren’t working right, you could see he was flustered, and for a second it looked as if he wouldn’t even get under the ball. But instead, he just opened his mitt as far as he could spread it, like a frying pan, and his hands proved as hard as one, as the ball bounced a foot in the air as Luis fell to the ground.

Let’s not forget how pitiful it was, that’s all. Yeah, he apologized. It doesn’t make me feel any better. I had been one of his advocates, willing to accept his shortcomings for his veteran presence. But not after Friday night. Luis can get together with his friend Ryan Church, go down to the bus station, and buy a ticket anywhere they want.

Yes, Ryan Church hit a big homer the other day. That’s just great. It was his first homer in eons. It’ll likely be his last homer for a while. Did I say homer? It’ll probably be one of the few hits he gets this month. Francesa keeps saying Manuel is picking on him. I say “Good”!

Church’s best point is that he’s usually ineffectual. The rest of the time, he loses games.

We’ve got Fernando Martinez now. Send Church packing. Send Castillo packing. They’re wonderful people but they either don’t touch third base on the way home or they don’t catch fly balls with the game on the line.

Understanding? Sorry, my plate is full. I can’t take any more. Of course I realize the Mets can’t really just drop the two of them, especially in their depleted state, but let’s not expect too much from them. Bat for Church in big spots and spell Castillo with defensive replacements for the rest of his contract. They both deserve the disdain.

We’ve all faced situations like Castillo’s. We all choke up a bit in critical situations, usually if we’re really not prepared. The job interviewer opens with “tell me about yourself” and if you really hadn’t thought about it, you might have a lot of trouble. Practice and experience make those moments go away. Ordinarily.

Two games that should have been in the book as wins were lost. Two big wins became two big losses. As I said, my plate is full. When your veterans can’t perform under pressure, you may as well pack it in.

As this is written, Santana is getting banged around and Martinez missed the cutoff man. While yesterday was the day of Fernando, Martinez and Nieve, today will not be a repeat.

It’s now 4-zip. It’s probably over, or may as well be. Maybe I’ll switch to the parade. Bernie’s playing guitar there and with no less than another Feliciano, the one who wants you to light his fire. Well, Wright got still another hit, but who should come up but ol’ rally-killin’ Church. He thus far today has grounded out on the first pitch he was offered. Typical day for Church. And he just struck out, what a surprise.

The news isn’t all bad for the Mets though. Omir Santos has been a pleasant surprise. I like Alex Cora. Sheffield looks bad quite a lot but then does pop one over the wall once in a while. He looks for the base on balls much too often and sometimes looks silly doing it.

The pitching’s been pretty good too. It’ll certainly help them stay in the race, but this club is not a winner. It’s a shame too. They have some excellent individuals, Wright, Beltran, Santana, Reyes and Delgado when they play, but they seem to never put it together as a team, not as the Phillies do.

So I’m just narrowing my expectations. They’ll probably be able to play .500 ball until the return of Reyes and then maybe they’ll play little better than that. But they just don’t have enough players who play as if they care. Why should I get my hopes up?

In the meantime, I’ll watch. I’ll watch as if I were watching one of Joan Payson’s comic teams of yesteryear. A combination of hard luck and bad play has pretty much done them in for 2009. You can’t get good luck as they did Friday night and then throw it away, or better put, bumble it all away. If it takes the heart out of a fan, I’m sure it does much the same to the team.

But it’s just a game. Maybe Castillo should remember that. If he comes away with anything after this singular experience of his, it should be that. You’re supposed to be having fun, relishing the opportunity to show 50,000 fans just how good you are.

Joba's Bad But Omar's Looking Good

Joba Chamberlain is a better pitcher than he showed yesterday. He would have to be, wouln’t he? I hadn’t seen such tentativeness since Aaron Heilman. Did he throw any fastballs? It surely didn’t seem so.

The Yankees, my Dad says, are not a good team. He just doesn’t think they’re that good. Well, I guess I’d have to agree, given this little information. If they keep babying Joba and making him neurotic, it would appear, their chances are all that much slimmer.

Maybe it’s Jorge Posada that doesn’t agree with him. Posada had missed a lot of the Joba action last year. There were surely a lot of calls for breaking balls. And if a catcher can’t call a good game, it doesn’t really matter that he hits a little bit. One thing is for sure. If Joba has another game like this last one, I’m going to hide my Joba tee shirt. He looked that bad.

But the rest of the Yanks don’t really look that bad. I really don’t like Cano but he sure has been knocking the cover off the ball. Jeter looks really good too. Teixeira is starting to hold his own. Damon hasn’t been bad. Matsui has looked a bit off. Anyway, I’m not sure I agree with Dad on this one. The Yanks look pretty good to me, if the relievers hold up at all.

The Mets, what can you say? They did just enough to win last night, thanks largely to Sheffield, whose 500th tied the game late. It was a big big home run. And then Luis Castillo wins it for them with a slap to the left side, to deep short to score Delgado with the game-winner.

In one fell swoop, Omar looks like a genius. There have been no bigger targets of derision for Minaya than his acquisition of Sheffield and his retention of Castillo, or, better put, his failure to pick up another second baseman. Well, Castillo is hitting .387 and has fielded the position pretty well so far, better at least than Murphy has fielded his. And Sheffield showed what he can do at the plate. Big time.

Sheffield is now just 1 for 5 but that big knock should count for 3 or 4 hits. What a shot! And what a shot in the arm for our local heroes. I know Livan Hernandez was happy. He was off the hook after pitching really well and making one big mistake. Well, everybody was happy. I know I was happy.

So the Mets are even again at 5 and 5. They’ve lost three one-run games so far though. They haven’t been hitting in the clutch and were lucky to win last night, lucky that two old guys both came through when the game was on the line. If not for those two fellows, there would have been still one more one-run loss.

The Mets starters just haven’t been good enough. Livan has been pretty good despite his giving up that big homer last night. And Santana has been himself, which is to say….great. Then there’s Perez, who’s been himself also, which is to say….crazy. Maine and Pelfrey haven’t looked good at all, but not overwhelmingly bad either. And now Pelfrey’s a bit knicked up. Maybe it’ll help.

That relief pitching sure looks good though. Green, Putz and K-Rod. Jeez. It’s really kind of refreshing. If the starters pick it up even a little bit, I think the Mets will be in good shape. They can live with average performances from the bottom of the lineup, which in recent days had seemed like a long,long, long, bottom, starting with Church.

But last night they weren’t bad. Church managed to walk twice, Castro and Castillo each got a couple of hits and Luis had the game-winner. If they can pick it up a little on a more consistent basis, anything’s possible.

But we probably shouldn’t count on that core being so strong all the time either. Delgado’s been amazing, Beltran too but not last night, and Murphy’s been better than expected. Reyes is always a threat when he doesn’t over-slide the bags. (I pick on Jose because he deserves it sometimes).

So even with sketchy starting pitching, the Mets should be tough. They should be better than a .500 team as they are now. They have two more to play at home with the Brewers before taking on the Cards for three more in St. Louis. Those five games will help me guage just how good or bad they are as a team.

Time to wrap this up now. Santana just struck out Fielder and Reyes stole second. It looks like a good Mets start today, and if Castillo and Sheffield, who are both starting today, can continue to help out a little bit, it should be the beginning of a nice winning streak.

And Omar will continue looking good.

Finally Getting It

I'm a Mets fan and I couldn't be happier! How many times has anyone heard THAT this mostly sorrowful first half of the 2008 baseball season ?

As late as the fourth of July, the Mets were showing good signs but were still 5 1/2 out. Since then they've scored, if my counting is accurate, 54 runs and allowed just 13. That translated into 9, count'em, 9 straight wins, almost a fortnight of steadily increasing fortunes as our local heroes won game after game after game. WOW!!

They got it from unlikely guys. They got it from the stars. They got it on the mound. They got it in the field. They got it at the plate. They got it from the pen. They got it from the starters. Well, you get the idea. Jubilation !

Last night it was the Mike Pelfrey show. The day before, it was seemingly everybody on the field, Reyes and Beltran and five stingy pitchers. For their first game in Colorado, there was Ollie Perez throwing in 6 good innings behind Reyes and Easley.

Before that, their final game in San Francisco, Fernando Tatis and those relievers bailed out a somewhat shaky John Maine. Johan Santana showed what he could do the day before, he and that relief staff shutting out those Giants while Ramon Castro went 2-4 and delivered a big home run. Mike Pelfrey outpitched Lincecum before that with the steady Carlos Beltran hitting the big one.

But it all started in Philadelphia. The Mets had lost the opener of that four game set 3-2 but had won the next two before that final game in Philly. That game would decide whether the Mets were content to just split with the division leaders. They were not.

Although the Mets staff was belted around for 9 runs in that one, the Mets were one better. The top of the lineup, Reyes and Chavez and Wright, wouldn't be denied and Billy Wagner bailed out centerfielder Carlos Beltran from taking too much heat for what had been viewed as a questionable decision to throw a man down at third base. (It was a great throw and it would have been the third out and the end of the game). That was the biggest game of all in this unlikely streak, the one where the Mets showed some real grit against a determined and talented bunch.

But another true Mets believer might point to that third game in Philly, the one that Wagner let get away from Oliver Perez but Fernando Tatis saved, delivering a huge two-run homer in the top of the 12th to bail the embattled Billy out. John Maine pitched a good one the day before to take that second game in Philly, the Mets coming alive in the eighth and ninth behind guys like Easley and Delgado, Schneider and Chavez.

That's just an overview though. Much more could be said. You could point to the Mets new-found ability to tack on runs to early leads, something their new skipper had pointed out to them. You could point to their prowess in the field as guys like Easley and Tatis, Chavez and even a rook named Evans made light of the absence of more established players named Church and Alou and Castillo.

But the most overpowering feeling of all about these Mets is that they are just getting it, feeling it, or whatever way you’d choose to characterize a team that feels comfortable with itself, and that’s having fun, happy with its new direction and what very probably is a lighter feeling around the clubhouse.

For Jerry Manuel can actually be funny and usually is. At the same time though, he’s thoughtful and comes up with new ideas, things they’d either never heard before or just forgot. Here’s a guy who’s light enough for Reyes to deal with, and yet heavy enough to yank even the great Pedro off that mound when required.

Whatever the actual chemistry behind this Mets resurgence, man, is it ever welcome! You have to feel the Mets have turned the corner, and maybe they’ll never have to look back. Even with the break coming on, a break that might and probably will spell the end of the winning streak.

For the Mets have been getting outstanding performances from some very unlikely sources, guys out of the past like Easley and Tatis and Chavez, and guys from the future like big Nick Evans and still another speedy Reyes named Argenis. At some point, these wunderkinds may begin to falter.

But that’s the “glass half empty” side of things. Why shouldn’t they continue to perform? Easley and Tatis have done this baseball thing for a lot of years, and who says they can’t view this as their swan song, a chance to finally come out of the shadows. And isn’t it a good thing that what had once been viewed as a tired, old team has been re-energized with some talented and spirited youth?

The “glass half full” side of me says that these guys don’t really have to do it forever. Second baseman Luis Castillo returns from the disabled list after the break. And right fielder Ryan Church, who outperformed everybody before getting hurt, might be returning. It turns out that his recent headaches weren’t lingering concussion symptoms at all, but more related to migraines.

Manuel’s biggest challenge of all might be his management of these returning players into the lineup. It’s sort of an old baseball adage that guys don’t lose their positions due to an injury. Will Manuel sit Easley for Castillo? Or will he be able to spot Easley at the other infield positions? Will Chavez sit again when Church comes back?

As difficult as it may be to manage the return of the regulars, you get the feeling Manuel will handle it. He’s been there before, for Expos and Marlins and White Sox and you just know he’ll manage it. And so does his team

A Clean Sweep All Around

Are we having fun yet, Mets fans? How much of this bad baseball do we have to watch? For whatever reason, and maybe it isn't FAIR, Mets management must make a move. Two moves, perhaps, eventually. Willie has to be fired now.

I know he's sorry, but that has nothing to do with it. I know he's black, but that has nothing to do with it. I know his players aren't playing good baseball, and that has EVERYTHING to do with it.

Omar Minaya should get an opportunity to name a new manager immediately. Any veteran manager will do. If, at the end of this year, the new manager hasn't turned things around, then Omar should be canned as well. To fire Omar now would surely disable this Mets team, as Omar has been the architect and guiding force in bringing this "talent" to the table.

The Mets lost again to the Braves last night, completing their 4-game exploration of every conceivable way to lose a baseball game. The bright spots tonight were the two Carlos's nailing two on the board against Hudson. And Santana was great for a long time.

The big mistakes were much in evidence again though. the failings at critical moments, the fielding mistakes, the base running flubs, the double plays....

I know it sounds ridiculous, but I truly believe the Mets should give all their prospective players manual dexterity tests before hiring. Luis Castillo stood out tonight as the goat, making a ridiculous throw home on a play that should have just gone to first. This is immediately after he sunk Pelfrey last night with his slow-footed mishandling of a ground ball. Luis completed his very special "triple" by grounding into a double play in the eighth, effectively killing a rally he made sure never really had a chance.

Brian Schneider flubbed a bunt early on that resulted in a run. Beltran made another boo-boo on the base paths. So did Wright, although that was a difficult play. Too many mistakes, just too many mistakes, BIG mistakes at the most critical junctures, that's why Willie must go. Not that it's even necessarily his fault but this team needs a change, and the easiest change to make is a managerial one.

Never has a team played tighter. As long as Randolph is left hanging as he is, this team will just keep imploding. These players are trying too hard, it's very obvious. A change in scenery is absolutely dictated by the facts of the situation.

Another thing puzzles me about these Mets. Damian Easley missed this game for his son's graduation. Who authorized THAT? He's the backup second baseman. The Mets could have used one tonight. Especially with Alou hurt again, with Church's concussion, was it really prudent to let another player take the night off? The Mets think they're running a country club.

.And it's almost impossible to ignore the statements Randolph made to the press. His allegations were ridiculous. That he later apologized for them doesn't erase in my mind the man's analytical ability, or his lack thereof. It may help explain his pitching decisions, or maybe even his failure at developing some of his talent.

The Mets need a manager who’ll not challenge them at every opportunity, who’ll use them in appropriate situations, who’ll allow them to do the things they do well over and over again, a manager who’ll react more quickly to acknowledge that a slumping player could use a break, an older player might need a little shaking-up, a manager who’ll know when a lineup needs changing.

A little fire couldn’t hurt either. How refreshing would it be to have a guy who’d throw a tantrum once in a while, get thrown out of the game, even kick dirt, throw bases around, argue balls and strikes, a manager who’d recognize the power of inspiration.

Willie’s anything but inspiring. This veteran lineup could use a little, or even a lot, of inspiration. This team has shown two gears only, lackadaisical and tight. And by making himself the center of attention, and, even worse, the center of sympathy in certain quarters, this team’s wound up beyond comprehension. If it wasn’t before, it is now.

It’s not all Willie’s fault though. Too many of his players are one-dimensional. Many of them don’t make contact often enough. Many of them can’t even touch a breaking ball. Others can’t get around on the fastball anymore. The base running is horrendous. WAY too many of them can’t stay on the field because of injuries. And finally, all-pervasive on this team is its age. And that’s not all Willie’s doing.

All that being said, though, this team has potential, a great deal of it. I’m convinced that, with a veteran manager, this team would play better baseball. It really couldn’t play much worse. A tweak of the roster here and there wouldn’t hurt either. Although we’ve seen some young pitchers, aren’t there any position players in AAA that might shake things up a little?

A new manager could change everything though. And whoever he is should be one with experience at the major league level. This is a veteran team, one constructed to win a World Series, and, as such, it deserves a veteran manager, one these veterans can respect. I’m not at all sure they respect Randolph.

A National League guy would fill the bill nicely too, and, need it be said, NOT a Yankee. And maybe, just maybe, a manager who never played the game, a manager who knows how to manage people, a manager who wouldn’t always remind a player, just by his very presence in the dugout, what kind of player HE was when he played the game.

Any race will do, white, black or brown, but experience is a must. A Dusty Baker type, a Lou Piniella type, a strong personality, a guy who won’t be bland, a guy who’ll get upset, and a guy who won’t even THINK about what angles SNY is pursuing.

Going to Church

The Mets are full of surprises this year. Biggest surprise of them all though has been the consistent play of right fielder Ryan Church. In 28 games he's played, he's had at least one hit in 22 of them. He's batting .310 with 4 home runs and 22 rbi's this season. When he's not killing the competition with his bat, he's using his glove or his arm, as he demonstrated just this past Sunday against the Diamondbacks, cutting down a runner trying to take third base.

Just for a bit of perspective, Church has a career batting average of .275 and, before this season, he had a distinct problem hitting left-handed pitching. Not this year. He's actually batting better vs. lefties than against righties. This is his fifth year in the majors and he's never even played a full season.

Last year, though, he played in 144 games for Washington and hit .272 with 15 homers and 70 rbi's. His OPS (On-base pct. plus slugging pct.) last year was .813 and, as his current OPS of .856 isn't really that much higher, I think we can continue to expect good things from Mr. Church. And, who knows, maybe another change of his place in the batting order. He started the season batting sixth, but his remarkable consistency and apparent bat control has made him a natural for the number two position in the lineup. Even Willie has noticed.

It's a good thing for some pleasant surprises, especially with these Mets, who have had more than their share of unpleasant ones. Until just recently, Carlos Delgado had continued to disappoint (from last year) but Luis Castillo hadn't been too far behind in the anguish department. Carlos Beltran, while he does still play a great centerfield, hasn't been quite himself yet, batting .221 with 24 runs scored but just 13 ribbies and his record with runners in scoring position has been worse. Perhaps Carlos needs to relax.

Baseball is a streaky game and the Mets certainly follow that pattern, maybe too much. Reyes has demonstrated his affinity for going to sleep, at the bat and in the field as well. Moises Alou's only consistency has been his appearance on the disabled list. Much the same could be said for Brian Schneider. Angel Pagan had started very hot but has now cooled considerably.

Then there is David Wright, .469 and .198, those are this year's numbers versus lefties and righties. Would that there were more left-handers because his overall batting average is just .274. Mr. Wright has always been a little strange at the plate though. Every at-bat seems to go to two strikes immediately, yet there's no one you'd rather have at the plate with two strikes than Mr. Wright.

Then there is the pitching. Johan Santana has been amazing as usual yet continues his predilection for giving up home runs. Oliver Perez has been less than amazing and continues his penchant for making the big mistakes. John Maine has been pretty consistent, but each of his games seems like an adventure. Nelson Figueroa has been another shining light, not so much for his overall stats but for his relative consistency. Pelfrey has been Pelfrey, and his 2-2 record has been achieved via a 5.27 ERA.

I don’t even want to think about Pedro Martinez, the pain of his going down so quickly is still with me, and I can’t say I’m happy that he recuperates somewhere in Latin America. Oh, and then there is El Duque. Right.

Strangely enough, I continue to have faith in the bullpen. Billie Wagner, Duaner Sanchez, even Aaron Heilman, I think, over the long run, they’ll be good, especially if Aaron becomes a long relief guy rather than that setup guy for Wagner. To me, the winner of that spot has clearly been Sanchez, who is just tougher in that situation, has better stuff and maybe more command of the zone.

The others aren’t bad either. Feliciano, Smith, Schoenweis, and even Sosa, who has had his share of bad luck, all have had their moments this season, and I mean that mostly in a good way. Sosa, for example, leads the team in wins with 4.

The Mets have been consistent though only in their overall mediocrity. Currently at 16-14, they are only third in the NL East, behind the Phils, of course, and the surprising Marlins. They lose 4 out of 5, then win eight in a row, then another streak of three losses. Now they seem to win one, lose one, which, I must say, doesn’t make me feel any better but does prevent overall despondency to invade my spirit.

I keep thinking things can only get better. Catching, for example, has been a merry-go-round, what with Schneider’s mysterious hand infection and Castro’s hamstring. I have to admit taking a liking for Raul Casanova, who seems to do the job behind the plate and in the batter’s box as well. His .262 BA isn’t really too shabby and he can hit for power, although he’s hit just one home run thus far.

Tonight we have Nelson Figueroa going again and I’m hopeful, both for Figgy and the whole team as well. I do see some good signs. I wonder who’ll bat second. I hope Mr. Castillo rides the pine. I look forward to seeing Delgado continuing to hit, for Wright to find his way against right-handers, for Beltran to have some luck at the plate, something he never seems to possess in abundance.

Perhaps the thing I most anticipate is having the “regular” lineup in place. Schneider is back so it’ll be Reyes, Church, Wright, Beltran, Alou, Delgado, Schneider, Castillo and the pitcher. That, at least, was the lineup last night, and, although they only scored one run with it, I’d like to think it was the Dodgers’ pitching that shut them down.

And I’ll root for Church. As Kipling said, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs”….

Omar's Home for the Aged

I've heard all season how much talent there is on the Mets. I myself picked these Mets to win the NL pennant this year, but it seems as if that prognostication may have been wishful thinking. In GM Omar Minaya's zeal to maximize experience on his roster, he may have forgotten just how much experience these old fellas really have.

Do you want adventure? Just hit a grounder to the Mets right side. Carlos Delgado, the erstwhile slugger and first baseman, will give that ground ball his best effort every single time. That usually means a swipe at the ball; his feet begin to move as the ball passes the lip of the infield.

Delgado’s bat, to be kind, doesn't inspire fear in opponents anymore. For a player who keeps and consults a hitting chart, he seems to be a slow learner. Pitch him outside, he'll try to pull it anyway, the result usually being a ground ball to second base into a shift. For the record, Carlos will be 36 in June and this is his 16th year in the majors. I wonder if his birth certificate shares a lot of the same characteristics as the one Miguel Tejada's been showing around.

Next to Carlos is already oft-injured Luis Castillo, who is a good little fielder but has become totally ineffective at the plate. Just for the record, Luis is just 32 but this is his 14th year in the major leagues. That's a lot of ground balls, a lot of bending, a lot of everything. It seems to have taken its toll.

We Mets fans anxiously await the arrival of Moises Alou. Moises will be 42 in July. This will be his umpteenth year in the majors and he does sport a .303 career batting average along with 332 home runs. But he played only 123 games in 2005 playing for his Dad in San Francisco, then just 98 games in 2006 for the Giants, then just 87 last year for the Mets. Does one detect a pattern here?

Then there is my favorite pitcher, Pedro Martinez. Pedro pitched a few innings in his first start before grabbing his hammy. He's now expected to return to the mound in 10 days. Which mound that might be I have no idea. Pedro will be 37 in October and, hopefully he'll be getting a World Series ring for his special day. For the money he's getting, though, why can't he make an appearance once in a while?

The long line of aging superstars continues. There is also El Duque, Orlando Hernandez. He'll be 39 in October. He just had surgery on his right foot but the boot won't come off for another two weeks.

I suppose I should be thankful that Delgado and Castillo at least play. If Delgado goes down for some reason, we're left with journeyman pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson, who is 34 years old. Of course, Marlon hasn't been too successful at pinch-hitting this year, but, what the hell, it's still only April, right?

There are only 10 current Mets players born after the year 1978. Six of them are pitchers. The position players are Jose Reyes, David Wright, Angel Pagan and the new backup catcher, Gustavo Molina. Pagan is supposed to be replaced by Alou. Is it surprising to anyone that the best performances thus far have been put in by these same young whipper-snappers. (Ryan Church will be 30 in October).

I should point out that Omar has done much better in the pitching arena. Johan Santana has been terrific as expected. Oliver Perez and John Maine are two other fine arms acquired by Minaya. They provide hope, as does Mike Pelfrey, another young starter, and even recently-acquired Nelson Figueroa. That's a pretty fair rotation, even if Pedro and El Duque never show their faces again.

So there is still hope for Mets fans. We have had our share of bad luck. Three grand slams have been given up by the relief corps. Even for a bad staff, that would be rather unfortuitous. Aaron Heilman surrendered one. Jorge Sosa surrendered the other two, and I suspect we'll be seeing less of Mr. Sosa in the near future.

The regulars, though, have to start playing to their potential. The chemistry has been bad. If not for Angel Pagan and Ryan Church, two of the most unlikely heroic figures one could imagine, we might have a much worse record. We could be the National League Tigers.

Jose Reyes, David Wright and especially Carlos Beltran have to be more consistent. Beltran has been somewhat hampered by his "new legs", I think, and it seems to have sapped some of his power. He also has hit a LOT of line drives directly at fielders. I think Beltran will get better and better, and, if he does, he is capable of carrying this team all by himself.

It is also entirely possible that Delgado has taken his batting problems into the field with him. But this is the Major Leagues. Life is tough. If Delgado can’t work his way out of his current funk, Willie will really have to start managing, starting with replacing Delgado for defensive purposes in close games.

Willie has been slow to react to situations. A perfect example of this is his hard-headedness with respect to batting Castillo second, despite stats reflecting the team’s total ineffectiveness and abysmal won-loss record when that is the case.

Willie has attacked Pagan for no good reason except to solidify Alou’s place in left field upon his return. He’s been insistent on keeping Heilman in his place in the relieving rotation despite every indication that that might not be prudent. Yet he’s been remarkably supportive of Brian Schneider, the oft-injured catcher.

Can Willie manage? A team this old needs a manager, perhaps a real gunslinger, somebody who’ll recognize when a change is needed and then make it. So far, he’s just dug in his heels, fighting the tide going against him.