Little Moves for a Long Stretch Run

Vacations are great but mine was interrupted by news from home, bad news mostly, especially from Pittsburgh, as the strange people manning the lineup for the Mets slogged their way through the schedule. Swimming’s nice, for sure, or just catching the rays (no, not those Rays), but as long as there’s access to a cable TV, you just can’t get away from how mediocre this sorry collection of a Mets team has become.

Today’s lineup doescn’t seem so bad though, not with Church back (even though he has a long way to go to regain my good graces) and manning right field, and Cora’s return to the lineup. And omigosh! There’s Brian Schneider catching. How’d they convince HIM to finally play? And holy cow! There’s the phee-nom, the guy too good to run out a fly ball, none other than Fernando Martinez.

Our heroes had a hell of a first inning though today, highlighted for me by doubles from two guys in my doghouse, Church and Martinez. Beltran has cooled off considerably though, and is now back to batting .340 after reaching the heights of the batting average leaders list. But at least the lineup looks like a major league lineup. That hasn’t been the case for some time now.

Of course the Phillies kept winning and winning, except when Lidge got involved. Lidge, the Phils non-closer, is keeping the Mets “in it”, although that term must be used advisedly, given all the injuries and the way they’ve been running the bases. That might be the saddest thing. Just when the team has needed to play smart, it’s been coming up dumb.

Still though, they are three games behind the Phils. That’s not too bad, and speaks to some strength throughout the organization. The only position that couldn’t be adequately manned lately was shortstop and that situation has just been ridiculous, something that couldn’t be dreamed up. Wilson Valdez has so far been almost adequate at filling in. But really, he’s been the fourth alternative, after Reyes, Cora and the other Martinez, Ramon.

All in all, we’ve seen a lot of outfielders, Sheffield and Reed and Tatis, and a lot of infielders and catchers. And nobody has really flopped, even Emil Brown, recently acquired and probably on his way out the door. Murphy has looked pretty good at first base after his adventures in left field, and, who knows, this team may even be ready to face the Phillies and Yanks in their next two series.

The pitching will match up pretty well, that’s for sure. Santana opens up against Happ, and the third game features Redding against old man Moyer. Game Two doesn’t look promising though, with Pelfrey going against Phils ace Cole Hamels. But, on paper anyway, the Mets should be able to pitch with the Phils and maybe take two out of three.

Then there’s the Yankees series and, well, who knows what could happen to our heroes between now and then. The biggest hurt for the blue team is the loss of J.J. Putz for a long, long time. But even with the loss of Putz, the Mets should be able to withstand it if Purcell, who has shown some ability, can handle the setup role. The Yanks aren’t loaded with relief themselves.

So lighten up, Mets fans. Sure, the Bombers have more power. They have some pretty fair starting pitching too, but if you can get into that relief corps, there’s a lot of room for cutting into a lead, or even extending a lead, if it could ever come to that. Just remember the rest of the division isn’t that great either, and the Phils can’t stay hot forever. Joe’s Dodgers have aleady provided a bit of the ice.

If the Mets can break even in these next two series, and there’s really no reason to think that they can’t, they’ll have survived and treaded water, if you will, while getting just killed with injuries. That’s not too shabby. Before you know it, Reyes will be back, and maybe he’ll really add some spark this time.

With Reyes back at short, with Castillo and Cora handling second, with a Murphy starting to look comfortable at first, and the hot-hitting David at third base, the Mets will once again be solid in the infield.

Church’s return, especially if he can start hitting, will help an outfield situation that really hasn’t looked too bad in the first place. Reed has looked good, and Tatis and Sheffield have been pretty much as expected. But the starting outfield should probably be Beltran, Church and Sheffield or Tatis and that’s not too problematic in my book. I think Sheffield hits better when he plays the field; it’s the DH position that he apparently can’t really handle.

It seems every Mets fan I turn to is looking for another bat. But surely with Beltran, Wright and Sheffield, the team should be able to score some runs. I’d much rather see a relief pitcher to replace Putz if there are any that become available. Delgado will be back before you know it (August).

The list of teams with big bats that go nowhere is a long one, much longer than the list of unsuccessful teams with good starters and an even stronger relief corps. Especially playing in CitiField, isn’t it built for pitching? Wouldn’t the Mets have less risk if they replaced the big arm they lost?

A move more typical of Omar was the one that moved reserve catcher Juan Castro to the White Sox for a pitcher, Lance Broadway. Hopefully, Mr. Broadway will soon live up to his name up in AAA Buffalo.

More than ever maybe, this pennant race is proving to be a long one, not unlike yesterday’s Belmont. The winner got the better trip while the stronger horse faltered in the stretch after showing some rankness after about 6 furlongs.

Maybe all this early misfortune will make this Mets horse a little stronger in the stretch.

Is This the Bottom?

Let’s see, first base, um, we have no first baseman. I mean, Murphy played the position, and very nicely too for his first time, or any time, but he doesn’t hit like a first sacker. Second base? Well, Luis Castillo is ok, I guess; doesn’t do much with the bat though. Shortstop? Well, nope. We have no shortstop. Jose is hurt and Cora is hurt. At third we have Wright and in center we have old reliable Mr. Beltran.

Who played left and right fields? Argh, who cares? Whoever they were, either Jose Pagan or Ramon Martinez or Church or any one of seemingly countless little guys with bats in their hand. The catchers do nothing either. Castro has been very boring, Schneider’s always hurt. Omir Santos has nothing.

This has got to be the bottom. Even if the Metsies managed to pull this last game out, things would still have been pretty grim. Only the pitchers have made things look respectable, but right now the Oakland A’s or the Giants look like Murderers Row compared to this horrid lineup of pushovers.

Well, it was the Dodgers, I guess, and they have pretty good pitching, to say the least. But things don’t get any better. Now our local heroes head out to Boston. It’ll be Johan Santana against Dice K coming off the DL in the opener and that might be the only possibility of an advantage in that series.

After the opener, hopefully a win, then it’ll be Pelfrey against Beckett and Redding against Wakefield. I can’t wait to see these cream puff Met batters try to hit Wakefield’s knuckler. If the Mets can win one of the three, it’ll be amazing.

Talk radio is driving me crazy too. Nothing like rubbing it in. Nothing like hearing how bad Minaya’s doing and Manuel’s doing ad infinitum. Manuel especially is taking a beating, and he really doesn’t deserve it, not with this lineup. I thought he could have batted Sheffield in the 9th cream puff number nine but, you may have guessed, Sheffield hadn’t taken batting practice as he was not feeling well.

This is excruciating though, I must say. Listening to all these Yankee fans, pretending to be Mets fans, calling in to THE FAN to urge Minaya to pick up Nick Johnson at first base. Nick friggin’ Johnson. The only guy who ever thought Nick Johnson was anything special was Brian Cashman. He was deluded enough to think Johnson was better than David Ortiz.

And speaking of Big Papi, he finally broke out of his homerless slump tonight by putting one over the wall in centerfield. So our boys will have him to worry about too. It wasn’t enough that they had Bay and Youkilis killing the ball, along with all the other real live threats in their lineup, Ellsbury, Drew, Lowell, et al.

Geez, maybe this isn’t the bottom after all. Maybe we won’t even take one game in Boston. Santana did get knocked around a bit in his last win. And Dice K, if he’s returning off the DL, has probably regained his form; otherwise, why bring him back?

Well, I guess it’s high time to look at the bright side. There must be a silver lining somewhere, or maybe just a copper lining. Church can’t be as bad as he looks, can he? He can only get better, going from horrible to mediocre would be nice.

And Daniel Murphy, judging by his debut at first base, really may have found his spot, which can only help him at the plate. Feeling comfortable is one of the keys to hitting. You have to be relaxed. You have to feel good about yourself, much as all those steroid abusers feel before crushing another dinger.

And Sheffield will be back Friday. He’ll make that lineup a little deeper. Reed really isn’t that bad. Ramon Martinez will have gotten that first game out of his system. That’ll give the Mets honest-to-God major leaguers at every position. Let’s not think about depth at this juncture.

And maybe after winning 11 in a row, maybe a huge swing back to the depths was in order with the universe.

But what happened to hitting the ball to the opposite field? Church NEVER tries it. Neither does Tatis. Neither does Castro. And they look foolish trying to pull outside pitches. They deserve benching, but the Mets can’t afford to bench anyone and still have major leaguers on the field.

But a change is needed. And not in management, in players on the field. I’ve seen enough of Church for sure. Dump him, just as he dumped the Mets the other night. I’m tired of seeing his sorry butt on the field, and even more tired of having people feel sorry for him. He’s a bad player. Get rid of him. Get another outfielder.

And while we’re at it, why not dump Schneider too? He obviously doesn’t play too much anyway. Sore fingernail, sore butt, give me a break. El Dumpo for him too. Undo that trade made for Lastings Milledge and LoDuca. Boy, do I ever miss LoDuca.

The good news, though, is that this can’t go on forever. And there are some good things happening in other sports. Hey, Orlando beat the Cavs in one hell of a Game 1. The Knicks and Nets will both get some pretty nice basketball players in the draft.

And if that’s not good enough for you, you can always check out Mark Sanchez in the latest GQ. WOOHOO!!

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.