Mets unimpressive

After a few weeks of spring training, though a few players, such as Pagan, have played better than expected and the Mets have won a bunch of games, I've been unimpressed. The addition of Santana is a plus; however, I wouldn't have traded Mulvey, and Randolph continues to fail to do something that will boost my confidence in his ability. He couldn't get the job done last season, and I doubt he'll get it done again. Delgado is past his prime, as is Hernandez and Alou, and the Mets farm system at the upper levels is the weakest it's been in years. Other than that, I'm looking forward to opening day.

Who made the Mets mess?

Why are the New York Mets in the mess they're in?

It begins with their starting rotation. The Mets had only three starters available for most of the season: Glavine, Maine, and Perez; however, since the All-Star break, Maine has pitched noticeably poorer than he did before the break.

The fourth starter, Orlando Hernandez, has been ailment-prone. He's only been able to pitch 145 innings this season, but only 66.2 since the All-Star break. He's been out of action with a bunion since his last start on September 11 when, in three plus innings against 19 batters, he gave up eight runs on six hits and four walks. In comparison, Tom Glavine, their most reliable starter, has pitched 200 innings.

Compounding their starting pitching problems is the fact that the Mets were never able to stabilize the fifth slot, rotating a variety of pitchers through it, including Vargas to Brian Lawrence to Mike Pelfrey. Pelfrey got the most fifth-slot starts, 13; but this season, his luck's been like his number of starts. His ERA is 5.57 and his WHIP is 1.71.

When you have a unstable rotation, that places more stress on your bullpen.

The Mets bullpen wasn't built to last. It's like a Mercury that I owned in the 1970s. After only a few years of use, with its mileage under 50,000, the car started going downhill faster than an Olympic skier.

By September, Billy Wagner -- when he was available -- wasn't the same pitcher he was earlier in the season. And it's not because he was overused. He's only pitched 67.1 innings. His ERA for August was 6.23; for the last seven days, it's been 13.50.

The Mets hoped September call-ups, such as Carlos Muniz and Willie Collazo would strengthen their bullpen. They didn't.

Willie Randolph said that Guillermo Mota would get over his "buzzard luck." He couldn't.

And ex-starters such as Aaron Sele and Jorge Sosa, whom the Mets relegated to the pen, couldn't perform better there then they did as starters.

Add to that the mistakes that Mets manager Willie Randolph has made with his relievers and starters, sometimes, for example, leaving them in too long, and the mess worsens.

But the biggest mistakes were made by Mets GM Omar Minaya. He assembled this cast of characters. Of course, he couldn't predict that Duaner Sanchez would miss this whole season from an off-field injury he suffered last season. But he either got rid or or didn't re-sign players who've made a difference this season on other teams, Heath Bell, Matt Lindstrom, Royce Ring, and Chad Bradford, players that couldn't have pitched any worse than have Mota, Sele, Sosa, and Schoeneweis.

Bell, Ring, and Lindstrom are gone because Mets' pitching coach Rick Peterson couldn't develop them as well as their current pitching coaches have. So Peterson also needs to share the blame. The same fate should befall him as happened to hitting coach Rick Downs, Bell, Lindstrom, and Ring. As soon as the season ends, Peterson should become an ex-Met.

Minaya will most likely be back next season. What he does in the off-season to strengthen the pitching staff will indicate whether he has the skill to place back on the right track a Mets team that's derailed.

Mets luck changes — Will it last?

Before yesterday's game, one Met made a big change. Paul Lo Duca shaved his head. But more change is needed if the team's recent misfortune is to be reversed.

One of the causes of the team's misfortune has been, according to New York Times writer George Vecsey, the fact that "The Mets have looked awful, particularly because José Reyes has been clumsy and indecisive in every phase of the game."

Reyes got two hits last night, including a double, and scored two runs, but also made a throwing error, his twelfth error of the season. He also failed to show patience at the plate in three of his five at-bats, something essential from a leadoff batter. Twice he hit the first pitch and once the second pitch.

The New York Mets won yesterday, 8-4, but their victory didn't convince me that they've set aside their problems, though their luck might be changing. The Phillies finally lost a game, 2-1.

Mets fans have to thank Cardinal pitcher Adam Wainwright for pitching the type of game that Mets fans have prayed for from a Mets pitcher. In eight innings Wainwright limited the Phils to four hits and a run, That's a lot better than Mets starter, Mike Pelfrey, did. In his 92-pitch, five inning stint Pelfrey surrendered nine hits, walked three batters, and gave up three runs, exiting the game with runners on first and third and no out in the sixth.

Despite the win, the pennant's still far from won. As Moises Alou said after the win, "We're not over the hump yet." It's a hump the Mets created.

The team's now in Florida for four games against the Marlins. Hopefully, the Mets won't become Fish food.

Finally, before yesterday's game, Mets manager Willie Randolph made another strange statement, something he's been in the habit of doing lately. Speaking about the Washington Nationals, Randolph said "I’d rather be playing the Phillies and Atlanta, to be honest with you.”

Mets desperate for doctor who can stop the bleeding

Thanks to the New York Mets, the Washington Nationals are pulling away from the cellar-dwelling Florida Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies are now only 1.5 games away from tying the Mets for first place.

The Mets are in a free fall without a parachute.

Why have the once-mighty Mets fallen so fast?

It starts with the bullpen, a pen that's noticeably weaker than last season's.

It continues with the moves that Randolph's not making. Reyes is wearing down from playing so many games. Start Anderson Hernandez at shortstop for a game or two. Several days ago the Mets named Hernandez the Sterling Minor League Organizational Player-of-the-Year. Give him a chance to play.

The Mets slide's been hastened along by the starting pitching. John Maine hasn't been getting the job done; Oliver Perez's last start was deplorable; and Orlando Hernandez's injuries have minimized his availability. In his last start, his lingering foot injury diminished his effectiveness so much he was ineffective.

Yesterday, Maine didn't belong on the mound. In 4.1 innings he gave up 11 hits and eight runs. But Maine wasn't the one who kept himself on the mound that long. Willie Randolph did. I'm clueless as to why Randolph would allow Maine to give up so many runs and hits before pulling him from the game. For the first time, I think that Randolph is the wrong man to manage the Mets. He can't stop the bleeding. Will the front office wait until the Mets bleed to death before replacing him.

After Randolph pulled Maine, four Mets relievers, amazingly, pitched scoreless ball for 3.2 innings. So if Randolph had pulled Maine in the fifth before he'd given up five runs in that inning, the Mets would have won the game.

So it ends with the manager, Willie Randolph. Commenting on the Mets current losing streak, Randolph said: "This is not Armageddon to us." What is it then? A picnic?

Armageddon is a decisive conflict. In a pennant race in which the Mets are losing ground every day, if Randolph doesn't view it as a decisive conflict the Mets are really in trouble.

Randolph added that "We still feel good about where we are ... we, as a group, are going to keep things in perspective. For us, there is a calm and a feeling of wellness, even though we haven't looked that way." When I read that I couldn't believe he said that. There's still a "feeling of wellness"? This team is in the midst of a losing streak that's sickening most Mets fans, and Willie's talking about wellness.

The Mets are a team with intensity but not focus, an intensity that some players have trouble keeping under control. If there's any difference between the Phillies and the Mets other than the Phillies are a betting hitting team, it's that the Phillies, as a team, are focused on winning. The Mets, on the other hand, seem more focused on talking about why they're not winning.

Right now, the Mets are in a sorry state. Unfortunately, no one appears able to pull them out. Unless someone rises to the occasion, the Mets will continue to sink in the standings until they're out of the pennant race.

Reyes doesn't score, Mets lose

Yesterday, for the second day in a row, the New York Mets wasted one of baseball's more valuable commodities, a quality start. The bullpen that Minaya built for this season is like the straw house that one of the three little pigs constructed. It's falling apart. But then, it wasn't built to last. Not when it contains ex-starter Aaron Sele (5.26), ex-starter Jorge Sosa (4.30), Steve Schoeneweis (5.02), and Guillermo "Buzzard Luck" Mota (5.71). (Their ERAs are in parentheses.)

The bullpen's latest victims were Pedro Feliciano and Jorge Sosa. In 1.2 innings they gave up three hits and four runs.

It wasn't just the Mets relievers who weren't getting the job done. The Mets batters managed just eight hits off six Phillies pitchers. But then, the Mets hitters aren't as good as the Phillies', so when the Phillies pitchers pitch a good game, the Mets are in trouble.

This season, Jimmy Rollins is better than Jose Reyes. Chase Utley is a better hitter, if not a better player than anyone on the Mets' roster. And the Mets don't have a power hitter that can compare to Ryan Howard.

Reyes, in particular, has not played well in the last two Phillies series.

In the first game on Friday, Reyes stepped to the plate six times, struck out twice, and reached base once; he also failed to it around the bases. In the second game, Reyes had five plate appearances. He reached base three times, twice on walks, once on a hit. Though he stole two bases, he couldn't cross the plate.

In August when the Phils swept the Mets, in game one Reyes went 0-4, neither walking nor scoring any runs; in game two, he went 0-5 with no walks nor runs; in game three, he went 1-3 with a walk but no runs; and in game four, a 11-10 loss, he couldn't get a hit but walked twice and scored once, going 0-3. So in the last six Phillies games, all loses, Reyes scored only once.

A pattern seems to be developing.

It's my guess that when Reyes fails to score any runs, the Mets have a losing record.

Unfortunately, yesterday there was no win by a Mets' minor league team that could cushion the big club's loss. The season's over for their minor league affiliates, and it could be nearing an end for the Men of Shea, who've been playing more like boys.

There was some good news. El Duque's admitted that his foot's still not healed enough for him to return to the mound. ESPN reported that "Hernandez said Saturday it's still bothering him during his delivery."

He never should have made his last start. It was obvious to everyone but Mets' management that El Duque wasn't ready to return. His sore foot obviously affected his ability to pitch: The Braves used him for batting practice, scoring eight earned runs in three plus innings.

Regarding El Duque's status, here's what the Mets' manager had to say about it: "I think we're going to err on the side of caution," Randolph said. "If there is any question or whatever then he won't pitch."

He should take that same caution the next time the thought enters his mind to throw Guillermo Mota into a close game.