Disgruntled Mets Fan

If I get a yes vote, I will make a video of the “ceremony” and post it before the Mets Play the Phillies in August.  The poll will remain in the sidebar until then.

The Mets blew their second consecutive lead last night, losing to the Phillies again in extra innings.  This time it was avid steroid denier (cue skeptical staring) Raul Ibanez who did the damage with a three run home run in the top of the 10th inning off Ken Takahashi.  I’m not sure why Manuel chose to go with Takahashi.  Left handed hitters have been owning him so far this year, but he was truly limited in his options.

Tim Redding pitched well enough to get a win last night, and it’s unfortunate that his line up was unable to pick him up.  Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran teamed up to get the Mets three runs offensively, and David Wright continued his hot streak at the plate, but the rest of the Mets bats were put to sleep by Jamie Moyer.

The last two losses were “classic” Mets losses.  They scored early to take a lead, slowly had it chipped away, were unable to add on any runs late, and eventually gave up the lead late for the loss.  It’s a formula that the Mets have seemed to follow a lot recently.  Sure the team is all banged up, and are not supposed to win these games with the team they have on the field, but that doesn’t change the fact that they could have taken two of three, if not the entire series.  They were in a position to do so, but they don’t have the killer instinct to finish teams off.

To make a bad situation worse, John Maine was added to the 15-day DL last night after the game with what’s being called “arm fatigue”.  Maine said in an interview that he really didn’t take any time off over the winter while trying to rehab from his shoulder surgery and he’s paying for it now.  The way this season is going, I wouldn’t be surprised if Maine goes under the knife before June is over.  Fernando Nieve or Nelson Figueroa are the probable options to replace Maine in his scheduled start Saturday against the Yankees.  When will the injuries stop?

Speaking of the Yankees…

The Mets play a three game series in Derek Jeter International Airport starting today.  I can’t think of a worst time to face the Yankees, who in my opinion are the best team in baseball when they don’t play the Red Sox.  I am truly nervous about what could happen this series.  Hopefully Livan Hernandez and Johan Santana can give the Mets solid efforts in the first and third game of the set to give the Mets a shot.  I’m officially throwing in the towel for the second game with a spot starter trying to make it through the scary Yankee line up.  The small bit of good news is that the Phillies have to play the Red Sox so they won’t have an easy weekend either.

My Disgruntled Level is getting higher the farther the Mets fall away from first.

It’s been a few days since Carlos Beltran showed some of the leadership qualities he has always been criticized for lacking, when he spoke about his disappointment in the Mets getting swept by the Pirates.

Here’s how it all started

We have to find a way to play better, there’s no doubt. Overall. I’m not pointing fingers at anybody. Offense, defense, pitching — we have to find a way to play better. The reality of this is, coming here to Pittsburgh and being swept — personally, I feel embarrassed.

I don’t think it’s fun. We have to find a way to play better and to focus better and focus more on what we need to accomplish.

We have to play better.  There’s no doubt we have to play better. We have to take this personal, because this can’t happen. It can’t happen for us to come here and lose three games just like that. It can’t happen.

I know they’re a big-league ballclub, but we’re better than them,” he said. “We’re better than them. We know we’re better than them, but we have to do something about it.

McLouth wasn’t there and they still come out and score how many runs? Eleven? Eleven runs, so we have to play better.

Rightfully so, Adam “the Roach” LaRoche fired back at Beltran with,

I think it shows zero class and zero professionalism, when somebody says that, they know what they’re saying, and they know it’s going to get out. He knows we’re not going to be real happy about it. If you go and say that to your buddies, it’s one thing. If you go to the media and make that public for us to hear? Yeah, that’s no class.

Beltran then countered saying

What I said was as a team we should all feel embarrassed, because, being honest, I don’t care what he said.  I believe we’re a better team than them.  I don’t care what he said. I know that we could have won the first game and there’s no excuse why we would have lost that one.  If we would have won that one, I tell you we would have won one or two more.  There’s no doubt.

I said in a post after the Pirates series, that the Mets got outplayed by Pittsburgh in every aspect of the game.  Apparently, Carlos agreed with me.  Everyone knows the Mets were not at full strength, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re expected to go out and beat Pittsburgh.  It’s nice to know that someone other than the fans think so.

I understand why LaRoche felt the need to respond to Beltran’s comments.  I know if someone made comments like that about my team, I’d expect someone to respond;  be it with a statement, or a pitch at the chin.  This is not the first time Carlos Beltran has stepped up and made a comment about the state of his team, although it does not happen nearly enough.  I think what he said was less about insulting the Pirates, and more about lighting a fire under the asses of his teammates.  It’s hard to tell if it actually worked.  Sure they took two out of three in their next series, but that was against the equally bad Washington Nationals.  The real test will come starting tomorrow.

What are your predictions for the next series against the Phillies?

With injuries depleting the Mets roster faster than Anna Benson runs to the bank to cash Chris’ paycheck, trade rumors are everywhere.  A poll is in order.