Bored

No, this isn't an "I'm bored, so I'm gonna write about something dumb" situation. It's more of a "my greatest interest is now much less interesting" situation.

In the past couple of weeks, Mets games have gotten more and more boring for me. This is coming from a person who watched 150+ games in 2009, and who has still watched almost every game this year.

The Mets are an addiction I'll never be able to shake. I've come to terms with this. I will always watch, because watching a dull Mets game is better than watching no Mets game. I know come January I'll be longing for Mets baseball again, regardless of how much the team sucks. Now though, I'm just stuck. I don't have another real hobby (besides agonizing over politics, and playing Baseball Mogul, but do those even count?.

I'm not one of the Mets fans that watches football/basketball/hockey/whatever to supplement the Amazins. It's just the Mets for me. They're all I've got. And now this "all I've got" is becoming dreadfully boring at points.

Cutting your losses

(Note: School is starting next week for me. As odd as it may sound, this means I'll be blogging MORE. I've never quite understood why this is the case, but it is, so don't worry.)

The Mets opening day positional alignment:

Catcher: Rod Barajas
Acquired in the offseason, claimed on waivers by LA a couple of weeks back.

First baseman: Mike Jacobs
Designated for assignment earlier in the year, ended up manning first for Buffalo, eventually traded to Toronto for a player to be named later.

Second baseman: Luis Castillo
Struggled on the field, was benched for a while, now is starting on a temporary basis due to Jose Reyes' day-to-day injury.

Shortstop: Alex Cora
Was bad. Released before his 2011 option vested. Signed with the Rangers, and is now a backup outfielder with the club.

Third baseman: David Wright
Face of the franchise, nothing's really changed with him.

Left field: Jason Bay
Posted worryingly low home run totals before being shut down for the year due to a concussion.

Center field: Gary Matthews Jr.
Remember him? Was awful for the Mets. Designated for assignment. Signed a minor league deal with Cincy, but used his out clause there after he couldn't crack the big league Reds (he had been playing with AAA Louisville).

Right field: Jeff Francoeur
Had some small hot streaks, but for the most part was mediocre at best. Finally was traded two days ago: to Texas for infielder Joaquin Arias.

In addition to these guys, early roster mainstays like Frank "Smithtown's Own" Catalanotto, Fernando Tatis, Fernando Nieve, Sean Green, and John Maine fell by the wayside (though the last four are still at the moment members of the Mets organization).

This makes me think two things.

1)Why was management so confident in such a mediocre team?

2)Why does management continue to show a lack of an ability to cut losses before it's too late?

The sad part of all this is that if these questions go unanswered, and management remains the same, what's the reason to believe that happy days are on the horizon?

Jerry Manuel is not a good manager

Only a few weeks ago, Jerry Manuel's firing seemed imminent. The fans were all calling for his head, and they were doing it for all the wrong reasons.

"Look at their record!" they'd chant, as if Manuel could physically manipulate all of the twenty-five men on the roster, as if he was just a man with a chessboard. They had the right ideas, but followed an illogical path to get to them.

Now, these same people shout the same four words, "Look at their record!" to halt any intimations that Mr. Manuel really should be out of a job. They say that the team is winning FOR Jerry, as if the team would dissolve under any other manager. Sorry to break your heart traditionalists, but the Mets are winning simply because they are a good ballclub.

Jerry Manuel should have been out of a job in April, in May, and even now, as the team stands 11 games over .500 and .5 games back in the NL East, he doesn't deserve to continue holding his position. A drunk, blind man given a rifle and an unlimited supply of bullets will hit his target every once in a while. That's just basic probability. If he's lucky and hits the target on the first try, that still doesn't make him a great marksman.

My Endorsement in the Mets GM Primaries

Though Howard Megdal is certainly a strong and admirable candidate for the position of New York Mets general manager, I feel that my blog's endorsement must go to a candidate who we have the utmost faith in. In my opinion, the candidate that best satisfies that need is Alex Cora's vest.

Alex Cora's 80-game vest has been a part of Mets lore since the winter of 2009, when it was included in Cora's contract extension. It's been with us through the hard times (that disastrous series in Philly in early May, Maine's 5 pitch start in Washington) and through the good times (the 8 game winning streak, Jon Niese's 1-hitter). Its presence is felt anytime Alex comes into a game.

So, when you go into the voting booth, write in "Alex Cora's vest". It's the right thing to do. My apologies to Mr. Megdal.

Bow to the almighty Gary Cater

Smooth move, MLB.com.

All Good Things

...must come to an end.

The amazing hot streak the Mets had been on just last week now seems like ancient history. The Mets need to recover from three consecutive losses, two of which were just pathetic on their part. Last night they wasted an unusually solid start by Ollie Perez.

This crap can't go on. The team needs to get it together now if they want to hang around with the big boys in the league come October. A great first step would be to say goodbye to mediocrity like Raul Valdes, Frank "Smithtown's Own" Catalanotto, and Gary "Leadoff Hitter?" Matthews Jr. The Mets have perfectly good guys in the minors (Nick Evans, F-Mart, Parnell, Calero, Hessman, Chris "The Animal" Carter, I can go on) to fill these spots. It's ludicrous that we're instead stuck with this lot of aging, below replacement level guys getting obscene amounts of playing time. The buck needs to end here or this team will be sitting at home this fall.

Seven, count 'em, seven

The Mets have won seven games in a row? What? They're seriously in first place now?

Wow.

One gets so accustomed to this club being mired in mediocrity that even a half-game division lead at the end of April can cause some excitement. I really have missed seeing this team in first.

Although I didn't feel this way originally, I've developed a liking for the 2010 Mets ballclub. They seem to always be able to work themselves back into games they originally seemed out of, something we haven't seen much of the last few years. They have a relatively strong bullpen for the first time that I can remember. The lineup is potent and the non-Maine (aside from yesterday's strong performance), non-Perez starting pitching has been solid- in the case of Mike Pelfrey, dare I say fantastic.

This team is highly enjoyable to watch. Hopefully this early success will hold up. Hopefully we'll be able to see this season stretch to a point that will allow us to see leaves both grow from trees and fall from them in the interim.