So what is wrong with this Mets team?

Despite popular belief, not a lot. It is easy to freak-out right now. The bats are cold, K-Rod is anything but lockdown, and Pelfrey has stunk to the tune of a 6+ ERA since his stellar start to the season.

Even with all of these problems, the Mets will be fine. It has been 5 games since the All-Star break. The Mets have lost four of those and haven’t looked good doing it, even struggling to get their one win this road trip. The biggest problem: the bats. But that is something that won’t remain a problem for long. The Mets have too many All-Star players to let this slide continue.

Reyes has finally returned from injury and if all goes well he should add a spark. Beltran is working his way back and when he gets into a groove can carry this team. More importantly, when he proves he can play everyday, Francoeur will finally be shown the bench. I like Francoeur and think he has been a terrific fielder, but when you have an OBP below .300 you are a detriment to your team. Ike Davis looks to be heating up, and Bay has to start hitting eventually. Even through this tumultuous season for Bay, he has gotten on a few hot streaks.

As you can see, even though the bats are struggling this road trip, there is no reason to believe that will continue. They are in transition right now with players returning from injury, and some regulars cooling down. It has been horrible timing, but there are 162 games in a regular season for a reason.

What worries me more is Pelfrey, Takahashi and K-Rod. Pelfrey has gotten worse and worse each outing. It is not that he doesn’t have good stuff, but like last season he has lost confidence. I could easily see this spiraling down in a situation like last season. If Dan Warthen and Jerry Manual want to prove they are good at their jobs they will find a way to fix this. Manuel is awful at managing in-game situations, but his strength is supposed to be motivating his players…well let’s see it.

Takahashi has shown us he cannot handle a starting job. He does not have good enough stuff to make mistakes. He needs to go in the bullpen where he can pitch 1-3 innings. Unfortunately there is no one ready to take his spot outside of a trade, and if all the Mets need is a fifth starter, it is not worth giving up good prospects to get it. I have faith the Mets will find a solution to this problem, I just hope they are smart enough to not give up the farm.

For K-Rod I have no confidence in him and probably never will. Unfortunately he is our best option and while he has blown a league-leading five saves, he gets the job done more times than not. We can win with him, it just won’t be pretty.

by Evan Slavit at the Sports Fan Blog Network

I think it is really tempting to say yes, but I am not sure if its the best move. Once Cliff Lee was traded to the Rangers, the trade market lacked a true ace. Sure adding a Ted Lilly or Brett Myers would allow the Mets to move Takahashi to the bullpen, but those guys are not a big improvement over any of the other Mets starters. Come playoff time, it would be hard to take Niese, Dickey, Pelfrey, or Santana out of the rotation. So does the newly acquired pitcher get the boot into the bullpen?

Minaya has done a good job holding onto his prospects the last couple of years. It is finally starting to pay off with some nice depth and big league help, but it still isn’t deep enough to give top prospects away. If they can get one of these guys for scraps, perfect they should make the move. But if the cost is Jenry Mejia, or Fernando Martinez, or even Josh Thole I am not sure it is worth it.

Standing pat, I am not sure the Mets make the playoffs. Perhaps with Beltran and Reyes healthy the Mets offense goes on a tear, but with only four spots in the playoffs and a lot of contending teams, nothing is a lock. It is tempting to make a trade to put the Mets over the top, but not at the cost of tops prospects.

by Evan Slavit at the Sports Fan Blog Network

While the Mets are still on the market for a starting pitcher to add to their rotation, Beltran is a big addition to their line-up. When healthy and going right, Beltran is the kind of offensive presence that can carry a team. Even when Reyes went down last season, the Mets didn’t buckle until Beltran joined him.

Beltran can hit, hit for power, steal, field, and throw making him that rare five-tool player in baseball.

The Mets offense has been slumping and Beltran’s return should act as a shot in the arm.

The unfortunate part to his return is it happened to coincide with Reyes’s injury problem. It will be nice for Reyes to get back and allow this line-up to what it was supposed to resemble on opening-day. With the line-up set the Mets offense should return to one of the best in baseball.

The Mets need to step up their play if they are going to make the playoffs. Beltran seems to be the player that can give them that spark and get the offense untracked.

by Evan Slavit at the Sports Fan Blog Network

New York’s first official workout for pitchers and catchers is a little more than five weeks away, on Feb. 20. The Mets open the season April 5 against Florida.

“The doctor said eight weeks, possibly, and a window to 12 weeks to resume baseball activities. With elite athletes, the timetable is sometimes shorter than the original prognosis,” Beltran’s agent, Scott Boras said.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

When I picked my team, I only considered their contributions while a member of the Mets. If they played longer for the Mets, I gave them a slight bump in rankings since their impact on the Mets should be greater than someone playing only a couple seasons. As a general note, I started watching the Mets around 1985-86 so my choices will be biased towards Mets who have played in the 80s or later.

My squad contains one player at each position, five starters and a relief pitcher/closer. I listed other people I considered in the running for each position. I also added a link to some of our sports memorabilia by each of my choices..

OK.. Here is my all-time Mets squad.

Catcher – Mike Piazza
Also in the running: Gary Carter, Todd Hundley

1B – Keith Hernandez
Also in the running: Carlos Delgado, John Olerud

2B – Edgardo Alfonso
Also in the running: Jeff Kent, Wally Backman

SS – Jose Reyes (No Mets shortstop was even close)

3B – David Wright (He has only scratched the surface of his potential)
Also in the running: Howard Johnson, Robin Ventura

LF – Kevin McReynolds (This was a tough one.. There was not a clear favorite in my mind)
Also in the running: Cleon Jones, Cliff Floyd

CF – Carlos Beltran
Also in the running: Lenny Dykstra, Tommie Agee, Mookie Wilson, Lee Mazzilli

RF – Darryl Strawberry
Also in the running: Rusty Staub

Starting Pitchers –
1. Tom Seaver (Top 2 were obvious but I am somewhat biased towards players who played after 1986 and probably would have chosen a few older pitchers had I actually seen them pitch a little more)
2. Doc Gooden
3. Johan Santana
4. David Cone
5. Al Leiter
Also in the running: Jerry Koosman, Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, Jon Matlack

RELIEF PITCHER – John Franco (Captain and long time Met.. got the benefit of the doubt even though I remember a few rough spots for him in his last year or two. The other ones I listed are dominating pitchers but had less actual time with the Mets than John Franco. I like KROD so far, and can see him moving up here if he does well for the Mets for the next couple seasons)
2. Francisco Rodriguez
3. Billy Wagner
Also in the running: Armando Benitez, Jesse Orosco, Roger McDowell, Jeff Reardon, Randy Myers, Tug McGraw

– Now that I went out on a limb.. anyone else want to try..?

Written by Evan Kanter of the Sports Fan Blog Network

Carlos Delgado took batting practice outdoors for the first time since undergoing surgery on his right hip. Carlos Beltran shagged fly balls for the first time since he was assigned to the disabled list June 22. The return of neither is expected in the immediate future. Delgado acknowledged he has good days and bad days and just tells those who inquire that he feels fine. He has yet to run and says the schedule, once he does, is to include running, then sprinting, then sliding, then playing in Minor League rehab games.

Click here to read the full article – By Marty Noble of MLB.com

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