Met Mess

Miguel Tejada leads the major leagues in multi-hit games with 39. The Houston Astros are winners of seven straight games. They just swept the St. Louis Cardinals and extended their home winning streak to a season high five games when they won the opener of a three game set at Minute Maid Park. The Astros, of course, welcomed the a New York Mets team mingled in a mirage of muddled chaos. The Mets have lost six of eight games since coming back from the All-Star break and are all but out of contending for the NL East. The Phillies hold a ten game lead in the division and there are seven teams ahead of the Mets for the NL wildcard.
The grisliness that is the New York Mets reached epic proportions with Vice President, Tony Bernazard’s diatribe on the Binghamton Mets. Sources say the top executive took off his shirt and challenged the minor league players to a fight, while cursing out Met management. Bernazard reportedly also had a bout with closer, Francisco Rodriguez on the team bus returning from Atlanta last week. The ongoing investigation of Bernazard will continue and so will the plague of pathetic play as long as Jerry Manuel fields this team. New York is nothing more than a Triple A team in shambles. The offense is weakened due to injuries but the Mets cannot use that as an excuse for not hitting. They lack deep and dominant pitching and have precious little to trade before the July 31st baseball deadline. The Mets do not have a stacked minor league system and aside from a handful of serviceable relievers and Gary Sheffield, have nothing to offer opposing clubs. If Jose Reyes could stay on the field and prove himself in good health and a good attitude, the Mets would have a chip to offer. But Reyes is currently damaged goods and teams are not going to risk acquiring the All-star shortstop. Daniel Murphy is viable trade bait as well. However, the Mets cannot lose Murphy at first base despite his mediocre production. With Carlos Delgado’s return pending, the Mets either need to trade for a first baseman with a big bat or move David Wright to the other side of the infield. Then, the problem of filling the hot corner becomes number one on the agenda. The Mets are just not hitting and are leaving too many runners on base when they do reach safely. Manuel has seen his team shut out five times in July and nine times this season.
Last night, the team ace Johan Santana, endured one of his worst outings on a muggy Houston mound. Santana allowed 15 runners to reach base in six plus innings. He struck out just three Astros, and gave up a two-run homerun to opposing pitcher and former Amazin’ Mike Hampton. The veteran Hampton allowed four runs on eight hits in the 5-4 Houston victory. The southpaw fanned seven Mets and walked four over 5 2/3 impressive innings to pick up his sixth win. The Astros received crisp contributions from every batter in the lineup, and from the shining defense. Chris Coste provided the difference-making double with his two-run smack in the fifth. The Mets drew first blood with a Wright RBI single in the first inning. New Met, Jeff Francoeur and fill-in, Fernando Tatis thwarted the Mets opportunity with consecutive outs.
The Astros responded to the 1-0 New York lead in the bottom of the first. Kaz Matsui and Tejada stroked back-to-back singles with one out against Santana. Johan ended his 15 inning scoreless streak when Astros’ sluggler Carlos Lee delivered an RBI single. After a Jeff Keppinger double with two down in the fourth, Hampton gave himself a 3-1 margin with his 16th career long ball. The Mets’ Omir Santos went deep in the sixth for a solo shot and was 3 for 4 on the evening. Second baseman, Luis Castillo, was also 3 for 4 with an RBI. Francoeur and Wright added an RBI each, but it wasn’t enough to propel the Mets to a win. Coste’s creaming gave the Astros the lead for good despite a late threat by New York’s putrid offense in the eighth. With runners at the corners and two outs, LeTroy Hawkins got Castillo to pop out to left field. Jose Valverde tossed a hitless ninth to collect the save, his 11th of the year.
The Mets pounded out the hits Friday night but were unable to get the runs in. The lack of run production is a major problem, even in the low-scoring National League. Ten runners were stranded even though the Mets worked Astros hurlers to 160 pitches. The offense continues to regress, and their biggest hitter, Wright, has yet to reach double digits in homeruns. When Sheffield is the team leader in taters, the offensive struggles should be addressed. I am not sure how to fix the Mets. I do know their HR and front office needs to look in the mirror and realize they are embarrassing to fans and the league. The Phillies are the frontrunners as the World Series champions and are not slowing down to allow the Mets back into the playoff race. If Philadelphia lands Roy Halladay, the Mets can forget about making the playoffs for the next three seasons. The Mets are a mess and marred. They are in a public relations nightmare with Bernazard, yet the Wilpons are unwilling to fire the destroying VP. The owners feel the Mets are thriving in the minor leagues because of Bernazard. GM Omar Minaya is generally liked by the public but his team is unmatchable. Minaya’s diminishing power in the organization should concern fans because the Wilpons are clearly in control. As long as they call the shots, New York will be perceived as a laughable organization.
Twenty-two year old, Jon Niese, throws for the Mets tonight. Niese was 5-0 in his last seven starts in Buffalo. The Mets look to the youngster for a much-needed turnaround in the middle game of this series. He won’t completely clean up the mess, but should he provide a quality start, he will alleviate some of the stench.

Parting points: I am still flabbergasted by the Dwayne Wise catch Thursday night. He looked more like Dwayne Wade going up for a hook shot.

Song of the day- “Hero” by Mariah Carey