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When Johan Santana was brought to New York in the winter of 2008, it was with much fanfare that he would be the savior that brought the Mets some respectability after the collapse of 2007.

During Santana’s tenure as a Met so far, they have not won anything, in fact they are actually a worse performing team than they were in 2007. 

I am not blaming any one player or coaching staff member, but the fact is he is not the “Ace” that he was lauded for being when he was on the Minnesota Twins.

Much is written about the lack of run support that Santana receives during his starts, which is fair, but one thing is for sure, every time he takes the mound, some sort of drama ensues, and to be honest, the pitching effort he puts forth is not worth the drama that surrounds him.

Santana has an ERA of 2.98, which is respectable and for most of the summer that number was lower, but with the season-long struggle that has been the Mets offense, he was the victim of many no-decisions.  

Fair or not, these things happen, but the “innocent victim” label that many fans have given Santana is not earned either, he is part of a team; they win as a team and lose as a team.

Last season, Santana’s ERA was 3.13, so even though he does not have as many wins as he should have, his pitching has not been dominant enough to warrant the “Ace” classification.

He is a Cy Young Award winner, but to be honest, in his case along with other trades and transactions, you do have to wonder why the Minnesota Twins were so willing to let him go in exchange for five relatively unproven prospects.

During his post game interviews he is not afraid of letting the press know that one or more of his teammates did not get the job done and that is why they lost. He does not show an accountability that comes with being an “Ace.” 

He calls his own game, does not want his manager or teammates to talk to him on the mound, even if there is a strategically sound reason, this shows me that he is not a true team player.

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It is no secret that professional athletes go where the money is, and a player staying with the same team for their whole career is rare.

Trade markets and free agency are always going to be explored and tested by both player and organization.

So the question is, do teams keep the players that their franchises are built around?

The Mets have two of the most dynamic and beloved players in recent New York history: Jose Reyes and David Wright, AKA The Dynamic Duo.

Reyes is one of the premiere leadoff hitters and base stealers in the game, and Wright is a speedy slugger. They both are proud to get their uniforms dirty in the process.

Their teammates love having them for their energy and smiles, but more importantly they are typically the first to give out high-fives, hip bumps, and hugs for a big hit or win.

Reyes and Wright both came up through Mets minor league system more than six years ago and in 2006, both signed extensions that will have them on the Mets for at least another year. 

Reyes has a contract through 2011 and Wright is signed through 2012, but both have options for another season.

They are both 27 years old and have been Mets since before their 21st birthdays. To have them both play another five or ten years is likely, and the Mets should do their best to retain both of them.

Reyes has been sidelined for much of the last two years with injuries and Wright is bouncing back decently from an aberration of a low productivity season, but they are both forced to be reckoned with by any pitcher or team.

This coming winter, it is a possible that the Mets will sign them both extensions that will make them Mets for at least another five years. And that is a move the Mets should make.

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After last night’s loss, Alex Cora got quite upset about some laughter in the clubhouse.

Here is the link to David Lennon’s Twitter Post:

http://twitter.com/lenno212/status/19051351500

While none of us were in the clubhouse to fully know what was the joke or why Cora in particular got so offended, there is a concern that the Mets players will be labeled as “playing for the paycheck instead of the win”.

The laughter may have had nothing to do with the game they just lost, it could have been about Ollie Perez being activated or something completely unrelated to baseball.

On one hand, its a game, no sense crying over a loss, go get the win tomorrow, but on the other hand, losing is not something to be laughed off.

Baseball players get paid a lot of money and fans expect to see them take it seriously, so news of this kind will always draw ire from a fanbase.

The Mets players are going to take their cue from the leaders, both management, coaches and veterans.

Jerry Manuel has been known to laugh and joke about everything, and proven team leaders like David Wright, Jason Bay, Jeff Francoeur and Carlos Beltran did not openly confront the jokesters.

Wright, Bay and Beltran did not play a good game, but that is not the full reason they lost, it takes a 25 man team to win and it takes a 25 man team to lose.  Francoeur only had a pinch hit appearance.  If anyone had reason to be angry it had to be either RA Dickey, Angel Pagan or Josh Thole, as they did very well, but only Cora seemed upset. 

As the team’s de-facto Captain, Wright will always be expected to intervene in the clubhouse.  A lot of fans may be asking “where was Wright in this?”, truth is he could have been on the trainers table icing down his bruised knee, working out in the weight room or even in the showers when this occurred and found out about it after the fact.

Alex Cora has the utility, off the bench role so part of his anger may have been frustration at not getting a chance to play.

Time will tell if Cora’s anger got through to his teammates, but I am sure it had an impact in the clubhouse last night.

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There is no question that the 2010 New York Mets team is a force that no opposing team should take lightly.

While it is only mid-season, there is good reason to believe that the Mets will play meaningful baseball in October, something they have not done since 2006.

In June of 2006, David Wright won the NL Player of the month. He participated in his first All Star Game festivities, including the HR Derby, where he placed a close second to Ryan Howard of the Phillies.

Last weekend it was announced that Wright won NL Player of the Month with his impressive statistics. He is now preparing to participate in his fifth consecutive All Star Game.

David has said that he will not participate in another HR Derby because of the physical strain on his body. Also, he has worked extremely hard this season to level off his swing. His old extreme uppercut seems to be a thing of the past.

Mechanically and physically, it would be better for Wright to forgo the HR Derby this year. But, it is his decision and a decision the Mets fans need to support.

The fact remains that Wright will be the starting third baseman for the NL, an honor that he appreciates and takes seriously.

In order for the Mets to be serious contenders down to the wire, David Wright needs to produce with the consistency he has since late May.

2010 could be a repeat of 2006 in many senses, but hopefully it will conclude with a World Championship coming to Queens.

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There is no doubt the Mets would not be in the position they are currently in without the contributions of the whole team.

However, much of their recent success is due to David Wright, who has been an RBI machine with 57 as it stands now, first in the NL. 

Fans around the country are on a campaign to get Wright into the 2010 All Star Game. Placido Polanco is currently the top vote-getter for NL third basemen, but its possible that Wright could catch or pass Polanco before voting ends on July 1, 2010.

After a slow and frustrating start where the strikeouts mounted at an alarming rate, he has been putting the ball into play more, but still has 85 strikeouts, which is third in the NL. 

Last night he struck out with the bases loaded and potential winning run at second base in the seventh inning, but in all fairness he did all ready have two hits on the night.

His hits included a third inning single which moved Jesus Feliciano to third base, who scored when Ike Davis hit into a double play, and an RBI double and run scored by hustling from second base home on Jason Bay’s single to center field.

After a 2009 season in which Wright only hit 10 HRs with a slugging percentage of .447, he has all ready hit 12 HRs in 2010 and his slugging percentage is .519 with an OBP of .382.

Wright is also making all the plays. Since he was benched last month after allowing the Braves to score the winning run, he has only made one error and it proved uncostly. 

His fielding percentage is .962 right now. He has made eight errors in 157 attempts over the first 70 games.

Many fans may not feel that Wright is deserving of All Star consideration because of the high strikeout number. 

However, that one statistic in no way detracts from his current contributions and how they have been instrumental in the Mets recent rise to second place in the NL East.

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There is no doubt the Mets would not be in the position they are without the contributions of the whole team.

However, much of their recent success is due to David Wright, who has been an RBI machine, leading the National League with 57.

Fans all over the country are on a campaign to get Wright into the 2010 All Star Game. Placido Polanco of the Phillies is currently the top vote-getter for NL third basemen, but it is possible that Wright could catch or surpass Polanco before voting concludes on July 1, 2010.

Should Wright be selected to the All Star Team, it would be his fifth consecutive time in the mid-summer classic. 

He has always represented himself and the Mets well (4 for 11) during the Game and even placed second behind Ryan Howard in 2006 during the Home Run Derby.

In 2008, he was warming up in the bullpen to pitch in the event that the game went to 16 innings. Omar Minaya and the Mets management would  not have been happy in the least to see him pitch during the All Star Game for fear of injury.

However, it does prove that he is willing to do anything his manager asks him to do in the sake of winning a game, and that is something that any professional athlete should strive for in their career.

After a slow and frustrating, start where the strikeouts mounted at an alarming rate, Wright has been putting the ball into play more, but still ranks third in the NL with 85 K’s.

Last night, he struck out with the bases loaded and the potential winning run on second base in the seventh inning, but in all fairness he already had two hits on the night.

His hits included a third inning single which moved Jesus Feliciano to third base who later scored when Ike Davis hit into a double play and an RBI double. Wright scored a run after hustling from second to home on Jason Bay’s single to center field.

Last August he was beaned by a Matt Cain fastball and was for good reason extremely nervous in the batter’s box.  He is recently showing more confidence, which could explain his resurgence a the plate.

After a 2009 season in which Wright only had 10 HRs with a Slugging Percentage of .447, he has already exceeded that amount in 2010 with 12 HRs, and a Slugging Percentage of .519 with an OBP of .382.

Wright is also making plays on the field. Since being benched last month after allowing the Braves to score the winning run on an error, he has since tightened his glove and has just one mishap over that span.

His Fielding Percentage is .962 and has made eight errors in 157 attempts over the first 70 games.

Many fans may not feel Wright is deserving of All-Star consideration because of the high strikeouts. However, that one statistic does not detract from his current contributions and how they have been instrumental in the Mets recent rise to second place in the NL East.

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The New York Mets have been on an absolute tear this past week, and they are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Currently they are in second place a half-game behind the Atlanta Braves and are eight games over .500 with a 36-28 record.

After this series against the Cleveland Indians, the Mets play the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and Detroit Tigers to finish up their inter league play schedule for this month.

Last Thursday, they played a doubleheader against their surprising nemesis, the San Diego Padres, who the Mets always seem to struggle against every season.

The Mets lost the first game, as the offense was flat and Johan Santana struggled, but they have gone undefeated since, including a three-game sweep last weekend in Baltimore.

Jon Niese, R.A. Dickey and Hisenori Takahashi have all turned in terrific pitching efforts during the winning streak. Mike Pelfrey struggled on Sunday, but the offense picked him up and they earned a lopsided victory. 

During the second game of the doubleheader last Thursday night, the only blemish on Niese’s game was a third inning double. Otherwise, he pitched a perfect game.

Last night, Johan Santana received the kind of offensive support that had been sorely missed, as the Mets picked up their teammate with timely hitting in a 7-6 victory. However, all things being fair, Santana once again did not have his best stuff early but did settle down later in the game.

Last season, with the non-stop barrage of injuries, expectations and morale were very low and the games in September were meaningless. 

Truth be told, after the All-Star Break, it was apparent that this team would not be overcoming the injuries to just about every player.

During the winter months, not as many changes were made in the roster as fans had hoped and there was quite a bit of disappointment when the Mets got off to a slow start this year.

There were high expectations for Jason Bay, he was not living up to them and fans were questioning the lucrative contract given to him.

Carlos Beltran had a highly-controversial surgery on his knee in September so that is what took over the headlines for the Mets this past winter.

The unexpected additions of Rod Barajas and Henry Blanco were not as hyped, but they have both performed extremely well and the pitching staff has responded well to their guidance.

Oliver Perez, John Maine, Luis Castillo and Daniel Murphy all have gone down with injuries, in fact, Murphy’s season is already over since attempting rehabilitation on his right knee. 

Castillo could possibly be activated sometime next week, but time will tell, he still needs to play in Minor League games for rehabilitation.

Perez and Maine will likely be back in the rotation soon but with the way that Dickey and Takahashi have been pitching, there will be some tough decisions to be made for manager Jerry Manuel.

Last year the Mets were not getting the pitching performances that they are receiving now. It was almost like no matter how many runs the Mets scored, it was not enough to overcome the deficit that the other team had every game.

This 2010 New York Mets are very different than in previous years. They are fun to watch, and seem to be able to overcome large leads by the opposition, in short, they are hungry and energetic. 

I do think the overall youth of the team is helping this team, especially having an infield of Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada (when he is playing instead of Alex Cora), Jose Reyes and David Wright, who are all home grown and under 30 years old.

This youth factor, along with some new veteran players who have both intensity (Chris “Animal” Carter) and fun loving spirit (Henry Blanco and Rod Barajas are both known for their humor) has helped the chemistry. 

Also, much has been written about the time off the field that this team spends together, watching the Olympics, World Cup, and other events that have bonded this group of players together away from the baseball diamond.

They are playing both large and small ball and are grinding everything out win or lose and hustle out every ground ball, as evidenced by seven infield hits last night. 

Two infield hits by David Wright produced runs when a weak Indians defense underestimated the base running speed of Jose Reyes and Wright himself, who with three RBIs last night is now the National League RBI leader.

Chris Carter, Ike Davis, and David Wright are all slugging home runs, something that was missed last year.  Daniel Murphy was the Mets HR leader with 12 home runs, Wright struggled in that aspect but still managed to put up good overall numbers. 

While Carlos Delgado is missed, Ike Davis has been an incredible force, both offensively with his HR’s and also defensively, as his trademark play is the somersault into the dugout to catch foul balls.

Jason Bay and Jeff Francoeur are both doing their part every game, and Alex Cora is filling in nicely for an injured Luis Castillo.  Carlos Beltran will likely not be back before August, but Angel Pagan has been doing an incredible job both hitting and fielding, which takes the pressure off the Mets to find a mid-season replacement for Beltran.

Rod Barajas and Henry Blanco are vast upgrades over Brian Schneider and Omir Santos at catcher both offensively and defensively, so it is not a surprise that the pitching staff and lineup both benefit every day from their contributions.

While there is no guarantee the Mets will end up being the National League East champions, one thing is for sure: up to this point, they are battling with all they have, and having fun in the process.

The Mets want to win and put the last three years of bitter disappointment behind them, but at the end of the day, they know baseball is a game and they should be having fun.

There is no doubt that this 2010 Mets team is a cohesive unit who has each other’s backs, and the result is finally showing on the field.

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The New York Mets need to make changes in order to remain competitive in the NL East this summer.

They are 18-17, which is slightly better than some fans had them in April, before they took the three games in 24 hours sweep against the Dodgers.

There is no question that they have a challenging schedule the first half of play, and not having a return date of Carlos Beltran is certainly weighing on the minds of fans and players alike this spring.

During the three game series sweep of the Dodgers, it looked like they were going to run on all cylinders and go into Philadelphia to claim back the division.

Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel, along with the coaching staff, will not have jobs by the end of the first half if this team does not turn around and start scoring runs and winning with consistency.

Lineup changes will be the first ones made, because since Jose Reyes has moved to the third spot, he has not been performing well at all.

The last two games, he was asked to get down bunts to advance a runner and neither time was he able to get it done, he ended up hitting into a double play and popping out in his two attempts.

To add to the Mets misey, this week reports have come out that the Phillies have been using binoculars as a method of picking up pitching sequences.

 Phillies manager Charlie Manuel denied the accusations, then told CSN Philly:

“Somebody maybe ought to check the Mets if they did that.  Their [bleeping] home record is out of this world and they’re losing on the road.  Sometimes that’s a good indicator of getting signs and [crap],”

“I see somebody setting there at 17-2 at home and 4-12 on the road, I’d get concerned about that.  That kind of crosses my mind… I’m not accusing them, but you look at that and – damn. We’re about the same home and road.  I’m just saying their record is much better at home and they hit better… (The Rockies complained),”

“Because we beat them… Keep crying.  I’m sure if they can steal signs, they’ll steal them.  And believe we will, too, if we can get them.  Yeah, we will.  Legally.  If you’re dumb enough to let us get them, then that’s your fault.  That’s been in the game for a long time.”

In recent days, the Mets’ offense has come to a halt, mainly due to the record number of strikeouts by David Wright (46 for the season), and an overall lack of clutch hitting, especially in the middle of the order. 

Wright does have a reasonably impressive OPS of .932 and OBP of .408 considering the number of strikeouts.  He is also currently the Mets stolen base leader with 8 swipes in 12 attempts.   In all fairness, he is the only Met to have started every game so a day’s rest may help to refresh him.

Ike Davis has been a blessing, offensively with a .875 OPS and a .402 OB., along with a .292 Batting  Average.

The 23 year-old Davis has been hitting with consistency and making incredible acrobatic catches where he literally flips into the Mets dugout (luckily his teammates have been assisting with heads up reaction in making sure Davis does not get injured).

Daniel Murphy will end up playing in AAA when he is ready to return from rehabbing his sprained knee most likely in a few weeks.  

Jason Bay has not proved why the Mets wanted him to come to Queens from Boston yet, and Jerry Manuel has expressed concern that he does not know Bay well enough to judge what it will take for him to be productive.

Jeff Francoeur, while invaluable for his outfield assists in right field, has been struggling at the plate and fans are now seeing why the Braves were so anxious to trade him last year for Ryan Church. 

Chris Carter has replaced Frank Catalanotto off the bench and in the outfield and “the Animal” has already made his presence known both on the field and in the clubhouse.

The bullpen has been mismanaged with Fernando Nieve and Pedro Feliciano being over used due to the absence of Ryota Igarashi, who is progressing nicely on his rehabilitation after straining his hamstring.

A solid effort by Johan Santana was wasted last night against the Marlins but it was far from the first wasted effort by the starting pitchers, which has been one of the most consistently positive aspects of the New York Mets season thus far with 35 games played in 2010.

There is still plenty of baseball to play, but unless the RISP numbers improve, along with smarter bullpen decisions, the bottom line is that the team will not win.

If the hitters continually fail with scoring opportunities, Howard Johnson will be removed from his position as Batting Coach.

Jerry Manuel needs to recognize the weaknesses and show management and fans alike that he is serious about putting the best team on the field each day.

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The Mets are a month into the season and several moves that Jerry Manuel have made have been questioned at great length by fans and media alike, this is not good news. 

They were in first place, thanks to their 9-1  homestand, but just finished a 2-4 road trip in Philadelphia and Cincinnati, in two of the most hitter-friendly parks in the National League.

While the Mets are in second place and still very much in the mix in the NL East, you do have to wonder if some of Manuel’s decisions are costing the team wins.

First and foremost, Fernando Nieve has been used to excess, mostly due to the absence of Ryota Igarashi, who is on the DL with a strained hamstring.  Nieve has appeared in 17 games total and in nine of the last 10 games.

Jason Bay is still hitting cleanup even though he struggled mightily on the road trip, while a bad road trip is just that, if Manuel continues to place him in that role for the next week with the same results, it hurts the whole team.

Another questionable move was putting Jose Reyes in the third spot of the lineup, enough has been written about that, so I will not elaborate on that further, but to say fans strongly want him hitting leadoff again is an understatement.

During the third and decisive game against the Phillies last Sunday night, it was obvious that Johan Santana was not on his game in the least early in the game, but the bullpen was not prepared and Santana faced more batters than he should have under the circumstances.

Mike Francesca of WFAN radio asked Jerry, “after Victorino’s grand slam, why did you not take Santana out then…?”, to which he replied “the guy in the bullpen was indisposed or not ready”, which does raise some eyebrows about what he meant by that response.

However, the point is that more than one pitcher in the bullpen should have been warming up, it should not  have been left to one “guy”, especially if there were doubts that he would be ready when needed to enter the game.

During yesterday afternoon’s game in Cincinnati, Manuel double-switched David Wright out of the game in the bottom of the 10th inning after Wright struck out swinging to end the top of the inning. 

Manuel’s reason for the move was that Fernando Tatis, who had pinch hit in the 10th inning was needed as a potential back up catcher in the event that the game went more than 10 innings.  Henry Blanco started the game but was pinch hit for later in the game and there was some concern about Rod Barajas and how long he could continue to catch.

Anyone who knows what kind of player David Wright is will firmly believe that if an emergency catcher was needed, he would have had the catcher’s gear on without being asked his willingness to be in that situation after playing third base for the full game.

By no means am I advocating that Wright put on the “tools of ignorance” and take unnecessary injury risks, just that double switching him because of fear about a catcher needing to be replaced does not make much sense to me or a lot of other Mets fans.

Wright did have two hits on the afternoon, a single and a solo home run that brought the Mets within a run of the Reds, who were winning 4-2 at the time. 

While I do understand the concern about a backup catcher needing to be on the field, Tatis is a proven utility player who could have taken over any number of positions. 

The general rule of double switches is that the last batter is the one that gets switched out, while generally it is not questioned, being that Wright did have a successful afternoon, just a bad at bat in the 10th, he was waved off the field.

Pedo Feliciano gave up the game winning home run to Orlando Cabrera to end the game with the first batter he faced, so the point of the double switch was moot, but still questionable in the eyes of fans and media.

Fans and media do think that they can probably manage the team better than the manager, but moves like this do make you wonder if Manuel is costing his team wins with roster decisions, he is on a short leash to begin with in 2010, the clock is ticking……

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The 2009 Mets were a non stop injury fest and it made it impossible for the team to be taken seriously. 

It seemed that just about every game, a player was either day to day, going on the Disabled List or at least monitored closely for possible injury.  Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado missed significant time during the season and David Wright ended up on the Disabled List for the last two weeks in August with a concussion.

So far in this 2010 season, we have seen Daniel Murphy injure his knee in a rundown , a hamstring injury to reliever Ryota Igarashi, and John Maine’s left elbow cramp up, if those are the only two injuries for at least the first half, the Mets are in good shape.

Carlos Beltran should be back at some point this first half, but the exact timing is yet to be seen after his rehabilitation from knee surgery.  Carlos Delgado is working his way back to playing shape, but most likely he will sign mid season with a team that is in need of a back-up firstbaseman or Designater Hitter.

Training staff have taken a “Prevention and Recovery” slogan into this year, which is all well and good, but honestly, these players need to be monitored by management and training staff. 

So far the 2010 Mets have played a 20-inning game against the St Louis Cardinals and three games in 24 hours series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Early in the season or not, these types of situations put a lot of wear and tear on the players and fatigue can easily lead to injury if not monitored closely.  So far David Wright is the only Mets player who has not missed an inning of play, but this is by no means unusual, so he does need to be watched by Jerry Manuel and the staff.

It was good to see Jerry Manuel and the trainers come on the field to talk to John Maine last Friday when he was experiencing arm cramps in his left arm. 

One thing that I found a bit strange was that they talked to him about what was going on, but David Wright was the only person who actually gave Maine some kind of brief on field examination.  It was more of a point to his arm in a questioning way and Maine did look back at him to confirm the location.

Typically before a player is escorted from the field, some kind of examination takes place, which leads me to believe that the trainers knew about Maine’s arm but were hoping that it would not be an issue. 

The fact that he did not throw any pitches to see if the cramp would remain was unusual, if it is a position player, a fielding play may be practiced to see the range of motion that a player has in the affected area.

To me this situation showed that the Mets players are protective of each other and that is definitely a good thing, but it in no way replaces the medical care that needs to be administered by trained professionals.

Winning is definitely what it is all about, but medical treatment and precaution always need to come first.

It does not do the fans or management any good to have injured players on the field, even if they are just a bit banged up, timely rest goes a long way during the marathon length baseball season that lasts six months.

Stay rested and healthy guys, the rest takes care of itself.

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