And Then?

So, basically, when you're playing the Mets, there's two things to remember:

1) Just bunt the ball and something good will probably happen.
2) If you can't hit their starting pitcher, just wait him out. Eventually, someone from the bullpen will come in.

Usually one or the other will work. Tonight, both happened to play into the favor of the Colorados as they won their 3rd game in a row from the Miserable Mets.

If Monday's game was disgusting, and Tuesday's game was embarrassing, then how do you describe this game tonight? Normal? Because I don't really see much difference between this game and the two prior. Except that maybe the lineups and pitchers were a little different. I noticed Jason Bay was starting tonight, that's lovely, really. I mean, he always deserves a good chance to go 0 for 3. Kelly Shoppach got the start at Catcher, just to break up the monotony of Josh Thole grounding out to 2nd base a bunch of times, he looked sharp, double clutched when a runner was stealing and then heaved the ball into Center Field.

The one thing, and lately it's rare that there's one good thing to take away from a Mets game, but the one thing to take away is that Matt Harvey once again pitched well, and if nothing else left the game with the Mets in position to win, you know, if they could score more than 2 runs a game. Harvey's only fault, really, was that he wasn't economical with his 102 pitches, scattering them over 6 innings, while allowing 1 run and striking out 9 Colorados. Had they been over 8 innings, perhaps things might have turned out differently, but he'll learn that as a necessity over time (unless Sandy Alderson decides to go out and get a real bullpen) it might be in his best interest to go a little deeper into his games.

But, no, Harvey was done after 6, and almost like clockwork, there was Ramon Ramirez allowing a Home Run to the first batter, and then giving up another run when Colorado did what they do best—bunted—causing Ramirez to crash into Shoppach and allow the clinching 3rd run to score.

This team right now lacks direction or a plan. They've got a bad case of the Dennis Greens right now, which has pretty much killed any good feelings that their surprising first half generated. They've now lost 3 starting pitchers, with Johan Santana shelved for the season, and that's clearly more than they're able to overcome, particularly considering they already had to overcome their lousy bullpen. They've managed to display that they have no Outfielder or Catcher of Major League quality on their roster. Their best player is beginning to grouse about the continued struggles and penny-pinching nature of ownership. There's a wealth of pitching talent in the Minors, but little offense to speak of. I mean, out of the players the Mets have run out there this season, how many of them would you really want to keep around? Enough to fill out a lineup? I think that's debatable. You keep Wright, Davis, Tejada, Murphy and who else, exactly? The idea that you can live and die on 2-out hits isn't a sustainable solution because these things tend to average out. The Mets weren't as good as they played in the first half, primarily because they caught a ton of breaks, and got everyone believing that this year was going to be different. But, now, things have evened out and we're seeing the team that everyone thought was going to be dead last. And right now, they look like a team destined to finish dead last, and I'm not sure when things are going to improve. It's getting a little depressing.