Done Before It Started

I missed the beginning of the game on Wednesday night, so when I did put the game on, in the top of the 3rd, the game was over. Bartolo Colon had already given up 2 runs to the Brewers in the 1st, and the Mets, with their lineup consisting of Johnny Monell, Ruben Tejada and Eric Campbell were at best going to only score 2 runs against Jimmy Haynes Jimmy Nelson and his 8.43 ERA. They got their run in the 4th inning, thanks to a Curtis Granderson Home Run, which accounted for 1/3rd of the hits they would accomplish for the evening.

If you're keeping score, God Help You because you don't need me to tell you that that's 3 runs and 7 hits for the Mets in this series so far.

It didn't matter that Lucas Duda and Bartolo Colon staged an Alphonse and Gaston routine in the 5th inning, botching a 2-out ground ball by Ryan Braun that should have ended the inning and allowed the Brewers to somehow parlay that into a run. It didn't matter that Colon gave up a Home Run to a guy named Scooter. These runs had no bearing on the outcome of the game because the game was already over. This team doesn't hit because I don't know why.

Terry Collins looks stupefied right now. I know he was talking about a team meeting today and I'm not sure if it actually happened or not. Collins will probably be the fall guy if the Mets can't pull themselves out of this funk and maybe it's about time he's let go. This isn't necessarily his fault; he's only been able to do as well as the pieces he's given, and over the 4 1/2 years he's been here he just hasn't had much to work with. But sometimes a team just needs a new voice and maybe that's what the Mets need. However, please do not construe this to mean that I've joined the band of clueless cretins that continually insist that WALLY BACKMAN HAS TO BE THE MANAGER. I've already said that if Backman were going to be the Manager of this team or any team, it would have happened already. But I think I need to take this argument a step further. Sure, Backman is going to be full of piss and vinegar and be entertaining, and I think that's what gives him "pop appeal." But that's the sort of act that works with Minor Leaguers and when you get in front of the big boys, that doesn't quite fly. Also, Wally Backman isn't going to miraculously get this team to start hitting, and he's not going to get Daniel Murphy to stop having his hiccups, and he's not going to get Johnny Monell to stop hitting in to Double Plays, and he's not going to improve anyone's fielding. Some Managers (read: Bobby Valentine) got lesser teams to overachieve because they were specifically brilliant at being in-game tacticians and able to outsmart the opposing manager in key spots. Terry Collins doesn't really have that, or at least he hasn't had a real opportunity to prove he does, I don't think, but I'm quite certain that Backman doesn't have that quality. Backman seems to me to be more of a John Stearns-type clown who's going to make a lot of entertaining one-liners and argue with the press while managing the team to a 75-87 record. That's not the answer here.

All that being said, I really don't know what the answer is here.