The New York Mess III

The Mets are three games under .500 and it seems as if Mets fans are surprised.  Going into the season with extremely low expectations, the Mets are doing what everybody thought they would: struggle against the elite (2-5 vs. COL, 2-4 vs. PHI) and pick up wins against the bottom feeders (3-0 vs. ARI, 3-3 vs. HOU).  This team is not very good, but it isn’t very bad either.  The Mets have a patched up rotation, who has pitched poorly in the first 40 games of the season.  Mike Pelfrey has not lived up to his title as “Opening day starter”, but that too. was expected.  Big Pelf is simply not an ace and is a decent #2 pitcher or a good #3 starter.  Dickey has not been able to continue last year’s success and although Niese has pitched well recently, he too has struggled to put together a complete start.  The two additions, Chris Young and Chris Capuano have filled in capably, but with Young out for the season due to shoulder surgery, Dillon Gee has been thrown back into the rotation and has fared decently.  This rotation, although decent, will not do anything “special”. 

The bullpen has seen its fair share of injuries, with Parnell and Beato the most recent DL victims.  Frankie has pitched very well, even though he loves walking the tight rope every night.  Jason Isringhausen, Taylor Buccholz, and Tim Byrdak have done a solid job so far in the young season, as this bullpen seems to be the bright part of the Mets season so far.  Even though the Mets can't seem to win a one-run game, the bullpen has done a good job of keeping the game close. 

The lineup, when healthy, has a ton of talent, but they can’t seem to stay healthy.  Angel Pagan hasn’t played in a few weeks and Ike Davis and David Wright are both hurt and won’t play for another week and a half.  Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran continue to be productive and provide this offense with spark, but Jason Bay has negated their succes with is sub .220 batting average.  Second base, considered the biggest whole in the Mets lineup, has come to form since Justin Turner and Daniel Murphy started platooning.  Behind the plate, Josh Thole has been unable to hit on a nightly basis, while Ronny Paulino has shown glimpses of success.  For every positive story for the Mets, there is an equal or worse counterpart.  This team has way too many holes to contend this season and will continue to stay near .500.

With that being said, Mets fans are not a typical fan base.  Mets fans don’t turn off the television when the team is 20 games out of first place, but they will stop coming to games.  Citi Field will only be full if the Mets contend and management is aware of this behavior.  Attendance in Flushing has gone down drastically since 2008 (the last time the Mets were competitive).  The Mets are one of few teams that watch their profit dwindle with every single defeat.  Mets fans care a lot about this team, but in the end they want one thing: to win. 

Even though Mets fans, including myself, are ambitious about THIS season, we are still disappointed with a team that is filling out their expectations.  We are right where we thought we’d be, but I don't foresee many Met fans settling for a .500 ball club even with a team that is doomed to fail.