you're out of what???

3-1 Mets. That was the final score in the last game the Mets played against the San Diego Padres this afternoon. Honestly, I didn't have a clue how this one was going to turn out since they were blanked by the Padres in the previous game with a score of 5-0 and only two hits. AND on top of that, starter Daisuke Matsuzaka began the game with a severe stomach ache and left after just the first inning. I thought we had another loss on our hands but the team turned one out. Now they stand at 31-38, seven games below .500.

Even though they did win the offensive inconsistency is really what everyone is talking about. One game they play amazingly both on the offensive and defensive sides (i.e. Friday nights game) and then the next day they're are struggling immensely at the plate. Which brings me to recent comments made by manager Terry Collins. By now I'm sure we all know the pains the Mets have been going through when it comes to leaving the bases loaded with runners in scoring position. During the postgame Collins was asked about these kinds of situations and his response simply was, "I pretty much have exhausted all of the things I have heard that work."

Hmm...this made me laugh. And I can assure you it wasn't in an amusing way. Well, it was kind of amusing in that "are you kidding me?" and "what the heck do you mean?!" kind of way. Now I understand where my fellow Mets fans heads are strategically placed as though they had a direct say in the order of the teams' lineup. Phrases such as "fire Collins" has been littered throughout my various social media sites (a.k.a. Twitter) for a while now and some others genuinely believe that the team needs new management. Now I actually am standing on somewhat neutral ground for this argument and I do, for the most part, see both sides. Here are my arguments in support of:

TERRY COLLINS:

I like to be the one to "step inside another person's shoes" as it were and to really see the issue. As a manager, I would very well want my team to succeed (name one that doesn't).  Now, I get it. If it's not working you need to continuously tweak the lineup until you come up with something successful. And then injuries do happen and guys are coming in and going out from the starting order. If you think about it, it seems A LOT easier than it probably is. The team's fluctuating performance is the prime example of that. That's pretty much what I have to say about this issue.

Terry Collins at a previous press conference. You get the point.

THE FANS a.k.a. The Outsiders:
NOW. Here is where I sympathize with my fellow Mets fans. We, yes I said "we"--I'm the invisible player between shortstop and second--, have been struggling for a while now (since 2007) to make any kind of postseason play. Clearly, the team has needed work for years. So far, the Mets have had 62 different orders in their lineup since Opening Day. SIXTY-TWO! That's second highest behind the Padres! Being another "struggling Mets fan" hearing Collins, the MANAGER of my team make a comment that basically means he doesn't know what else to do in order to consistently win games isn't exactly the most consoling thing. To me it kinda sorta comes off as "what now?" Lots of speculation has been made that Terry Collins could possibly be next to go to add to the list of changes already made in the past few weeks by the organization. Unfortunately for fans eager to toss Terry to the wolves, Sandy Alderson, Mets GM, assured us all that, "Collins is not going anywhere". If that is the case then START WINNING GAMES! As a leader you don't just give up. You keep finding ways to make something work. I'm sure there is something else that Collins can maneuver. If not, I'LL WRITE UP THE LINEUP MYSELF!

That does it for the Padres series and the Mets are heading to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals. From the last time these two teams met back in April, the Cards seem to have whipped themselves into shape. They're playing much better than before after the Mets took the first series three games to one. 

We'll see how many more changes they'll make and let's just hope that they're favorable and actually have a positive and significant effect on this ball club.