By Brad Carroll
The bright side this week saw the New York Mets winning two straight games, with Matt Harvey and Jonathon Niese on the mound, to head into the weekend with some positive vibes. The dark side, which has been more the norm this season, had the Mets losing six straight before that mini win streak and then again Saturday. The season has gotten so bad so quickly, the talk around the team has been more of who is going to be sent to the minors rather than anything good on the field. It all equals a 16-24 record and fourth place standing in the NL East.
Opening Statement
Ike Davis was 1-for-28 this week. Ruben Tejada was 1-for-23. Jordany Valdespin was 1-for-10, Mike Baxter was 2-for-17 and Lucas Duda was 4-for-24. All of those players had a lower batting average this week than pitcher Matt Harvey. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson says Davis is safe for now. Tejada is apparently safe, as is the rest of the roster. The question, obviously, should be why. As in why do the Mets continue to put forth a lineup that can't do anything at the plate? The answer might not be so easy. Sure, the Mets can send all the struggling players down to Triple-A they want, but the influx of players isn't going to be any better over the long haul. Still, it's almost impossible to watch Davis, Tejada and the rest of the team, minus David Wright and Daniel Murphy, fail time and time again. There is still over four months to go this season, however, and playing in the worst division in the National League means a chance remains to make a run toward a postseason berth. Playing as they have been won't get it done, but there's no reason to write the season off just yet. After all, Wright and Murphy are hitting well, Harvey hasn't stopped his Cy Young-type start to the season, and the team is just seven games back in the NL East and 7.5 out of a wild card spot. The Mets just need to turn six-game losing streaks into six-game win streaks going forward. And it wouldn't hurt if Davis or Tejada could get a hit every now and again.