About two weeks ago I asked a poll question regarding what to do with Ruben Tejada once Luis Castillo returns.

71% of voters said that the Mets should start him at second base, 18% want to send him down to the minors, and 11% want to see him as a bench player.

Castillo started his rehab assignment last night for the St. Luice Mets, and went 0-2 and played five innings at second base. He has been out since June 1st with a bruised foot, and now that the Mets have started his rehab assignment they have 20 days to activate him from the DL.

Castillo was suppose to start the assignment last Sunday, but he didn't. The reason is unclear why he didn't, but Castillo didn't suffer any setbacks.

It appears as though Castillo will get his starting job back when he returns and Tejada will be sent down to the minors.

I can understand the desire for Tejada to start at second over Castillo. A) majority of Mets fans don't like Castillo and B) it's exciting to watch a 20-year old play.

However, Tejada isn't performing at a level were he has locked up himself as the starter. He is hitting .217 so he isn't showing that he deserves to start over a veteran guy like Castillo.

When Castill comes back I expect him to get his starting job at second back, and the Mets to give Tejada a pat on the back, and send him to Buffalo.

You've seen what I think of the players performances in the first half of the season, now it's your turn.

How would you grade Jerry Manuel's first half performance?

How would you grade hitting coach Howard Johnson's first half performance?

How would you grade pitching coach Dan Warthen's first half performance?

Overall, how would you grade the performance by the team in the first half?

Carlos Beltran makes his return to the Mets line-up tonight against the San Francisco Giants. He will bat clean-up and play center field.

The last time Beltran played in a game was the last game of the 2009 season. He went 1-4 for a run scored, as the Mets beat the Houston Astros 4-0.

In his rehab assignment Beltran played 14 games for the St. Luice Mets. In 49 at-bats he collected 18 hits, five doubles, five RBI and no home runs.

Now that I've completed the grades for the other class, it's time to do the next one. The Mets hitters have improved since last season. For the 2009 season the Mets hit 99 home runs, this team already has 70. They are better than last season, which isn't saying much, but there is still room for improvement for the second half.  

Hitters:

• Rod Barajas: He carried this team for the first part of the first half but has fallen off towards the end. He brought a lot of power to the plate but we haven't seen it recently. Still, he had a pretty decent first half. ~ B
• Henry Blanco: Has been a very solid back-up catcher both defensively and offensively. Very satisfied with the job he's been doing. ~ B+
• Josh Thole: Wow, this kid can hit. Doesn't have power but puts the ball in play and has gotten some key pinch hits for this team. His defense could use a little work though. Not sure it's a good idea to keep three catchers on the team, but I really don't want to send down a guy hitting .529. ~ A
• Luis Castillo: He defense has declined a bit and his average isn't as high as we'd like to see it. His extra base power is pretty much non-existent, with three of his 34 hits for extra bases. He does get on base, with a .347 OBP, which is good for his .241 average. ~ C
• Alex Cora: OK fielder, bad hitter, great guy to have in the clubhouse. When he does get hits, they seem to always drive in runs. He has 32 hits this season and 20 RBI. Still that .222 average kind of…. sucks. ~ C
• Ike Davis: He's been like a savior for this team. Fantastic fielder, and has brought some much needed power to the line-up. He ended the first half on a bit of a slump, but who hasn't in the Mets line-up? ~ A-
• Jose Reyes: At the beginning of the season I was kind of scared he wouldn't be able to be the old Jose we were use to seeing. But he really turned it on and finished the second half hitting .275, which is impressive considering he was hitting .211 on May 21st. He also has 19 stolen bases, but I would like to see some more out of him. He dealt with the injury in his right side toward the end of the first half that forced him to miss some games and hit just from the right side of the plate. Hopefully he'll be ready for the second half of the season. ~ B+
• Fernando Tatis: He can't field and he can't hit, don't really know how he is still on this team. ~ F
• Ruben Tejada: Though his numbers aren't great, he's been doing a very nice job up here filling in. The 20-year old has shown that he has a great glove and potentially could have a decent bat. I would like to see more stolen bases out of him. Looks like he will be sent down once Castillo returns. ~ B -
• David Wright: If it wasn't for all his strike outs he'd be having the best season of his career. .314 average, 14 home runs, 65 RBI, 15 stolen bases, a great glove at third, this guy can do it all. But the 97 strike outs are a little scary. Still, he's having an MVP type year. ~ A 
• Jason Bay: Six home runs? Really Jason? You're better than that. His average was in the .280's for a little and even got it up to .307 but now it's down to .265. Really looking forward to a big second half from you. See me after class Jason. ~ D+
• Jeff Francoeur: Started off the season red hot, but cooled down quickly. Now it appears with the return of Carlos Beltran he'll be moved to the bench. Has a great arm in right field and has some power, but he is too much of a streaky hitter. ~ C +
• Angel Pagan: He's like the R.A. Dickey of the offense. Has stepped up big when the team has needed him, now it doesn't look like he is going any where. When you talk about All-Star snubs, you would have to throw Pagan's name into the mix. .315 average, six home runs, 40 RBI, 19 stolen bases, and a Gold Glove caliber center fielder. The Mets are really lucky they have this guy. ~ A+
• Chris Carter: I'm the professor, so I'm allowed to play favorites. Got snubbed from the team in the beginning of the season, which just made him angry. He went down to the minors and tore the cover off the ball until the Mets were forced to bring him up. The guy is just a ball player and he knows how to play the game. Solid bat to have coming off the bench, I don't care what the numbers say. ~ B+ 

Even though the offense tapered off toward the end of the first half, they have been doing a pretty solid job. The addition of Beltran will be a huge lift for this team, making their line-up stronger, their defense better, and adding more depth to their bench. That's the offensive improvement for the Mets, now they have to make some pitching improvements. 

The second half of the season is going to start tomorrow, so it's only fair to let the players know how they are doing right now. Up where I go to college at SUNY Cortland we get mid-semester estimates. The professors let you know if you are  on track to either pass the class or fail it. But they don't give us a letter grade, which I would like to see, I should talk to the dean about that… but I digress. I'll give these players a letter grade, and I should let them know I'm a pretty easy grader.

Pitchers:

• Manny Acosta: Pitched in 12 innings in the first half and gave up four runs on eight hits and eight walks. Wasn't expecting much from him, but he should think about coming to some office hours to improve his control. ~ C
• Elmer Dessens: He certainly gave this bullpen a big boast. Didn't make the Opening Day roster, but stepped up when his team called on him from the minors. 18.1 innings pitched, three earned runs, well done. ~ B+ 
• R.A. Dickey: It's scary to think where this team could be without him. Finished the first half with a 6-2 record and a 2.77 ERA. He won six starts in a row, and has given up three runs or fewer in eight of his ten starts. ~ A+
• Pedro Feliciano: To be honest I was expecting a bit more out of him. He came out of Spring Training and wanted to be this team's set-up man, but he hasn't been able to lock down that position. His numbers are pretty good, but there is room for improvement. ~ B
• Ryota Igarashi: I was really high on this guy. In Spring Training he looked like he could be the set-up man for this team, but he was just so inconsistent. An eight ERA? Really? You get a frowny face on your report card. ~ D
• John Maine: Ah, where do I start. He looked great for three starts in a row, but before that and after those, he was awful. Maybe you should try taking this class with a different professor. ~ F
• Jenrry Mejia: I think it was a bit early to take a coarse of this level, but he didn't do to bad. He showed that he has potential to be a very fine major leaguer. He should think about taking the prerequisites first though. ~ B
• Jon Niese: Got to love the job this kid has been doing. Since coming back from his injury he's been great, 5-1 with a 3.12 ERA. A very solid number three guy, keep up the good work. ~ B+
• Fernando Nieve: 5.26 ERA? When did this happen? You use to be such a good student, all this partying is catching up to you. And by partying I mean coming in to pitch every single game. Take it easy on him Jerry. ~ C
• Bobby Parnell: He's come back to the team and has looked very good. He gave the team some much needed bullpen support at the end of the first half. He threw 11 innings of work, gave up two runs on 12 hits, three walks, and 14 strike outs. I think we'll see some big things from him the second half. ~ B+ 
• Mike Pelfrey: Great work there Mike, we all knew you could do it. All-Star caliber performance in the first half of the season, but is dealing with some dead arm issues in his last few starts. Not to worry, Mike said he goes through this every year and he'll be back in tip top shape soon enough… we hope. ~ A
• Oliver Perez: MR. BLUTARSKY… ZERO POINT ZERO. ~ F- - 
• Francisco Rodriguez: Blew four saves and got two loses, but he did post a 2.45 ERA with 21 saves. He worked a lot of inning in the first half, hopefully he'll be fine for the second. This team really needs him to be. ~ B
• Johan Santana: Despite everyone saying his arm isn't what it use to be, he had a 2.98 ERA for the first half, which is very respectable. Take away that awful start against the Phillies and he has a 2.33 ERA. Santana is a second half pitcher though, so I'm expecting big things, especially since the way he finished up the first half. ~ B+ 
• Hisanori Takahashi: Had some very nice starts, and he's pitched better than his numbers. However, he is better fitted for the bullpen, where he will be for the second half of the season. ~ B+
• Raul Valdes: Came out of no where and really impressed me. He had a two really bad outings against the Padres which blew up his ERA. Not sure what the team will get from him in the second half though. ~ B 

The one weakness on this team is the pitching. The Mets need to go out and get a starting pitcher and a set-up guy for the bullpen if they want to be serious contenders for the World Series. Until then, they are just a borderline playoff team.