So now we're .500, and once again we're praising the team. Talk is beginning to swirl around about how we need to be buyers — buy buy buy. Since when was .500 competitive? We're 9.5 games out of first place in the NL East and 5 games out of the Wild Card. 

We're really not that competitive of a team, because we need to establish a path in the future. Fortunately, Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez are not part of our future, and it's time for Mets fans to get that through their heads. I understand we've suffered injuries, and we'll have Wright and Santana back near the All Star Break, but that doesn't mean we should suddenly be buyers. In fact, this is the same type of mentality we have held for the last 5 years, and it is exactly what has put us in this position. If the player is not in our future plans, then pack his bags and bring in somebody who will be a part of the future — it's that simple. 

Payroll is expected to be lowered to a maximum of $120M next year, from what Sandy Alderson has told us. So obviously, K-Rod and Beltran will not be a part of the roster, and it's time to get something back. Beltran has been solid this year, and I think a team like the Rangers or Angels could use a rental player for the last two months of the season. The Angels have lacked power to sustain their outstanding aces Dan Haren and Jered Weaver. Both of those teams have the financial flexibility to acquire Beltran and give up a solid prospect, so Beltran would fit into their situations perfectly, giving them a boost and playoff experience as well. He can DH, and still play well in RF. 

We've talked a lot about moneyball and when it will be implemented — but the thing is, I think it already has. Alderson used small money in a big market to acquire the likes of Chris Capuano, DJ Carrasco, and Justin Turner. His young players have stepped up — Dillon Gee, Jon Niese, Daniel Murphy, and Jason Pridie. This is exactly what we've wanted to see out of the Mets for a long time — small players with small contracts making a big impact. Kids from our farm system getting the call-up and proving something. Kids like Turner and Gee have that fire and tenacity that we haven't seen in the Mets since 2006. They have something to fight for, not to be paid for. Why try to buy, and add to payroll, when we can walk into next March with more young talent from our minor leagues auditioning for a chance to do the same — to prove they can create a spark, light up the fire and create a little magic? Should we worry about putting people in the seats, or winning games? If big name players like Prince Fielder are what it takes then I don't want to see them win — I'd rather see them struggle to put fans in the seats with a team of no-names who improve each and every year, building chemistry and all fighting for the same thing regardless of their payroll. Those fans that stick around will be the true die-hard fans, not the bandwagoners who suddenly love us because we paid $18M on one free agent. One month we talk about rebuilding, the next we talk about adding to what we have. We talk about what will make the roster better in the future, although that in no way includes Beltran and Rodriguez. They are not a part of our future. So let's stop flip flopping between Buy and Sell each year, and settle on sell. Let's have a clearance sale, and build for the future. The small man has helped us this year — please, don't turn your backs on them. 

NEW YORK – New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis, who has not appeared in a game since May 10 because of a left ankle injury, may require season-ending surgery in three weeks if he is unable to run at that point, general manager Sandy Alderson said.

Davis, who has been wearing a protective boot, was examined Wednesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. An MRI showed cartilage damage in addition to a bone bruise.

Alderson said Davis will now shed the boot to improve blood flow and try to run in three weeks, after giving more time for the cartilage to heal. If he is unable to comfortably run at that point, surgery will follow.

Alderson likened the procedure to microfracture surgery on the knee. That surgery involves making tiny cracks to increase blood flow and stimulate cartilage growth.

I feel pretty bad for not seeing this coming. The stupid injuries and our inability to properly treat them over the past years is atrocious, and yet I sat here like everyone else just assumed it was a sore twisted ankle and Ike would be back in 2-3 weeks. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice and …. I'm just an idiot. 

Not too long ago Metsblog.com ran their typical poll asking what direction the team was headed in, and Mets fans made the common mistake of buying into recent success to vote highly in favor of "The Right Direction". Unfortunately, this is preeminent to what could possibly make or break us as a fanbase. 

Yesterday was the anniversary of the Mets' "midnight massacre", where Tom Seaver and other notable and idolized Mets players were traded because the team pretty much did not want to pay the players. The Mets' current financial hurdle is much different, however. It's not a question of should they pay the players, but more along the lines a question of can the Mets afford to keep some of these players. Early this season, there was much speculation as to the futures of Carlos Beltran & Jose Reyes. It was pretty well understood that if the Mets were not in contention they would trade Beltran's expiring contract for young promising talent, although at the time we were terrified how his knee would be holding up, how his adjustment to RF would be, two factors that would ultimately determine his trade value. Since then, Beltran has been impressive. He's batting .281/.364/.489 with 9 home runs, 40 RBIs and a league-high 20 doubles. He has just recently stolen 2 bases, showing he still has speed on the base paths. His adjustment to RF has also been pleasing, as he's made 61 starts in RF and committed no errors. His UZR hasn't been too great; according to FanGraphs.com Beltran has a -0.8, with the highest/lowest being LAA's Torii Hunter with a 6.6 and CHC's Kosuke Fukudome with a -8.5. Beltran is pretty much in the middle of the pack at this moment.

Nevertheless, he's been swinging the bat well and could be a high commodity for an AL team looking to add a DH, and the Angels could quite possibly be in the market. Their DH Bobby Abreu has a team-high .404 OBP, but has only 2 Home Runs. The Angels have a great rotation headed by Weaver & Haren, but their lack of power could make them big buyers for a new DH next month. 1B Mark Trumbo leads the team in HRs with just 11. 

Of course, the biggest concern among Mets fans is Jose Reyes, obviously. It was assumed for a while that the Mets would trade him at the deadline for some prospects, although an expiring contract is not very valuable so the influx of prospects would have been mediocre at best. In fact, it would make one consider just getting a compensation draft pick if the value could be higher. Ever since the Wilpons sold off a portion of the team to David Einhorn, the Media has "miraculously" given the impression that the Mets can afford to resign Reyes, that Alderson likes Reyes, and the Mets will not trade him at the deadline. Yet I can't help but wonder if the Mets truly can afford to keep Reyes. Ticket sales still aren't very good, and the team finally climbed back to .500. And yet, with the team battling to stay alive, one can't help but remember that our two biggest hitters are still on the Disabled List — Ike Davis and David Wright. And if they come back healthy in July, and Santana is looking strong in his rehab in July, the Mets might be on to something. The only thing that will worry the Mets fans when those 3 come back, is who to drop out of the lineup/rotation? Each Mets pitcher has stepped up their game, and while some have already lost their patience with the young Jon Niese, I think Capuano would be the weakest link in the rotation. And thus, we'd be left with a rotation of:

1. Johan Santana
2. Mike Pelfrey
3. R.A. Dickey
4. Jon Niese
5. Dillon Gee

But what do you do with the lineup? Right now the absence of Wright and Davis has allowed the likes of Daniel Murphy and Justin "Red Rocket" Turner to step up and dazzle our eyes. I think the next 2 weeks is extremely important for Turner and Murphy, as both might be secretly battling each other to hold on to the 2B job after the All Star Break. Personally, I'd like to see Turner remain in the lineup, In 70 less at bats, he has 6 more RBIs, a slightly worse AVG, but has 10 doubles — Murphy has 10 doubles in 64 games played. Turner has also stolen 5 bases and been caught twice, while Murphy has stolen 4 and been caught twice. I really feel like Turner brings a lot more versatility to the lineup, is a similar type of offensive weapon, while being a much better defensive 2B. You can sit there and talk about how you don't care about defense at 2B, but never forget Castillo's drop against the Yankees last year. 

The team may appear to be headed in the right direction at the moment, but that's only because of recent success. How the next 6 weeks play out will truly determine what direction this Mets team is headed in, because if the Mets retain Jose and try to work out a new contract, I think it'll be pretty obvious that David Einhorn's purchase of part of the Mets will have single-handedly saved Jose Reyes. 

It seems like I just watched this same Broadway musical 1 year ago. 

Remember last season when the Mets started Mike Jacobs at first base, and batting cleanup? Remember how everyone was fuming that Ike Davis didn't make the opening day roster and start at first base, which we all knew he deserved? 

I feel like it's all happening again in 2011. Instead of giving the 2B job to Justin "Red Rocket" Turner, who clearly was the top performer in Spring Training, we went to a decision to merely protect a player we acquired specifically to compete at that spot. It's just a story that keeps repeating itself each year, and I expect the same thing to happen next year. While a lot of us hoped Nick Evans would make the roster, he was bumped for Willie Harris, who we signed in the off season. Rather than give the ball to Dillon Gee as our #5 pitcher, a roster spot he clearly earned in Spring Training, we gave it to two pitchers with injury-riddled careers — and now one of them, Chris Young, is done for the year. 

Sometimes I really question our organization's ability to put the right players on the field. They played around too much with Fernando Martinez, and are doing it again by wasting the 22-year old's talent on our bench, and they continuously burn out the first month of the season trying to preserve the untalented players they acquired in the off season. Maybe they are trying to prove that they were right to acquire these players, but it seems to always result in making a big roster change. That change has happened, and for the better. Dillon Gee has been very good for us, coming out of Triple-A Buffalo and making 8 appearances, 5 starts. During his time here he has a 3-0 record with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.265 WHIP. While he is allowing roughly the same amount of walks and hits per inning pitched as last year, his strikeout ratio has gone up already. Last year he struck out 4.6 batters per 9 innings, this year he has 6.6 per 9 innings. 

Justin Turner is finally getting the starting time he deserves, and I have to admit I think he should remain in the lineup on a daily-basis, at second base, when Ike Davis returns to the lineup. He has just been too good to throw back on the bench or play in a platoon situation. Turner simply has this confidence that can't be taken away, and if he continues to hit even half as well as he has the last 10 days then I want him in my lineup every day. The kid's got 55 at bats, 1 home run, .364 AVG, 14 RBIs & 7 doubles already. 

I just hope the Mets stop making the same mistakes in April. They seem to correct them come May, but it's just becoming an old act at this point. All the fans knew who belonged and didn't belong here on Opening Day, and yet management still screwed up. Granted, they can't be perfect — but sometimes their mistakes are just silly. With Emaus and Young, they were silly. 

Generally people have always told me that ideally your #3 hitter should be your most well-rounded batter, with 4 being your powerful cleanup hitter and #5 the next best guy in terms of power & average. The question I am starting to raise is whether or not David Wright belongs in the #3 spot. 

Clearly everyone believes David is our best, overall player and the leader in this lineup. Yet, when I look back on the Mets when they were actually good (2006, 2007) I recall the 3-4-5 being: Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, David Wright. I also recall that being around the time where David Wright received high praise for his ability to pick up a base hit on an 0-2 count. Now it seems like David is fishing in the dirt whenever he gets an 0-2 count, and I truly wonder if his spot in the lineup has anything to do with it. 

I ran through some numbers at FranGraph's and compared some basic numbers from 2006 & 2007 to recent years. 

2006 – .311, 26 HRs, 116 RBIs – K% = 19.4% – NLCS 3-4-5 was Beltran, Delgado, Wright. 

2007 – . 325, 30 HRs, 107 RBIs – K% = 19.0%

2008 – .302, 33 HRs, 124 RBIs – K% = 18.8%

2009 –  .307, 10 HRs, 72 RBIs – K% = 26.2%

2010 –  .283, 29 HRs, 103 RBIs – K% = 27.4%

2011 –  .229, 2 HRs, 8 RBIs – K% = 31.4%

FanGraphs

Maybe the numbers could be a result of a gradual change in batting stance, or possibly it could be from his spot in the lineup weighing him down. He's feeling the pressure. All I will say is, Beltran is hitting the ball very well, Bay is a power hitter back in the lineup, and Wright strikes out way too much in 3 spot. Maybe it's time to move him back to No. 5 in the lineup and perhaps the David Wright of 2008 will return.