Let the Vets Play for a While

Like you, I love the Mets--live and die with them.

I own every yearbook they'e ever had, including the 1962. I don't sleep well when they lose, and it frustrates me to no end when they play poorly.

There's the manager--the guy that likes to throw away outs with bunts. The Mets are second in baseball in sacrifice bunts.

I have no idea where they stand in unsuccessful sacrifices, but after watching Argenis Reyes fail to move the runner over last night, I have a pretty good idea that they're at or near the bottom.

It was especially frustrating watching Jerry give up an out by pulling Livan to have Argenis bunt. Jorge Posada has thrown out 17% of baserunners on the year, and Phil Hughes, who was on the mound, is slow to home plate.

Steal a base there and have Argenis bunt him to third...play that agressively, not passively.

The sac bunt there was passive baseball, and Jerry is a passive manager.

And while we're on the subject, why does Argenis Reyes come up and suddenly become an integral part of the team's offense?

I'm also a bit tired about hearing about all the injuries. You can expect a CC Sabathia to shut a team down, and I've written previously that AJ Burnett is a tough matchup for the Mets based on how the roster has done against him previously.

But Wang too?

Aren't these guys supposed to be major league hitters? Do they all have to slump at the same time? 9 hits in three games, at home, with 3 runs scored?

Can Fernando Tatis hit any worse? Does David Wright need to vacillate between hottest hitter in baseball and strikout king and back? Does Daniel Murpy belong on a big league club?

Murphy used to display a great eye at the plate--used to--he hasn't drawn a walk in his last 13 games. He is hitting .239 in June with an abysmal .291 OBP and .310 Slg %.

The thing is that Murphy hit .176 in May--a full two months of suck, so he's overdue for a trip to the Bing or Buffalo to straighten himself out.

I've previously written that the club can weather this storm with the vets, and that still holds true.

Play the vet lineup every day and they will gut out a .500 record.

Castillo-2B
Cora-SS
DW-3B
Sheff-LF (with spot rest)
Church-RF
Tatis-1B
Reed-CF
Schneider/Santos-C (depending on the starter)
Pitcher

Save the season with this lineup--don't tell me "the kids need to play"...right now we need to push to the All-Star break with veteran leadership. The kids can spot start/pinch hit/late inning replacement, when things happen--like Ryan Church with the flu, or for defense (Sheff), or if there's a double switch.

It's time to save the season, and Argenis Reyes won't be the guy to do it.