The Wheels on the Bus Keep Falling Off, Falling Off, Falling Off

Another day, another missed opportunity for the Mets.

A night after their "ace" imploded in ingloriously horrific fashion against their biggest rivals, the Mets found themselves with a bit of a statement game in Cincinnati.

Were these the same old Mets, the team with the glass jaw and a knack for letting other teams kick them when they're down? Or were these the newer, grittier Mets of the 9-1 homestand?

I hate to say it, but on this night at least this team looked a lot like the one from past seasons. Poor situational hitting, bad fielding (Reyes HAS to knock that ball down), walking pitchers and paying the price (or is that this year's trademark?), all of it just leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.

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For as good as they looked as recently as Friday night, the wheels on the Mets express have come off rather fast.

When the season began, I, like many, predicted this team would finish the year with a record somewhere around .500. Early-season hot streaks can fool you though, and I'll admit that I had started to play the 'what-if' game to find a way to put the Mets in the playoffs.

What if Pelfrey and Niese can keep this up? What if Francoeur can drive in 90-100 runs? What if Beltran comes back and turns this lineup into a juggernaut?

The past three games have been rather sobering. You watch this team play enough games and eventually you see the flaws. The absurd amount of walks. The amazing disappearing plate discipline when the team falls behind. Every at-bat given to Gary Matthews Jr., Alex Cora, and Frank Catalanotto (seriously, does this team have one credible pinch hitter?).

Teams with these kind of flaws are close enough to being real contenders to keep things interesting, but not deficient enough to drive you nuts. And maybe that's what we're in for this year. A team that has its up, its downs, and ultimately finds its way to a happy medium around .500.

Maybe I'm not giving them enough credit. After all, they're still in second place, just .5 games out of first. And let's be honest, if they'd won tonight I'd have been singing their praises for their resiliency, and I would still do that on Thursday if they find a way to win tomorrow and Wednesday.

But the missed opportunities are starting to mount. Mets fans know all too well what happens to teams that leave wins on the board. Eventually the losses cave in around you and all that's left is a futile game of "if only we'd won that game against...".

For now I'll try to think positively and remind myself it's just three games. Besides, in May there's always tomorrow.

- A.F.O.M.G.