Two Mets who have been the most fun this season, catcher Rod Barajas and rightfielder Jeff Francoeur      Photo by Al Bello - Getty

You have to admit the Mets are fun to watch.  (I can be as positive as the next guy).  Jose smacks the double and you cheer, then about 30 seconds later he tries to take third on a ball right there in front of him.  After the game, he says he’s sorry, that there’s no excuse for it. 

Yeah, I suppose it was that Bernadina guy who really won the game for the Nats.  His beautiful catch of Francoeur’s liner late in the game saved three runs right there.  Add the two homers and well, he was making sure it was over. 

If you listed a “Top Ten” of reasons the Mets lost yesterday though, the first would surely be Bernadina but the second would be Reyes.  If I knew beforehand that he’d hit a double and then get thrown out, I’d surely have eschewed the double.  Keep it, Jose.

But they are fun when they’re hitting, and even when they’re not, you get the feeling that they will very soon.  When Wright isn’t striking out and Bay decides to swing at good pitches, when Davis and Barajas join the fun, things get crazy. 

The whole lineup is interesting now.  The sure outs just aren’t there anymore, except when mad Manuel decides Gary Matthews .325 average of friggin’ yesteryear is just around the corner, so he inserts him into the game and he strikes out.  And of course you know he’s going to strike out.  It’s kind of interesting to ask yourself just how he’s going to do it this time.  Will he swing at the impossibly outside pitch or the one in the dirt?  Or will the pitcher be silly enough to throw him a fastball, something that he can maybe just strike out on the foul tip?

 Yes, I know, he actually got a hit the other day.  WooHoo!!

But, besides Matthews, there’s really nobody you give up on totally, if you don’t count Bay on one of his clueless days.  There’s Pagan, who does a little of everything.  Then Castillo will do something smart, and then there’s Reyes, who can drive the ball a bit, maybe get one of those great triples.  There’s Bay who can hit the heck out of the ball when he connects and Wright, who is totally unpredictable.

Remember when Wright was the best two-strike hitter in the game?  Um, not anymore.  But when he’s not striking out, he usually does something spectacular.  Then Ike Davis gets up there and he’s a tough out.  Never mind that he can hit the friggin’ bridge to Shea.  Then Francoeur is always good for a drive somewhere in the park.  And Barajas, you can’t say enough about Barajas.

I had been a Barajas detractor when they got him, wishing they would have given Omir Santos more of a shot.  The Mets also got Blanco to back him up, which put Santos further down the ladder.  But I was wrong.  Not only does the man represent a real threat at the plate but he apparently does wonders for these Mets pitchers, unless you think it’s just an accident that the pitching has been so good. Oh, and both these catchers can throw out runners.

So, all in all, the lineup is interesting.  When they try to take pitches, they stink.  When they just let it go and play, they can be overpowering.  Of course, Manuel doesn’t always see that because that’s right in front of his face.  Jerry only sees things far off, very deep things no one else can really fathom.

So the manager is kind of interesting too.  And GM Omar Minaya, I mean, what can you say?  I think of him as a snake oil salesman with education.  Except for the time he accused that Daily News reporter of trying to take one of his boys’ jobs, he keeps things light and fun.  And he has a good sense of humor, which you need when Jose Reyes is on the bases.

They’ve been a good home team too, which worries me a little bit as they take off for a long road trip, to some mostly unfriendly divisional places like Florida, Atlanta and Washington.  Then they return home to face the Yankees, so this could be a long, depressing ride for the rest of May, especially if they get a bad start.

But, if the pitching holds up, they can survive just about anything.  Santana starts it off tonight against Florida ace Josh Johnson, then it’ll be Maine, Pelfrey, Perez and Niese again, which,  compared to what I thought they’d get, especially from Maine and Perez, hasn’t  been too shabby at all. 

I keep expecting the relievers to blow up, given the innings they’ve had to work, what with the starters’ relatively short appearances.  That doesn’t figure to get much better either.  Maine and Perez especially just work too hard early to last a very long time in the game.  

But the relievers have been terrific so far.  The Mets are in every game.  There’s nobody in that pen you just give up on.  They’re all tough, led by Takahashi, who’s been unbelievable.  But Igarashi was great before he got hurt (and will soon return), and the list of good performers goes on with Nieve, Feliciano, and even the new kid Mejia.  Even Vargas hasn’t stunk it up (but I keep thinking he’s Bizarro Jerry).

But things could have been a lot worse.  Nobody except me expected the relief performance the Mets have gotten, and it’s not so lucky or accidental that the Mets find themselves 18-16 and just 2 ½ games back of the Phillies.  They let the Nats sneak in there for 2^nd place but well, talk to Bernardina and Reyes about that one.

All these upcoming teams are beatable too, division rivals all, and the Mets performance over this road trip should tell us a lot about how the rest of the season will play out.

 

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