To Their Knees

The Mets' disappointing losses have suddenly become much more. After a sloppy series against the Yankees, the Mets played even worse in a three-game sweep against Atlanta, capped by 3-0 loss against the Braves Wednesday. They didn’t even score a run in the last two games, though they faced two starters who were working on only three days’ rest. They even lost to Kyle Davies, who was making his second major league start. Woe is the Mets’ lineup, and woe will be their summer if they can’t at least compete with their National League East foes.

Without Carlos Beltran, who did not start a game in the Atlanta series because of a quadriceps injury, the Mets’ lineup has more holes than reliable spots. Gothamist has already commented on Jose Reyes and Kaz Matsui, and with Doug Mientkiewicz slamming himself to the press and Mike Piazza decaying before the Mets’ eyes, Beltran's presence is a must to simply prod the lineup along.

Next up are the Marlins, perhaps the team to beat in the division. The Mets need a split simply to feel better about themselves, but they also need one to prevent this road trip from becoming a disaster. It’s already been bad enough, and it’s not even half over.

Photo by John Bazemore/AP via Yahoo