At the start of the season, all we wanted from the Mets was a winning season. With our expectations low, Gothamist is somewhat pleased with the .500 record the Mets have. Years of disappointments have set our standards pretty low. Of course there is plenty of season left for the Mets to disappoint again. Pedro Martinez has pitched well, proving thus far that he has deserved his big contract. The other big off season signing isn't doing so well. Carlos Beltran, who was playing with an injury, has been sub-par.
Although the Mets do have the winning percentage of an average team, they are in last place in the NL East, suddenly become the toughest division in baseball, eight games out of first place. Chalk that up to the Washington Nationals, who seem like a vastly different team than the 2004 Expos. As if the play of their division rivals wasn't good enough, the Mets seem to shot themselves in the foot every so often (see last weekend's series against the Pirates and numerous mental errors before that).
What can the Mets do to improve their situation? Do they trade Aaron Heilman, who has shown promise in the bullpen, or do they trade a prospect like 2004 first-round draft pick Philip Humber? Or do they just shuffle around their bullpen, starting rotation, and hope for other improvements.
