Second Half Debacle

The second half of the season following the All Star break has spelled disaster for the Mets in each of the last three seasons.  It appears that 2012 is no different.  The Mets suffered another heartbreaking loss this afternoon at Citi Field where they left an astounding 14 men on base in an 8-3 loss in 12 innings.  For the first time all year, the Mets have fallen under .500 at 47-48.  They were swept by the Dodgers and have an abysmal 1-8 record since the All Star break.

It looks like the Mets are in their usual second half swoon mode as Terry Collins overachieving team has hit rock bottom.  The Mets are 8.5 games out of first place in the National League East and have fell five games out of the second Wild Card spot in the National League.  Their starting pitching, which carried them in the first half, has been brutal thus far in the second half.  The bullpen continues to struggle as they have all season leading the league with 20 losses.  Without closer Frank Francisco, they have had trouble closing out games in late innings. 

To add injury to insult, they lost Dillon Gee for the season and Johan Santana also was placed on the disabled list with an ankle injury.  Down two starters, the Mets finally chose today to call up young pitching prospect Matt Harvey to make his Major League debut on Thursday in Arizona.  Harvey will do his best to try and fill the void in the rotation until Santana gets back.  Santana and All Star R.A. Dickey have been the reason for a lot of the Mets success in the first half.  Both have struggled mightily in the month of July and are a part of the teams losing streak.  

The pitching problems of late are leading to the offense having to fight back early and often in games.  They are being put in too deep of a hole and as a result are pressing to try and get back in games.  The team is not getting the clutch two out hits that we saw in the first half.  David Wright cannot do it all by himself.  Wright, Daniel Murphy, and young Jordany Valdespin have been the only bright spots of late in the Mets offense.  While the offense has not been great, it all starts with the pitching staff.  They either are behind early or blow leads late because of a young and inexperienced bullpen. 

It could get worse as the Mets will face the first place Nationals for three games at Citi Field.  They could be double digit games behind them with another couple of losses. Then the Mets will go on an 11 game west coast trip to face the Diamondbacks, Giants, and Padres.  As the trade deadline is just nine days away, the next week will determine if the Mets are buyers or sellers.  If the poor play continues, look for the Mets to go with what they have and not trade pieces of their future to try and win this year. The debacle looks to have begun, but the Mets do have 65 games to go and crazier things have happened. Just ask the 2007 Mets...