Serious Contenders or a Serious Joke?

Written by Nikki DeMaio | 31 July 2010

As the 2010 season for the Mets progresses, does anyone else get the feeling that they've seen this movie before?  I know I have.  The July 31st trade deadline has come and gone and what did the Mets do?  That's right, nothing.  And I get it - I didn't want to see our team give up Ike Davis, Jon Niese, Jenrry Mejia, etc. either.  In spite of that sentiment, I find it frustrating that the Mets don't seem to be committed to winning.  Recently, there has been some speculation that the Wilpons took a more severe financial hit in the Madoff scandal than was originally suspected, and that makes perfect sense to me.

It just seems like the Mets are never running on all cylinders.  We're either getting great pitching, or a productive offense - never both at the same time.  We've been seeing the ill effects of the way our bullpen was (ab)used during the first half of the season.  And honestly, that's not completely Jerry's fault.  What exactly was he supposed to do when we were lucky if our starters made it through the 5th inning for 2 months?

I'm just getting tired of the cycle:  the Mets start out the season badly and get everyone calling for the heads of management.  Then they go on a tear and make everyone believe they're going to really contend this year.... and after the All-Star Break, it all just falls apart.  In June, the Mets were one of the best teams in baseball with a record of 18-8.  In July, almost the exact opposite occurred as the Mets posted a record of 17-7 (not counting tonight's game which is currently tied in the 9th inning).  This is the scenario a lot of Mets fans feared before the 2010 season kicked off:  a team that was just good enough to keep Jerry and Dan Warthen, but just bad enough to miss being serious contenders.  And that's the thing - does anyone take the Mets seriously?  I don't think I can at this point, and that's sad to me.  What do you guys think?