Below .500 and Limping to the Finish: 4 Game Set in Cinci is Mets Very Last Chance

If the Mets made it to the playoffs this year, they would be the first team ever to do so this far back in the Wild Card race this late in the season. With the Phillies running away with the division, the Wild Card is the Mets last hope. This series with the Cincinnati Reds is make or break for both teams, as they are both 8.5 games back in the race. Not only do the Reds have home field advantage, but they are going in with a-lot more confidence, having won their last two games. The Mets, who just lost a dismal series to the god awful Florida Marlins, have little chance. Lets just hold our breath and hope for the best, because, mark my words- this is our very last chance.

Here are the 2 reasons I don't see the Mets finishing any better than a game or two above .500:

• Jason Bay is hitting .228 and David Wright is hitting .241. Those are two guys that a couple years ago were among the best in the majors. Now they are burnt out and injury prone, fielding terribly and suffering from year-long slumps. Bay was great on the Red Sox and Pirates, hitting extremely well with lots of Home Runs. The Mets expected power hitting and paid him amazingly well to join the team. But like Wright, he has been nothing but a disappointment in 2011.
• Playoff teams do not ever have pitching this bad. Without their two best pitchers (Johan Santana and Chris Young) out until at least August 21st, the Mets have been forced to rely on the horrid Mike Pelfrey who is expected to be 5-10 by the time the Mets get to D.C on Friday and Chris Capuano, whose ERA has risen to 4.23. Even the 4-8 R.A Dickey has showed us that as impressive as 2010 was, he simply dosen't have it in him anymore.

I wanna say Ronny Paulino, Daniel Murphy, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran can continue to swing hot bats and the Mets can hit there way into the postseason, but with Wright and Bay struggling, I doubt that will happen. We need pitching to come through. Dillon Gee is our only hope when it comes to starting pitching, and with KROD gone and Izzy iffy, we have to keep on holding our breath as we watch the bullpen throw away game after game.

If the Mets dont win this series in Cinci, there is no point in watching them for the rest of the year. They are below .500 and have proven to all of us that 2011 may simply be another year to forget in Queens. Tickets are now $5 for 3 games in early August. I'm not sure the Mets are worth $5.