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Inconsistent Consistency

Why was every one calling for change for change’s sake? I mean this particularly in reference to the idea that we needed a manager change and a shake-up. It seems that the biggest problem with this team this year is both the offense and the lack of consistency, both in-game and over an extended group of games.

So why would a shake-up, which by its very nature creates a disturbance and breaks up any consistency. On top of this, the move was made while the Mets were on a winning streak, which couldn’t have been what they wanted to shake up. Maybe what this team needs, or needed, was a steadier day-to-day regiment. A few weeks with the same lineup, healthy left and right fielders, the same manager and coaches, confirmed by Omar to be there all year. Surely giving Willie the okay for sure would’ve deferred some of the distraction, and it’s not like the statement would’ve been binding if Omar then decided, in July as things possibly grew more dire, to fire Willie and others anyway.

It’s too late for that, but now that Manuel is supposedly here all year, and Church is coming back, maybe this team can find a little bit of that daily regiment of monotony to start grinding out some real good streaks.

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Series Two in the books

They didn’t manage to put the Phillies away, but sometimes you’re 4th/5th starter isn’t going to be great, and the bullpen isn’t always going to be spotless. They came back immediately after Utley’s three run home run (And more people need to pitch this guy inside and hit him) to tie the game, which was nice.

They’ve been playing better now, and while a week ago people were prematurely screaming about how bad this team is, suddenly they don’t look so bad. They got five games in a row, which is something they struggled to do last year, and it means that everyone in the rotation was able to keep them in the game. The bullpen has been much better than expected, the only concern I have is that it’s kind of being overworked. But so far it’s got a depth that was it’s biggest weakness last year. If they can keep Schoeneweis and Sosa well rested, I think they’ll be able to squeeze a little bit of consistency out of them, which would be nice.

So what if the Phillies didn’t have Jimmy Rollins? We didn’t have Pedro. Or Alou. Or El Duque. The injury card isn’t valid, we beat the best they could throw at us.

The Mets recalled some of 2006 with a nice streak of scoring in the first inning. This fits well with their style of aggressiveness and putting pressure on the opposition, and it has a lot to do with Reyes getting on base. Now that we’re a couple of weeks in, it’s time to settle in and see how they do over a long period of time, let the slow starters catch up and the guys that are going to be carrying the team continue to step up and produce.

On a side note, I wish I had gotten to go down to Philly with the Metsblog crowd among all the others who made the trip, but I did get to visit Cooperstown for the first time this week.