Just when you think the Mets hit their low point last week after losing three of four against the Washington Nationals, you realize that apparently they still had further to fall.  The Mets hit a new low on Thursday night after the Atlanta Braves completed a four game sweep of the Mets.  Chipper Jones is hitting .412 against the Mets this season and at Turner Field, the Mets are 0-6 so far this season and have been outscored 51-14 in those six games. 

 The Mets are now under .500 and seem as if they are on a downward spiral that you can’t imagine where they might end up.  What was very apparent watching the way the Braves play in these four games was that the Braves hustle, they play hard and they finish.  We have not seen that kind of play from the Mets, in fact it seems that they are too often nonchalant.  Uh funny when I hear that word Luis Castillo flashes across my mind, and Jose Reyes is starting to get there too.    

The Mets played the most uninspired baseball.  Is this the same team that took on the Yankees last weekend?  Watching them last night, it is hard to believe that Willie Randolph will be at the helm of this sinking ship for much longer.  I’m not sure how the Mets can keep him especially after his comments last week.  The team has not responded, and they certainly did nothing to show that they had his back these past four games in Atlanta.  For whatever reason, he seems to have lost this team.  The only consistency this team has been able to sustain is playing poorly.  

Johan Santana gave up a career high 12 hits.  He was not sharp, but he also did not get the help he needed from his defense either.  The Mets defense looked like it might be an issue early on with Marlon Anderson in left field for the ailing Moises Alou.  However, Anderson wasn’t the offender of poor play-that was reserved for the starters-David Wright, Brian Schneider, Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran.  The Mets can’t complain about not getting breaks in the game last night, you make your own luck, only last night it looked like they wanted to help the luck of the Braves.  Was there a lack of concentration there?   

You know how each year there is a guy on your team who drives you crazy?  A guy you don’t like much but you feel like you have to root from him because he is on your team?  Well, that is how I feel about Luis Castillo. When I watch him the word lazy keeps coming to mind.  Maybe that isn’t fair given the situation with his knees, but it is his body language that gets me.  That play he made-or failed to make last night was so frustrating, at first I thought maybe he didn’t have time to go to first, but when I saw the replays he had plenty of time, he never even thought about going to first, he was thinking of making a sports center highlight. That makes two games in a row that you can look at him for one play that really changes the game.  I just don’t like his style of play, and I think from what has been said here in the NY press, that he is rubbing off on Jose Reyes.  The problem is the Mets are not doing what they are supposed to be doing.  They are not playing hard, they are not playing smart.  

The Carloses hit back to back homers in the second, but those were the only runs the Mets would score.  The Mets had some chances later in the game, but Luis Castillo hit into a double play to end the threat in the eight.  And David Wright was doubled off first when Carlos Beltran hit a bullet to second baseman Kelly Johnson and Wright was too far of first to get back in time.

Ryan Church pinch hit in last nights game and is scheduled to play Friday night against the Rockies.  However, the Mets placed Moises Alou on the DL with a calf strain and recalled catcher Raul Casanova to take his place on the active roster.   

So the Mets now head off to Colorado, under .500 for the first time since early April.  Oliver Perez will pitch for the Mets and Greg Reynolds will pitch for the Rockies.  First pitch is schedules for 9:05 p.m.    

 Mets Blog