I don’t think it’s so much for the losing, or the uninspired play on the field – after all, we have been living with uninspired baseball for the bulk of the last three seasons.

My faith has become questioned with the actions of management, in particular over the past couple of days. After the Mets announced they will retain their coaching staff, at least for the time being, and hearing both Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya place their own faith in the eyes of failure, for the first time, I began to question the Mets brass’ dedication towards winning.

It’s not that I think anyone needs to be fired or that they believe they can turn things I around – Personally I believe this group can turn things around only because they have shown long and sustained stretches of success this season. I just feel, after a disastrous 11 game road trip which saw the Mets free-fall to the border of contention, that some sort of statement needed to be made which indicates nobody at Citi Field is complacent or tolerable of uninspired baseball and losing in particular. Whether it’s a change in coaching, or just for either Omar Minaya, Jerry Manuel, Jeff Wilpon or all three stand up and say something directly and sternly about what has happened to the Mets, something other than basically nothing should have been done yesterday.

At the end, we saw only the status-quo with management and that is very disturbing to me.

Now, it’s not to say, if this trend the Mets have been on continues that wholesale changes aren’t on the horizon, but again, I’m not looking for anyone in particular to be fired – I just want some sort of indication that old habits are behind us, and as of tonight’s game against St. Louis, there is a change in preparation to ensure the maximum effort is given by players and coaches because deep down, I believe this team as it is built now is capable of being far more competitive than they have been since the All-Star Break – I just think a better direction is needed with this group.

Despite the unpleasant results, Caryn Rose from Metsgrrl.com spent last week out west watching the Mets in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.

Her photographs are absolutely outstanding, and I could only wish that she had been able to enjoy the games she attended, and seen some more Met victories.

To see her pictures, checkout MetsGrrl.com here.

2-9 since the All-Star Break, and really 1-10 thanks to umpire Phil Cuzzi last Sunday in San Francisco.

That is probably the worst possible outcome of the first road trip since the All-Star Break.

It was a span of 11 consecutive days where absolutely nothing went right – whether the offense didn’t produce, or the pitching was absent, or both on a couple of occasions.

Tthe Mets are now at a point, five days before the trade deadline, where there are now questions about the internal structure of the team, rather than acquiring a guy to give them a boost for the stretch run.

Personally, I don’t think there is an arm, or a bat, or a guy for the bullpen, or a guy for the bench that can help this group right now. All of the talk, even today, is about trades and getting to the playoffs and I contest that at this moment, the Mets need to worry more about competing than they do about making the playoffs.

They have to walk before they run, and all we have seen, really over the past three weeks or so is this team sinking deeper and deeper out of contention with no change in sight over a combination of poor pitching and a dysfunctional offense.

Now, I want this team to win, and I want them to make the playoffs – don’t get me wrong. But with the current construction of the roster, they just aren’t designed to be successful right now.

I look at it from this perspective – they are really playing with a mish-mosh of 23 guys – three of which are catchers and one of which is now injured, and Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo taking almost 10% of the roster in the final two roster spots. As a result, they are playing short on the bench and short in the bullpen, considering Perez has a spot in it.

All of that said, I think that is only a part of their problem. The day-to-day expectations with the players I’m sure is in flux, as there is no set platoon in right field, a different lineup everyday, and different roles in the bullpen on a daily basis as well. As a player, it’s difficult to prepare on a daily basis if one doesn’t fully know and understand his role on the team. A lot of this game is mental, and so it’s essential everyone’s mental approach is proper and consistent on a daily basis, and based on some of the lackluster play over the past 11 games, I’m not sure these players are consistently prepared for that day’s game.

Now, we can attribute these faults to the manager, and we can attribute the problems with the offense to the hitting coach. While I think that “blame” is appropriate, will changing these guys out with a different look a) restore order to the chaos and b) get these Mets to the playoffs?

If the Mets fire Jerry Manuel, which again I would not be opposed to should the current trend continue, it will be the second manager in two full seasons Omar Minaya has disposed of, with the same core group of players on the field. That same manager would fall victim to a poorly constructed roster after publicly pleading for roster help both this year and last.

I don’t think this core group has failed because they aren’t good – to the contrary, both David Wright and Jose Reyes continue to serve as baseball’s best left-side of the infield both offensively and defensively. Carlos Beltran is currently struggling to find himself as a player again, but his talent is too great for this to continue for much longer, and Johan Santana has once again established himself as the best left handed pitcher in baseball, and so I think it would be ill-advised to break that up because, who would any General Manager replace them with?

Outside of those four, and Ike Davis and Mike Pelfrey as a promising young players who may be able to join that core in the near future, most of the rest of the roster is constructed with too many high priced players with either diminished skills or overvalued skills, and those that should be held accountable are the talent evaluators and the General Manager because they ultimately sign these players and make them a part of the roster.

My point is, it’s fine to take out Jerry Manuel and/or his coaches, but until changes are made from the top level and down, we might be having this same discussion two years from now.

That said, would more of the same from Santana even come close to what the Mets need tonight against the Dodgers?

Eventually this team will hit, but eventually, it gets later and later.

Last night, I was able to watch most of the Mets game even though it started late, but I think that could be attributed to the fact the Mets at bats went by so quickly that it wasn’t until the seventh inning that I fell asleep.

But see, that’s the thing. The Mets approach at the plate is so bad right now, as they are just not working deep and hitter-friendly counts. It’s as if everyone has watched Jeff Francoeur all year and said “thats what we have to do” and everyone, up and down the order is consistently in an 0-1 or 0-2 hole right away.

They appear anxious and desperate at the plate, and while they have every right to feel that way, that approach will only send the Mets further into the abyss they are headed in.

Now, I’m not a hitting coach, let alone a Major League hitter, so I’m not going to write about how I think they should approach hitting, or what they can do to be better. Nor am I going to say the manager, hitting coach, or even the general manager are accountable for the problems with the offense, except for the fact that I think both Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya have limited their ability to be successful by carrying three catchers and Oliver Perez, rather than a reliable relief pitcher and a more dynamic weapon off the bench.

I think, in the end, the players need to come together as a team, because right now they are a bunch of players wearing the same jersey and are not a cohesive and functioning unit, and figure a way out of this mess, and it needs to happen fast.

What I will say is they need to change their pattern, as they are horrifically predictable with their approach to hitting right now. And if we can recognize that 3000 miles away from the game, I think it’s a safe bet their opposing pitcher, manager, pitching coach, among others, recognize this too.

I don’t think there is any one player in baseball the Mets can acquire who can help right now. No pitcher, no hitter, no left fielder, center fielder, or second baseman can come in and transform the offense. The adjustment has to be made from within. Whether it’s the coaches, the manager, the players, or all three combined. And until that adjustment is made, I don’t see any reason for the Mets to acquire anyone who will help get them to October, because they won’t get there anyway at this rate.

It’s hard to fathom these Mets.

The path they have taken this season is about as rocky and treacherous as I can remember in recent years.

I can’t remember any season in which the team has looked so horrible out of the gate, flip the switch and play like champions, only to begin drowning again, play hot and contend, and then fade so quickly.

And so it goes in Flushing.

It’s all about getting these guys in sync and on track as a team.

The talent is there, they just need the glue to put it all back together.

He has struggled over the past six weeks, seeing his ERA rise from 2.38 to 3.59 in just eight starts, and in three consecutive starts, he has failed to complete five innings of work with eight walks allowed in 13 1/3 innings over that span.

The All-Star Break couldn’t have come sooner for Pelfrey, and I hope with the rest and the time away he was able to get himself together, because while the Mets are where they are because of him, they need him to complete the job he started, beginning tonight against the Diamondbacks.

Overall, since joining the Mets last year, Rodriguez has blown 19% of his save opportunities, compared to 14% during his entire career with the Angels. Of course, I think we can all agree he deserves a mulligan at the expense of Luis Castillo from his first blown save.

Overall, his velocity is down from years past, but I think one of his biggest problems has been inconsistent command of his assortment of pitches, which leads to him falling behind in the count too much, walking guys and stretching the Mets ability to win games to the absolute limit.

I think another problem he has is he lets his emotions get the best of him, and we’ve learned time and time again that a pitcher cannot let emotions, in particular negative ones, take over while he is pitching.

Yesterday was a prime example of this, and it essentially cost the Mets the game if not for a blown call by home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi.

Now, by no means did Rodriguez even call for such a response from Cuzzi on that blown strike call. Cuzzi’s behavior was out of line, unprofessional, and unjustified. But, as I said yesterday on MetsBlog, Rodriguez’s behavior was also inappropriate only because, like I said before, he cannot get so emotional to the point he loses focus, and that is what happened yesterday and it almost cost the Mets a win they could not afford to let slip away.

I love Rodriguez’s passion. He is fun to watch, especially when he is successful, and he cares very much about winning. That said, if he is going to be part of the solution going forward, I believe, in the example from yesterday, he has to be able to turn around, walk away, regroup, and refocus his energy towards pitching, and not how poor the umpire’s strike zone is.

If only it was so simple.

Last night, at least for 30 minutes, it appeared that streak was over, although I was very surprised to see Reyes’ name in the original lineup to begin with.

With the Mets recent troubles, it seems like it’s been a millenium since both Reyes and Angel Pagan were terrorizing the opposition with their dynamic 1-2 punch. First it was Pagan who needed to rest an injury to his side, and the Mets afforded him an opportunity to do so.

I think this is what puzzles me the most about the situation with Reyes. He has an injury to his oblique muscle which can only heal with rest. If the Mets were willing to rest Pagan for a muscle strain, why would they even consider having Reyes out there when his abilities are limited to begin with?

I understand the value of having Reyes on the field. I think we all do. We watched this team after he blew out his hamstring last year through the point it took Reyes to get going on all cylinders this year, and saying their offense was bad is probably a gross understatement. He is clearly the piece of the puzzle that makes this offense click, but if that’s the case, the Mets should do whatever it takes to protect that piece, and I just don’t think they have acted in his, or their own best interest, once again.

What’s worse: Having Reyes on the disabled list for two to three weeks, completely shutdown, or the situation we have now, where Reyes has played injured and in a limited capacity, has re-aggravated the injury to the point he cannot even lightly swing a bat without pain, and further delay his return by not having the ability to at least retroactive his injury to June 30, when this all initially took place? After all, its been 15 days since he hurt himself, and if what I consider to be the right thing was done, Reyes, and the Mets might be past this problem now, and that “A” lineup might actually be featured tonight.

Reyes and the Mets continue to downplay the injury, as both say it’s better, but until he is on the field with the ability to hit from both sides of the plate and run the bases as gracefully as the Reyes we all have come to know and appreciate, I just cannot believe either party, given the unpleasant memories I have from last season.