New York Mets

When was the last time a team cut their Opening Day cleanup hitter just 11 games into the season? Has that ever happened before?

If not, the New York Mets made history on Sunday.

Call it a panic move, call it a move out of desperation, or call it a move just to create some buzz, but the Mets have designated first baseman Mike Jacobs for assignment. In seven games, Jacobs hit .208 with one home run.

Saturday April 17th, 2010 turned out to be a great day of baseball.

After coaching my son's team in their final scrimmage before our season starts on the 19th, (Anthony Cappetta: 2-for-3, with two steals) my son and I sat down at 4pm eastern time, to watch the Mets take on the St. Louis Cardinals.

Despite the fact that the Mets have been a disappointment so far in this young season, even after their own manager proclaimed that the team needed to get off to a fast start, something about yesterday seemed different.

Ubaldo Jimenez's no-hitter against Braves was magical. The 20-inning affair between the Cardinals and Mets was just plum-crazy.

Originally posted on Midwestropolitan .

Early in Saturday's game, which I believe lasted about 48 hours, Jerry Manuel was interviewed by Tim McCarver and Kenny Albert.  Manuel stated that the Mets have been competitive in most of their games and if they continue to do so, things should even out.

I actually agree with Jerry somewhat.  They haven't seemed over-matched in any series so far.  Two of their seven losses have gone into extra innings.

If you're a Mets fan right now, you might be just a little nervous. If you look at the current situation, you see a shaky 3-7 team that isn't hitting, pitching, or winning like the way you thought they might. You see a team that is on the brink of spiraling into another season that could be as bad or worse than what you saw last year. 

Well, don't panic just yet. There will be better days to come. 

Those who know me, those who follow my "Sound Offs" on "Vegas Unwrapped", or on these and other hallowed Blog pages know if nothing else, I rarely hit the panic button. Nor do I demand change for the sake of change only or because of one incident alone.

The 2010 Major League Baseball season is almost two weeks old, and already, there are naysayers that speculate New York Mets' skipper Jerry Manuel could be on the verge of unemployment.

Granted, the Mets come into play Friday last in the National League East, but is that really a reason to start panicking, this early in the season?

The Mets went into this past offseason with the intention of upgrading their pitching staff but came away deciding to stand pat with the five they had.

They justified it by saying that those same pitchers they currently had were all pitchers that had had success in Flushing in the past and that they would again in the future.