New York Mets

It's been a pretty rough season for Mets fans so far in 2009.

Whether it's Oliver Perez not living up to his new huge contract, the seemingly endless trips to the disabled list, or just the overall inconsistent play on the field, 2009 has yet to live up to the expectations of most Mets fans.

Come to think of it, the Mets haven't lived up to expectations since Johan Santana's three-hit shutout of the Florida Marlins on the next-to-last game of the season.

Open up MLB.com and click on batting statistics; one will see that David Wright is the National League leader in batting average with a .344 mark. Seeing such an average, one expects a gaudy power display and RBI numbers, a la Evan Longoria of Tampa Bay, who has 16 homers and 60 RBI in mid-June.

With Carlos Beltran headed for an MRI tomorrow and still no sign of Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Oliver Perez, I think now is an appropriate time to discuss trading for someone who could provide some steady offense, especially if Beltran hits the DL.

The problem for the Mets is they have very few trade chips to work with.

After the events of the past few weeks, Mets fans are genuinely concerned about the 2009 season. Injuries have decimated the team, key players have been out for some time now, and their return is questionable at best.

Many of the doomsayers are already getting the other teams' rosters and trying to figure just how to break up the "core" players who are at fault for our lack of winning ways. I don't believe that a blow-up is necessary, but that's not the subject of this article.

One never knows what is going to happen in a baseball game. Pennant-winning teams might struggle against cellar-dwellers, or a play that has never been seen could occur.

There are no guarantees, which is a major reason that before the first pitch, all baseball games are potentially created equal.

Gaylord Perry Against Bob Gibson

The paid attendance on Sept. 17, 1968 at Candlestick Park was 9,546.

Former Major League pitcher Shawn Estes has retired today.

Estes was acquired in 2001 from the San Francisco Giants for outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo and infielder Desi Relaford. In one season with the Mets, Estes went 4-9 with a 4.55 ERA. His best year came in 1997 when he won 19 games with the Giants while pitching his way to a 3.18 ERA. Although Estes never regained that great form in his career again, he went on to win 101 games.

It has been three months since the end of the WBC in which a record number (16) of Mets participated.

Since then, it seems that the players involved have had their share of problems. I'm not implying that they would not have suffered these injuries or encountered these problems without participation, but you do have to wonder about the results.

1)  Jose Reyes - Played for the Dominican Republic

Reyes has been out of action on the DL for close to a month, and even before that, did not play to the level that was expected.

Talk about a slug fest. The Yankees mopped up their downtown rival Mets on Sunday, June 14. The final score was 15-0 in favor of the Bronx Bombers, a win that could prove monumental for their team morale.

Inconsistencies early on and the inability to defeat their hated rival Red Sox may linger in the minds of the Yankee players and coaches, but this win should help raise their spirits.

Team Has Come Close Only Three Times in Its History

The New York Mets are now in their 48th season of existence and although they've had some great moments and great players, they still have never had a pitcher throw a no-hitter in their uniform. That is a well-known fact.

There is one other fact that is not so well known, though: They still have never had one of their players named the National League's Most Valuable Player.

Today, I finished all my finals.  I am now finished with school and I'm so happy. 

Although it was the last day of school, it wasn't the easiest day.  This whole week I had finals, they were mostly easy but just the word finals gets you a little nervous.