New York Mets

Baseball writers and Met fans in particular are quick to blame Jerry Manuel when things go wrong. Many are down on Manuel for the way the Mets have played this season, despite the depleted roster he works with every day.

Some of that criticism is warranted. A consistent lineup would be nice, Ryan Church playing every day would likely improve his numbers, and perhaps a rookie righty shouldn't be facing Chase Utley. 

It is June 17, and we're almost at the halfway point of the season known as the All-Star break. The Mets have played 62 out of 162 games, and currently sit three games out of first place in back of the rival Phillies with a record of 33-29. Much like the life of Britney Spears, the Mets' season has been filled with peaks and valleys.

With everything else going on with the Mets and their injuries, one positive is coming as we near the end of this first half.

David Wright leads NL third basemen in votes, and Beltran is ranked high enough in the outfield category to have a good chance at making the team as well. 

Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez may be joining Wright and Beltran in St Louis next month.

<!--[if gte mso 10]>

<![endif]-->

Should the New York Mets hire Manny Acta?

It was one year ago today that former Mets' skipper Willie Randolph was dismissed by GM Omar Minaya. Since then, the Mets are 87-67 under new manager and former bench coach Jerry Manuel.

Despite all of the criticism and negative publicity surrounding Manuel and the Mets, New York still finds themselves just four games out of first place and three games over .500 on the season.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that nearly half the team has been on the disabled list at one point or another during the season?

32-29. That would be the Mets record through 61 games so far this season, sub par to many expectations. But fear not! There are still 101 games left in the season. 101 times we can scream out of immense joy, or out of even more immense pain. Because of this, I've decided to share my 6 bold predictions for the remainder of the season. Enjoy!

During the Mets' brutal loss to the Yankees on Sunday, something very rare happened: David Wright got in an umpire's face about a called third strike for only the second time in his career.

Manager Jerry Manuel has often said he will defend his players 110 percent if they are right. If not, so be it, which is fine. But why did he wait for Wright to return to the dugout before coming out to argue with the umpire?

The pitch to Wright in the sixth inning was definitely over the plate, but well below his knees, and the ball was dropped by the catcher.

Mets ace Johan Santana may be the best pitcher on the planet. He has proven himself throughout his career, first in Minnesota, and now during his first two seasons as a New York Met.

But Santana hardly looked the part of the "best pitcher in baseball" Sunday afternoon. The Yankees lambasted him for nine runs in only three innings of work during the Mets' embarrassing 15-0 dismantlement in the Bronx.

The outing was the worst of Santana's career.

New York Mets' closer Francisco Rodriguez, better known as "K-Rod", blew his first save of the season on Friday night against the New York Yankees.

K-Rod should have earned the save, however, as Luis Castillo dropped a potential game-ending pop-up with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. This error allowed two unearned runs to score, which gave the Yankees the win.

On Saturday, Yankees relief pitcher Brian Bruney, currently rehabbing in Double-A Trenton, was asked about K-Rod's blown save and the Yankees improbable victory.