New York Mets

LOS ANGELES—During the Mets' current road trip, their hitting has been as bad as it's ever been.

The Mets are now 2-8 on their current 11-game road trip that concludes tomorrow afternoon and have gone through three prolonged hitting funks during the stretch.

Their first prolonged slump occured at the beginning of the trip. The Mets didn't score for the first 24 innings while in San Francisco; it took them until the seventh inning of their third game to score.

LOS ANGELES—Once again, the Mets offense disappeared right in the middle of a game, right when it looked like it was about to break out.

The Mets failed to record a hit from the seventh through the 13th innings, being shut down by the Dodgers bullpen after they tied the game in the sixth.

Mike Pelfrey was on the mound, and rebounded from a horrible four-start stretch. He only went five innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in a tight situation. He allowed two runs on six hits, walked a batter intentionally and struck out two.

LOS ANGELES: Mike Pelfrey has gone through a rough stretch over his last four starts like none other in over 50 years.

Over his last 14.2 innings pitched, Pelfrey has allowed 51 baserunners. That's almost 3.5 baserunners allowed per inning, a rate that hasn't been seen since 1951.

Yes, it's been that bad for the pitcher whom some people considered the staff's ace in April and May.

His last start in Arizona, was the worst of his career, only lasting 1.1 innings. He gave up six runs on seven hits, and threw 51 pitches in the first inning.

1. Jose Reyes, SS
2. Luis Castillo, 2B
3. Angel Pagan, RF
4. David Wright, 3B
5. Carlos Beltran, CF
6. Ike Davis, 1B
7. Jason Bay, LF
8. Henry Blanco, C
9. Johan Santana, LHP

This is the Mets' best chance to turn this slump around. Johan Santana is 2-0 with a 0.58 ERA in his last four starts.

This is a good lineup no matter what anybody says, and they should be able to score enough runs to win every time Santana starts.

LOS ANGELES-- The New York Mets are in Los Angeles to face the Dodgers in game two of their series, trying to fine some offense.

New York will have Johan Santana on the mound facing Vincente Padilla. Padilla has beat the Mets more than any other team in his career (10), and is having a solid season for Joe Torre's club.

LOS ANGELES—After going 13 straight games without scoring more than four runs, Mets manager Jerry Manuel has made drastic changes to tonight's starting lineup.

Jason Bay seems to be moving lower in the order by the day. Tonight's Mets lineup is as follows:

SS Jose Reyes
2B Luis Castillo
RF Angel Pagan
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Ike Davis
LF Jason Bay
C Henry Blanco
P Johan Santana

For the first time as a Met, Jason Bay will be batting seventh in the order. It's a lineup that shows the panic level of Jerry Manuel.

As reported yesterday, the Mets are shopping Jeff Francoeur.

The Mets have lost seven of eight on this recent West Coast road trip, and if it weren't for a bad call at home plate last Sunday against the Giants, the Mets could be in the middle of an eight-game losing streak.

The Mets were a game behind the Braves, and 1.5 GB ahead in the wild card. Now, the Mets find themselves six games behind Atlanta in the east, and three in back of the wild card.

The Mets natives are restless, and once again it is Jerry Manuel's head that is on the chopping block. If Manuel is fired at the end of the season, here is a list of candidates who could replace him.

The American League expanded from eight to 10 teams in 1961 when the Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senators were created. A year later, the National League added the Houston Colt .45s and the New York Mets.

In 1962, the Mets were a joke. In 1969, they were the World Champions.

George Weiss was the Mets' first general manager, and Casey Stengel was their first manager. Weiss had built the Yankees' dynasty after World War II, while Stengel managed them to seven World Championships, including the all-time record of five in a row from 1949-1953.

Generally, I am not one to blame managers for a team's performance.  Mets fans have wanted Jerry Manuel's head since he was hired in 2008.  

His even-keeled, sometimes humorous attitude about the ebbs and flows of a Major League season is, quite frankly, the way a manager ought to perceive the marathon that is a baseball season, but it has often rubbed Mets' fans, who live and die with every pitch, the wrong way.