Originally posted on Midwestropolitan .
Quite the weekend of baseball. I can’t say it was all enjoyable. Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals leaves me with two major questions.
1. What is going on with this offense?
They could only muster four hits in the series finale against the Cardinals.
Jose Reyes gets a pass in my mind. It is unrealistic to expect him to be able to light up the world after being out of baseball for 11 months and then missing most of spring training. Hopefully, he will start to be the Jose we all know and love soon.
David Wright is pressing again. I am starting to get convinced that he needs at least one other player in the lineup that is swinging a hot bat for him to be effective. When everyone else cools off, it seems as though he tries to do too much and is less comfortable at the plate.
Jason Bay will probably hear the boo-birds Monday night at Citi Field. I am not a proponent of this, particularly this early in the season, but it is probably unavoidable at this point. He seems to be utterly lost right now.
Jeff Francoeur has come back to earth. I think he will hover around .300 all year, which is more than advertised with Frenchy.
Angel Pagan is the only one hitting right now.
I hate to say this, but at what point do people start to question Howard Johnson’s effectiveness as the hitting coach? It is quite clear Mets’ hitters are not executing whatever plan is in place at the plate.
2. What should the Mets do with John Maine?
It is never good when a pitcher has to verbally tell his pitching coach that he is throwing his fastball when asked during a visit to the mound. Maine fought today, but threw way too many pitches and only gave the Mets five innings when they desperately needed at least seven.
Do you give his spot in the rotation to Fernando Nieve and have Maine become a reliever?
Do you designate him for assignment?
If it were up to me, I would designate him for assignment. I believe he is out of options which means someone could claim him on waivers. Unfortunately, I think it is time for a change for John Maine.