If this isn't rock bottom, it'll do until rock bottom gets here.
Just 17 games into the 2011 season, the Mets keep finding new ways to humiliate themselves and their fans. They lost 6-1 to the Astros on Tuesday night to earn themselves sole possession of last place in the entire National League.
The Mets followed a familiar script to win the race to the bottom. Scott Hairston dropped a routine fly ball, Bobby Parnell imploded in relief and they didn't get one hit with runners in scoring position.
The Astros, who looked every bit as bad as the Mets until Tuesday, hardly played a strong game of baseball themselves. They couldn't get a bunt down to save their lives, had multiple runners thrown out on the basepaths and still looked like a much better team than the one that is shaming Queens on a nightly basis.
What's the answer to halting this miserable flailing? We certainly don't have that answer at our fingertips, but, much to everyone's disappointment, it doesn't seem like Sandy Alderson and company have the answer either.
In fact, they look just as clueless as the guys they replaced.
Brad Emaus was sent packing yesterday after posting a .162 batting average in 42 plate appearances. No one's going to argue that the second baseman had any meaningful future, but the team believed he had one all through March but lost that faith halfway through April?
Sports
The old feeling that the team is willing to deviate from the best health advice for short term gains is also resurfacing. Jason Bay went 4-for-4 in a Port St. Lucie rehab game Tuesday and now there's word he's going to be activated from the disabled list on Wednesday instead of Thursday.
Is it nitpicking to worry about the difference between one day for a player who is deemed ready? Perhaps, but how in the world do you let a veteran major leaguer tearing up minor league opposition lead you to change your mind about a decision.
That's a question only a Met could answer because only the Mets run their team in this kind of fashion.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.
