Winning Ins't Easy...

This isn't rocket-surgery.  The name of the game is winning.  And the Mets, well, they're not winning enough.  What's worse, is that they're not showing any reason for me to believe they'll be anything other than a mediocre team all season…

So far, they've won series from the Astros, Marlins, Nationals, Phillies and Brewers, which, if you look at the standings, is not an impressive bunch.  Frankly, they should win a series from these teams…

On the other hand, they've lost series against the Reds, Nationals, Cubs, Cardinals and the Braves, twice, which is an impressive bunch.  Frankly, the way they've played, they should lose a series to these teams…

And that's okay…

Winning isn't easy…

"The best thing is, we're .500," David Wright told reporters after yesterday's loss, "and we haven't played anywhere near as well as we're capable of."…

This is true, they haven't…What I can't help but wonder is whether or not the Mets' best baseball is still any better than .500, though…Because at the end of the day, best baseball or not, this team still has their best defensive outfielder playing out of position, a professional player at second base with nearly 700 plate appearances still adjusting to the big leagues, a shortstop learning on-the-fly how to recognize a curve-ball and change-up, a bullpen in disarray and a starting rotation with no structure comprised mostly of untested talent…

We can't lose sight of the ultimate vision, which is to build a consistent winner for many years.  And this takes time…

Win or lose, this group just needs to keep running out there and playing together…

This season, technically, was simply supposed to be a stepping stone.  A getting-to-know-you type of season, where the new and the old regimes could mingle and decipher who'll be playing at Shea when the final pieces of the 'championship puzzle' are put in place…

Jose Reyes needs to stay in the leadoff spot, because in two seasons when he's about to steal second in a playoff game and Beltran is at-bat, Beltran needs to be comfortable in knowing what pitches to swing at and what pitches not to so that Reyes can be comfortable stealing and not worrying about wasting an out…

David Wright needs to keep throwing balls at Doug Mientkiewicz so that when Wright charges a bunt during the extra innings of a World Series game and bare hands the ball from the grass and slings it to first, Mientkiewicz knows exactly where the ball will be because he's taken the exact throw from Wright's arm many, many times before…

And so on…

If they lose, so be it…If they win, great…and so on, and so on until a winner is built…

As fans we've suffered a lot over the last few seasons.  We're going to suffer some this year too…but, we'll suffer less and less, because guys like Willie Randolph, Wright, Reyes and Beltran are not losers…and we know this…

"I don't know what it feels like to be respectable or mediocre or .500," Willie Randolph said after dropping two of three to the Cardinals.  "I've been spoiled. That's why I'm working hard to help change that mentality with my team…I'm greedy. Everyone wants to win, but I come in expecting to win."…

Exactly…

However, while nobody wins overnight, the process must start some place.  Hopefully, it starts tonight against the Reds and continues as this team slowly starts to take a series or two from teams like the Braves and Cardinals…

The tide will turn, and we'll feel it when it happens…

Be patient…

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