The Mets finished the 2011 season 77-85 which is a rather disappointment for what will be a transition period for the Mets as Carlos Beltran is gone and Jose Reyes will likely find a new home as a free agent.

Speaking of Jose Reyes, he won the batting title for the first time in the Mets history, an amazing accomplishment edging out MVP seasons from Matt Kemp and Ryan Braun. However, no player in the history of baseball has ever received more slack for winning a batting title than Jose Reyes. Some say his classless act on the final day of the season was selfish and made his personality flaws more apparent. After leading off the game with a bunt single, the Mets manager immediately put in a pinch runner for Jose Reyes effectively taking him out of the game so that he may stay pat on his seemingly comfortable batting title lead over Ryan Braun. By going 1 for 1, Jose Reyes made it so the Brewers Ryan Braun would have to go 3 for 4 or better to overtake Reyes in the batting average percentages. Reyes said afterwards it was his idea, and he told his manager before the game to pull him out of the game if he got a hit in his first at bat.

The greatest hitter of all time, Ted Williams was the last to bat .400. On the final day the Red Sox had a double header, and Williams had a batting average a fraction of a percent under .400, a number which would be rounded up to .400. Ted Williams was given the option to sit out the double header, but he wanted to play because he is a competitive ballplayer and realized that if he was going to be a .400 hitter he was going to do so because he made it happen on the field. The beauty of this story is that he went 6 for 8, and finished the season with a .406 batting average which is something incredible and may take a very long time to match. The Jose Reyes incident happened on the anniversary day of Ted Williams .400 season.

Personally, I am happy Jose Reyes got the batting title award. He has had an up and down time with the Mets. A cornerstone of a generation of Mets teams that had a couple of good runs, but more often than not came up short of being spectacular and were often overshadowed by the Phillies and Braves in the division. Often injured, when in the game he was often the best player on the field and extremely exciting to watch play. Jose Reyes had a great smile and his playful personality made him popular to his teammates and to fans who he interacted with in a great way at home and on the road. Overall, Jose Reyes had many great memorable moments for Mets fans but injuries over the past few years really hurt the Mets chances of success.

I am giving him a ‘pass’ on this icky situation with respect to the batting title. I kinda understand why he did it, he is competitive in his own way and with the Mets out of contention he has been focused on winning the batting title for sometime. He earned the right to be in the drivers seat going into the last day by taking a couple percentage points lead the night before. He chose to sit on that lead if he could increase it by a small amount with a hit, therefore forcing Braun to have a difficult to achieve multi-hit performance. From a team perspective this was certainly a weak move by Jose Reyes, but seeing the Mets had little to play for except for the fans in attendance on the last day of the season it should not be considered to be over the top egregious. Especially considering those fans were lucky to see him at all, because during his stint with the Mets there were seemingly hundreds of games fans would not get to see him at all due to his hamstring, calf etc. Reyes did earn his spot in the record books wearing a Mets uniform, something Mets fans will appreciate overtime once the initial shock of the move wears off.

The Mets off-season should be interesting, and no doubt entertaining with issues and news about to be created throughout all levels of the organization. Best of luck in the off-season and here’s hoping the Mets 2012 opening day roster is something to get excited about all over again.

Unless the Angel can do that day in and day out, and a host of other Mets step up there is no way we are making any kind of playoff run.

At 50 wins and 53 losses, there are 7 teams ahead of us in the wild card race and we are 6.5 games back of the wild card leaders.

Delgado is done for the year, Beltran’s knee issue may be career threatening, and Reyes’ hamstring gets better and then gets worse. Internally, our GM Omar Minaya has been on the hot seat with fans and media calling for his firing.

I would like to say this has been one of the most disappointing seasons ever, but the way the last couple ended with embarrasing final week of the season collapses this season appears to be just another one of the many disappointments.

Fortunately, Mike Pelfrey didn’t allow a run.

Our anemic offense has been worse then usual the last few games. I just hope we can stay within striking distance until our wheels (Reyes) and our superstar (Beltran) make it back.

Brian Schneider hits a three run homer. That is the way to reestablish yourself coming back from injury.

Fernando Nieve pitched another great game. That is the way to reestablish your career after being claimed off waivers.

Jose Reyes ran on a treadmill and took indoor batting practice. That is the way to give hope to 345,724,709,462 fans.

Red Sox scored a bunch of runs during the third game of the interleague series so they avoided the sweep.

Mets finish the 12 game road trip 6-6. Obviously could be better but, most of those teams were playoff caliber teams and we are a bit banged up right now.

• Delgado out a couple months with hip issues.
• Reyes out with calf issues. Came back after a lay off for a game and a half before he was out again. Hope this doesn’t linger after he comes back.
• K-Rod back spasms has started becoming an issue.
• Oliver has McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and In and Out Burger issues.

They didn’t even have Manny Ramirez. No way should a Manny-less Dodger team be shelling out losses to the Mets faster then they give Hollwood Walk of Fame stars to American Idol winners.

Jose Reyes left the game early, still dealing with a calf muscle issue. Without our spark plug, our offense can’t seem to get enough players to cross home plate.

A day off Thursday before we travel to the unfriendly confines of Fenway Park. Boston should be a test for the Mets, as they start their interleague schedule. Thankfully, we got Johan Santana pitching against Boston’s Dice-K so we should be able to win the opener. But we are gonna have to get some offensive production from somewhere.

Dodgers beat the Mets 5-3. Hope we can bounce back on Thursday and get a win, because we need to know we can beat one of the National League’s best teams.

Jose Reyes returns but Carlos Delgado will be out for just over two months. Delgado will be missed for his power. And it sure as Hell isn’t like we got power hitting first basemen waiting in the wings.

Let’s Go Mets. Send those drunk, unfriendly fans at Dodger Stadium home unhappy next time.

But that was then. And this is now.

David Wright had a big game. Pumping out those RBI’s.

Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes are both injured. Delgado is probably looking at the DL. Reyes should be back any minute. JJ Putz is having health issues as well.

But as long as a few hitters step up every night. And as long as the bullpen keeps us in games. We will be able to win games when we fall behind early. And as we know from past Septembers, every game matters.

Mets Closer Francisco Rodriguez Gets the Save Over the Giants (AP Photo Jeff Chiu)

Mets Sweep Phillies

Carlos Beltran, David Wright and Jose Reyes all told Jamie Moyer it was about time he retired. Over 46 years old, Moyer got shelled by the Big Three’s homer happy bats.

Basically, Mike Pelfrey won another game getting his usual run support.

K-Rod got his 4th save in 4 days. In those 4 days, we swept both of our rivals the Phillies and Braves.

While the Mets have 4 consecutive wins. They’re over 500 for the first time in awhile, only 1/2 game out of first place. Yes, the Mets are making things happen.

Meanwhile, Mets can sit back and watch the whirlwind that is happening all around the league: Yankees lost 5 in a row. Their Cheater, A-rod, is coming back from injury. Marlins have cooled off and are now in the middle of the pack in the NL East. Dodger fans are all fealing scammed. Boston fans are trying to tell the whole world their two recent championships aren’t totally fradulent.