Mets Open Weekend Series Against Atlanta...My Take

Tonight begins a three game home series for the Mets against the Braves.

As my colleague, Long Island Met Fan, so eloquently informed us, it is expected that Jose Reyes will bat in the three hole starting tonight. General Manuel's logic is simple: The troika of Wright, Bay, and Francoeur has been anemic. Although both Nuke LaLoosh and Francoeur had RBI's in last night's game, these three together have struck out too much, and have failed miserably in the clutch.

I have stated in the past that Reyes is a premiere lead-off hitter, and it is inconceivable to bat him in the third position. One thing I will give Manuel, he feels he has to do something to wake this impotent offense, and for that, I will give him his due.

But, using that same mentality, why then is John Maine still in this starting rotation? We had a poll up last week where the majority of the fans, over 35% believed he should be removed from the rotation. A close second and third believed he should be sent to the minors or to the bull pen. Maine, although his fastball hit 90-91 MPH on Sunday night's debacle, he still is getting hit hard and walking too many batters. It's time to send Maine to the minors to work out the kinks, a la Bobby J Jones and Steve Trachsel. It worked well for both pitchers, and could do the same for Maine.

Speaking of Maine, Long Island Met Fan and I have the "pleasure" of seeing Maine pitch in tonight's game against the Braves. This will be our first venture to Gil Hodges Memorial Park, er Citi Field this season. Hopefully Maine can find a little something in the tank to defeat the Braves, who are being led by a rookie off to an incredible start, Jason Heyword.

This series is important for the Mets. After losing 2/3 of their games until this week, the Flushing Fab have battled back to within 2 games of .500. If they take 2 of three against Atlanta, not only will they attain the .500 mark, but they will have gotten off to a good start against the once formidable club that dominated this team over the last 15 years.

We are looking forward to tonight's game, but more importantly, tonight will go a long way in determining what kind of season we can expect from John Maine. Let's hope he proves me wrong.

Lets Go Mets!