Check out my review of MLB 2K8 for the Playstation3.  While you're at it, read up on the Wii and XBox 360 versions by Steve Dempsey and Ryan Maloney. 

It's shocking, yet it's so predictable.  Carlos Delgado busts out of a slump, hits two impressive home runs to lead the Mets to a solid win over the rival Braves, and what are the headlines today?

• Newsday: Delgado (2 HRs) snubs curtain call in Mets win
• Post: NO CURTAIN FOR CARLOS
• Times: Delgado Homers Twice but Isn't Taking Any Bows

And while the Daily News and The Record didn't emphasize the phantom curtain call as much as the above papers, they did dedicate plenty of space to it.

The big news should be Delgado's home runs, and the fact that he may not be washed up just yet.  I'm not deluding myself, I know he can't get around on a good fastball anymore, but yesterday, he at least proved that he can contribute.

Delgado patiently answered questions about his decision to stay in the dugout following his second home run by saying, "The way I look at it, I hit a solo home run in the seventh inning.  I've got a great deal of respect for the game. I don't think that's the place for a curtain call. I've been playing for quite a few years and I think I came out for two curtain calls."

A politician's answer for sure.  But there is more to it than that.  It's bad enough that impatient fans boo their players in April.  It's bad enough that they make it harder for their team to play at home than on the road, but when a crowd boos, what you don't hear are the angry remarks made close to the field.  Some fans choose to be insulting, and they are not afraid to get personal.  Whether he admits it or not, that had to play a role in his decision.  In light of that, I don't blame Delgado one bit for not acknowledging the fickle Shea crowd after his second home run.  

Yes, Delgado can be arrogant.  He can be an elitist snob.  One thing he has never been is classless on and off the field.  Whether or not he took a curtain call had nothing to do with the game.  What should be emphasized is the glimmer of hope finally displayed by our first baseman.

So far, the 2008 season has been an extension of the 2007 season for the New York Mets.  In particular, they have been plagued by an inconsistent lineup and an unreliable bullpen.

When David Wright and Jose Reyes are hitting, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado are not.  When Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran are hitting, David Wright and Jose Reyes are not.  The only reliable member of this lineup has been Ryan Church.  Who thought that would happen?

The primary offensive offenders have been Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes.  Delgado is clinging to the Mendoza line like a man overboard, and Reyes has fewer stolen bases than Luis Castillo, who is still recovering from knee surgery, and an OBP a mere three points higher than Johan Santana.  Come to think of it, Santana has as many doubles as Delgado.

In the 'pen, Aaron Heilman and Jorge Sosa have been torched like Daffy Duck, standing on the mound with their bills twisted around to the back of their head after giving up another huge homerun.  Is that you, Aaron?

What is most frustrating is the lack of options the Mets have.  Heilman was their most reliable setup man last year, and they need him to be again.  Duaner Sanchez has looked good early on, but he hasn't pitched in a year and a half.  The Mets would be wise to play it safe with him.  Sosa can probably be replaced with Nelson Figueroa once Pedro Martinez gets back, but there are no real viable options in the minors.  In the lineup, you have to stick with Jose Reyes, and of course, who's going to play first base if you give up on Delgado?  Marlon Anderson?  Of course, Mike Carp is hitting .442 in Double-A.  On the other hand, Mike Carp is hitting .442 in Double-A.

No, the Mets just have to ride it out.  The Mets have to hope Delgado can at least put up the same numbers he put up last year, and Heilman can stop throwing the freaking ball down the middle of the plate all the time.

They also have to hope that Philadelphia and Atlanta continue to be equally as mediocre.  And the first-place Marlins?  Yeah right.

Willie Randolph is making the same mistakes with his pitching staff that he made last year.  Last night, he left Johan Santana in to pitch the eighth, then pulled him after two batters, sticking Aaron Heilman with a first-and-second, no-out situation.

Santana had already thrown 96 pitches, and the Mets had a four-run lead.  So why not start the inning with Heilman, rather than hope for a breezy five-pitch inning from Santana?  Yes, the Mets used every reliever except Scott Schoeneweis the day before, but Santana did his job.  Seven innings is plenty in today's MLB.  Then, you could use Schoeneweis for the eighth and Wagner for the ninth, meaning only one pitcher (Wagner) would have thrown on back-to-back days.

Instead, Willie, as he did last year, tried to squeeze one more inning out of his starter, then took him out after two batters.  He then used Heilman, Feliciano, and Wagner - three pitchers who were used the day before, to finish off the Phillies.

This is how the bullpen got burned out last year.  Not because of massive amounts of innings (only Heilman worked more than seventy innings last year), but because of how they were used.  Willie should bring his relievers in at the start of the inning more often, and avoid dropping them into trouble.

Billy Wagner

Meanwhile, I'm very impressed with the changes Billy Wagner has made coming into this season.  He now pitches from the windup with none on base, which adds deception to his delivery, and he's mixed in an offspeed slurve.  He's looking more and more like Jesse Orosco these days - except, of course, Orosco never threw 96 MPH fastballs.

OK, Mets management, I know you're reading this blog (apparently, you're the only ones), but I know you've been having some problems lately with David Wright's throwing.  Like the people who sit in the field boxes down the first-base line have to wear helmets.  Well, MFT has the solution for you!  It's simple.

Wright often makes throwing errors when he has time.  He takes the ol' crow hop, then wings one into the tarp.  When he has to hurry, his throw is usually on the money.  So, why not tell David to grab the ball and throw it as fast as he can.  Treat every play as if it's a close play. 

He won't have time to think, "Hmm, I threw the ball away last time.  I won't do that again.  Or will I?  I have a history of doing things like that.  But, come on, I won the Gold Glove last year!  I don't know how, I DID make 21 errors.  But I'm popular, and I don't take steroids.  So that has to count for something, right?  OK, here goes, I'm going to make a great throw, right into Ol' Baldie's glove.  Here goes.  Oh, crap, the runner is almost there.  OK, steady Davey boy, you're a major league third baseman.  You can do this.  You won a Gold Glove.  Here goes............Ah, dammit!"

So, David, just throw the ball.  No crow hop.  Trust your instincts.  You can do it.  We believe in you. 

The Mets have picked up in 2008 exactly where they left off in 2007.

• Jose Reyes isn't hitting
• El Duque, Pedro Martinez, Duaner Sanchez, and Moises Alou are hurt, and nowhere near coming back
• The bullpen can't get anyone out
• Luis Castillo is looking like he is on the decline, and his knees are bugging him again (Gee, it would have been nice to have Ruben Gotay around right about now, huh?)
• Oliver Perez is still flaky - he hasn't allowed a run in two starts, but at the end of his last start today, he was barely even throwing the ball in the general direction of home plate
• Despite his great Spring, John Maine now looks more like Burt Young than Cy Young
• Their opposition is making big plays in the field, and coming up with clutch hits.  The Mets aren't
• Willie Randolph is actually getting WORSE at handling the bullpen.  Why did he double-switch in Jorge Sosa today just to take him out the very next inning?  You double switch in a pitcher when you want to get multiple innings out of him.  Willie's been in the National League long enough. He should know how to handle pitchers by now.

It's early, but there is no reason to think the Mets haven't gotten over their 2007 collapse.  Maybe it wasn't a collapse, maybe it was just the Mets playing as well as they can.  Maybe they're just not that good.

Johan Santana must be feeling very lonely right now. 

Yes, the Mets lost yet another series to the Braves at Turner Field.  It's too early in the season to get too upset over this.  At least we're not the Motor City Kitties.  But, in honor of this occasion, here is a classic Mets Fan in Texas post from 2006:

http://metsfanintexas.mlblogs.com/archives/2006/04/mets_vs_braves_.html

Just a few random thoughts on this off-day...

• David Wright and Carlos Beltran are going to have huge years.  Wright has a look of confidence about him, and many fewer holes in his swing than he did two years ago.  Beltran has hit 74 home runs over the last two seasons on bad knees.  Imagine what he can do on healthy knees.
• Pedro Martinez is out 4-6 weeks with a strained hamstring.  Assume he'll be out longer.  The Mets have a tendency to make optimistic injury estimates.  As long as Oliver Perez and Johan Santana pitch the way they did this week, and John Maine pitches the way he did in spring training, Pedro's injury will have only a minor impact on the Mets.
• Think of Ryan Church as a left-handed Xavier Nady, except he is a better fielder.  If he can hit lefties this year, he will be a huge contributor.
• Carlos Beltran has 5 hits this year, all doubles (though one should have been a home run).  AT THIS PACE, he will finish the season with 270 hits, all doubles.  That would be some kind of record or something.
• With Nelson Figueroa tossing an inning of relief last night, it seems that Jorge Sosa will take Pedro's spot in the rotation.  Sosa has been a good soldier for the Mets over the past two years.  He has filled any role asked of him with no complaints.

The good news is Pedro's shoulder is just fine.  The bad news is he may be headed for the fifteen-day disabled list. 

Pedro Martinez often bristles at the notion that he is fragile.  Yet, year after year since joining the Mets, he has yet to prove he can last an entire season without getting hurt.  After his intensive rehab following rotator cuff surgery, there was hope that his fragile days were gone, but in his first start, no less, of the 2008 season, he pulled his right hamstring, not by colliding into the catcher at home plate, not by diving after a bunt, not even by running hard down the first base line, but by throwing a pitch.  Throwing a pitch toward home plate.  Let's think about this.  He put himself on the DL by performing the most minimum of his duties.

Now what?  Now, instead of deciding between two questionable pitchers for the number five spot in the rotation, they have to rely heavily on them.  Now, instead of Pedro Martinez filling the second spot in the rotation, it will be Mike Pelfrey, Orlando Hernandez, or even Nelson Figueroa.  They are even talking about signing Claudio Vargas, who was recently cut by the Milwaukee Brewers.  His 2007 ERA?  5.09.  The once deep rotation now seems dangerously shallow. 

Yes, Mets fans, our Johan Santana-inflated bubble has been burst.  Just like Pedro's fragile hamstring.