Those Mets

A LOSS NOBODY SHOULD BE ANGRY ABOUT

To qualify this road trip as a success would be to ignore the obvious. The Mets lost four out of six games on the trip, including a 5-3 defeat to the Cardinals in Sunday night's series finale. To ignore the positive signs, though, would be equally foolhardy. The Mets jetted out of Missouri late Sunday showing more vital signs than they have all season. Their starting pitching, such an issue a week ago, now looks passable. Their relief corps, despite Ryota Igarashi's shortcoming on Sunday, appears dynamic. And their state of mind seems less fractured. "We feel pretty confident now that we can go into a game and have a chance," manager Jerry Manuel said. "We just have not been able to get a big hit." Ryan Ludwick's game-winning, two-run homer off Igarashi was the only certifiable "big hit" in this one, ensuring that the game -- mercifully, mercifully -- would end in regulation. With two outs in the eighth, Ludwick lined Igarashi's first pitch over the left-field wall, allowing Adam Wainwright to put the finishing touches on his complete-game four-hitter in the ninth. And so a day after the Mets and Cardinals jousted for 20 innings at Busch Stadium, Igarashi made certain that nine innings would suffice. "I felt confident throwing that pitch," he said through an interpreter. "It was a perfect swing. It's too bad. I just threw it to the wrong location." Those looking to assess blame can hardly harp on Igarashi and friends. After combining to throw 13 innings of one-run relief on Saturday, the Mets' bullpen was collectively gassed -- and for good reason -- on Sunday. But Manuel was nonetheless forced to turn back to his relievers in the sixth, after John Maine needed 115 pitches to complete five innings. Maine, coming off a three-inning outing in Denver and fighting speculation that he might be bounced from the rotation, allowed Colby Rasmus' three-run homer and nothing else. Relying heavily on his fastball, which started out in the low 90s but slowly dipped back into the 80s, Maine managed to keep his team in the game. So the Mets can qualify that as a success. "I'm just trying to get back to normal," he said of his fastball. "It's going to take a little work. Throwing it has never been this hard before, and that's what's frustrating about it." The Mets, though, saw positive signs from a pitcher attempting to change on the fly -- Manuel said that Maine's fastball "looked like it had a little life to it," which is certainly better than no life at all. The Mets drew similar positives from Oliver Perez's strong start on Friday. They can't stop gushing about Mike Pelfrey's progress. And they still have Johan Santana every fifth day. Is it perfect? No -- just ask Ludwick or Rasmus. But progress rarely is. "Our guys have done so much," outfielder Jeff Francoeur said. "It's hard to expect them to just go out there and keep holding them." The greater problem Sunday, the same problem that dogged the Mets in Saturday's first 18 innings, was offense. Jose Reyes, now hitless in 17 straight at-bats, is struggling. David Wright, who flinched on multiple Wainwright curveballs, is hardly producing. Jason Bay, who did not start Sunday due to his recent funk, has yet to get going. Angel Pagan provided the Mets' only offense in this one, singling home two runs in the second. Gary Matthews Jr. later scored on an error. And that was it. Perhaps top prospect Ike Davis, expected at Citi Field as soon as Monday, can help. But even he, the next great Mets hope, cannot completely reverse these offensive woes. Quite simply, the Mets have to hit. They've already proved that they can pitch. "They've got some hitters that are very dangerous," Wainwright said. "Their record is not great now, but they've got some dangerous hitters. They're going to come around." The Mets will try to do so in different ways. Maine, for example, vented his frustration in three separate bullpen sessions this week, then vowed to work just as hard this week. Bay spent Sunday trying to clear his mind. Wright and Reyes worked quietly, as is their custom. The Mets hope their efforts will turn into victories this week against the Cubs and Braves. And they have to hope. Sitting in last place, it's really all they have. "We've had chances to win a couple series," outfielder Jeff Francoeur said. "It's tough. But at the same time, we'd better go home ready to play." (MLB.com)