The .493 Mets, Still Second Place in NL East

It's official, the Mets are under .500. Welcome to Marlin town.

After today's loss against Milwaukee and getting swept by Jeter's Money bags, I learned why backup players are backups not starters.

Since our general manager is so stingy in going to the trade market, here are some ideas on how to improve the Mets' lineup.

1) Trade for Nick Johnson. Activate Howard Johnson. Let K-Rod pinch-hit a few times to see if he can get a run batted in to match Mariano Rivera.

2) Send Daniel Murphy back to the minor leagues so that he can actually learn to play a position rather than engage in this somewhat comical on-the-job training.

3) Send 20-year-old Fernando Martinez with him, so he will stop being cannon fodder for a team that should have had other options when players got hurt.

4) Reinstitute Banner Day, so fans can comment in unison on a season in which the Mets have lost one game because a runner failed to touch third base and another because an infielder couldn’t hold on to a pop-up.

5) How about batting the pitcher eighth, the way Tony La Russa does with the Cardinals? How about bringing back Benny Agbayani who is still playing baseball in Japan? How about bringing back his manager Bobby Valentine?

6) Or how about doing nothing much at all and waiting to see if the team’s fortunes take a turn for the better, even if they probably won’t? All ideas are welcome. The Mets could probably use some.

I can't wait to go to the playoffs this year, cough, cough, cough...

Ideas from Jay Schreiber from NY Times