Mets Need to Sink or Swim

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

The hoopla and disappointment that was the All Star festivities is now over and it's time to get back to baseball that really matters and the pain and suffering that comes with it.

The Mets have the luxury of opening up the second half of the season in Mordor. The rival Atlanta Braves play host to the Mets for a 4 game series starting tonight. Nothing like jumping in head first.

I'm ready for the Mets to either sink or swim. I don't want to this season to be drawn out and the questions of "wait til Delgado/Reyes/Beltran return" to be looming over our heads.

I want the Mets to either come out of the gate with some fight or to just quickly fade into oblivion.

Just don't string us along only to have our hopes crushed in yet another September disappointment.

I'd rather have the Mets 10 games back at the end of this weekend than still be 6 games back at the end of the month. All that will do is give us hope that when our injured players return we'll make a run.

It will give the front office the luxury of not dealing with trade talks or making tough roster moves because they're "waiting."

A series in Atlanta is the perfect litmus test. The Mets are notoriously awful in Atlanta. If this team can win 3 out of 4 games there, it would be miraculous and spark a fire in this club and the fan base heading into the second half.

If this team gets swept, it will be painful, but we'll be better off for it because we'll finally realize this team is going nowhere.

But in spite of all this, we still need to get Roy Halladay.