New York Mets' Roundtable: the May Awards Show

May was a month of ups and downs for the New York Mets.

The Mets took two out of three in Arizona, but came back home with a 3-3 record on their mini West coast trip.

They followed that up with taking two of three from struggling Cincinnati, only to lose the following series to the lowly Washington Nationals.

Things seemed on the up-and-up after a two-game sweep of the Yankees, but then things took a turn for the worst, dropping seven of eight to Atlanta, Colorado, and Florida (not to mention that whole mess with Willie Randolph).

The Mets did end up winning the last two against the Marlins, and then took four out of five against the Marlins and Dodgers to close out the month.

Anyhow, I'm joined here by John Fennelly, David Marine, and Andrew Phillips to pick May's Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, and Least Valuable player for the New York Mets.

Ryan Church, our April MVP, looked like an early candidate to repeat in May, but his May 20 concussion unfortunately limited his contributions for the last third of the month. Still, Church hit six homers during limited action in May, bringing his 2008 total to nine, and hit .299 for the month.

Fennelly is having a hard time coming up with an MVP candidate.

Of Jose Reyes, he says, "Reyes hit .310 in May, but had 20 Ks...too many for a leadoff man."  He goes on to note that Jose committed four errors this month, and only helped the infield turn 14 double plays.

Of Carlos Beltran, he says, "...Beltran looks like he might be turning it around."

Beltran hit .306 for the month of May, but only managed three home runs. Let's see what Marine and Phillips have to say.

Marine starts off by saying, "There wasn't a single player that stood out for the Mets in May, but the bench and reserve players were the key to basically any big win the Mets had in May."

Okay, David, go on.

"There's Nick Evans['s] debut against Colorado, Fernando Tatis's double[s] against the Marlins [and] Dodgers."

Don't forget about the game winning single Tatis had Saturday against the Dodgers as well.

Anything else, David?

"Claudio Vargas joined the rotation and pitched admirably. Chavez has played well in the field, and Castro has hit well of the bench. Without the 'super subs' the Mets would easily be at least five games under .500."

How about Mr. Phillips? What does he have to say?

Much like Fennelly, Phillips says, "I'm guessing it's hard to actually find an MVP for this putrid month..."

Well said, sir. Continue, please.

"MVP. The Mets bench. The reserves. Without them, this team would be in even more shambles. Tatis, Cassanova, Easley, etc. have provided a legitimate spark in the month of May."

Hmm. Two compelling arguments for the bench. 

My vote was going to be for David Wright, being the glue that has held this Mets team together and hitting a respectable .287 in the month of May while blasting seven homers and driving in 17. 

However, the bench's votes have won me over so the New York Mets' bench can come on down and accept the May MVP award.

Now on to the Cy Young.

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