Can the New York Mets Fans Laugh Off Their Mistakes?

Here are some random thoughts as the Mets head into the buzzsaw of Boston.

Will we all have a good laugh about the Mets’ shoddy play and buffoonery of the past week (or the whole first quarter of the season, really)?

When the season’s over, will we look back and laugh at Ryan Church missing third base? “I laughed so hard I cracked a rib at that one.”

Will we have a nice chuckle at Daniel Murphy falling down game after game out in left field? “Didn’t the Mets know they had a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman right under their nose?”

Will we guffaw at Mike Pelfrey’s balk-fest? Will we chortle at the dozens of baserunning mistakes the team has made, costing them a few games in the standings?

Will the Mets turn things around so we can look back fondly and lovingly at their blundering ways? Umm, probably not, but god, let’s hope so.

Murphy is already a better first baseman than left fielder. Was he really worse than Todd Hundley in left and Mike Piazza at first?

He actually might have been. But according to Jerry Manuel (should we believe anything he says?), the Murphy left field experiment is over. Now all the new first baseman has to do is start hitting again.

If his first game wasn’t a fluke and he can get back to hitting .300 with line-drive doubles all over the field, maybe the Mets won’t need Nick Johnson or Mark DeRosa (though he would be a valuable utility player the rest of the season).

The Mets are in trouble if Jose Reyes doesn’t get back into the lineup soon. What little depth they had has been decimated with the injuries of Carlos Delgado and Alex Cora.

If Ramon Martinez is the team’s shortstop for more than a couple of games, things will get ugly. And he should never be batting sixth. Ever. Don’t the Mets have any infielders in the minors?

What’s wrong with J.J. Putz? First he had arm troubles, now he has a stiff neck. Thankfully he hasn’t gotten stuck in a toilet yet. Whatever it is, he’s had a disappointing season so far.

At least Sean Green seems to be coming around. The last thing the team needs is another Aaron Heilman, somebody who gets booed as soon as he starts warming up in the bullpen.

But if David Wright and Carlos Beltran are the only ones hitting, none of it’s going to matter anyway.