The past five days have been the New York Mets in a nutshell. Stunningly brilliant at times and downright dreadful the next. I cringe at having to type the word ‘inconsistent’ once again, the monotony of this vicious cycle that culminates in a team playing .500 baseball. What is it going to take to wake this team from its doldrums? Is this simply a mediocre team that we are dealing with after all?

Looking at the roster, a number of glaring issues come starting back at us. Carlos Delgado, perhaps one of Omar Minaya’s short sighted moves, has brief moments of the slugger he once was but overall is a shell of his former self and a black hole in the line up. Luis Castillo looks like he’s cringing with every step he takes, and while his Slappy McSlapperson routine is useful on a team that can provide more protection for him, on the Mets anemic lineup, he’s a liability. I’ll leave Jose Reyes and David Wright alone for now, as they’re at least holding their own and I have more faith in Reyes than some. If I didn’t believe in Reyes I might as well just pack the whole thing in right now.

As far as the outfield, Moises Alou can’t keep all his limbs on the field at the same time, which is maddening because when he’s put together again he can mash for us. I wanted so much for Beltran to shut everyone up, which he has but for the wrong reasons, everyone seems now to simply accept the mediocrity he’s provided at the plate. Ryan Church is the only reason the Mets are not well under .500, and should be the model his teammates model themselves after. Hard nosed, aggressive, focused, and able to execute more often than not. If the Mets had 14 Ryan Churches on their team, we would be unstoppable.

The starting pitching has been anchored by Johan Santana and John Maine, and everything after that is a total crapshoot. Oliver Perez used to at least give you brilliance every other start and now it seems his true talent shines far less often. Mike Pelfrey has shown improvement but the results have still been spotty, he’d be less of a sore spot if the team didn’t need him so bad right now. The Mets once again seem to have a revolving door in the fifth spot, which killed their bullpen last year and ultimately led them to burn out and fade away last September.

The bullpen, outside of Billy Wagner who has been untouchable, is worn down once again as the Mets set new records in appearances by their middle relief. The lessons learned from last year have not seemed to sink in, and the more and more Show, Joe Smith, Jose Feliciano, et al get tossed into games in the 6th inning, the worse things will get later in the year.

So what is it gonna take to turn this thing around? A shake up might be in order, but the popular opinion that Willie Randolph is the key component here seems misguided. The Mets problem lies with the inability of their starting pitching to go 7 innings and for their offense to drive runners in. Clutch hitting is a symptom of good hitters simply doing what they do well over an extended period of time. If the Mets can’t rely on Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran to get the job done, how can they expect to compete? David Wright and Ryan Church cannot be the hero every night. Others need to pick up the slack.

In order for the Mets to turn this around, Beltran and Delgado need to get their mojo back. Maine and Perez need to consistently keep the Mets in games past the 6th inning. If these four things do not happen, the Mets need to take a hard look at this team and figure out a way to reconfigure the pieces so they fit properly, because if the parts they need to work are out of service, the engine will remain in neutral.