The Mets were decidedly average up until two weeks before the break. Hovering around or just below .500 for most of the first three months of the season, there was little there to give one enough of an idea that we had a playoff bound club on our hands.

Just as the first half was coming to a close, the Mets got on a roll. Winning 11 of their last 13 games, and putting themselves within a half game of first place in the NL East. They saw the emergence of Mike Pelfrey becoming the pitcher they had always envisioned him to be, going 6-0 with a 2.07 ERA since the start of June.

They saw their offense meet the expectations placed upon it, and the rebirth of Carlos Delgado who had all but become a shell of his former self. Delgado is batting .367, with 12 runs scored, six doubles, three home runs, seven RBIs in 45 at-bats since July 1st

They received the much needed help from players filling in for the numerous injuries sustained by their starters. Lacking Ryan Church, Moises Alou, and Luis Castillo for extended periods, their absence was adequately filled by the likes of Damion Easley, Argenis Reyes, Endy Chavez, and a Fernando Tatis who seemingly rose from the dead.

The bullpen has been outstanding as well as the starting pitching, setting records for the lack of runs and hits allowed throughout the streak. The Mets became the first team in modern baseball history (since 1900) to hold their opponent to three hits in five consecutive games. The bullpen hasn’t allowed a run in the last 19.1 innings of work and are 3-0 during that stretch.

Who are the real Mets? Are they the ones who floundered around for the first four months, inconsistent and unable to find their much needed groove or are they the Mets of the last two weeks, loose, relaxed and dominating their opponents at seemingly effortless clip.

The Mets haven’t had a groove like this since 2006, the second half will prove if they have the magic of that year in them, or if the last two weeks were simply an abberation.

Gary Grund contributed to this blog post.

Following today’s game, GM Omar Minaya reported that OF Moises Alou tore his right hamstring while diving for a ball last night in a rehab game. Minaya said that if Alou decides to have surgery, he will miss the rest of the year. Minaya also stated OF Angel Pagan could make his return shortly after the All Star Break.

I think this is the end of the line for Alou. Get well soon Moises.

SNY just announced that outfielder Moises Alou left this evenings AA B Mets game with what appears to be a hamstring injury. Alou had been quoted this week as saying he’d be ready as early as Friday to be activated from the DL.

Now, I’m not a doctor, but perhaps there is some sort of way that a team of medical experts could combine the usable parts of Moises Alou, El Duque, Matt Wise, Trot Nixon and Luis Castillo and create one healthy Met. I assume it would be some sort of cross between Frankenstein’s monster and Voltran, but with the ability to play baseball.

Regardless, I’m guessing that when you get hurt in AA ball rehabbing, it means we won’t be seeing you any time soon. At this point, we have to be realistically saying August as a earliest return window. In a more realistic scenario, it just seems unlikely we’ll see any of these guys back. Just 60 day Wise, Pagan, Duq and Alou, maybe we can find someone useful to fill those spots in the 40 man for when the next player gets hurt.

One of the main problems for the Mets this season has been the fact that the Mets’ bench players (or as Gary Cohen so affectionately calls them, “The Irregulars,”) have gotten a little too regular.

This is not exactly a new problem, considering the Mets’ outfield was also decimated in 2007. Moises Alou was missing in action from May 13 through July 26 that year and only played in 87 games. Before Alou was injured, Lastings Milledge was hurt in the minors, and he didn’t return until July 12. Endy Chavez lost nearly three months of his season after a base-running injury on June 6 in a forgettable game against the Phillies. A young, not-yet-ready Carlos Gomez started in their stead until July 12 when he too was injured, shelving him for two full months. Even Shawn Green had a short D.L. stint from May 29 - June 11.

This year, though, Alou has only played a mind-boggling 15 games, putting him on pace for a much lower total. Alou is also on his third disabled list trip of this season as the Mets hit the halfway mark. Angel Pagan was impressive in spring training and April, but he hasn’t seen action since May 12. Ryan Church finally returned today and hopefully he is handled with kids’ gloves. No whammies.

This has led to a plethora of players getting the opportunity at starting for the Mets in left field and right field this season. One could argue that many of them should not be starting a major league baseball game in 2008.

Distancing himself from the likes of Brady Clark, Abraham Nunez, and Gustavo Molina, Fernando Tatis actually made a contribution for the Mets in 2008. He’s tailed off since his start, but he is at least maintaining statistics good for a bench player. The key phrase in that sentence is bench player. It’s time for Tatis to stop getting starts and start being solely a right-handed bat off the bench. These 1-for-4 and 1-for-5 days aren’t helping much.

One of the strategies that Jerry Manuel said he’d employ as manager is to use the No. 2 hole to get guys going. I guess one of the main guys he meant when he said that was Marlon Anderson. Anderson has gotten two starts at the spot under Manuel and went 1-for-6. For some reason, Anderson is one of the guys the Mets view as a potential No. 2 hitter on some days. He’s 1-for-14 when in the No. 2 hole at an atrocious .071 clip. Currently, Anderson is batting .198 as just another left-handed bat on the Mets. As such, he probably shouldn’t even be on the team, let alone getting the occasional start.

Trot Nixon today added his name to the long list of Mets’ outfield injuries over the past two years. When the Mets traded for him, the move was mildly praised as everyone mused, “Intangibles! Nixon’s got ‘em!” Hopefully, he’s leading the team in grit and determination because he’s not leading the team in anything else. Admittedly, it’s a small sample size, but since the Mets acquired him on June 15, he’s batted .171. His lone saving grace was a solo shot he hit against the Rockies during a blowout. Oh, and he had a decent first game against Texas. Considering Nixon is a guy who is limited to outfield play, unlike some of the others, it’s probably best to cut the cord on this project.

The Andy Phillips move just doesn’t make sense for the Mets. For the Yankees, Phillips was known as a light-hitting defensive alternative, and outside of a half year with the Yankees in 2007, his stats match up with that. He did bat over .300 this season for the Reds’ Triple-A Louisville, but when called up to Cincinnati, he batted .143 in 21 at-bats. Since that Carlos Delgado platoon is never going to happen with anybody and since other guys can play first base, the Phillips move is puzzling.

With Church back, right field is hopefully taken care of. As far as left field goes, just starting Chavez every day isn’t such a bad idea. He hardly ever gets at-bats versus lefties, but what’s funny is he’s actually batting for a higher average. That’s obviously skewed, but Chavez’s average against lefties from 2005-2007 is actually .328 in 128 at-bats. Chavez is hitting about as well as any of “the irregulars,” and he’s certainly the best defensive outfielder of the bunch. Why not just start him in left field for the time being?

Strangely enough, the same thing is happening to Damion Easley this season. He’s batting .215 in 93 at-bats against righties and .333 in 42 at-bats against lefties. Like Chavez, Easley is hitting about as well as any of the “irregulars.” In a perfect world, he could be used as a utility infielder, starting whenever someone in the infield is out. Unfortunately, Luis Castillo has been too injured for that.

Going into the season, the Mets’ outfield looked like a strength, actually. Pagan was slated as a hot-hitting No. 4 outfielder, and Chavez was actually the Mets’ No. 5. Who knew all these guys would end up getting time?

According to Bart Hubbuch of the NY Post, Jerry Manuel hinted that Moises Alou might be ready to call it a career.  Alou is on the disabled list with a calf injury, his third stint on the DL already this season.  According to Hubbuch, Manuel said he at least has to be prepared for Alou to miss the rest of the 2008 season. 

Also, in the article Hubbuch mentions that a DL stint is possible for the human-limp, Luis Castillo who has sat out the past couple games with sore quadriceps.  In addition to that, Brian Schneider will likely take another game or two off after his hand was hit by a foul ball Saturday night.  Finally, Ryan Church will be going through a rehab stint for the Brooklyn Cyclones, as he tries to return for the Subway Series this weekend.

Moises Al-who? He’s still on this team?

I guess teammates won’t have to worry about avoiding the high-five with him anymore, and forcing the shoulder bump or elbow tap…

SI.com’s Jon Heyman just spoke to WFAN’s Mike Franseca about Willie Randolph’s job status. Listen here.

“Willie’s on very thin ice. I don’t think there is any other way to put it. I’ve heard he’s gonna survive today. I’m not sure why that is. Could be just linguistics. They met yesterday and Omar Minaya has been his biggest supporter and I think the other support has just fallen down. Its kind of Omar by himself right now.”

“I would be very surprised if he makes it through the next few days. I’m also hearing that there will be a big shakeup with the coaching staff and that would be the hitting and pitching coaches. I think they want to start a new but I’m hearing Jerry Manuel will be the guy. Even though that is not something new. I think they want someone who know what has gone on here the last sixty five days. They’ve discussed other candidates but that is for next year in case Manuel doesn’t turn it around. He has two thirds of a season to turn it around and if he doesn’t then they will go in another direction.”

“I heard they are very high on Dan Warthen, the pitching coach in Triple A, as a replacement for Rick Peterson. I couldn’t guarantee that would be the move but he used to be the pitching coach with the Tigers and is very respected around the league. I haven’t heard anything on the hitting coach front.”

“They are trying to shake things up with the players too but that’s not so easy to do. I hear Omar’s on the phones trying to do something. Obviously, they can’t go on much longer with Tatis in the outfield and the Alou situation. They would love to do something with the personal, it’s just not easy to do.”

“I would be shocked if Willie is not gone by the end of the week”.

Moises Alou and Marlon Anderson have both been activated from the DL, Ramon Casanova has been sent back down to clear room, and so that people finally stop asking Omar why he has three catchers on his roster.

While Alou, when healthy, does bring both an excellent veteran presence as well as a good bat to the Mets, I think over the struggles of the last week the fans and media are putting a little too much faith in Alou’s abilities as a cure for what ails the Mets. Sure, maybe he can kick some butts behind closed doors to knock some of these players back into shape, but lets face it, his stay and him as a solution are both temporarily. Chances are a month and a half from now he’ll slide wrong and go right back out. At least we can enjoy some Alou while we can.

John Delcos provides us with some pregame notes from the Mets clubhouse tonight on his blog for the Journal News, including word that Moises Alou is with the club in San Francisco and could be activated Friday.

Taking nothing for granted they doubled up on the bubble wrap when they shipped him to the Bay Area in his cryogenic chamber.

Ryan Church and Luis Castillo are both back and in tonight’s lineup. Church has felt increasingly better the last few days after suffering his second concussion in three months. Castillo’s back only after a day on the pine after suffering a strained hip.

In other news, Moises Alou is scheduled to come off the DL Thursday when he is eligible.