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.

Anthony Rieber and Ken Davidoff of Newsday are reporting that after a trip to Cleveland to get more tests that Ryan Church is cautiously optimistic that he will play again this season. Opinions are aplenty with this whole story regarding Church’s health and the way the Mets have handled him. Even Dr. Mike Francesa and nurse Chris Russo said today that Church was most likely done for the season. Well, in an e-mail to Newsday Friday night Church wrote:

“Yes, things went very well and we all are very happy with the news we received,.. “I will be at the field tomorrow to answer any questions that you guys may have!”

Reading about Church’s symptoms made me me cringe. So, hopefully for his sake he is feeling better and will recover 100%. At times I felt like I was watching former Jets Al Toon and Wayne Chrebet all over again. So, get better Ryan and don’t rush back, your health has got to be the number one priority.

AA All Star Nick Evans has rejoined the Mets, replacing Ryan Church who will once again be placed on the DL. Church has experienced migraines the last few days, though test indicate they are not concussion related. While doing quite well in AA, Evans had just four hits in his last stint of the Mets, with three of them coming in his first game.

As always, this article will run again next month.

John Delcos is reporting at LohudMetsblog that Ryan Church left yesterday’s game due to migraines, which he has been suffering since he has been in High School. Church will not play today, as the sunlight may help to trigger another one.

They are not sure whether it  was impacted by his post concussion syndrome, or whether it was just a regular migraine he has been having for years. It’s not good news either way..

In the same game that John Maine left after suffering an arm cramp, Ryan Church took an early exit, due to dizziness, reported SNY during Saturday’s game. The dizziness may be a symptom of Church’s concussion syndrome. Marlon Anderson came in the game to replace Church in the 8th.

It was obvious that something was up, because as the Phillies’ announcers mentioned, Anderson is hardly a late-inning defensive upgrade over Church. Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious, but it’s a real shame that Church’s 2008 season has to constantly be in this flux because of the team’s ill treatment of his condition.

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?

Ryan Church was a phone-in guest yesterday on ESPN’s ‘The Pulse’. He discussed his health, Willie Randolph and answered some e-mail questions from viewers.

John Delcos of LoHud is reporting that long time injured Ryan Church has been placed on the DL. For those scoring at home, Church suffered a concussion on May 20th, or 20 days ago.

This move would have made the most sense approximately twenty days ago. I’ll even be gracious, 16 days ago. Let him sit for three or four, see how he feels. Then retro DL him. He’s obviously been having issues lingering since his last incident, the second of the season. And you screw around with that, who knows. Mike Cameron claims he still suffers lingering affects from his season ending collision with Beltran from back in his Met days. Sure, Church had a few good appearances since then, but being that he was the most consistent hitter, were those contributions worth it if he’s now lost for a prolonged time because he and/or the team rushed him back?

At this point the team is pretty much a bad injury away from a fire sale at the All Star break. Personally, I’ll give them $40/wk for Delgado to come mow my lawn and do some cleaning inside the house.

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.