(Jae Seo, fantasizing that he’s back in Norfolk getting some run support)

Less than two weeks ago, the Mets were within a half game of the NL Wild Card leaders. After dropping 11 of their last 13, however, New York finds themselves with an identical record to Milwaukee, and a .500 finish is suddenly in jeopardy. These meaningful September games are really a blast, aren’t they?

While laypersons like you and I can only curse at the television screen, a superior baseball mind like Willie Randolph is ready to take decisive action. From the New York Post’s Mark Hale :

New York managed two runs last night and have totaled 24 runs in their last 10 games. The Mets have to try something new, and manager Willie Randolph said the team will not take batting practice before tonight’s game.

“I think maybe we’re hitting too much,” he said. “We’ll just come out and play.”

Through the first five innings last night, the Mets got only three hits, all singles. That meant for the first 14 innings of this series, the Mets put up no runs on seven hits, zero for extra bases.