It’s so easy to point fingers and pick out all the things that went wrong in the first half, but why spend any more energy on that when we’ve documented those issues countless times in the last two months?

I’ll tell you why, it’s because you gotta get these things off your chest. You just can’t keep bottling up all those bad feelings inside of you, it’s just not healthy.

So I encourage all of you to get all that negative energy out of you, that way we can start the second half with a clean, new slate.

Here is a list of last minute gripes I need to get out of my system. I promise that I’ll try not to fall back on them once the second half begins. But for now, you’re just going to have to deal with it.

My Final First Half Swings And Misses

Are you guys thrilled with the new David Wright? Was I the only Met fan who would sigh every time Gary Cohen reminded us that Wright was leading the league in batting? Is it wrong of me to admit that I wish Wright was batting 20 points lower and had 20 more homers? The homerun derby reminded me of this David Wright. (pictured above) Am I the only one who wishes we had the 2006 version of Wright instead of this new and improved David Wright we have now?

All of you know by now, my feelings on how the Mets have handled player injuries over the last few years. I am seriously having concerns about the true health status of Carlos Beltran. Something smells bad about this bone bruise, and I was shocked about a couple of things I read about Beltran in the last two days. You may recall that picture of Beltran being taken after he returned to play against the Pirates after missing a few games from a cortisone shot the Mets gave him for that bone bruise, which has now overtaken El Duque’s bunion as the the weirdest Mets injury in recent memory.

Today I read, that after all the time Beltran has already missed, he has now been seen wearing a knee brace for the first time since he went on the DL. Shouldn’t he be getting better and not worse? On Sunday, the Daily News reported the following,

A source with ties to the Mets indicated that Beltran is extremely upset that he played for a month with a bone bruise after receiving a cortisone shot. The bone bruise ultimately doubled in size because of a lack of adequate rest, according to the center fielder.

Even if Delgado and Reyes return, it seems like a stretch to think we could win this thing without Beltran playing centerfield and batting third.

Besides a great burger and fries, comfortable seats with more leg room, and a great new look, I’m really disappointed with Citi Field. We’ve already documented and lamented the fact that Citi Field is not MetsMerized enough. We’ve also cried about the lack of long balls, the stupid Domino’s logo, the name itself, etc. But for crying out loud, after all the hoopla about bringing the homerun apple back, Tatis hits a homer and the stupid red orb doesn’t even work?

I couldn’t even care less about the damned thing, it’s just not that important, but it’s just another one of those things that makes us look like a second rate baseball operation. It takes 2 1/.2 minutes for it to recharge? Really? We send three men to the moon forty years ago, but we can’t get a stupid over-sized apple to rise two feet in less than 2 1/2 minutes? Nobody even considered the possibility of the Mets hitting back to back homeruns?

The Wilpons are always making us look like a ship of fools. I really wish the team was in the hands of an owner who loved the Mets and all their history, and was also smarter than a fifth grader. 

That wasn’t so bad right? Just a few last minute gripes so that I can go into the Braves series 110% Mets Merized.

Note: I don’t know who sketched that Mr. Met cartoon, but whoever you are thanks. I am however responsible for the left side of the graphic. I just wanted to acknowledge the person who created the better half.

Last night, baseballs were flying out of Citi Field like nobody’s business as the Phillies and Mets combined to hit seven homeruns to set a new single game record and smashing the previous high of five at Citi Field.

And while all the homeruns were no doubters, none was bigger and badder than that of Ryan Church whose blast ended up being a game winner for the Mets. But even more than that was the interesting flight that the baseball took as it sailed right into the black concrete well that houses the new homerun apple!

I can almost hear the words in my head of how Bob Murphy would have called it…

“Ryan Church hits a towering flyball… it’s way back there… deep toward the centerfield wall… and there it goes… a homerun! Ryan Church hits his second homer of the season right off of the homerun apple, and he hit it so hard he nearly broke the damn thing!”

We still miss you Murph…

1. The Empire State Building will be lit up in honor of the Mets tonight and feature the team colors, blue and orange, to mark the special occasion. Look for the awesome spectacle to begin just before game time and last until midnight. (heck yeah!)

2. Two of our all time greatest Mets will throw out the first pitch. It will be an encore of the last pitch thrown at Shea as Tom Seaver will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Mike Piazza. Not a bad way to christen a new baseball park if you ask me.

3. The Sharks versus the Jets – The cast of “West Side Story” on Broadway will sing the national anthem tonight. As far as I know, switchblades, chains and pipes are optional.

4. During the singing of the national anthem, more than 200 veterans representing the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy will unfurl a massive American flag across the outfield. That’s going to an awesome sight!

5. At the end of the anthem, there will be a flyover by four U.S. Marine F-18 Hornets from Beaufort, S.C. I always love the flyovers and I hope they get them to pipe orange and blue smoke as they soar across the stadium!

6. What I want to see most of all is the brand new homerun apple. I want to see that beautiful red orb bob up and down a few times tonight! It’s all on you Wright, Beltran, Church, Delgado et al!

Who will be the first Met to activate the homerun apple?

I’m going with scorching, red hot Ryan Church!