After scoring four times in the top of the tenth, the Miami Marlins beat the New York Mets by the score of 8-4 in another embarrassing loss at Citi Field.

It’s the second weekend in a row that the Mets were swept by the Marlins which begs the question; which of the two teams is the worst in baseball right now? A good argument can be made for the Mets.

Jon Niese started in his first game back since a bout with shoulder tendinitis, The southpaw gave the Mets a quality start, allowing just three runs (two earned) on eight hits in 6.2 innings of work. He walked one and struck out four. He left the game with a 4-3 lead, but didn’t figure in the decision.

The bullpen was an absolute disaster for the Mets beginning with Scott Rice who was greeted by a leadoff homer to Derek Dietrich and didn’t stick around to face a second batter. He was replaced by Brandon Lyon who escaped further damage by the skin of his teeth after allowing three hits before getting out of the eighth.

After pitching a clean ninth, Bobby Parnell stayed in for the tenth and was betrayed by his defense when with runners on first and and second, Daniel Murphy booted a potential doubleplay grounder by Adeiny Hechavarria and allowed Logan Morrison to score the go-ahead run.

The Marlins would score three more runs capped by a back-breaking two-run homer by Miguel Olivo off Robert Carson who has now allowed eight home runs in 18 innings this season.

Wow, what a fail…

Aside from his defensive flaw in the tenth, Murphy had a good game at the plate with a stolen base, a walk, and a pair of RBIs including one on his fifth home run of the season in the second. David Wright had a two-run double in the third inning to account for all of the Mets scoring.

What a terrible job by the Mets who continue to get manhandled by the Marlins who have beaten them eight times this season which is all the more stunning when you consider they have just 18 wins on the season. I don’t want to hear anymore excuses – this Mets team is awful.

After the game, Sandy Alderson announced that they have now demoted Ike Davis, Mike Baxter and Robert Carson in the hope that it will shake the team up. But lets face it, this might be a case of too little, too late.

Thankfully, we get a break tomorrow as the Mets have the day off before beginning a three game series against Carlos Beltran and the St. Louis Cardinals who lead the majors with 40 wins. Jeremy Hefner (1-5, 4.36 ERA) opposes Michael Wacha (0-0, 5.40) on Tuesday at 7:10 PM.

Even Bengie Molina, who slugged 20 home runs and drove in 80 runners, signed for less than what the Mets paid Brian Schneider last season. In fact, the $4.5 million that Molina got from the Giants was the biggest annual salary of an catcher in the free agent market.

Jason Kendall (Royals) and Ivan Rodriguez (Nationals) both followed Molina with contracts that will pay them an annual salary of $3.0 MM, and Miguel Olivo (Rockies) is close behind after netting $2 MM.

The bottom has dropped out for backup catchers as well.

Last season, the Mets paid Ramon Castro $2.5 million dollars to backup Brian Schneider. Castro just re-signed with the White Sox for a $1 million dollar deal, less than half what the Mets paid him.

Now you may look at the contract that the Mets gave backup Henry Blanco and think the Mets got themselves a bargain at $750K for one year. But a closer look at the contract and all the hidden bonuses tells a completely different story.

I decided to do some math regarding Blanco’s contract based on the following information from the esteemed Cots Contracts.

1 year/$0.75M (2010) signed by NY Mets as a free agent 12/3/09

Performance bonuses: $50,000 each for 60, 65, 70, 75 and 80 starts; $75,000 each for 85, 90, 95, 100 starts.

Roster bonuses: $5,000 each for days 1-80; $4,500 each for days 81-135; $3,500 each for days 136-150.

* Full $0.7M in roster bonuses to be paid if Blanco is released for any reason other than right shoulder injury

Lets assume that Blanco stays healthy for the entire season. Now that it has become clear that the Mets will not add another starting catcher, lets also assume that as half of a Blanco/Santos tandem, Blanco should easily start in 75 games.

Base Salary – $750,000

Performance Bonus – $200,000 (Corrected)

Roster Bonus – $700,000 ($400,000 for first 80 days. $247,500 for next 55 days. $52,500 for next 15 days.)

Total salary: $1.65 million dollars ( If he appears in 85 games it jumps to $1.8 million dollars)

Big difference, huh?

By the way, did you notice the clause that if the Mets trade or release Blanco, they must pay him the full $700K roster bonus as long as it’s not because of a pre-existing shoulder injury…

If you could have gotten Miguel Olivo for only $500 K more, don’t you think the Mets should have absolutely jumped at the opportunity?

Olivo batted .249 (Blanco .235) with 23 home runs and 65 RBI’s last season and is seven years younger than Blanco and calls just as good a game.

It seems like just another case of the Mets paying more for less.

Of the players that are now coming across the sports news wire, these four players could be useful for the Mets.

Rich Harden – Cubs: I’ve been a fan of Harden ever since he broke into the big leagues. He’s coming off a rough year, but has a career ERA of 3.24 and a 1.24 WHIP.

Placido Polanco – Tigers: He just won a gold glove and in my opinion he could be a better fit than Orlando Hudson if the Mets trade Castillo.

Miguel Olivo – Royals: If the Mets are looking for a one year option until Josh Thole is ready, Olivo could be that guy.

Joe Beimel – Dodgers: The Mets still need a bridge to K-Rod, and Beimel has played that part with great success in the past.

More updates to come in what looks to be a busy Hot Stove Tuesday.