Okay, Now I’m Concerned

When the Phillies beat the Mets on Sunday, I wrote “big deal.” I mean, who cared that they lost the game after winning the first two games of the series? But after this latest Mets loss, it is indeed a big deal.

The Braves beat the Mets 14-6 Wednesday (the incompetents at Time Warner finally restored my MLB Extra Innings package in the 7th innings when it was already 10-5), the second straight loss for the Mets in Atlanta.

It’s not that the Mets have lost three of their last four — they have been ugly losses. Johan Santana getting shellacked Tuesday night, then R.A. Dickey Wednesday afternoon (left), allowing eight runs in four and a third innings. The bullpen has also been less than stellar.

I’m not ready to give up on the Mets after just 12 games, but the shine from the first week of the season is starting to tarnish.

The only positive to take away from Wednesday’s game is that the offense looked pretty good. Batting leadoff for the first time in his career, Kirk Nieuwenheis had three hits. Daniel Murphy, David Wright, Ike Davis and Lucas Duda each had two hits. Davis hit his third home of the year, and Wright had three RBIs and is batting an even .500 for the season.

The good news is that the Mets come back home after a day off on Thursday. They host the Giants and Marlins — two teams not off to the greatest of starts. So the Mets can get healthy at home. The season is far from over!