Stop the Presses — Mets at .500!

It took long enough (two rain delays), but the Mets beat the Braves 4-0 Wednesday night to reach the .500 level. The way things have gone for the Mets, this is no small accomplishment. And much of the credit has to go to Terry Collins.

I don’t think much of Collins as a strategist, but he must be doing something right to have this team at .500. Think about it — David Wright and Ike Davis have missed substantial time, Jason Bay has been MIA, the bench has been mediocre, the bullpen in general has been a disaster, and the starting pitching has been hit by injuries (Johan Santana, Chris Young). Yet the Mets are at .500.

How have they done it? Obviously Jose Reyes has been spectacular. Has any Met ever been locked in for this long? He seems to get a hit every time up.

Carlos Beltran has been shockingly healthy and effective. The speed is gone but he is hitting and has adjusted well to right field.

Guys like Justin Turner, Daniel Murphy, Ruben Tejada and Jason Pridie have stepped up to fill the gap left by the injured regulars.

Dillon Gee and Jonathon Niese have been excellent, and lately all of the starters have been very good.

K-Rod is looking like his old self (but please don’t let that option vest — he’s halfway there!).

And then there is Collins. Somehow he has motivated this team and kept the players going as its top players went down. How many teams would have folded when players the caliber of Wright and Davis went down within a couple of weeks of each other? It could have easily happened with the Mets, but it didn’t, and Collins deserves much credit for that.

Let’s hope the Mets can keep above .500 and make a run at the Wild Card and make this summer interesting.