NEW YORK — Faster and faster the Mets keep swirling downward, heading toward oblivion. The latest missile to the solar plexus, aside from the fourth straight loss in Milwaukee on Monday night, is news that Carlos Beltran is seeking a second opinion on his tender right knee, and conceivably might need surgery. If so, say goodbye to this $140 million abomination, if you haven’t already.

No one blames Mets’ fans for feeling like they’re in purgatory. Everyone’s hurt — the medical staff seemingly has botched every injury — the new ballpark is too big, the seats are too expensive, the remaining players are (maybe) a notch above Class AAA caliber.
No wonder Citi Field was so dreary over the weekend, when the Yankees practically looted the place. The three-game sweep was enough for many lifelong Met fans to ask for an annulment, not just on Sunday night, when they deserted by the thousands before the final out, but for the season itself.
In all the years I’ve covered baseball in greater New York, I’ve never seen or heard a fan base this angry: Mets’ fans want someone’s flesh — Omar Minaya’s, Jeff Wilpon’s, Jerry Manuel’s, whoever — as payback for three-plus years of frustration.
But the public unrest isn’t likely to affect change. Wilpon isn’t selling the team, Minaya’s four-year contract extension hasn’t even kicked in yet and Manuel is safe through the summer. So the bitterness manifests itself toward the easy obvious targets, such as Luis Castillo, who’s still paying a heavy price for dropping Alex Rodriguez’ ninth-inning fly ball two weeks ago. Now, any time he successfully handles a pop-up, Castillo hears the thunder of mock cheers from the stands.
The same sarcasm was directed at Daniel Murphy earlier in the season, after he cost the Mets a game by botching a fly ball against the Marlins. In the team’s home opener, in their brand new facility, Murphy was subjected to the mean-spirited applause that could only leave a Met player shaking his head in wonderment.
No doubt the booing will be a factor if the Mets still are in the race by September. But it’s opposing players, the potential free agents, who have to be asking themselves: Why would I ever want to be play here?
Since 2005, Minaya has been able to pluck the market’s biggest-name stars with money and the organization’s charisma. Pedro Martinez, Beltran, Billy Wagner and Francisco Rodriguez all signed with the Mets because they paid well and they offered the excitement of baseball’s biggest stage, New York City.
But since 2006, the Mets have been body surfing a wave of negativity — late-season collapses, injuries, managerial changes — and the fans have reached their breaking point. They demand Minaya work a season-saving deal. But the Wilpon family, already spending more than any National League team, doesn’t seem eager to add to its payroll. And besides, whom do the Mets have to offer for, say, Matt Holliday or Aubrey Huff?
There’s no easy escape from this vicious Catch-22. The overwhelmed players are already on edge — check out David Wright’s off-the-chart strikeout ratio — and the fans’ hostility isn’t likely to ease.
That is, unless the Mets pull off a small miracle and blow out the Phillies this weekend at Citizens Bank Park. Anything is possible, of course, but in the meantime, the image of Francisco Rodriguez walking Mariano Rivera with the bases loaded Sunday night was enough to make many Met fans say good riddance to the summer of ’09.
News item: Mariano Rivera records his 500th save.
This milestone achievement seemed almost anti-climactic Sunday night, given the Yankees’ euphoria over his successful at-bat against K-Rod. Such is the level of greatness of this once-in-a-generation closer: He makes more news with his bat than his cut-fastball.
But make no mistake, Rivera’s career achievements, including his work in the playoffs, will never be duplicated. K-Rod says he wants to someday be remembered as Rivera’s equal, but good luck chasing an 0.77 ERA in 76 postseason games.
What’s remarkable about Rivera is the simplicity of his arsenal: One pitch, a cut-fastball, is all he’s ever needed. And by no means is it a gimmick. All Rivera does is slide his thumb slightly to the right while maintaining a four-seam fastball grip with his index and middle fingers.
The resulting imbalance in the ball is enough to make it dart away from right-handed hitters at the last second. But the only way to ensure the cutter’s success, Rivera once explained, “is you have to throw it like a fastball. You have to trust it.”
Because of his loose wrists and long, fluid throwing motion, Rivera disguises his cutter better than any reliever in history. It’s a fastball almost until the last second; then, it becomes a cutter, too late for hitters to adjust to.
Of course, this forensic analysis is hardly new — Rivera has been using the same pitch and the same technique for a decade. But it’s worth remembering now that he’s at his 500th save with no end in sight. You’re watching history.
News item: Manny Ramirez slips to seventh in All-Star balloting.
What a refreshing jolt of common sense, seeing Ramirez squeezed out of the mid-summer classic. Talk about the dumbing down of the sport: If Ramirez, an outed-cheater, had been given a spot in the National League’s starting lineup, he might as well have shown up with a WWE championship belt.
As it is, Ramirez returns from his 50-game suspension on Friday. Hopefully he’s learned his lesson about juicing and will act a spokesperson for the anti-steroids crusade. Somehow, though, we doubt it.