The Mets are 48-40 which has them in 2nd place in the N.L., 4 games behind the Braves. The crazy thing about this season for the Mets are that they are getting a lot of production from players you wouldn’t expect it from. Plus, they are going to get Carlos Beltran back right after the All-Star Break. Here’s a closer look at the surprises and disappointments of the first half:

Pleasant Surprises: 28-year old switch hitting outfielder Angel Pagan has done a outstanding job of replacing Carlos Beltran this season. Pagan has played in 80 games for the Mets this year and he is 94 of 298 (.315 avg, .845 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 6 homers, 40 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. 23-year old lefty starting pitcher Jonathan Niese is one of the bright young pitchers of the Mets. He started 15 games for the Mets so far this season and he is 6-3 with a 3.61 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. 35-year old righty knuckleballer R.A. Dickey has done a fine job in the rotation for the Mets so far this season. He has started 10 games for the Mets this year and he is 6-2 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. 35-year old lefty Hisanori Takahashi started this season in the pen but he moved into the rotation due to injuries. Takahashi has pitched in 25 games (9 starts) for the Mets this year and he is 7-3 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.

Disappointments: The Mets gave 31-year old righty swinging LF Jason Bay the big money to start in LF and he has been a bust so far this season. Bay has played in 85 games for the Mets this year and he is 82 of 309 (.265 avg, .779 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 6 homers, 44 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Mets expected a lot more power out of Bay and maybe he will turn it on in the second half. 34-year old switch hitting 2B Luis Castillo has been banged up most of the season. He has played in 44 games for the Mets this year and he is 34 of 141 (.241 avg, .624 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 14 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Mets expected 29-year old righty starting pitcher John Maine to be one of the top 3 of the rotation. Shoulder injuries have caused him to miss a lot of this season and when he has pitched he hasn’t looked too good. Maine has started 9 games for the Mets this season and he is 1-3 with a 6.13 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. 28-year old lefty starting pitcher Oliver Perez has been absolutely pathetic for the Mets this year. He has pitched in 11 games (7 starts) for the Mets this year and he is 0-3 with a 6.28 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP. He has walked 33 batters and given up 7 homers in only 38 2/3 innings so far this year for the Mets. The Mets signed 31-year old righty reliever Ryota Igarashi out of Japan with the idea of using him late in games. He’s now pitching in A-ball. Igarashi has pitched in 22 games (0 starts) for the Mets this year and he is 0-1 with a 7.91 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP.

The Mets are 4-8 on the season which has them in last place in the N.L. East, 4 games behind the Phillies. The Mets have only been outscored 49-48 this season. They just aren’t hitting the baseball and they are wasting a lot of solid pitching so far this season. They have 7 games at home this weekend playing 4 against the Cubs followed by 3 against the Braves over the weekend. Hopefully the Mets can get there bats going and start winning some games.

The New York Mets are in last place in the N.L. East with a 2-4 record despite outscoring their opponents 27-22. The Mets have had a lot of bad luck so far as they should have won at the very least one more game this season. They will have a tough time righting the ship as they have to play 3 games this week in Colorado and 3 games this weekend in St. Louis. The Mets would likely be very happy if they can go 3-3 this week against the two teams they are playing.

The Mets are 2-2 to start the 2010 season despite outscoring the competition 22-13. The Mets should probably be 3-1 right now but they lost a game against the Marlins that they probably should have won but that kind of thing happens a lot in MLB. Overall the Mets have to be pleased with the fact that they are averaging 5.5 runs per game without Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes or Daniel Murphy. The pitching has also been pretty solid for the Mets. If they keep hitting and pitching like they are right now they will win a lot more games than anyone expected before the year started.

The Mets have lost 10 of their last 14 games and all of there last 7 games at home! The bad thing for the Mets is they are at home this weekend for the Marlins. So the Mets are now tied with the Phillies at 87-72 and they are 1 game behind the Padres for the Wild Card. You can’t blame Moises Alou for this mess as he is 42 for his last 104 (.404 avg, 1.051 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 4 homers and 16 RBIs. David Wright has also been outstanding in his last 27 games as he is 38 for 106 (.358 avg, 1.095 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 7 homers and 19 RBIs.