Due to injuries, not much was expected by the Mets this year….but they still went 46-45 in the first half of the season. They are in third place in the A.L. East, 11 games behind the Phillies in the division. They are also 7.5 games behind the Braves in the Wild Card hunt. Losing Jose Reyes to a hamstring injury is going to really hurt the Mets. They need a speedy recovery from him and they need to get hot the next couple of weeks to avoid be sellers at the trade deadline. Here’s a look at the players who made the biggest impacts in the first half of the season:

Team MVP: 28-year old switch-hitting shortstop Jose Reyes was playing at a much higher level than the rest of the Mets when he injured his hamstring right before the first half ended. Reyes has played in 80 games for the Mets so far this year and he is 124 for 350 (.354 avg, .927 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 3 homers, 32 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. He could make a serious run for the N.L. MVP Award if he doesn’t miss too much time due to his injury.

Biggest Surprise: 26-year old righty swinging infielder Justin Turner never got much of a chance to establish himself in the majors until this season due to injuries. Turner has played in 61 games for the Mets so far this year and he is 62 for 231 (.268 avg, .694 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 2 homers, 35 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Mets need Turner to keep up the good work in the second half of the 2011 season.

Biggest Disappointment: 32-year old righty swinging LF Jason Bay just can’t seem to hit the ball anymore. Bay has played in 65 games for the Mets so far this year and he is 57 for 241 (.237 avg, .656 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 6 homers, 28 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The Mets expected a whole lot more out of Bay’s bat when they signed him a couple of seasons ago.

The New York Mets took two out of three games from the Marlins in Miami last weekend. They outscored them 17-12 as the Mets balanced decent pitching and hitting. Guys like Willie Harris were stepping up for the Mets. He was starting in LF in the place of the injured Jason Bay. Harris was 4 for 10 (.400 avg, 1.355 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Despite having an improved bench, the Mets would rather have the regular guys in there. The longer the Mets play well this year the more confidence they are going to build.

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.