Ok, I’m confused. The Mets looks like a competent, productive, fundamentally sound baseball team. A real-live major league team. Who are these guys? What happened? Has the front office embarrassed the organization so much that the players took it upon themselves to decide that somebody had to act professionally around here? Yes, they lost the second game of last night’s double dip, and there were a couple of flashbacks to their previous sloppy play (note to Mets: do not, I repeat, do not try to steal home), but for the most part, the on-the-field, Three Stooges-like follies have ended (at least for now) and have been replaced by a team that is doing everything right.

The Mets have won five out of their last six, and if it’s a matter of too little, too late, at least the Mets are worth watching again (not that I ever stopped watching – we just can’t help ourselves, can we?). Nobody’s falling down. Nobody’s pants have fallen off. Nobody’s been arrested. Nobody’s shot …

The Baseball Hall of Fame induction had a New York flavor to it this year: Former Yankee and Met Rickey Henderson and former Yankee second baseman Joe Gordon were inducted, and former Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek won the 2009 Ford C. Frick Award. Rickey surprised everyone with his eloquent and humble speech. It may have been more entertaining, though, if he would have just strung together some of his more famous quotes:

“Rickey don’t like it when Rickey can’t find Rickey’s limo.”

“Rickey got a big ranch. Rickey got a big bull. Rickey got horses. Rickey got chickens and everything. And Rickey got a 20-gallon hat.”

“All I’m asking for is what I want.”

And he once left a voice mail for Padres GM Kevin Towers: “Kevin, this Rickey, calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.”

A group of Mets players have decided not to shave until they reach .500. I once vowed not to shave until Omar Minaya stopped giving me a headache and making me dizzy …

Couldn’t the Mets have just sent out a press release stating that they fired VP of Player Development Tony Bernazard? Maybe they could have marched out Jay Horwitz to read it. No questions, please. Or Ron Swoboda could have held court, regaling the media with stories of the ‘69 Mets and finished with: “Oh, by the way, the Mets have fired Tony Bernazard.” Even having Mr. Met come out with cue cards (THE METS . . . HAVE FIRED . . . TONY BERNAZARD) followed by the Pepsi Party Patrol shooting T-shirts into the rows of reporters would have been better than what happened. Haven’t Fred and Jeff Wilpon seen Omar Minaya speak in front of an audience before?

The Mets can’t even make something as routine as a press conference routine. Who holds a press conference announcing  a behind-the-scenes executive’s firing anyway? A GM’s? Yes. A manager’s? Yes. But VP of Player Development? No. When Minaya started attacking the Daily News’ Adam Rubin, I wanted to jump into …

The time is just about right for a murder/suicide in Mets Land. I’m not saying things are so bad that somebody should actually be killed (though watching the Mets offense these days is putting me in a coma, and I’ve signed the appropriate papers for my wife to pull the plug if need be); I’m speaking figuratively here. The Wilpons should fire everybody (and I mean everybody), and then sell the team. There’s your murder/suicide.

It hasn’t been a smooth ride for Fred Wilpon – and now son Jeff (why does Fred’s son have to take after Fredo Corleone? Couldn’t he have had a Michael or Sonny instead? Or should we go with a Sheriff Buford T. Justice/Junior analogy here?) – since he took full control of the Mets and bought out Nelson Doubleday. Did the wrong owner leave? The Wilpons listen to the wrong people, hire the wrong people, sign the wrong people and meddle in the wrong places. In the last 10 years (well, maybe …

I’m pretty sure I never even heard of Fernando Nieve before the season started, but when he grabbed his leg crossing first base last night, I thought, “Oh no, what are the Mets going to do without Fernando Nieve?!” Never in my wildest dreams (or nightmares) did I think Gary Sheffield would be on the team, either, but he leads the Mets in home runs, and now even he’s out with a leg “cramp.” The Mets already have nine players on the disabled list, and here come some more.

Things have been bleak for a while for the Mets, but somewhere in the back of your mind you want to buy into the “Just hang in there until Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and John Maine get back” party line, and hope they have another miracle in them. You dig out an old Ron Santo baseball card, kidnap your neighbor’s black cat and have it walk in front of the card, and pray for a …

The Mets are six-and-a-half games behind the Phillies (and of course also trail the Marlins and Braves) and are also six-and-a-half back in the wild card race (and have seven teams ahead of them), so it may take a miracle or at least wishful thinking for them to make the playoffs. But here are 10 reasons why the Mets should at least have some hope going into the second half of the season.

1. Their injured players are starting to come back. So far it’s only been Angel Pagan and Oliver Perez, but Pagan stabilizes their outfield defense and is a better leadoff man than Alex Cora. Cora can move to the eighth spot, and Luis Castillo slots into the second hole, which improves the lineup. Perez was his usual crazy self in his one start back, but he did win the game and he has to be better than Tim Redding, right? And there have been actual signs of life for Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes. They’ve both started …

The Midsummer Classic has been played in New York City eight times – on four occasions at Yankee Stadium, twice at the Polo Grounds, once at Ebbets Field and once at Shea Stadium. The first All-Star Game was played at Comiskey Park in 1933, and from 1959 to 1962 two All-Star Games were played each season. The MVP Award wasn’t handed out until 1962. Here’s a look back at all eight New York All-Star contests.

1934 (Polo Grounds): This was the second All-Star Game, and is most remembered for Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell striking out five Hall-of-Famers in a row. Starting in the first inning, the lefty screwball artist punched out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin consecutively. The AL went on to win the game, though, by a score of 9-7. Ruth, Gehrig and Foxx were arguably the greatest 3, 4, 5 hitters ever put into a lineup. They only went a combined 2 for 11, though, with Foxx getting both hits and driving in the …

Jeff Francoeur is a Met. I’m not sure I like the sound of that, but I guess I’ll have to get used to it. It’s the latest in a long line of Braves who became Mets, some good, some bad (that means you, Tom Glavine): Warren Spahn, Jim Beauchamp, Felix Millan, George Stone, Joe Torre, Willie Montanez, Brett Butler, Greg McMichael, Julio Franco, Jorge Sosa, Gary Sheffield. Who’s next? A 40-year-old Chipper Jones? This is one of those change-of-scenery deals, but will it change Francoeur’s knowledge of the strike zone? The Mets needed to do something, and this may just be the beginning (or is this it?). Ryan Church had trouble staying on the field, and even when healthy wasn’t highly thought of by the Mets hierarchy for whatever reason. Here are five things to like about the deal and five things not to like:

Positives

1. Francoeur is five-and-a-half years younger than Church. He’s younger than David Wright and Jose Reyes. He may be a …

The Mets scored a run last night! Actually five runs! It was the first time they pushed a player across the plate since Saturday, and the first time a non-pitcher drove in a run since Friday. Having to watch the Mets’ meager offense every day brings back memories of other feable lineups throughout Mets history. Of course this year’s version is due to injuries, while some of the lineups from the days of yore were just plain bad. Lenny Dykstra just filed for bankruptcy; maybe the Mets’ offense can do the same thing.

In the last game before the 2000 All-Star break, the Mets threw this lineup out on the field:

Melvin Mora SS, Derek Bell RF, Edgardo Alfonzo 2B, Todd Zeile 1B, Benny Agbayani LF, Robin Ventura 3B, Jay Payton CF, Todd Pratt C

With Mike Piazza out of the lineup, they look pretty thin, but on a total of six hits they beat the Yankees, 2-0. And, of course, they went all the way to the World Series …

The Mets took three out of four from a quality Cardinals team last week, and then followed that up by losing five out of six to the Yankees and Milwaukee. They gut out wins, and then at the drop of a hat absolutely fall apart and look like a T-ball team doing it. Their up-and-down play is driving me so crazy I’m having arguments with myself. I almost beat myself up on the way to work this morning with this conversation I had while walking up 8th Avenue.

Me: With all that’s happened to the Mets this year, they’re still only two games out of first place. Ya gotta believe.

Me: The only reason they’re close is because the Phillies are struggling, but Raul Ibanez will be back and you know those guys will get themselves together. And even the Marlins have passed the Mets now. The Mets have been playing like buffoons all season. They’ve lost so many games that had nothing to do with injuries. The …

In the blink of an eye the Mets bullpen went from the best in the National League to a weakness on a team that is filled with weaknesses. The rotation has had trouble staying healthy, and each starter has traded turns being hot and cold. Fernando Nieve is now their best starter (ok, it’s really still Johan Santana, but it sound more dramatic the other way). The Mets’ punchless offense can’t rely on Brian Schneider to hit a three-run homer every game. And the team’s fielding has been horrible all season. The bullpen had been their one saving grace. But not anymore.

J.J. Putz was not effective at all before going on the DL, but since he’s been gone, Bobby Parnell has completely fallen apart. Parnell taking over the eighth-inning role seemed like an upgrade at the time, but it hasn’t exactly worked out like that, to put it mildly. What happened to him? He’s a one-pitch pitcher who’s struggling with that one pitch I guess is the answer. His …

Earlier in the season, when talking about injuries, Jerry Manuel said he wouldn’t worry about who’s not on the team but instead would only concentrate on who they have on the roster at the moment. We’ll just have to go to battle with who we have, he seemingly said. He wasn’t going to sit around waiting for Carlos Delgado to get back, because who knows if the first baseman will even return or what shape he’ll be in if he does. And last season, with the all the injuries the Mets had (granted, not as many as this year), Manuel and the rest of the team rarely ever brought it up or used the depleted roster as an excuse. But somewhere along the line, Manuel has changed. He brings up the injuries after almost every game and constantly references all the players on the disabled list and how the team is hoping and waiting for their return. It’s time for him to stop making excuses and mentioning the injured players day after …