So I underestimated the Mets’ appetite for risk at this point and was mildly surprised to see they let Rod Barajas go to the Dodgers on a waiver deal. Andy Martino’s story in the Daily News this morning suggested the team interpreted this move as white flag waving: They must also be getting their news from the traditional sources which in my opinion have really struggled with the narrative for the 2010 Mets: Take for example Adam Rubin’shodgepodge of unrelated stories disguised as a trend piece on ESPN today, complete with the same tired headline we’ve been reading on these stories since the Alejando Pena Era (no other reason for the photo) and the lack of perspective to note that lots of teams (the Yankees, for example) wind up with a different bullpen than the one they set out to create, and its barely hurt either club a bit.

Yawn.

If you ask me, there’s been little mystery as to the Mets offensive struggles this year: Most has to do with the fact they rolled the dice on a third of the lineup off the bat (right field, catcher and first base) and knew going in that any offense second base had limited upside. That’s half an everyday lineup that might not turn out so well, and it didn’t: That’s not too mysterious. Really, the only real outliers have been Angel Pagan on the upside and Jason Bay on the downside. Barajas, who briefly led the Mets in home runs (and the world in foul home runs) will be remembered for his crazy hot start but a pretty harsh return to career norms. His trade meant a recall for outfielder Jesus Feliciano.