David Wright is no Derek Jeter

Carlos Beltran is hitting .311 since returning to the lineup. One would think that getting Beltran back would not only help hitting and defense, but provide an emotional lift to a team that could really use one.

But the Mets are now 4-14 with Beltran back. Sure, this team has a lot of problems, but are they really this bad? Or is there something else going on?

Maybe it has something to do with the face of the franchise thinking these are "meaningless games."

Michael Baron of Metsblog notes that David Wright's apology for Saturday night's baserunning blunder only made things worse:

It's been tough because we're playing, as for as the standings go, in pretty meaningless games…

Writes Baron:

part of what makes a bad team bad is the attitude of a team, because the attitude of a team dictates mental preparedness, and for a player to admit that a game is meaningless, whether there are 30 days left or one day left, is a testament to the manager...

I completely agree with Baron on Manuel. But Wright's comments also say something about Wright. I hate to invoke Derek Jeter, but would the Yankee captain ever describe games as "meaningless"?

Oakland and Kansas City are both out of the race, but the A's have won 16 of 20 and the Royals won 12 of 15 before losing their last four.

On September 18, after a win over the Indians, A's catcher Kurt Suzuki said:

"We're pretty much out of it, but to be coming to the park every day playing hard and going out and winning as many games as we can to kind of build on next year, it's a good feeling to win games."

Here's what Suzuki's manager Bob Geren had to say after the same game:

"We just want to win," Geren said. "We're not going to make the playoffs, obviously, but we have our own goals and desires each day. I like what we're doing. It's a lot of fun."

Too bad we are not getting any such sentiments - or results - from the Mets.