MLB

Wheeler flap adds to short & sweep disaster

It Was about the sixth inning of last night’s game against the Braves at Citi Field when those who endured the frigid temperatures figured out they already had seen about the best the Mets were offering.

Hours earlier Ike Davis had slashed a single to left in what was technically the 10th inning of a game that was suspended Friday night because of rain. Considering the horrid slump Davis has been mired in, a 1-for-42 black hole including four strikeouts before rain suspended play Friday night, fireworks should have fired in celebration. The John Franco bobble head give away also was worth the visit, but otherwise it was another dismal evening for the Mets and their followers.

They would lose the suspended game 7-5 then 6-0 in the regularly scheduled nightcap. Mets starter Dillon Gee made a mess of things in the fifth inning when he allowed five runs on six hits, including a two-run home run by opposing pitcher Mike Minor. It was the first two RBIs in 110 career at-bats for Minor. You can’t make this stuff up.

Every poor outing by a Mets pitcher only increases anticipation for the impending call-up of Zack Wheeler, the prized-pitching prospect at Triple-A Las Vegas. Wheeler is in the midst of his best stretch of the season. After going 0-1 in his first five starts, the 6-foot-4 right-hander has logged three wins and a no decision in his last four starts. In the month of May, he has 13 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings, firing a fastball that has been clocked at 100 mph. All three of the wins have come on the road, including his most recent outing last Wednesday in Iowa against the Triple-A Cubs.

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The only concern about Wheeler is whether is he ready mentally for the media frenzy that awaits him when he eventually arrives in Flushing Queens. A red flag was raised recently when Wheeler reportedly “big-timed” one of the beat reporters covering the Mets Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas. Wheeler supposedly copped “an attitude” at an interview request.

Maybe it was nothing. Maybe Wheeler was having a bad day. But maybe it’s a sign Wheeler might not be ready to handle the bright lights and the microphones that will greet him when he is called up.

“I went to do a story on him and he brushed me off,” Todd Dewey of the Las Vegas Review-Journal told the Post yesterday. “He was giving me an attitude for sure, and I’m just one guy in Vegas asking for an interview. What’s he going to do in New York?” It’s valid question.

Matt Harvey’s success (5-0, 1.93) in his first full season in the big leagues has only heightened anticipation of Wheeler’s impending arrival. The two are expected to be the cornerstones of the franchise’s journey back to prominence. Harvey has been brilliant, the lone bright spot in an otherwise brutal season.

He has seemed unfazed by his growing celebrity. He arrived confident, but cooperative. He has dealt with interview requests without attitude. He’s not a chatter box, but he answers questions thoughtfully and without a hint of being impatient. You hope Wheeler, who turns 23 Thursday, would have the same temperament. He’ll need it.

Until Wheeler is called up, Harvey is about the only thing worth paying money to see on the Mets. They scored zero runs in 11 innings of baseball yesterday and hardly looked competitive against the Braves. They are a team going through the motions, desperately trying to show any signs of life.

Davis struck out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning of the regularly scheduled game last night, while the equally-slumping Ruben Tejada managed the strangest three hits on two infield grounders and a misplayed fly ball.

For now the Mets wait for Wheeler to see if he’s ready for the big time instead of acting like it. He can’t get here soon enough.