Wallace Matthews and I agree, again

I'm starting to get a little worried. This is the second article where I've agreed with what baseball curmudgeon Wallace Matthews has had to say.

In his latest article, Matthews believes that the Mets should "rally around Wagner."

Since Billy Wagner went down, the Mets have lost only 11 games. Roughly half of those can be blamed on the bullpen, so it's nothing extremely out of the ordinary. The team can win without him, and Matthews wants them to stop making excuses and win even if they don't have their closer.

Rather than take this as yet another excuse for failure, built-in reason No. 629 for why once again, the $140-million Mets just couldn't quite get it done, they ought to try something new this season.

Such as winning in spite of Wagner's injury, rather than losing because of it.

The Mets haven't done their best, at least as well as I think they could have done, since Wagner went on the DL on August 3. They've only lost 11 games. Think about that, would they have done the same if Wagner was there, or maybe even worse?

The Mets have been able to patch together the bullpen since the few days following losing their closer. Luis Ayala, though hittable, has been able to convert five saves so far, and a handful of guys have also picked up some along the way.

My vote for closer, right now: Brian Stokes. This guy has really come out of nowhere and has been able to get guys out with consistency. His fastball is lively, and he has poise on the mound. Ayala is decent, but I'd like to see what this guy can do.

With or without him, the Mets have to win. Since there's no chance he's coming back anytime soon, the Mets need to buck up and prepare for life without their closer. Win or lose, it's because of the team on the field, not the guys on the DL.