Read this story about the latest Met, Jeff Francoeur, as he tries to acclimate to his new team. So far, so good as Francoeur has four hits and two RBI in his first two games with the Mets. Now if he can just provide some home run power, his contributions would be even greater.

Don’t kid yourself. The back-to-back home runs by Fernando Tatis and Brian Schneider in yesterday’s game against the Reds were a fluke. This team will continue to struggle to hit the long ball, especially as it faces stiffer competition than the Reds.

Last week’s question was: How will Oliver Perez perform now that he’s off the disabled list? Here are the results:

He will be the same Ollie, winning as many games as he loses.—54 percent
He’ll turn a new leaf and get back to the form he was in 2006.—12 percent
He will be just as bad as he was before he went on the disabled list. —23 percent
He won’t last a month as a starter. – 12 percent

Most of you didn’t vote for a favorable outcome for Perez’s return. The good news is he won his first game back. The bad news is he barely made it out of the fifth inning, allowed seven walks and threw almost as many balls as strikes.

He was lucky the Mets scored five runs and had a solid-enough bullpen to back him up. He won’t be so lucky each time he goes out, especially the way the Mets seem to bunch their offense by getting shut out in one game and scoring nine runs in another.

If his first game is any indication, he hasn’t gotten any better despite months of work. Although he only allowed four hits, he lacked consistency in his pitches. He admitted that he was nervous on the mound, so let’s chalk up a couple of those walks to that.

The Mets will need him to improve, especially with Livan Hernandez struggling lately. Right now, that $36 million contract looks about as flimsy as the paper it was written on.

This week’s question is: How do you think the Mets will perform in the second half?

The Mets Contest returns for a couple more weeks, so don’t forget to play before time runs out.

Last week’s question was: How many Minor League affiliate teams do the Mets have?

Unfortunately, no one got the answer correct. The correct answer is:

Nine:

• Buffalo Bisons (AAA)


• Binghamton Mets (AA)


• St. Lucie Mets (A Adv.)


• Savannah Sand Gnats (A)


• Brooklyn Cyclones (SS)


• DSL Mets®


• GCL Mets®


• Kingsport Mets®


• VSL Mets®

This week’s question is: Which of these items were transferred from Shea Stadium to Citi Field?

A. Foul poles
B. Home plate
C. New York City skyline silhouette
D. Ticket prices

Each week, we’ll ask a question related to Citi Field. We’ll then take all the names of people who got the question correct and put them in a random drawing. Each winner will receive either the “The New York Mets: Essential Games of Shea Stadium DVD Set” or “The NY Mets 1986 World Series Collector’s Edition DVD Set.” Only one prize per winner will be given out.

Check back every Monday at http://mets.lohudblogs.com to see that week’s question.

Click here to register and answer the question.