The Mets are back! Or at least that’s what Mets fans will tell you in the midst of a stunning 9-1 streak that brings their orange-and-blue to Philadelphia for an ever-important three-game series in late April/early May.

As if you needed any reasons to hate the Mets, we offer the fact that the Metropolitans now top the NL East by a whopping half-game, thanks to that aforementioned streak. In short, this is a monster series that will likely decide the fate of the division. Or not.

Still, we can’t help but get riled up for a good ol’ fashioned NL East brawl. Both Roy Halladay and Johan Santana will start a game in this series (unfortunately not against one another) and it is likely a Mets fan will be punched at one point or another. To get the juices flowing, we offer the ten 2010 Mets to hate:

1. Ike Davis

Who the hell is Ike Davis? Good question. He is the latest and greatest sensation in New York baseball, taking the throne from Joba the Hutt Chamberlain, and has single-handedly turned around a season that looked lost very early on.

Davis is just 10 games into his MLB career, 10 games in which, coincidentally (or by fate, if you ask a Mets fan), the Mets are a scorching 9-1. He is hitting .355 with one home run and six RBI in just 31 at-bats, and is already the best Mets first baseman since Carlos Delgado (difficult, we know). More impressive than his early numbers, though, is his ability to top this list.

“I Like Ike?” Not you, Phils fans.

2. Jerry Manuel

We were disappointed when the Mets fired Willie Randolph in 2008—mainly because he was probably the worst manager in the NL East since Terry Bleepin’ Francona. His replacement was Jerry Manuel, giving the East two Manuels of very different natures.

Jerry is clearly no Cholly. He is the manager of a team that has built a reputation for collapses of every variation—late-season, early-season, and entire-season—mostly to the fact that part of his Wikipedia page says that he draws his leadership inspiration from Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Ghandi and Leo Tolstoy. Nothing against those three, of course, but we’d prefer our managers lead only with the help of a wad of Red Man and a Louisville Slugger.

3. Johan Santana

Formerly known as The Best Pitcher in Baseball, or at least the best in the NL East, Johan missed the last month of a forgettable 2009 Mets’ season with bone chips in his elbow. When the Phillies added Roy Halladay in the offseason, Santana insisted he was the best pitcher in the division still.

While Santana’s 2010 stats are impressive (3-1, 2.08 ERA, 1.121 WHIP, 28:9 K:BB ratio), they are not Halladay-esque (4-1, 1.80 ERA, 0.975 WHIP, 33:3 K:BB ratio). There’s nothing wrong with second best, Johan.

By the way, this is what Santana’s page looks like on Baseball-Reference.com:

And a funny joke at that.

4. Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez

Unfortunately we can’t blame Mets fans for giving Rodriguez this idiotic nickname. That came from his time with the California Anaheim Los Angeles Orange County San Andreas Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, for whom he pitched before he was the Queen closer (or closer of Queens). Is the “K” in Francisco silent and invisible? (And yes, we do get the nickname—he strikes people out. Sometimes.)

K-Rod was the Mets’ big offseason acquisition in 2008, and promptly inserted his cabeza in his culo by proclaiming his new squad the team to beat in the NL East. This came barely more than a month after your Phillies held their World F’ing Champions tour down Broad Street. Of course, Frankie was wrong—the Mets finished in fourth place, out of it by mid-July. At least K-Rod got his 35 saves though—a mere 27 behind his previous season’s total.

5. David Wright

Wright is loathsome mainly because he is a Met and because he is their best position player. Some other traits that do the exact opposite of endear him to us include: being the starting third baseman of the New York Mets; living in New York; wearing an oversized batting helmet; and the fact he appeared on Joe Buck Live. Case closed.

6. Mr. Met

Mr. Met is up there as one of the worst mascots in baseball. Not only does he look like a bobblehead but his theme song is the lousiest concatenation of notes and words there is. It makes my ears want to puke. In all honesty, I would take the Sixers’ mascot, Hip Hop, over this guy…and that’s saying a lot.

Mr. Met has generated a fair share of controversy, thanks to some of his off-field activities. Good thing he doesn’t mascot in the NFL:

Mrs. Met would probably be upset—if she wasn’t already in bed with the Phanatic.

7. Jason Bay

We couldn’t help but laugh when the Mets signed Jason Bay to a monstrous free agent contract only to have concerns about the health of his shoulders and his longevity take over the story. Bay is in the first year of a four-year, $66 million contract, and isn’t performing up to it—naturally. He also has driven up the price for Jayson Werth, a free agent after this season, whom Werth is a better all-around player than. And what more reason is there for disdain than that?

8. Rod Barajas

We in Philadelphia have a long memory. After Barajas’ unforgettably inept stint with the Phils in 2007, in which he batted .230, he has gone on to bigger and better things. Mainly, scorching the Phillies at every opportunity. With the Toronto Blue Jays from 2007-09, Barajas took advantage of his few opportunities against the Phils to kill them. In 2008, Barajas got four hits, including two home runs, in two games against the Phillies. In 2009, he hit two home runs and knocked in four in a three-game sweep of the Phils. And now, Rod the Bod is now a Met.

9. Fred Wilpon

The owner of the Mets infamously lost a looooot of money last year when Bernie Madoff was outed as an epic swindler and crook. Some thought it would affect the Mets’ plans, especially with a new stadium. But never fear—Citi Bank was in much of the same boat as Wilpon, and was still able to pony up the big bucks for the naming rights to Citi Field. Inspired by Citi’s brave act, Wilpon remained undeterred, continuing to splurge on big-name free agents with monstrous contracts. The Mets’ payroll currently stands at $136 million.

10. The Fans

A hate list wouldn’t be replete without the good people of New York who faithfully support the Mets’ failures. You know them well; they invade Citizens Bank Park whenever the Mets are in town (such as this weekend) and generally behave themselves in ways that approach Public Vomiter No. 1′s level of depravity. True to form, with nothing to cheer about last season, the Mets faithful suddenly became the city’s biggest Yankees fans. Approach with caution and vitriol.