I noted last night that this Mets team has been very streaky under Randolph. It seems like they are either on fire or ice cold. I wonder if there is any reason for that or something to be learned.

I think one reason is that they have had a crap bench the whole time, so when injuries occur, they tend to go in the tank (due both to the presence of a not-so-talented hitter/fielder in the lineup/field, and the rest of the team pressing to make up for it).

The Tides only managed five hits and Lastings Milledge continues to play like he is in a different universe in terms of talent and picked up two of them on a 2 for 4 day in which he stole two bases.

This is from the Mets Geek. I don't understand the Milledge situation at all. Its costing us games not having him in the majors.

I think having Milledge in hte minors *is* costing us games.

I'm as anxious to see Millege as the next guy (maybe more) but to be fair to to him, I'd feel better delaying his call-up till he has 150 ABs or so down there, and certainly wouldn't excuse rushing him by suggesting he'd be some kind of miracle cure (even if he is).

One of the things you could argue about our current struggles is that Reyes can't help himself as a result of not having had enough time to learn to do so in the minors. You'll recall he was supposed to be a short-term injury replacement when called up in 03.

By the way, I agree with the LoDuca assessment. His slump is killing us as much as Beltran's absense and Reyes' slump.

And worse than failing to throw out any baserunners, his work around the plate on balls in the dirt hasn't looked especially sharp. In fact were it not for his good salesmanship on the throw he dropped on opening day, his game beyond pitchcalling has been a real disappointment.

It's amazing that this team is 12-7 with all the at-bats given to hopeless performers like Hernandez, Chavez, and Valentin. And currently, Reyes.

The team racked up most of those wins without Chavez and Valentin in the lineup, and while Reyes was hitting the snot out of the ball. So, it's not so amazing. The team is 2-5 over the last 7 games.

Hey Dial...great to see you doing this. Gonna be an automatic daily stop for me.

Here's the big question- was Reyes actually helped by Rickey (a la Cedeño99) and now regressed as the lessons have gone out the window? Or was his hot start just that, making for a big ol' coincidence. I suppose we'll have some more evidence in June...

One of the things you could argue about our current struggles is that Reyes can't help himself as a result of not having had enough time to learn to do so in the minors. You'll recall he was supposed to be a short-term injury replacement when called up in 03.

I doubt the 150 extra plate appearances you suggest Millege needs would matter much -- to Reyes or Milledge. Bring Milledge up. You can always send him back down.

There's really no reason to start Lo Duca over Castro at this point. Castro is probably better offensively and defensively it is not even close. I think Castro even has him beat in the "heart and soul" category which is supposed to be Lo Duca's specialty.

I know I'll get blasted for this, but this mini slump has me paraphrasing a '70's 49er fan banner:

The Mets are slumping (The Niners are losing)
The fans are blue
Matsui and Zambrano {Plunkett and Mike-Mayer}
It's bcause of you

Wasn't saying Milledge needed 150 "extra" ABs, just 150 ABs overall in AAA before one can be sure he's capable of being the difference between winning and losing games, as suggested above.

Agreed that the difference between Castro and LoDuca is mainly of brand, not skill.

John Maine had a pretty good start in AAA. He went 7 innings and allowed 1 run. He struck out 9, walked one, and allowed a homer. He's posted a 2.63 ERA in 24 innings with a 18/5 k/bb ratio.

More interesting is that the losing pitcher in Maine's game today was Matt White of $10.3 million dollar signing bonus fame. He finally left the Rays after years of frustrating injuries...he was good in his first two starts with the Red Barons, but not today.