Three Weeks Later…

The last three weeks haven’t seen the best baseball from the Mets, and most of it is due to a destroyed back-end of the rotation.

TEAM	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	L-10	STREAK
Mets	24	16	0.600	-	12-6	12-10	3-7	L-2
Philly	22	18	0.550	2	12-11	10-7	6-4	L-3
Atlanta	21	20	0.512	3.5	12-6	9-14	8-2	W-4
Wash.	14	27	0.341	10.5	3-10	11-17	4-6	W-1
Florida	11	28	0.282	12.5	3-14	8-14	3-7	L-4

The Mets have played 0.500 ball, while the Braves and Phils have crept closer.  The Braves took advantage of the Fish, coming from behind in the ninth inning twice in sweeping Florida.  The upcoming weekend is troubling, as the Mets face the JV squad across town, while the Braves play Arizona.  The Phillies will have their hands full with the Beantowners.

What has gone Right

Jose Reyes.  Yes, I’ve been annoyed about some of the “swing at the first pitch” PAs he has, but in my preview, I was saying he could get a 0.320 OBP, and we’d do okay.  Well, he is at 0.324.  Yes, it is annoying, but he is “on pace” for 125 runs scored.  That’s a good sign.

Tom Glavine.  6-2 with a 2.43 ERA?  That’s the Tom Glavine we paid for a few years ago.  Now he’s going to be extended?  Sweet.

Aaron Heilman/Duaner Sanchez/Billy Wagner.  65 IP with a 1.75 ERA.

Carlos Beltran.  0.992 OPS, and a lot of that is OBP.  And he’s hit 10 home runs.  He hit 16 in 2005.  I’m pretty confident he’s going to be a lot better in 2006, and that’s going to lift the entire team.

Carlos Delgado.  0.956 OPS.  He’s posted between a 0.907 and 1.019 over the last five seasons, and will do it again this year.  That’s a lot better than the 0.750 the Mets got from first base in 2005.

David Wright.  He’s awesome.

What has gone Wrong

Jose Lima has made 3 starts.  He’s managed a 10 ERA.  No other starter has been given this much latitude over the last couple of seasons.  James Baldwin and Scott Erickson were both given the tap after two starts that sucked this bad.  Lima hasn’t had any luck, but he hasn’t pitched very well either.  I’d rather the Mets give a AAA pitcher that *might* suck a chance as opposed to Lima is will more than likely suck. 

Fifth Starter.  We got nothing.  That is a large problem because it almost insures management will do something stupid with prospects in an effort to plug the gap, rather than just biting the bullet and getting the arbitration clock started early on some kids.  Even if someone isn’t “ready”, how much worse can they be than Lima and Gonzalez?  At least they are free, are learning on the job, and won’t cost the Mets additional prospects.

Cliff Floyd.  Are you kidding me?  Hitting 0.198?  An OPS in the mid-0.5s?  That’s brutal.  He says it is all mental, and his swing is fine.  Let’s hope he gets his head out of his ass real soon.

David Wright only has five home runs.  He hasn’t hit one in May.  Come on now, King David, let’s see some pop against the Yankees!

Paul LoDuca has a lower CS rate than Mike Piazza.  Okay, that’s not true (18.8% to 11.4%).  But on the other hand, he’s not Dioner Navarro, who is 0-16.  That’s right; no caught stealings in 200 innings. 

Fun to Know

Delgado’s next home run will tie him with Larry Walker for 50th all-time.  Wagner is 8 saves from 300.  Glavine is 4 strikeouts from Dennis Eckersley and 39th place on the all-time list.

The Mets have played 40 games and Reyes has led off in 39 of them.  That’s good.

The Mets are 20-1 when leading after 7 innings.  That’s lights out for the opponent, and a good sign of a good team.  The lineup isn’t susceptible to LHPs nor RHPs.

This Week

Three with the Yankees, three with Philadelphia and three at Florida.

The Phillies have three with Boston, three at Shea and three with Milwaukee (which they don’t seem to like).

The Braves have three with Arizona, three with San Diego and three with the Cubs.  All of Atlanta’s games are on the road where they are 9-14 thus far.

Let’s go, Mets.