Two Down, Four to Go

The standings:

TEAM W  L  PCT  GB  HOME  ROAD  L-10  STREAK  
 NY Mets 32  20  .615  -  18-9  14-11  7-3  W-1  
 
 Atlanta 28  26  .519  5  13-9  15-17  6-4  L-1  
 
 Phil. 27  25  .519  5  16-16  11-9  5-5  L-1  
 
 Wash. 22  32  .407  11  10-13  12-19  6-4  W-1  
 
 Florida 17  34  .333  14.5  9-17  8-17  6-4  L-1 

As I type this, the Phillies are getting thumped by the Dodgers 7-0 in the fifth inning.  In a month, the Braves and Phils moved up a game.  Not bad considering Pedro didn’t win a single game all month and Jose Lima made a few starts, posting a 9 ERA.  That’s not bad at all.

That’s not even the good stuff.  Xavier Nady had an appendectomy.  Why would that be good news?  Lastings Milledge, minor league stud, was called up to replace him.  Milledge doubled for his first hit in his first game, playing right field against the Diamondbacks.  His second game wasn’t so great, but his potential makes it exciting.  He wore number 44.  Beats me.  He’s really only expected to be up while Nady is out - about two weeks - but hopefully he will hit well enough to get the Mets to trade Nady for anything else.  As you may have read, I thought acquiring Nady was a bad move from the get go.  This is a good team for Milledge to be on, as it is a good team, allowing him to hit eighth without any real expectations of production - nothing really more than what Nady could provide.

As I mentioned, Pedro went 0-1 with an ERA of 1.80 and a K:BB ratio of 10.  That is terrifically poor run support.  The Mets went 2-4 in those starts.  Much of that is luck, but it doesn’t “even out” over the season, as Greg Maddux could tell you - some seasons one pitcher gets seven runs while another gets two.  It just happens.

Speaking of which, Tom Glavine went 5-0, with seven runs per game of run support.  Glavine didn’t need that much, as he posted a 2.94 ERA.  With Glavine and Pedro anchoring the rotation, the Mets should be able to prevent any really bad slides.

The rest of the rotation must be watched wincingly.  It’s pretty tough right now to watch the freshly acquired El Duque or “Starter Number 5 du jour.” Lefty Dave Williams was picked up from the Reds, but he has a spiffy 7 ERA coming over.  El Duque has a 6 ERA, so neither has been a real steal, but it’s not Lima.

Steve Trachsel posted a poor ERA, but pitched well in two games, taking two hard losses, including a rain-shortened 2-0 “complete game” and a 1-0 loss at St. Louis.  The games the Mets didn’t lose, Trax didn’t pitch well, but the Mets scored 8, 9, and 8 runs, winning all three of his NDs.

On offense, the Mets are still a bit uneven.  Jose Reyes has already walked 21 times.  He only walked 27 times in all of 2005.  Unfortunately, he’s hitting 25 points lower than we all expect, so his OBP is still just around 0.310.  Add 25 points of BA to that, and he’s passable as a leadoff guy thanks to his speed.  He has stolen 20 bases already.  That’s a good pace for 60 or so.  Paul LoDuca still isn’t throwing anyone out defensively, but he’s hitting like he’s expected to.  He’s also garnering a lot of plate appearances, and his track record is to drop like a stone after the All-Star Break, with a 2003-2005 September OPS of 0.535.  Willie would be wise to get Ramon Castro more time in an effort to keep LoDuca a bit fresher later in the season.  Plus Castro is pretty good.

Carlos Beltran is doing what he is supposed to - rake, and play good defense.  Carlos Delgado is slumping - but Cliff Floyd is coming out of a long stink. 

David Wright is awesome.  That is all.

Second base for the Mets has been a terribly weak spot, but Jose Valentin has gotten new life and a few starts at second.  He’s hit a few home runs and played pretty good, but not great, defense.  Kaz Matsui was benched for him, so we’ll see how well Willie plays the hot hand.

The bullpen was terrific in April, but stumbled a bit in May.  Billy Wagner had a godawful meltdown agains the Yankees, but has bounced back from that nicely.  Aaron Heilman has struggled, and Duaner Sanchez gave up a handful of runs.  Heath Bell had a nice outing, and Darren Oliver has pitched really well in a couple of marathon outings for a reliever.  It looks like the pen will hold together.

The bullpen coach, Guy Conti, made an interesting comment during Pedro’s last start about releivers getting loose in the bullpen.  He said Billy Wagner throws 12 warmup pitches.  Not eleven.  Not thirteen.  Twelve.  He also said Heath Bell gets loose fast, and those two were the fastest.  He said everyone takes 15-25 pitches to get ready.  I’ve never heard how many pitches the relievers throw, and I thought that was interesting.

Going forward, the Mets have to make a West Coast trip after a three-game set with the Giants, facing the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks again.  Then three more with the Phillies before Interleague play kicks in.  The Mets skip the Devil Rays this season, with games against Baltimore, Toronto, Boston and another series with the Yankees.

Five game lead on June 1.  Looking good - keep it up!