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Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

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Look Who’s Number One!

METS V DODGERS CITIFEILD SIt’s the Mets, sitting atop the National League East, a half game ahead of the Phillies. If this recent surge is a mirage, then this might be the only chance I get to write this. But if the Mets are for real, this is something we could get used to.

What a difference a week makes. The Mets are the hottest team in the league right now, winners of their last six games, and are 8-1 on the homestand. The Mets travel to Philly this weekend for a series that is suddenly important, one of those early-season series that could set the tone for the Mets-Phillies rivalry for the rest of the season. You know those series — the ones the Braves used to win all the time against the Mets. 

Except for Oliver Perez, the Mets were brilliant in their doubleheader sweep of the Dodgers. Perhaps the biggest revelation was David Wright. He looked like the Wright of old in the second game, driving the ball to right field with authority — the type of hitting that was absent all of last season. If he can keep this up, and if Bay continues to hit, the Mets will be tough to beat.

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Date: April 27, 2010

  • JJ

    They are on fire right now! What has really struck me so far however, has not been so much the good play of the Mets but how bad the opposition has been. The Cubs, Braves and Dodgers are really flawed teams.

    In my opinion, from what I saw, the Cubs just S**K!

    The Braves can’t hit a lick and most disconcerting for their fans (too f***ing bad) is that they looked like little leaguers in the field. How great was it to see Bobby Cox’s reaction in the dugout after the Mets stole a run on the misplayed infield fly. Adding insult to injury – Angel(Rock Head) Pagan stole the run!!! Who was that playing third for the Braves? Was that a Chipper Jones imposter? Looks like Chipper is AL bound as a fulltime DH. I wasn’t impressed with Heyward. It looked like pitchers are figuring how to get him out.

    The Dodgers are brutal. Their pitching is dreadful.

    Anyway, I think the point of all this is that as flawed as the Mets are, and they are, they are competing against teams just as flawed or worse. The Mets are a starting pitcher away from being serious. I have no faith in Maine and Ollie will be in Buffalo soon. Had they signed a pitcher in the offseason then I would feel a whole lot more confident about this recent surge. As of now they still walk way too many guys. I get the feeling that they are dancing through raindrops during some games – Niese’s games to be exact and the bullpen is overworked already.

    I don’t like the way Jerry manages his pen. Guys are warming up all the time. Even though they may not get into a game they’re still throwing a lot pitches in the pen. This is another factor that can hurt them come September – and if we base things on recent history we all know what September is like…….

  • admin

    The Mets definitely deserve credit for their run, but you’re right, the opponents were very flawed teams. Except for the Phillies and the Cardinals, every team in the NL is flawed. None of them is any better than the Mets — that’s why I think they have a good shot at the wild card. I can see the eventual wild card team finishing just a few games above .500. That could easily be the Mets.

    And yes, the starters are going to have to start getting deeper into games to give the bullpen some rest. We’ve seen in the past what happens when a bullpen is overworked.

  • JJ

    Hey Admin, question for you – what is your take on the Mets ability to pick off a front line starter as the season progresses and teams fall by the wayside and look to dump salary? The reason I’m asking this question is that I’m not sure if the Mets have the $$$.

    Could it really be true that their failure to acquire a starter during the offseason was based on money lost with Bernie Madoff and that after acquiring Jason Bay, the vault was emptied? I honestly can’t believe that they think their pitching is good enough to get them through. Talk to any casual baseball fan about the Mets and their lack of pitching always comes up. I think Jeff Jr. is a spoiled brat but I didn’t think he was stupid.

    What’s your take?

  • admin

    I’m sure the Mets don’t want to spend any more money. But if they find themselves in the thick of the pennant race and their starters are lacking, I think they would go out and spend the money to get another team’s expensive starter.

    Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang are always possibilities, but they are both off to bad starts. Derek Lowe is another possibility if the Braves fall out of contention. But Atlanta would have to pick up a huge portion of his salary, and I can’t see the Braves doing that for the Mets.

    I think the Madoff thing is overblown. There are reports the Wilpons actually made money off of their investments with the Ponzi schemer over the years, so it might be a non-issue.

    The Mets reputation for being cheap is not really fair. They spend lots of money (Santana, Bay, Beltran) — they just don’t spend it well (Perez, Castillo, etc.).

    And yes, Jeff Wilpon is trouble. He is baseball’s James Dolan.