It's amazing what a little job insecurity will do for a team. Willie starts sitting veteran players and the bench shows them the way to win games. Since the 2nd game against the Marlins the Mets have shown some life and have carried it over to the Dodger series.
Carlos Delgado was given a seat by Willie the teams attitude has changed on a dime. No longer do they just go through the motions. They're focused and hustling every inning, and making plays that could decide games. Delgado has been the worst offender over the last year and he's actually looking like he's worried about playing time. He had a great stop on a hot smash down the line that required him to drive straight out and then get the out at first. He also caught a line drive in another inning and made a great attempt to double of the runner at 1st base. He and the runner both drove headfirst back to the bag, but Delgado came up a few inches short of making the great play. But, the effort was there, and that alone is something new. All too often Carlos' fielding has hurt the Mets this year, and last night he was not a liability in the field. I still think he should sit at least twice a week. The rest and time to worry about his playing time seems to do well for him.
The Mets have always had their way with Brad Penny, and last night was no different. Penny is David Wright's Bi-ch!!! David has something like a .575 career average against Penny and pummeled him again last night. David had 2 home runs and drove in 4. He now has 11 HR and 40 RBI as his average continues to climb towards .300. Reyes and Castillo are also showing life at the plate. Luis is actually hitting the ball out of the infield on a regular basis, and Reyes is getting on base too. Everyone seems to have a reinvigorated attitude at the plate, and the Mets are scoring runs again. I hope the trend continues this weekend. I'm making my first trip ever to Shea Saturday, and would love to see Big Pelf get some run support to help end his losing streak.
I still believe the Wilpon's had a few choice words about Willie's lack of managerial ingenuity. Or maybe Willie is finally realizing that his job is in real jeopardy, and he better start putting the best team on the field, and not cover for the veterans who are not producing. Ever since that meeting Willie has shown the willingness to shake up the line-up and to use the pen in a diffent way. I also think that Willie's a little P.Oed at Delgado. Carlos didn't exactly give Willie a ringing endorsement when asked, and then Willie starts sitting him. What ever the real reason, Willie needs to do things like that more often. There is no reason to not play a right-handed line-up against left-handed pitchers. Easley and Castro can cover for Delgado and Schneider with little problem, and they should be used. Beltran is another that needs a day off. His production at the plate is dreadful, and Chavez can cover center field for a game or 2. The object is to win games, not stroke egos.
John Maine goes tonight against a young hard throwing left handed pitcher. He throws a 95 MPH fastball, and a good curve ball. Lets all hope he decides to throw the fastball more than the curve tonight. We all know the Mets can't hit a good curve ball. John beat the Dodgers quite easily last time out, going into the 9th inning, so I'm hoping for a repeat from him tonight. As long as the defense stay sharp and the team continues to put the bat on the ball, he stands a good chance of getting his 6th victory this season.
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