Ryan brings Wright and Reyes to Church in the Desert

It's amazing what a little desert air will do for the bats. Willie moves Church to the 2 hole, Reyes hits the 1st pitch of the game for a triple, and David starts hitting the ball again. Can the Mets stay in Phoenix for a few weeks?

While watching Mets Pregame Live, I heard Ryan would be batting second in the line-up. Everyone on the show that was asked said the move made sense, and Ryan proved me and all those people right. Now if Willie could only see the light, and leave Church there, this offense may show some more consistent life. But in his post game remarks, Willie said Ryan didn't make a difference hitting in the 2 hole. He said the offense got going because Jose' got on base. He also said that Castillo was his 2 hitter, and that he knows his "guys better than anyone else in the world". Will you get a clue Willie. It's no wonder this team has under performed for over a year. I guess the 3 RBI that Church had didn't count? I guess the fact that the Mets scored early and often didn't have anything to do with Ryan's bat either? I guess the fact that Jose' hits .500 and Ryan hits .400 when they bat 1-2 in the order doesn't matter. I guess the 6 wins the Mets have when Ryan bats 2nd don't matter either. Let's just give them back. It's attitudes and ignorance like Willie's that is holding this team down. I know Ryan isn't the prototypical 2 hole hitter, but IT WORKS !!! With Ryan there, the top 3 hitters had 9 of the 12 hits by the Mets and drove in 5 of the 7 runs. So leave him there until things don't work. Why does Willie insist on not placing the best team on the field everyday? Putting the best team on the field also means placing them in the line-up where the team benefits most. The Mets benefit the most when Ryan is hitting 2nd, not 5th or lower. With Alou' in the line-up, are you going to bat Ryan 6th or 7th instead of 2nd? That's crazy thinking, and only Witless Willie or Guinness would consider it.

Enough of my ranting about batting orders, how about the fielding ? Reyes was great and made some super plays and throws tonight. His flat out diving grab was what we all hope to see from him in the field. That play doesn't get made if he's daydreaming in the field. And how about the catch by David? Running full speed into the outfield down the foul line, he dives and makes an over the shoulder catch in the dirt to end an inning !!!! That's why he won the Gold Glove last year. He has a knack for making catches that don't seem possible. But David was the victim of a hot smash off his glove they ruled an error earlier. He got an error there, but Hudson muffs a routine ground ball and doesn't get one? Granted Alou's ball was hit hard at Hudson, but David's play was much tougher to make and he gets charged anyway.

How about the pitching!!! John did what Ollie couldn't do. He found away to get thru 6 innings without having his best stuff. He struck out 6, walked 2 and for the 5th game in a row allowed only 2 runs. Not too bad for someone who had to use his breaking pitches more than normal. He actually got 3 strikeouts on his CHANGE-UP. And he was throwing his SLIDER for strike too. He used those pitches to set up his fastball in the 5th and 6th innings. His ERA is down to 3.48 and John is maturing with every start. It takes a PITCHER to know how to adjust during the game. Anyone can throw a baseball, but not everyone is a pitcher. Ollie should take a lesson or 2 from Maine before his next start and maybe he'll last more than 1.2 innings. The relievers were also on point this game. Joe Smith pitched 1.2 innings and looked good. Feliciano came in to close the 8th out, and Sanchez was dominate in the 9th striking out 2 hitters. That's what the Mets need from the pen. Good consistent pitching and no messing around.

It was a nice game to watch overall. The Mets played focused baseball and continued their dominance in the desert. Lets hope this is a sign of things to come, and the Mets can start burying teams early and often in games.