Last night the Mets did something that doesn't happen often this year. They rallied from 2 runs down to win a road game. All too often this year the Mets lose on the road, and once they get behind, they rarely mount any comebacks. What was the trademark of the '06 team, becomes an impossible task for the '08 team. Last night they fell behind in the 1st inning, but chipped away at the lead until finally taking it in the 5th.
When the Mets called up Armas, you had to be left wondering what you'd get from someone claimed off the scrap heap of pitching this Spring. He ditched his splitter after serving up Ankiel's homerun and went to his slider and fastball. Tony mixed them up just enough to keep the Redbirds off balance and kept the Mets close. After a rocky 1st inning, Armas settled into a rhythm and the Mets bats woke up. Castro and Wright lead the bats with help from Delgado and "The Minister of Offense" Church. Ryan seems to have picked up where he left off. Ryan, David, Ramon, and Carlos all had doubles and David crushed a pitch into the Mets bull-pen for his team leading 16th HR. David now has his average up to .288, his OBP stands at .382, and has 65 RBI. He's on pace to set career highs for HRs and RBI this year, and maybe threaten the team record for RBI this season. With Chipper's injury, David may even get into the All-Star Game as a reserve.
This team has been so helter-skelter this season it's hard to get too excited by one win. Between Jose' throwing temper tantrums and making errors, Delgado's prolonged disappearance from the offense, Beltran's continued inability to hit anything with a bend on it, David's struggles at the plate, and Ryan's head injuries, you never know what team is going to show up. If Ryan stays healthy the rest of the season, David will have someone in the line-up that has proven a consistent threat to baseballs. Ever since Ryan's injury there really hasn't been anyone behind David that the opposing pitchers fear. If Manual would move Ryan to the 4 spot, the Mets could have a fearsome hitting combo that could reak havoc on opposing pitchers. Beltran may even preform better once he's not under the pressure of batting clean-up. It seems to work for Delgado. When ever he bats 6th, he seems to consistently have better games. As far as Castro playing last night, I loved it. Schneider isn't hitting worth a damned, and I hate his defense and pitch calling. I'm still at a loss to see where he's so great behind the plate. I feel that many of the Mets pitching woes are related to his lack of results behind the plate. He's done nothing to impress me this season. Unless constantly dropping balls, failing to block pitches, and never showing any agility impresses you.
So here's looking forward to more games like last night. Steady pitching, timely hitting, solid defense, and a little luck will go along way towards righting this drifting ship called the Mets. Lets hope Jerry Manuel keeps firm hand on the rudder and points the team towards the division lead.
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3 comments:
Actually, Wright is on pace to have less homeruns and stolen bases than last year. With Beltran actually hitting now (well, except for last night), hopefully Wright will get some good pitches to hit. And Church is getting back into the groove although he doesn't seem to be hitting for power at all. Let's hope that comes back. Finally, for Delgado, I still don't think he's done. I think the problem with Delgado is that unlike a couple of years ago, he has a hole in his hitting (the up and in fastball) and pitchers are aware of this weakness so they can pitch around him. However, he still kills mistakes.
And Beltran takes alot of pitches but I believe that has to do with him waiting for the perfect pitch to drive. It's the same thing that Manny does. Dropping him in the order though is a horrible idea for two reasons. First of all, you fall back into the trap of having Delgado hit behing Beltran meaning that Beltran won't run when he's on 1st base. Second, Beltran has an ego and I think the drop will actually have an adverse effect on him. I would like to see him bat 3rd though since he's becoming more like a Bobby Abreu type player who can get on base seemingly whenever he wants. Wright, as an excellent RBI guy, should be batting 4th with Church batting behind him.
with 16 HRs so far, David is on pace to hit 32 or more. I believe he only hit 30 HR last year. That is his career high so far.
Well technically, there's less than half a season left...so he's really on pace to hit 29, maybe 30.
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