Mets Continue Battering Oppostion

Since Monday's bull-pen meltdown in Shea by the Mets, they have proceeded to beat the Nats 3 straight and stand one one away from beating the Pirates 4 straight. They've done all this with great starting pitching, stellar defense, and timely hitting.

The bull-pen continues to be an adventure and will be so for awhile longer. Billy isn't ready to return and the Mets traded for Ayala. Granted he came cheaply enough [Anderson Hernandez], but he's 1-8 with an ERA over 5.70. Is this really the answer to the bull-pen question? It's bad enough that the Mets have a pen full of headcases and tired arms, why bring in another one? I guess we'll have to see if he can help, or if he hurts. Leave it to Omar to bring in another one of his former players off the scrap heap for reclamation.

The defense continues to shine during this winning streak. Although there was an error in today's game the Mets have been catching and stopping every ball hit their way lately. The Reyes boys are in a league of their own. Since Jerry's hiring Jose's defense has been exponentially better and he could win the gold glove this year. Argenis Reyes is also sparkling in the field. He has the range and glove that has been sorely lacking earlier this year. He hasn't committed and error yet, and has even saved a game or two with his glove and mobility. Beltran continues to catch anything hit in the outfield, and even the B-Mets tandem of Murphy and Evans have been doing steady work in left.

The offense is the offense we as fans expected this spring when the season started. Wright and Jose' are doing their best to split the MVP vote, and the kids produce on a regular basis. A. Reyes is always in the middle of things [.280 ave.], Murphy continues to hit[.415], drive in runs[9 RBI in 41 ABs] and draw walks [8], and Evans is becoming a steady player. Castro when healthy continues to hit, and Schneider is turning on baseballs once again. Tatis is surprising no one anymore. He continues to hover around .300 and has 38 RBI in only 216 ABs. If he played the whole year, he be on pace to drive in over 80 runs. Not bad for someone who hadn't played in '04-'05. He has so many 2 strike big hits I shudder to think where the Mets would be without him. Delgado has settled down some since July, but he is no longer the automatic out he was for almost a year. Beltran has put up decent numbers but isn't the player he should be. All too often he fails to drive in runs when needed and seems to be content to hit around .270 for his career.

With all the issues with the offense, the team still finds ways to score. They have scored first in 19 of their last 21 games on the road. They did it today again. The biggest concern is their inability to consistently add on runs in the late innings. They are being outscored by over 80 runs in the 8th inning on. Without the extra runs, the pen has a habit of coughing up the lead if care isn't taken. Jerry has tried to mix and match the relievers and somehow is keeping things together. With Ryan Church's rehab going well in New Orleans, maybe his impending return will help solve some of those issues with runs and the pen.

Overall it's been a good week to be a Mets Fan. The Phillies and Marlins are starting to sink in the standings, and the Mets have a different hero every night. With another week or two of baseball like this, the division could be close to being settled. As the Mets beat up on the weaker teams, the Fish and Phillies play the better teams in the league and fall farther behind the Mets. Don't you like the schedule now? LOL.