Mets Keep Rolling

Heading into this road trip there was more than a little worry in my mind. With 9 games against Philly, Florida, and the Brewers, it would be a true test of a shaky pen and sporadic offense. Any concerns I and others may have had turned out to be unfounded. With some luck and a better effort from the pen, the Mets could have won all 8 games on this road trip.

The Mets split 2 games in the band box that Philly calls home. Behind good starting pitching, timely hitting, and a few good innings from the pen, they survived Howard, Utley, and company. I cringe every time the Mets head to Philly because Howard, Werth, and Burrell always seem to make things difficult. Just when you think things are safe, they score multiple runs in rapid fashion to make things close. If not for a bull-pen meltdown and Pedro's struggles in the 5th inning, the Mets might have swept the Phillies.

The same thing happened in Miami. Big Pelf faced his demons and stared them down. Unfortunately, he also was the victim of a leaky bull-pen and didn't get his well earned victory. Winning 2 out of 3 in Miami against that powerful team is always welcome. The Marlins are one of the teams that the Mets faltered against last year and couldn't beat them when the season depended on it. Every time the Mets beat the Fish, they seem to get a little bit of payback from them. Now when the Fish need to beat the Mets to stay in the chase, they are losing and watching their post-season hopes disappear little by little.

All year long we as Mets fans have been subjected to the backhanded comments of being in the NL East. All anyone has talked about this year is the Cubs and the Brewers. Well, that argument just lost it's merit. After this afternoon's drubbing, the Mets have no worries about the Brewers. The Mets started 3 left-handed pitchers against the best hitting team in the NL against left-handed pitchers. The Brewers were 35-14 against lefties after last night's game. But the Mets managed to sweep the Brew Crew while starting a rookie pitcher, and having a sporadic offense in the middle innings again. The difference in this series is the Bull-pen. The pen has worked like 15.2 innings without giving up a run. Figgy and Stokes are the middle inning stoppers in the pen. They get both left and right hitting batters out, and they have the mix of pitches and arm strength to go multiple innings if needed. Joe Smith is lights out lately, and even Feliciano is getting people out with minimum effort. Jerry has found a couple of people he can rely on, and he's using them to great effect. The gem of the pen is Ayala. For the cost of A. Hernandez, the Mets have their reserve closer. Ayala has earned 5 saves and doesn't seemed to get rattled when things get sticky. It's nice to know that he'll be there to help Billy finish the season and give him a rest when needed. I don't ever want to see Heilman or Schoeneweis closing games ever again.

One big difference between this team and the '07 team is the never say die fighting attitude they have. Earlier this year under Witless Willie they would never have fought back from early deficits to win games. Now, they find ways win games even when they are down to their last strike. Jerry Manual deserves much of the credit for that change of attitude. His managerial skills and personal relationships with the players has them fighting for every win, and doing what ever is needed to win them. The young blood that has come up this year is also to blame for this new attitude. Murphy, Evans, Argenis Reyes, and Stokes have all played with passion and energy that was sorely missing last year. With the September call-ups, Figgy, Niese, Parnell, Muniz, Knight, Rincon, and company get their chance to add to the energy that is infecting the team. I doubt Willie would have Evans and Murphy playing more than a game or two a week, and Ayala would never be closing. Heilman would be doing that, and Willie wouldn't even blink when calling the pen. Jerry rewards effort and results. If a player does good, he plays. If the players fails, he sits. That's the way it should have been last year, and the 1st few months this year. That's why Willie is unemployed, and Jerry is going to get an extension. That's also why the Mets are winning, and not thinking of Champagne yet.