Gem

Zack Wheeler just raised the expectations on his career.  In tonight's 3 hit shutout over the Marlins, he faced 1 more batter than the minimum for a 9 inning game.  In his 1 year and 1 day major league career, he had never gone farther than 7 innings.  Not only did he pitch so well, he did it under pressure.  The Mets offense, and notice, there is no "O" in M-E-T-S, gave him only the one run required to take a lead.  I have occasionally criticized the Mets for scoring more runs than necessary, but this is hardly what I meant.

I have been defending this Mets team as being better than their record, although it has been getting harder to do.  At some point, as Bill Parcells says, you ARE your record.  We're not quite there yet.  Talk to me at the All-Star Break.

No further comment tonight- just let the memory of Wheeler's performance linger.

Moral Victories

The Mets just finished a tough series against the Brewers losing 2 of 3 to the Central Division leaders.  The record may not show it, but this team is getting better.  Late in the game, they got a bunch of baserunners, they just couldn't get them home.  Eventually the Mets are going to break through.  Though, it is important not to use too many runs in a given game.

I know that moral victories don't count in the standings, but they're all I've got at this point, so I'll take it.

The Sky is Falling!

Okay, so the Mets have dropped the last two to the Cubs.  They left a ton of men on base.  I mentioned the problem in my last post.  The 11 runs they scored against the Phillies on Monday was excessive.  5 would have been plenty.  They use the extra 6 runs the last two nights and they win those games.

As I said in 2012, check back in 3 years.  Sandy Alderson has the team going in the right direction.  However, the road is under construction and we're going to hit a lot of potholes along the way.

What a Difference a Week Makes!

Last Monday was Memorial Day, and the Mets had found yet another way to blow a game.  Jose Valverde was not even allowed to return to the clubhouse- he would leave through the fan gates, the Mets forwarding his luggage, and the hitting coach, Dave Hudgens, getting fired.  Most fans felt that Valverde had overstayed his welcome long ago (which is tough to do in May).  As for Hudgens, my problem with him was his comments about booing.

At the time, I was bothered by the New York Times essentially writing the team off.  They were only 6 games under .500, and one good stretch could easily cure that.  Well, one week later, having gone 6 of 7, suddenly they are 1 game under, and 4 out of 1st place.  They are scoring runs.  I thought they scored a few too many (11) last night.  They may need those runs later in the week.

They have good starting pitching Colon, Wheeler, Niese, de Grom.  Matsuzaka has pitched well in every role.  The bullpen seems to be filled with Garanimals- just mix and match.  I seem to recall the Mets originally projected Mejia as a future closer, and he's off to a good start in that role.

Keep your eyes crossed!  Um, er, better make that your fingers.  You're going to want to watch this summer!

Boo Hudgens!

So, on Monday, after another disastrous loss.  The Mets released losing pitcher Jose Valverde and Hitting coach Dave Hudgens.  Much of the talk about Valverde centered on why it took so long to pull the plug.  I was not going to talk about Hudgens.  In my last post, I had mentioned that the Mets hitting was actually getting better.

Hudgens got to me when he mentioned the "booing" of the fans.  My snark reaction was that he was fired because Ike Davis is now batting .295 with Pittsburgh, and it looked like a rebuke of Hudgens.  I didn't really believe that.  Here is the thing about that booing.  If these players aren't hitting because they are getting booed, then why weren't they hitting when they weren't getting booed?

Granderson and Chris Young were good signings this off-season.  Most fans were excited about this team.  I don't know how many bought into Sandy Alderson's goal of 90 wins, but they should be competitive.  So we did not boo Grandy or C.Y. to start the year.  It was only after they had gone several weeks hitting around the .200 mark that the Boo Birds appeared.  Birds fly south for the winter and never return before May.

It's not as bad as it looks

Okay, so today's loss makes our performance in the opener yesterday look competent.  Yes, we're losing games at home to losing teams.  However, things could be worse.  A few weeks ago, a story in the New York Times remarked that we were on pace to win 91 games, and just the other day, that same paper said we were headed for another losing season.

There really is good news.  Our starting pitching has been very good.  We've been hitting more of late.  While it is true that we've left a ton of players on base lately, you can't do that unless you are getting on base in the first place.  Five double plays in a 9 inning game may have tied a record, but that proves it's an aberration.  You need to have hitting before you get clutch hitting.

It may look ugly right now, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing a swan emerge.

At the Break

As we hit the All-Star Break, let's look at where we are.  The Mets are in 4th place in the East, 9 games under .500.  However, there are a lot of positives to look at.  There win percentage is currently .451, and earlier this year it was under .400.  Their opening day starter, on the DL for about a month, is going to return.  Matt Harvey has established himself as a legitimate Ace.  Jeremy Hefner, Dillon Gee, and Zach Wheeler round out a solid young 5 man rotation.

Offensively speaking, they have been scoring runs, averaging more than 3 runs per game for the last month.  We were the first road team to win a series in Atlanta, we swept the Giants.  Losing 2 of 3 on the road in Pittsburgh is nothing to be ashamed of.

When we return from break, continue making positive steps.  Third place should be the immediate goal followed by .500.  Unless somebody really wants Marlon Byrd, I don't anticipate any moves before the trade deadline.