DERAILING THE D-TRAIN (AKA, ON THE MAINE TRACK?)
Hot damn, the Mets are applying the hurt again. Demolishing divisional opponents to the tune of 17 runs scored against only 3 given up the last two games. For the season they're now 9-4 (though still trailing the Braves. WTF???), and have outscored the opposition by the outlandish margin of 76-35. And last night they beat down a potentially pesky divisional foe and their ace, a guy with a history of killing the Mets with great pitching, hitting heroics, and a variety of funny faces & poses.
But not last night.
Actually, I have no idea what he "did" last night, since I didn't watch the game. Working late, alas. But, in the effort to disclose fully, I'll admit I would've missed much of the game even if I was home at 7:00, ensconced in the cushions of the couch. Why? Because the N.Y. Rangers were attempting to complete the sweep of the Atlanta Thrashers last night. The Thrashers: Chipper Jones' hockey team, Andruw Jones' team, Bobby fuckin' Cox's team.
(Or maybe not.)
Anyway, the Rangers finished the sweep and are actually advancing to the second round for the first time since their surprising march to the conference finals ten years ago. Stay tuned ('cause I doubt I'll often have the time to do so; least you can do is watch for me and keep me abreast, right?).
And back to the Mets, a few thoughts:
1. Jose Reyes. Yikes, the numbers just keep getting unbelievabler & implausabler & ungrammaticalerable. 16 runs scored in 13 games. 9 walks, lifting the BA by ~100 points, to give him a .453 OBP. Without him leading off the Mets would have a good offense this year. With him, they're averaging nearly 6 runs a game so far.
Oh, and historically, April's not a very good month for him (don't bother looking at his lifetime month-by-month splits: he's already skewed them by being so good this year. You'll have to view the splits year-by-year!)
2. Johnny Maine! Those of who unlucky enough to have lost 3 hours of your life reading my Mets Pitching Preview last month know I'm high on this guy.
(Literally. Through discussions with both Keith Richards and the Mets clubhouse guy, I've been able to procure the "Maine Materials" I need. Good stuff, lemme tell you: works fast, sneaks up on you, and does the job.)
He's walking too many hitters, which is uncharacteristic, but his Ks are up there. I expect the walks to go down and hits (and HRs) yielded to go up, but overall, he's on track.
3. David Wright has a 25 game hit streak. I'm happy for him, and it's nice to see him looking to stroke the ball. But his slick cliches notwithstanding, he's probably concerned about it more than he's letting on. He's neither walking nor getting XBHs lately. I won't say I want the streak to end, but let's say I wanna see him draw some walks and drive the ball a bit more.
(Oh, and a homer might be nice. In 295 ABs since the goddamn Home Run Derby, Mr. Wright has hit 6 home runs. Safe to say we won't have to worry about him accepting the invite this season. Maybe he'll appear in the Single Derby instead. Which is probably what he plays every off night, anyhow.)
4. Jose Reyes! (Just had to say it.)
5. Carlos Beltran goes yard. These tend to come in streaks, so that's a good sign.
6. Memo to Carlos Delgado: the season has begun. No really, big guy, it started. It's April.
7. Valentin has quietly gone 7 for his last 13, with 4 doubles, raising his OPS from 486 to 750, which is about where I'd expect him to end up this season. As I've said, with his sweet defense, that's fiiiiiiine.
I wonder what got him untracked. Think he and Willie had one of their 'stache-trimming rituals in front of the manager's office mirror again? Someone figure this out.
8. Jose Reyes! (Wait, I talked about him already? Twice?! Oh . . . sorry.)
9. Shawn Green appears to have found some sort of secret, himself. And he doesn't even have a moustache. Maybe he's got a moustache on the inside. or maybe this Rick Down character ain't so bad afterall. Hmmmm.
10. And to end on a good note: Neither Steve Trachsel nor Victor Zambrano are in the Met organization. Yessssssssss.
Nor are they rumored to be returning! It's baseball like it aughta be (or "as it aughta" be, if you're into that grammaticizationing thing.)
But not last night.
Actually, I have no idea what he "did" last night, since I didn't watch the game. Working late, alas. But, in the effort to disclose fully, I'll admit I would've missed much of the game even if I was home at 7:00, ensconced in the cushions of the couch. Why? Because the N.Y. Rangers were attempting to complete the sweep of the Atlanta Thrashers last night. The Thrashers: Chipper Jones' hockey team, Andruw Jones' team, Bobby fuckin' Cox's team.
(Or maybe not.)
Anyway, the Rangers finished the sweep and are actually advancing to the second round for the first time since their surprising march to the conference finals ten years ago. Stay tuned ('cause I doubt I'll often have the time to do so; least you can do is watch for me and keep me abreast, right?).
And back to the Mets, a few thoughts:
1. Jose Reyes. Yikes, the numbers just keep getting unbelievabler & implausabler & ungrammaticalerable. 16 runs scored in 13 games. 9 walks, lifting the BA by ~100 points, to give him a .453 OBP. Without him leading off the Mets would have a good offense this year. With him, they're averaging nearly 6 runs a game so far.
Oh, and historically, April's not a very good month for him (don't bother looking at his lifetime month-by-month splits: he's already skewed them by being so good this year. You'll have to view the splits year-by-year!)
2. Johnny Maine! Those of who unlucky enough to have lost 3 hours of your life reading my Mets Pitching Preview last month know I'm high on this guy.
(Literally. Through discussions with both Keith Richards and the Mets clubhouse guy, I've been able to procure the "Maine Materials" I need. Good stuff, lemme tell you: works fast, sneaks up on you, and does the job.)
He's walking too many hitters, which is uncharacteristic, but his Ks are up there. I expect the walks to go down and hits (and HRs) yielded to go up, but overall, he's on track.
3. David Wright has a 25 game hit streak. I'm happy for him, and it's nice to see him looking to stroke the ball. But his slick cliches notwithstanding, he's probably concerned about it more than he's letting on. He's neither walking nor getting XBHs lately. I won't say I want the streak to end, but let's say I wanna see him draw some walks and drive the ball a bit more.
(Oh, and a homer might be nice. In 295 ABs since the goddamn Home Run Derby, Mr. Wright has hit 6 home runs. Safe to say we won't have to worry about him accepting the invite this season. Maybe he'll appear in the Single Derby instead. Which is probably what he plays every off night, anyhow.)
4. Jose Reyes! (Just had to say it.)
5. Carlos Beltran goes yard. These tend to come in streaks, so that's a good sign.
6. Memo to Carlos Delgado: the season has begun. No really, big guy, it started. It's April.
7. Valentin has quietly gone 7 for his last 13, with 4 doubles, raising his OPS from 486 to 750, which is about where I'd expect him to end up this season. As I've said, with his sweet defense, that's fiiiiiiine.
I wonder what got him untracked. Think he and Willie had one of their 'stache-trimming rituals in front of the manager's office mirror again? Someone figure this out.
8. Jose Reyes! (Wait, I talked about him already? Twice?! Oh . . . sorry.)
9. Shawn Green appears to have found some sort of secret, himself. And he doesn't even have a moustache. Maybe he's got a moustache on the inside. or maybe this Rick Down character ain't so bad afterall. Hmmmm.
10. And to end on a good note: Neither Steve Trachsel nor Victor Zambrano are in the Met organization. Yessssssssss.
Nor are they rumored to be returning! It's baseball like it aughta be (or "as it aughta" be, if you're into that grammaticizationing thing.)
Labels: Mets, Rangers, Reyes, Reyes Again, The Killer Zambie, Trackmarks
posted by Mike at 6:35 AM
3 Comments:
ungrammaticalerable
Isn't that what the placekicker says when he pulls a muscle celebrating?
WV: gripe
(really!)
Rangers win!! Rangers win!!
George - Yeah, that's what it's called when he's smartin from the pain.
DED - And in a big way.
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