A FEW BRIEF THOUGHTS ON THE 4-0 N.Y. METS
1. Holy shit.
2. 31-3?!
3. How much fun was it to see Chipper lose that pop up in the wind during the Mets' 6-run 8th inning?
4. I've cleared it with Mrs. Mike: I'm going to ask Jose Reyes to marry me. She's cool with the arrangement. She'll remain my wife in the conjugal sense, plus she's on for all family-related events. But otherwise, it's Jose.
Reyes is leading the Mets with 7 runs scored after 4 games. He's also leading them with 7 RBIs. He's tied for first in the league in the second category, and trails only the amazing Hanley Ramirez in the first.
(Ramirez is great, by the way. If Reyes is the NL's best shortstop, then Ramirez is 2nd, and trails by very little. Plus, Hanley is younger than Jose. I'm a Met fan, but I'm honest when it comes to baseball: Ramirez may be just as good as Reyes. If there's any way the Mets can get this guy in the coming years and put him at second base, I may have to change my pants during games.)
5. Tom Glavine's ERA is 1.50.
6. Tom Glavine has the worst ERA on the entire Met pitching staff.
7. Oliver!
8. After 4 games of gaudy & astounding beatdowns, who has the best OPS on the Mets? Just who'd you'd expect: Carlos Beltran, doing it quietly, as always. Plus, he's played great defense.
9. Speaking of which, Met gloves have been basically flawless. Even though 'Stache isn't hitting, his defense at second (as indicated by 9 double plays so far) has been perfect.
10. I know it's only 4 games. I know errorless ball, and .311 team batting averages, and injury-free seasons, and perfection from the bullpen, and historically poor glovework by the opposition don't last for 162 games. I know.
But teams can lose 1/3 of their games and still end the season with the best record . . . by a large margin. The Mets have a few trouble spots on the horizon, and we knew that. But they have a lot of strengths too: guys who put bat to ball, good team speed, fine team defense, solid fundamentals (there is a good side to older players), pitchers committed to throwing strikes, and a few young, dominant players in Beltran, Reyes & Wright.
They may end up getting nailed by injuries, or one of the other teams could win all their close games, get hot, and win 95 games. But it seems more likely that the Mets'll win the 90 or so games we expected, and win the division by a handful of games.
They're off to a good start. It's a long season, and there'll be downs. But for the time being, these guys have been fun to watch. Let's go for 5-0.
2. 31-3?!
3. How much fun was it to see Chipper lose that pop up in the wind during the Mets' 6-run 8th inning?
4. I've cleared it with Mrs. Mike: I'm going to ask Jose Reyes to marry me. She's cool with the arrangement. She'll remain my wife in the conjugal sense, plus she's on for all family-related events. But otherwise, it's Jose.
Reyes is leading the Mets with 7 runs scored after 4 games. He's also leading them with 7 RBIs. He's tied for first in the league in the second category, and trails only the amazing Hanley Ramirez in the first.
(Ramirez is great, by the way. If Reyes is the NL's best shortstop, then Ramirez is 2nd, and trails by very little. Plus, Hanley is younger than Jose. I'm a Met fan, but I'm honest when it comes to baseball: Ramirez may be just as good as Reyes. If there's any way the Mets can get this guy in the coming years and put him at second base, I may have to change my pants during games.)
5. Tom Glavine's ERA is 1.50.
6. Tom Glavine has the worst ERA on the entire Met pitching staff.
7. Oliver!
8. After 4 games of gaudy & astounding beatdowns, who has the best OPS on the Mets? Just who'd you'd expect: Carlos Beltran, doing it quietly, as always. Plus, he's played great defense.
9. Speaking of which, Met gloves have been basically flawless. Even though 'Stache isn't hitting, his defense at second (as indicated by 9 double plays so far) has been perfect.
10. I know it's only 4 games. I know errorless ball, and .311 team batting averages, and injury-free seasons, and perfection from the bullpen, and historically poor glovework by the opposition don't last for 162 games. I know.
But teams can lose 1/3 of their games and still end the season with the best record . . . by a large margin. The Mets have a few trouble spots on the horizon, and we knew that. But they have a lot of strengths too: guys who put bat to ball, good team speed, fine team defense, solid fundamentals (there is a good side to older players), pitchers committed to throwing strikes, and a few young, dominant players in Beltran, Reyes & Wright.
They may end up getting nailed by injuries, or one of the other teams could win all their close games, get hot, and win 95 games. But it seems more likely that the Mets'll win the 90 or so games we expected, and win the division by a handful of games.
They're off to a good start. It's a long season, and there'll be downs. But for the time being, these guys have been fun to watch. Let's go for 5-0.
Labels: 31-3, Leather and Porn Staches, Polygamy, The Beltranator
posted by Mike at 7:39 AM
12 Comments:
Jeez man, nice start.
Down here things are going just as I feared they might.
We traded our center fielder and put a second baseman in one of the biggest center fields in baseball (and one stupidly equipped with retarded hills and flagpoles as obstacles). Result? A guy that was a great 2B prospect looking really foolish stumbling around with balls falling all around him.
We've got a set of starting pitchers with Woody Williams as the number 3 starter. Number 4 is Wandy Rodriguez - neither the 4 or 5 starters has ever pitched more than 135 innings.
Brad Lidge is still our 'closer' - and doing the job the same way as before, giving up ninth inning homers.
We're oh for 4. The Mets swept the Cards, the Astros are getting the Cards' record healthy for them.
Otherwise everything's great. Hell I'm just a fan and even *I* saw this coming, way back when the Pettitte and Jennings deals went down.
Gosharoonies, Oh Pea pitches his best game as a Met (excluding Game 7 of course) and all you can say is "Oliver!"?? Whatever
;)
You just painted such a picture with the possibility of Hanley joining the team. I have to give props to your wife for putting up with you ;-)
It's a great start, all around. What excites me most is how well Maine and Perez pitched in their games. Looks like Perez worked hard in spring to fix his mechanics (Ron Darling was talking about it all game long) - I'm hoping it sticks, and we'll see performances like yesterday's on a consistent basis. If those two can show that they are legitimate big-league starters, the Mets will walk away with the division again.
I'm as giddy as you
I doubt it. LoDuca just went deep.
one stupidly equipped with retarded hills and flagpoles as obstacles
I think you've just weighed in with John Royal on the "Minute Maid park is Dumb" side of the ledger.
I have to give props to your wife for putting up with you
You have no idea. Polygamy (involving same-sex baseball players) is the least of her problems after all these years.
What excites me most is how well Maine and Perez pitched in their games . . . [i]f those two can show that they are legitimate big-league starters, the Mets will walk away with the division again
I hear you. Glavine & El Duque are actually average (or below average) among #1 & 2 starters, but if Maine, Perez & Pelfey can sport a combined ERA in the 4.00-4.50 range, that is MUCH better than you'd expect from that part of a rotation.
I was feeling all warm and fuzzy, until I saw this:
A-Rod slam in ninth lifts Yanks over O's
FUCK
. . . and then Craig Wilson snared Shawn Green's potential game-tying, scorching liner for the game's final out.
Double FUCK.
Is this what's called a "jinxing post"? Sorry man, hate to see the Braves win.
Sorry. I take full responsibility.
At least now Willie will finally do what he should've done by now: give LoDuca and Alou a day off.
I'm shocked he played LoD yesterday: freezing cold day game after a night game on Friday. It's a long season; 35 year-old catchers need off days. As do 40 year-old left fielders.
We finally won one last night against the Cards, complete game by Roy Oswalt.
Oswalt is just nails - he makes it look easy. Last night he killed the ninth with 8 pitches I think. He's the best player on the Astros roster, I'd argue he's flat out the best pitcher in the NL. He's pitched 16 innings and has a 1.08 ERA. He works very fast too, games fly when he's pitching.
In fact, one of the things La Roussa (damn him eternally) uses as a strategy against Oswalt is having his guys step out (& etcetera) to slow him down.
Owsalt's great. No other way around it.
One thing about him that amazes me is how such a small guy throws so many innings, throws so hard, works so fast, etc.
He must be in great shape even though he's not big. Deceptively strong, I'd bet.
Anyhow, I'd put Berkamn up there with Oswalt as the Astros' best player. Today's pitchers just don't throw enough innings to equal the value of an everyday player
Here you go Mike.
There must be something in the water down here that fucks women up because we got some real loons. Dangerous gals. Diapers to drive a cross country for god knows what. Drowning their kids 5 at a time in the bathtub. Running over their husbands multiple times in hotel parking lots. Burning down multi-story office buildings killing 3 people because they're late on a work assignment.
Don't mess with Texas women.
Oh, you're right about Berkman of course.
Weaver wanted to cover up the fact that she had failed to complete paperwork for an important audit for Capriotti.
Jeez. That's insane. Just insane.
(By the way, she looks like Jennifer Jason Leigh.)
I will mess with NO Taxas women, that's for sure.
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