Questions Unanswered

I wasn't really watching tonight's game in Milwaukee to discover the outcome. It was totally secondary. Sure, I would always prefer that the Mets win, but tonight was Tom Glavine's night. Maybe the Mets had to win for Glavine to get three hundred. I think that's mostly a technicality.

We've seen ups and downs from Glavine, but he rarely has put together efforts as strong as tonight's against the top dogs of the NL Central. Six innings of two-hit ball? Awesome. I won't mention that he had five walks, but even seven baserunners in six plus innings is nasty.

Everyone looked great tonight, for the most part. Heilman was a man on a mission. Castillo played tight defense in his debut. Moises and Wright did what they had to at the plate. But someone forgot to send that memo to Pedro Feliciano, who has traded places with Scott Schoeneweis of late, becoming an incredible liability in close games.

But you can't blame Pedro. He's been ridden like Secretariat for the second straight season, and this year he hasn't even been able to tag-team with Chad Bradford to bring the funk. The Mets have had a revolving door for righty setup men, featuring luminaries like Jon Adkins, Ambiorix Burgos, and Lino Urdaneta. Don't tell me to check my facts: all three appeared in at least one game.

Most importantly, though, they don't have Duaner Sanchez, who last year followed Heilman many eighth innings, like clockwork. Joe Smith, too, was overworked the first half of the season, and was demoted to AAA.

Apparently, though, our dear manager was too busy to read scouting reports, spending his time instead hobnobbing with this fine thespian on your right, who, perhaps non-coincidentally, believes that the alien ruler of something called the "Galactic Confederacy" brought people to earth 75 million years ago in spaceships and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. The people, not the spaceships.

So, he used Heilman for the seventh and one out in the eighth. That's fine; Aaron's been hot lately. Unfortunately, as they say, the best laid plans. . . Nevertheless, Willie opted to call on Pedro Feliciano to face the lefty Prince Fielder. That's where he lost me. Feliciano has been ice cold lately (21.60 ERA this past week). But given the way he has faced righties all season, one would think that Willie wasn't just leaving him in for one batter.

Instead, Pedro can't find the strike zone, and Willie has to go to the rock of the Mets' bullpen. The go-to-guy. The man with a plan. The equalizer. Guillermo Mota. The reliever of a 5.40 ERA. The same one who needed anabolic steroids in 2006 to attain a 4.53 ERA.

Was Willie drunk? Did he forget that Chad Bradford no longer pitches for this team? Did he forget that Joe Smith was sent down for Jon Adkins, who in turn was sent down for David Newhan? The Mets' groundball funk machine in the pen was sent down for David Newhan. Read that sentence again.

Actually, aside from the first little blemish on Mota's evening (a rocket of a ground-rule double off Bill Hall's bat), he managed quite the little escape act. Sure, Gary Cohen can call Jorge Sosa, who is probably going to be displaced from his Thursday start, Houdini, but Mota's feat was similarly impressive.

Weirdly, though, this game had a playoff atmosphere. Perhaps it was because of the implications of Glavine hunting for 300. But he will live for many other starts. Maybe it was the fact that Jeff Suppan started this game. By the way, if you were asked which opposing pitcher would be responsible for foiling what could be one of the Mets' greatest nights of the season, the Supp' Nazi would definitely be near the top of your list. That's a fact.

How does this guy dominate the Mets? He doesn't strike anyone out, walks too many, has an awesome 114-110 career record (with the sterling 4.64 ERA to boot), and has a 5.89 ERA in July. Maybe if Steve Trachsel's not too busy losing games in front of three fans in Baltimore, he could give Jeff a few pointers. Inexplicably, he has a 2.81 career ERA against the Mets.

And after Suppan, the crack staff of Brewer relievers looked pretty good. Maybe Carlos Villanueva doesn't scare you, but he scares the rest of us. Derrick Turnbow and Francisco Cordero were both tough. And then comes Matt Wise. Maybe you're not incredibly familiar with him, but I've been pumping him for a while on account of his filthy change. Oh, no, I thought. We're toast.

And then, ten straight balls. This game's script was starting to read like an Alec Baldwin SNL sketch. But then Brian Shouse, who brings the funk, came in to face Moises, already with two balls on him. [ED NOTE: :::chuckles:::] And Shouse gave him a third. But then Moises being Moises did what Moises does. Six. Four. Three.

If game-ruining double plays were game-winning hits, Moises Alou would be David Ortiz.

So the bottom of the eleventh came, as it invariably will, when only David Newhan (our unlikely and untalented hero!) is capable of mustering a hit against the indomitable Chris Spurling. Aaron Sele took to the hill, a bastion of Metness, throwing soft curveballs and soft fastballs to the Brewers.

Unfortunately, Geoff Jenkins greeted him rudely with a single. Corey Hart, who couldn't lay down a bunt, never surrenders (look it up), and he blooped a single. Thankfully, Delgado atoned for his error in the ninth with a nice throw to third on a failed bunt, and Luis Castillo started the double play against the next batter.

And madness, as per usual, ensued. Firstings was diving left and right, all the while looking like a near-great in center.

But at the end of the day, there was one last mistake left up Willie's sleeve. He left Aaron Sele in to face Geoff Jenkins, instead of bringing in Scott Schoeneweis, and the outfielder scalded a two-run walk-off shot after Tony Graffanino's leadoff double in the thirteenth. And Willie ought to answer for that.

Transaction Reaction: 2B Luis Castillo

Although GM Omar Minaya hasn't swung any blockbuster trades this year, the Mets on Monday made a minor move in acquiring second baseman Luis Castillo from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for minor league catcher Drew Butera and minor league outfielder Dustin Martin.

Castillo, 31, was putting together an average season in his second year in Minnesota, batting .304/.356/.352 in 85 games. Butera was batting a rather anemic .231/.297/.344 for St. Lucie and Binghamton in 82 games, and Martin was hitting at a .289/.359/.422 clip in 95 games, all but two at St. Lucie.

I can't help but be somewhat nonplussed by this trade. Obviously the Mets aren't giving up much here, but I'm inclined to wonder why Minnesota opted to deal the impending free agent, a move which forced unproven prospect Alexi Casilla into a starting position on the depth chart.

I am also confused about the Mets' methodology behind this trade. I would understand the move if they were somehow in possession of a secret time machine capable of resurrecting the Castillo of a few seasons ago, but at present he is a singles hitter with hamstrings more torn than Natalie Imbruglia.

Obviously the Mets have not been enamored with Ruben Gotay's recent showing as the full-time second baseman, but Castillo is hardly a defensive upgrade over Gotay. Baseball Prospectus lists Gotay's Fielding Rate as 97 with a -2 FRAA. That's below average, but Castillo's numbers are far worse: Fielding Rate of 93 with a -6 FRAA.

As recently as 2005, Luis was a whiz in the field and a sparkplug in the lineup, but offensively there's no comparison: Gotay's EqA is .311 and Castillo's is .269.

This year, Castillo is posting his lowest OBP since 2001, and he has only stolen nine bases. Nine! Even Shawn Green, who, according to Joe Benigno, stinks, has nine steals. Castillo, unfortunately, isn't much more than a washed-up singles hitter.

I'm not sure how to evaluate this deal, when all's said and done. The Mets gave up almost nothing to acquire an impending free agent who fills a near-void at second base (despite the Mets retaining the services of every second baseman in the nation: Anderson Hernandez, David Newhan, Marlon Anderson, Easley, Gotay, the injured 'Stache), but he's not much of an upgrade over Ruben Gotay, who's been absolutely raking at the dish.

I hope Omar can think of something better, because I'm not entirely certain the Mets have exactly counteracted the Braves' addition of Teixeira by acquiring a latter-day Chuck Knoblauch.

The Deadline Dish

Deadline Dish

12:18 PM Tuesday: Not too much news to announce. The Cardinals acquired Joel Pineiro from the Red Sox, and Scott Proctor is headed to the Dodgers for Wilson Betemit.

More importantly, though, are the potential moves on the horizon. Although Octavio Dotel is possibly headed to Atlanta, he may, in fact, still be available for the taking. The Red Sox are still aggressively pursuing Jermaine Dye, and their trade of Pineiro indicates, perhaps, that they believe ESPN's Buster Olney, who calls the Sox the frontrunners for Eric Gagné. Olney also lists the Mets and the Brewers among the three top teams.

I'll keep you posted.

1:45 AM Tuesday: Okay, kids, maybe I'm getting a late start on this, but throughout today we will be top-notch rumor mongers and critical thinkers regarding the 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline for Major League Baseball.

What to watch for:

Transaction Reaction: Luis Castillo for two soon to be ex-baseball players

Full coverage of all Mets rumors and some others, too

Breakdown of division-impacting moves: Teixeira to Atlanta, Lohse to Philadelphia, and are others on the way?

Stay tuned; it's a going to be a mostly forgettable journey. Don't forget that Tom Glavine's gunning for 300, A-Rod for 500, and Barry for 755* once the sun sets on the Wild West. See you then.

The Dull Flame of Doubleheaders

I don't have much to write about this morning's win and this evening's loss.

However, à la Spy Magazine, I will present two lists, representing my feelings about today as a whole...

LIST 1:

• Moises Alou
  
• Willie Randolph
  
• Jose Reyes
  
• Pedro Feliciano
  
• Paul Lo Duca
  
• Marlon Anderson

LIST 2:

• El Duque
  
• Aaron Heilman
  
• Jesus Flores
  
• Ruben Gotay
  
• Carlos Delgado
  
• David Wright

Gut-wrenching, isn't it? I'll see you on another occasion, but for now, I implore you to read the italicized text below.

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A Routine Affair

Well, you'd expect a bit more of a take-no-prisoners attitude from a self-dubbed band of pirates, wouldn't you? Instead, this group seemed a little less than swashbuckling. Perhaps the Friendly Manatees would be a good name, unless you're describing their incredibly charming treatment of Lastings Milledge, who might as well be a chest of buried treasure under nonstop pillage.

Pardon my kidding about piracy. I watched a segment on Sean Hannity's vanity program on Fox News Channel, Hannity's America (and the nation really is his, you know), where he explained that piracy was still a huge problem affecting our society. So huge, in fact, that I postponed my yearly sailing voyages to Indonesia and Somalia out of fear.

I'm proud of Glavine's 299th, but he's been absolutely awful since about mid-May this year. I too noticed that stat on SNY showing Glavine's 4 no-decisions in 5 seasons while with the Mets after being staked to 6-run leads, compared to 1 in sixteen seasons with Atlanta. He's been struggling so much lately, it wouldn't be a stretch to compare him to another of the worst pitchers in my Mets memory: himself two seasons ago.

Glavine appears to be out of tricks hidden up his sleeve, as evidenced by his barely quality start tonight: six innings, eight hits, three walks, 113 pitches (47 balls, 66 strikes), and only two strikeouts. He feasts on the naivete of young hitters, and this Pirates lineup is filled with 'em, not to mention the fact that they're second to last in the major leagues in runs scored, third to last in OPS, third to last in total bases, and last in on-base percentage. A real murderer's row they have there.

While the Mets notched a win in a fashion that has become surprisingly routine during this hot streak, with early scoring and Lastings Milledge swaggering his way to victory, Tom Glavine's shoddy showings have become equally numerable. Sorry, Tommy, but maybe you might be better suited going out on a high note. If he has a lead after five innings next start, it might be advisable for him to just run off the field, à la Victor Zambrano. Who knows, maybe the Braves will pick him up.

It might be rather meaningful when analyzing Glavine's season to discuss what transpired this offseason, when the lefty desired to return to Atlanta and instead re-signed with New York after the Bravos were reportedly unwilling to put his name on a check.

Did the Braves have the right idea in opting not to pony up for a starter whose better days are behind him? Only time shall tell, but to my knowledge the Mets are on the hook for next year should Glavine pitch 160 innings. He retains an opt-out clause should that option become guaranteed.

For a pitcher who has lost the mystique and fastball that guided him through his best years with Atlanta, one must only hope for continued strong run support on the offense's part and perhaps better command from Tommy.

A prediction? Moises Alou injured his shoulder while punching Jose Valentin when their paths crossed at the orthopedist's office. Carlos Beltran injured his abdominal muscles while attempting to punch off his own mole (left).

Lastings Milledge looked alright in centerfield tonight, though one certainly does not hope that Anderson and Green will be starting in the corners everyday. Maybe Ben Johnson and his .185 average are worth another look. What's Shane Spencer doing these days? Hey, Eric Valent hit a whopping .209/.284/.256 for the Portland Sea Dogs. I hear he could really use a major league job to lift his spirits.

I know Green had a good night, and that Anderson's looked good since joining the Mets, and Milledge is probably a future star, but can the Mets really do no better than two thirtysomething lefthanded hitters with no defensive range and weak arms against a nasty lefthanded starter? We hear Beltran's day-to-day, but for him that usually means a ten-day absence and a subsequent period of total ineffectiveness.

Seriously, the guy can get back in the lineup after a gut-wrenching collision of faces at high speed in the outfield, but he has a little muscular pain and he's suddenly Jeff Duncan at the plate, if he even bothers to play.

Who taught Beltran how to become an ironman and win the hearts of Mets fans? Carl Everett? Just kidding, Carl. I referenced Sean Hannity in the post, so it's just as though I'm with you on the dinosaur thing.

It was nice to see Damion Easley back in the lineup and even nicer to see a game without any major defensive blunders at second base. I like Gotay a lot, but I can understand how the Royals gave up on him for Jeff Keppinger.

Just a quick note: at the price of Ty Wigginton and prospects Matt Peterson (who spent most of this year at AA for Pittsburgh, despite being at the same level four years ago with the Mets and being way too old for it now, and still hasn't surfaced on the big league roster of an awful team) and Justin Huber (who is hitting .243 for the Royals' AAA affiliate, stuck behind former Met folk hero Craig Brazell and his 25 long balls on the depth chart), the Mets netted Gotay, John Maine, and El Duque. Too bad we had to suffer through a year and a half of Kris and Anna to complete that deal.

Tomorrow's a bright and early start, 12:10 p.m. It's swell for the kids in summer camp, not so much for the unemployed alcoholic set. See you then.

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Off-Day Blues

It is a little disconcerting around here, in Metland. Sure, the team just won an incredible game against the Dodgers, taking three of four against some of the NL's steepest competition, but something just doesn't feel right.

Sure, they put a little distance on the Braves and Phillies in the process, but something just doesn't feel right. Some of the most moribund components of the Mets' offensive attack were revived, call it the HoJo Effect, but something just isn't right about this team.

Maybe it's the fact that Chip Ambres, Sandy Alomar, Jr. and Anderson Hernandez are on this team with a week and change until the trading deadline and no hope on the horizon. Maybe it's that the Mets are likely going to rely on an increasingly out-of-gas Glavine, a noble but still injured Sosa, an injury-prone Duque, and youngsters Maine and Perez to shepherd this starting rotation through the season. The rotation is (allegedly) a key strength.

It could be the bullpen's struggles, which have resumed to haunt it after an incredible stretch prior to this road trip. Willie has two relievers who are to be counted upon in close games, and they're both lefties. Joe Smith isn't showing any of that magic we grew to love earlier this season, Aaron Heilman is liable to blow the game at any turn, Guillermo Mota still has a 5.53 ERA, and Aaron Sele, while not exactly disappointing, has made us lust for the 2006 Darren Oliver.

Thankfully, the Mets are outperforming their Pythagorean record by three games. Coincidentally, perhaps, the Mets narrowly retain a lead of three and a half against Atlanta, inexplicably swept by Cincinnati earlier this week, despite almost identical Pythagorean records.

I can't help but worry about this team, whether or not Pythagoras intended for that. You can still look at the lineup and find non-contributors in Shawn Green and whoever is slumping with him. Recently, we have seen Jose Reyes in near-freefall, Paul Lo Duca redefining useless, and the now-injured Jose Valentin showing nothing near last year's performance.

This all makes us wonder: how on earth did this year's club, with ostensibly similar roster construction, manage to underperform so much compared to the magic of 2006? Was it really the departure of Chad Bradford? Was it Cliff Floyd? Eli Marerro? X-Man? Sancho?

It's hard to say, but the Mets this week will attempt to embark on a new phase of the season. Moises Alou has parted the Atlantic and returned to action, as he is slated to join the Mets tomorrow. It's reasonable to assume there shall be platoons abounding in the corner outfield positions, with Firstings supplanting Green and Marlon Anderson spelling the fragile Moises.

When Damion Easley, who receives the deepest condolences from this space, returns sometime this week or next, he, Anderson, and Ruben Gotay will form a triumverate at second base with Jose Valentin absent for the forseeable future.

The pitching staff will remain relatively unchanged this week, but the Mets are undoubtedly looking to acquire relief pitching at the deadline, and the farm system is quite deep. Perhaps the Mets will pick up the righty setup man of their dreams. And speaking of righty setup men, Duaner Sanchez is a candidate to make an appearance sometime next month, according to his agent, Bean Stringfellow, seemingly a Monty Python character. Have we forgotten Pedro, too, the key rotation cog from last year's club who has been nothing more than an urban legend in 2007?

Relish the future for the Mets. The adversity is slowing, but with seven at home prior to the deadline against the Pirates and Nationals, is a clean sweep too much to ask for? I think not.

------------------

A few quick notes:

• I'm not sure if I have expounded on ESPN's organized takedown of the National Hockey League in this space, but others certainly have. I think that blog has someone reading my mind.
  
  Anyhow, isn't it odd that ESPN's golden boy, David Beckham, who received hours upon hours of his own programming on the Worldwide Leader despite minimal playing time in his first contest, referred in his inaugural press conference to "the three big sports in America?"
  
  Perhaps you should consider sharing some of your time with hockey while savoring the fixing of games by an NBA ref, the seizure of a hallowed record by a misanthropic felon drug abuser in baseball, and the ritualistic electrocution of dogs raised to fight by an NFL superstar.

• I am slightly ashamed to admit that various Harry Potter 7-related experiences kept me from posting this weekend (read: consuming the entire book in a day, and then suffering the requisite headaches), but I would love the opportunity to discuss my displeasure with the series' ending, which I will not reveal in this space. As always, I can be reached by email or in the comments section.

• If the weather would deign itself to cooperate, I will be attending Thursday's Mets-Pirates contest. I will be the one unendingly whooping and cheering for Xavier Nady. Regrettably, it seems like there are few fan clubs I can join to channel this adoration of the X-Man. Oh, well.

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A Wild Ride

Well, after that first inning, I made an immediate move to clear my schedule for Wednesday night's game against the Pirates: Tom Glavine would be gunning for 300 wins. Eh, not so much.

I'm not sure that I have all that much complaining to do about tonight's game, after Ramon Castro got the start and proved why he should be an everyday player, after the slumping Beltran and the suddenly resurgent Delgado contributed jacks to the effort, and after Aaron Sele "Posturepedic" (No, Berman, you can't have that one!) managed somehow to contain a club that blew away a great on the cusp of 300.

I guess I now have to agree with the so-called baseball traditionalists who whine about pitchers not going deep into games anymore: tonight's two starters, Derek Lowe and Tom Glavine, have 12 All-Star appearances, 2 Cy Young Awards, and one no-hitter between them, and they combined to throw five innings. Five innings between them! It would have been a short start for just one of them, although perhaps a marathon effort for Greg Maddux.

Apparently Marlon Anderson is back on this team. Fair enough. He looked decent in left field, making a nice sliding catch in the ninth when Guillermo Mota was somehow struggling to hang on to a big lead. Perhaps he could give Shawn Green some pointers, who continued to look marginal at best out there, despite a laser rocket arm-type throw to nail our good friend Jeff Kent at third base.

On an aside, did anyone watch that game and not have to vomit in between innings. I'm not exactly a master cinematographer, but what was going on with the SNY crew? They seemed to miss shots, pan to the wrong parts of the field, and just generally provide a weak showing. Perhaps Billy Walsh is available to take over for Bill Webb.

Also re: SNY, has anyone noticed that the score bar keeps changing. Tonight's FSN-type graphic was the third different one employed by the Mets this season on SNY alone. If I had my way, there would be a separate channel just showing a live feed of the scoreboard at the ballpark. Saves the problem of digital snafus, and, at home, you can catch the "Professor Reyes" segments if the Mets are getting pounded.

Anyway, I guess, what with the game being in LA and all, there are celebrities present, some of whom are adorned with Mets paraphernalia. Note two-time Best Actress Oscar winner Hilary Swank on your left. However, Hilary probably has some other types of paraphernalia lying around her house, courtesy of ex-hubby Chad Lowe, if you believe her side of the story regarding her recent divorce.

All in all, I'm not sure if there is any way to describe this game besides surreal. There were some encouraging signs, but the performance from Tom Glavine made it appear as though he has very little in the tank. He was nasty against Cincy last week, to be sure, but Glavine's low strike percentage obviously has contributed to this season, where he has witnessed some of the worst outings of his career. 300 is nice, when it happens, but we need Glavine to be Glavine again. Perhaps getting the milestone monkey off his back will help.

First pitch is at 10:40 p.m. tomorrow, Ollie vs. Brett Tomko. If tonight's matchup was any indication of these games' potential length, you might want to go with the double espresso.

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Some Grades

Perhaps it has become clichéd to award somewhat arbitrary marks to members of this club at midseason, but just because something has been done far too often and by those more capable than myself doesn't mean that I won't make a futile attempt at it. I have reels and reels of film of my attempts to remake Air Bud with a duck. Unfortunately, YouTube's policy against explicit content makes it impossible to host them on the net.

Anyway, onward and upward:

YOUR STARTERS

C Paul Lo Duca: C

• This just in: the Duck has refused to discuss this grade with anyone who has ever set foot in New York State. Perhaps he had his money on a solid B. While he had an incredibly hot month of May, the Duck has slowed down somewhat and appears to be just your average catcher, though he's not hitting for any power. His .274/.321/.372 line is a disappointment compared to last year's, and he appears to have entered the same downward spiral that besets any 35 year-old catcher. His ten doubles to this point show a decrease from last year's 39, as we are more than halfway through the season. He won't be back next year, despite the slim pickings on the free agent market. Boy, I really do miss Jesus Flores.

1B Carlos Delgado: F+

• Carlos, I'm awfully sorry about this. You seem like a pretty nice guy, so I might otherwise be inclined to give you a semi-positive mark. But you have to get on base more often than your dreadful .305 OBP clip. Your career average is .386. Your slugging percentage is equally bad, compared to your previous numbers: a .435, compared to last year's .548 and your career .551. The doubles numbers are nice, but for someone who also lumbers around in the field at a position where offense is required, we might ask for a hint more. Thankfully, we have a nice capable backup in Julio Franco who can slide into the lineup in the second half. Groan.

2B Jose Valentin: D-

• We were all pretty impressed with what Valentin did last year, replacing the ineffective Kaz Matsui/Anderson Hernandez duo at second base when we had given him up for dead after his atrocious pinch-hitting. He hit for solid power, played very well defensively, and hit for an average better than his career clip. Perhaps the real JoVal caught up with him in the playoffs, as the pixie dust emanating from his magic mustache ran out when he failed to drive in anyone in Game 7. This season, Valentin hasn't done much of anything for anyone, playing defense with zero-range courtesy of a knee brace. He sustained something of a freak injury earlier this year, and we all would have understood if he had bowed out and retired or taken time to get surgery. Instead, he came back and displaced Damion Easley, the only Met hitting for much power in April/May, and has posted this season a wretched .243/.297/.388 in 164 plate appearances. Other scribes have mentioned the fact that Valentin has an option for next year which vests at 400 PA, possibly forcing Willie's hand. Whether Valentin is being selfish or courageous, we can glean that he is a far cry from the player that surprised us all last year.

3B David Wright: B+

• The Great Wright Hope has turned his season around after a powerless April where we quickly placed blame on the Home Run Derby and worried about that massive contract extension on the Mets' books. Although he may not be exactly where he was last year (SLG down from .531 in '06 to .506 in '07), he has been walking more and stealing more bases alongside improving defense and resurgent home run power. In the end, his numbers will be right around where they were last year, and, after all, he's just 24.

SS Jose Reyes: A-

• Regardless of whatever idiots like John Kruk might say, Reyes is the best shortstop in the National League, which is high praise given competition like Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins, Edgar Renteria, and J.J. Hardy. Ramirez might be superior offensively to Reyes, whose power is down from last year, but Jose has nearly everyone in baseball beat with his glove and his arm. Despite the aforementioned drop in power (after all, he hit 19 homers last season), Reyes' OPS+ is up, thanks to an incredible increase in walks. That is partially due to the fact that teams now intentionally walk Reyes often, but he is no longer the free-swinging player whose most valuable aspect was "excitement" or something. The recent situation with Willie appears to have blown over, and Reyes appears to be firmly entrenched on that depth chart. I might add that Reyes is still extremely young, and that, with time, perhaps he can homer, steal, walk, triple, and field with total proficiency, all in the same season.

RF Shawn Green: C-

• It's been something of a peculiar season for Green, who seems to be the least noticeable member of this team. He is quiet, rather average offensively, and often batting towards the bottom of the lineup. Maybe, though, quiet refers best to his bat since returning from the disabled list in early June. Green has hit barely above the Mendoza Line in that span, and save for a few notable games, hasn't anything power-related to his credit. His defense has been barely average, courtesy of a noodle arm and no range. Granted, the Mets didn't expect him to be a forty-homer player like he was in Los Angeles and Toronto, but a little bit more might be expected for the salary unloaded on him. Is it excessively optimistic for me to see a Gomez/Beltran/Milledge outfield next year? Maybe, but Green will be a platoon player elsewhere when he departs the Mets after this season.

CF Carlos Beltran: C+

• I like Beltran as a player, and what he did last year was amazing. The 2007 Beltran, though, has contained quite a bit more of the 2005 Beltran than we might have liked. All of his stats are down compared to '07, as we might have expected, but a 48-point decrease in OBP (.388 to .340) stinks. Perhaps that is especially evocative of his struggles as a hitter, since one who isn't seeing the ball well is probably going to walk less and hit less. With Beltran, though, one has to wonder why he seems to be dogged by some nagging injury each and every year. And unlike other players, who manage some sort of offensive effectiveness despite an injury, Beltran seems to lose it all when he wakes up with a little tweak in his quad. That being said, he has shown some signs of resuming production of late. But how many seasons of average baseball are we going to wind up with over the life of this contract due to a little pulled hamstring, strained quad, or whatever it may be? He's making an AAV of $17 million, and one would hope that he'd be outproducing Curtis Granderson. Not so much.

LF Moises Alou: INCOMPLETE

• It's tough to give any other grade to Moises, who has missed since forever with an injury that didn't initially appear to be all that severe. He was a constant for April and about half of May, but Endy Chavez (another injury case) and Carlos Gomez (ditto) have amassed almost identical numbers of plate appearances as Alou. We all knew that Moises would miss some time with injuries, but nobody apprised me of his insatiable desire to hang out at home during the baseball season. While he was on the field, he produced a decent .318/.374/.445 line that was somewhat short on the power. He also hit into a ton of double plays, for whatever that's worth. It would be nice to have him back healthy, but wherever Moises goes, he has to be followed by a capable sub. Count on a retirement or a minor-league deal with another club in 2008.

=====================

pitchers/bench tomorrow!

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Trouble in Paradise?

Scratch everything I wrote last night, I think.

Tonight's Mets were entirely different, despite an ostensibly similar lineup on the field. What, you may ask, was the cause for that?

Well, first of all, "Magic" Wandy pitched like a sprig of holly with a core of phoenix feather, purchased at Ollivander's. [ED NOTE: Does a Harry Potter reference, albeit an obscure one, qualify as a new low for this space? Yes, yes it does.]

[ED NOTE: I write and edit (and read, while sobbing uncontrollably) these posts all by myself; I had hoped you, the reader, would enjoy this interplay in my tormented mind. Perhaps not. I'll return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.]

The Mets have been shut out three times this year. The first was at home, at the hands of Barry Zito, who undoubtedly wanted to prove to Mets management what they were missing when they passed on his ridiculous price tag. Another came against Johan Santana, whose agents are reportedly looking for $25 million per season over a long-term deal when he enters free agency after the 2008 season.

Each of those pitchers has at least one Cy Young award and a winning percentage above .600 for their career (Santana's is above .700). They're extremely well-regarded among their contemporaries.

Enter Wandy Rodriguez, of the 24-27 career record with a 5.23 ERA to boot, who dazzled against the Metsies in a near-surreal evening. Rodriguez only allowed four hits over the complete game, putting to shame another improved effort from youngster Mike Pelfrey, who regrettably drops to 0-7.

The Mets' shutout, though, was their third against a lefthanded pitcher. As Marty Noble notes at MLB.com's wrapup of the game, the Mets haven't been hitting lefties like they used to since Xavier Nady's departure, and, I might add, since Moises Alou hit the DL.

But regarding that Nady trade, you might have read similar sentiments in this space last August and again later that month. I really liked Nady as a hitter, though his defense in right was questionable at best. The X-Man, who has a .292/.343/.509 line in the City of Brotherly Steel this season, would have fit in very well on this team, though it would have meant no Oliver Perez. Take your pick.

The Mets stunk against lefties last year, and were routinely mastered by luminaries like Hong-Chih Kuo and Eric Stults. This year, the Mets have fared better OPS-wise against lefties than against righties, but a recent swoon versus southpaws and these three shutouts might argue otherwise.

Being shut out by Wandy Rodriguez wasn't the biggest problem, tonight, as the Mets are awfully depleted without Duck and Alou and with Green and Delgado essentially useless on most evenings. You might have hoped for David Wright to do something, as well, but home plate umpire Larry Vanover called the game as would a man with one hell of a dinner reservation.

The big question for tonight was Jose Reyes. Over the years, Reyes has brought enthusiasm to the team and has been something of an outgoing and charismatic individual. Remember in 2005 when he would dance with Doug Mientkiewicz? Poor Jose.

But he didn't seem to care much tonight. With the Mets down by four in the eighth, Reyes hit a ball down the third base line, which had all the traits of a ball that wasn't going to stay fair. He jogged a little, but was blind-sided when Mike Lamb picked up the ball and nearly ran it all the way to Lance Berkman at first base.

Reyes didn't run. For a player who makes a living on having legs in constant motion, the shortstop didn't plan on straying too far from home plate tonight.

So what? We've seen times where Beltran hasn't run, even times when the infallible Julio Franco (who must have incriminating pictures of Omar Minaya) hasn't. And what? Nothing usually comes of them, though sometimes the lazy are lampooned in the press.

When Mets infielders spend time with sunglasses upside down atop the bills of their caps, nothing comes of it. It's vanity, not baseball. Occasionally, they'll lose a ball in the sky, but at least they look really bad-ass doing it.

But Reyes apparently didn't explain that he didn't want to be caught hustling to Willie Randolph, who pulled the sparkplug from the game in favor of Ruben Gotay, who is probably best described as that revenge hookup for Willie Randolph. He's obviously not a better shortstop than Jose Reyes, but it made the All-Star seethe in the dugout.

Jealous of Ruben Gotay's playing time? Who are you, Esteban German?

Only time (and, perhaps, tomorrow's lineups) will tell whether a conflict has truly developed between Reyes and the skipper. The two hardly embraced after David Wright was caught trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt to end the game.

The team has, in recent days, shown something of an aloofness on the field, with the exception of Paul Lo Duca and his "Die Hard and Like It" at bat against Colorado. One hopes Reyes, who has looked a little unfocused in the field of late, will be able to set a positive example for other players with a newfound hustle and love for the game in these last two contests before the break.

If not? Perhaps Reyes becomes more like Rafael Furcal. I don't want to go there.

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Tidbits:

-I'm trying to develop a coherent way to phrase my thoughts and feelings about Dodgers GM Ned Colletti. Admittedly, it's something of a non sequitur, but he has done atrocious things with the personnel in LA and has won only on account of the talent developed by ex-GM Paul DePodesta and farm director Logan White. That post ought to be up sometime next week.

-As I write this, the Braves have defeated the Padres and the Phillies and Rockies are engaged in an extra-inning duel. Ground, unfortunately, must be gained by someone.

-I won't voice my thoughts on global warming (or Al Gore) in this space, but I'm pretty excited about Live Earth tomorrow, mostly because I get to see a few of my faves on stage, all the while blacking out the drivel emerging from their mouths. With hours upon hours of music, you might want to borrow some amphetamines from your good friend Tigers SS Neifi Perez. With a 25-game suspension, he probably won't be needing them anymore. [ED NOTE: Way to go! You could have very easily made a reference to Hermione Granger's time-turner from the Harry Potter series that allowed her to take all those classes. You really have made it in this biz!]

In addition, remind me to make this blog carbon-neutral by December.

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Straightened Out

Well, not really. I'd like to think the sorry excuse for baseball performed by your Metropolitans has ended, as of 10:54 PM EDT on this Thursday, but tonight didn't really show everything you'd like to see from the Mets.

However, John "Snubbed with a Vengeance" Maine took it to Houston tonight, showing his nastiest stuff as the Mets defeated the 'Stros 5-2, with the unlikely ace notching a career-high nine strikeouts and only two runs allowed in seven and two thirds sparkling innings of work.

He didn't really have much to straighten out, as he took no part in the Mets' four-game skid, and won resoundingly in his last start.

But Carlos Delgado did. Ramon Castro needed to step up, with Paul lo Duca finally dropping his appeal after the promotion of Sandy Alomar, Jr. to the big club. The pair combined for a whopping seven hits, including two doubles and three RBI.

The Mets made their imprint on that ridiculous malignant tumor in the centerfield of Enron Field (I assume you know the story of that ballpark's checkered past), and pounded nemesis Jason Jennings.

You might have hoped for something more from Joe Smith, who is no longer wondrous and closer to ponderous, or maybe for something more from Carlos Beltran, who was rather ghastly up until a ninth-inning home run into the short porch. I was expecting something more from Mr. Wright, and perhaps a little something more in the field from Mr. Green, but we have tomorrow for that.

In other news, the Carlos Gomez era has been put on hiatus for six to eight weeks, and it's now safe to wear your NEWHAN 17 jerseys back to the ballpark, for the utility man who embraced the Mendoza line has replaced our dearly departed speed demon.

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