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Series Two in the books

They didn’t manage to put the Phillies away, but sometimes you’re 4th/5th starter isn’t going to be great, and the bullpen isn’t always going to be spotless. They came back immediately after Utley’s three run home run (And more people need to pitch this guy inside and hit him) to tie the game, which was nice.

They’ve been playing better now, and while a week ago people were prematurely screaming about how bad this team is, suddenly they don’t look so bad. They got five games in a row, which is something they struggled to do last year, and it means that everyone in the rotation was able to keep them in the game. The bullpen has been much better than expected, the only concern I have is that it’s kind of being overworked. But so far it’s got a depth that was it’s biggest weakness last year. If they can keep Schoeneweis and Sosa well rested, I think they’ll be able to squeeze a little bit of consistency out of them, which would be nice.

So what if the Phillies didn’t have Jimmy Rollins? We didn’t have Pedro. Or Alou. Or El Duque. The injury card isn’t valid, we beat the best they could throw at us.

The Mets recalled some of 2006 with a nice streak of scoring in the first inning. This fits well with their style of aggressiveness and putting pressure on the opposition, and it has a lot to do with Reyes getting on base. Now that we’re a couple of weeks in, it’s time to settle in and see how they do over a long period of time, let the slow starters catch up and the guys that are going to be carrying the team continue to step up and produce.

On a side note, I wish I had gotten to go down to Philly with the Metsblog crowd among all the others who made the trip, but I did get to visit Cooperstown for the first time this week.

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It’s coming, can you feel it?

It’s Coming, Can You Feel It?

Okay, there is a lot of bad to talk about lately. I acknowledge that, but you all know the bad stuff, and this is an optimist blog, so we’re going to gloss over it.

It sure was nice seeing the Mets score all those runs in the aviary this weekend. Delgado and Beltran have been having some problems, but David Wright is looking fine. Shawn Green will be back tonight, and I think that will plug up the lineup enough to make a difference for a bit. It looks like Carlos Gomez is going to stick around for a while, and he might blossom and start learning to hit.

With the draft ofter, and the season ticking away towards the midway point, the trade market will start heating up. I expect Omar’s out there looking to help this team. Think of where we’d be without the mid-season acquisitions last year of Orlando Hernandez and Oliver Perez. This year I think Minaya will be bring in some bullpen help. There are a lot of teams in the market for this very thing, but maybe the Mets have what they need to get someone here.

Mostly thought the Mets need to play better as a team. Guys have played well for stretches here and there, but not all together. No crazy streaks of first inning runs, or nine of ten victories marauding across the country. Part of that could be the struggles with injuries the lineup has had over the last couple of weeks. As I type this now, the Mets already have two runs in the first inning in LA. Both hits, by Shawn Green and David Wright, were hits with runners in scoring position. It’s too early in the game to see if they’re going to start breaking out of their doldrums yet, but it’s a start. I’m not opposed to Shawn Green hitting second, I, and probably Reyes, have missed having someone solid hitting there. I also like that Delgado and Wright were flip-flopped in the line-up. With Moises Alou the only regular now out, the Mets offense can again be declared ‘healthy’.

The Mets have almost looked flat in many of their games recently, and they certainly don’t look flat tonight. They’ve come out swinging in Dodger Stadium; another one of those places, like Arizona and Miami, where they’re putting together good numbers.

The Mets are full of danger, and they’re still waiting for the spark to set them ablaze. When that finally happens, and I have no doubt that it will happen, it’s going to be fun.