Baywatch is on !!!"
First off I would like to wish the staff of this fine blog as well as all of the readers who follow us a Happy Easter and Happy Passover.
What a difference three games make. On Wednesday most Mets fans ( myself included) along with most of the national and local sports media were about to start shoveling the first clumps of dirt on the Mets ’11 season. Well since the return of Jason Bay most people have had to begrudgingly stop the eulogies and stood up to take notice because for the moment at least this supposed corpse still has a pulse.
I have been saying since the second week of the season that this team has been playing short handed in Bay’s absence. It was obvious that his presence in the Mets line up was hindering the Mets batters from seeing better pitches. Since his return the offense has been a run scoring juggernaut when it comes to there being two outs and runners in scoring position. During yesterday’s game, Bay hit a homer run that I could only take as a veiled threat to the rest of the National League teams. that statement is ” Pitch me inside, pitch to me outside , I don’t care because I am going to feast on your pitchers !! ” I know that a three game winning streak does not mean this team is totally out of the mire, but this team seems to be full of life, and a air of positivity seems to be creeping back into the attitudes of the players. Mike Pelfrey who although didn’t look great in my opinion, still shutdown the Diamondbacks offense for several innings. Dillion Gee is still showing that you don’t have to possess a 95 plus mph fastball to be a good major league pitcher, and even though he is still shaky in the field, Daniel Murphy is showing that he is more than capable at second base.
I maintain that this team will be a .500 or better team this season, and who knows if Johan comes back and is anywhere close to last years form- well I feel that the Wild Card is definitely not out of the question !!
And with that said….. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!
Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today include :
One of the most underrated pitchers in Mets history, Pat Zachry is 59 (1952) . Lets face it, Pat had big shoes to fill when he came to the Mets on the heels of the ” Midnight Massacre”. He pitched rather well when he was healthy, but the fans never fully warmed up to him because no one at that time could replace Tom Seaver.
The man who a vocal minority of Mets fans love to hate, outfielder Carlos Beltran is 34 (1977). I hope Carlos keeps up his clutch hitting, it’s great to see his detractors squirm !!!
Sadly on this date in 1992, utility infielder from the ’63 Mets team – Elio Chacon passed away.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays claimed middle reliever, Brian Rose of the New York Mets on waivers on April 24, 2001.
Mo Vaughn will be eating his weight in roast pork, jelly beans and Cadbury eggs today. Trust me folks it won’t be a pretty sight !!!
4 comments
njstuckintx
4/24/2011-11:52am at 11:52 am (UTC -4)
I think we’re seeing the Bay that Omar overpaid for. Should see some slight regression (hopefully not), but having him in the lineup certainly balances it out. Who knows, he could add a lot to the team, or even just upping his trade value… Both options would be a positive.
As a self proclaimed Murphy-ite, I like seeing the lineup with him in the 2 spot, but I’ve wondered if moving him to the 2 spot would help him any. Reyes / Wright / Beltran / Ike / Bay / Pagan (when he comes back) / Murphy / Thole / Pitcher… Anyway, that and a buck won’t even buy you a cup o’ joe these days.
ajgmets
4/24/2011-1:37pm at 1:37 pm (UTC -4)
As a fantasy baseball partaker.. I left Bay on the bench in one of my leagues yesterday..SOB.. I look forward to Murphy getting a genuine opportunity to play and that means everyday, at least while he’s not showing signs of hurting the team defensively..I am pretty sure the current Mets state of excitement will wane quickly but my hope is that the everyday line up will remain constant and develop some consistency..
My “Bay” Watch .http://bit.ly/hVKjP2 &
http://bit.ly/gRChmD
Happy Easter
metsfan4decades
4/24/2011-12:42pm at 12:42 pm (UTC -4)
Love the optimism.
I stated before the season started that I believe they’ll win more than last year and I’ll stand by that. Might only be 1 more game, but they’ll do it.
I have no idea if Bay is the reason for the 3 game win streak. I suspect he’s part of it but I also believe it’s the SP going deep, thereby proper use of the BP. And that’s a BP with the adjustments since opening day is looking better as well.
metsfan4decades
4/24/2011-12:57pm at 12:57 pm (UTC -4)
On another note, I’ve been enjoying MLB.tetwork’s 20 greatest games (in the last 50 years) series they’ve been doing for the 4 months or so. They air one a week, counting down from 20 and they announce what game it is until the 1st airing.
I believe they’ll be airing a new one tonight (#4). I’m just catching what might be the last airing of #5. It’s Game 6 Mets/Astros in the NLCS. Darryl, Orosco and Knepper are the guests discussing the game. Good stuff.
I know Game 6 of the ’86 WS was one of the games fans voted for top 20. They haven’t shown it yet. Wonder if it will be one of the remaining 4?