Author’s Note: Thanks go to Mr. North Jersey for his graciously using his talents to create the graphic that will introduce this weekly piece.
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The Week That Was: The week started out looking very much like more of the same. Tuesday saw a much better start from Jon Niese, but more anemic offense, bad bullpen pitching, four hits and two errors in another anemic loss, 6-1 to the Astros.
Wednesday night was a loss which was one of those “only the Mets” nights. In retrospect, should the season turn out to be a success, this game might be looked back on as a turning point: the true low, from which they immediately rebounded, won four straight, and never looked back. OK, the “never looked back” part is writer’s embellishment at this point, but what the hell!
The Mets rallied back from a 3-0 deficit with big hits from Beltran and Murphy (who had three hits and turned two nice DPs). Dickey did not have his best stuff, but battled, finishing eight after allowing Hunter Pence to hit the go-ahead solo HR. In the bottom of the frame, Pagan was on third and aggressively raced home when a ball rolled away from the catcher—but, alas, not far enough away. He was tagged out. The evening become surreal when Reyes led off the ninth with a single, and when Thole’s weak sacrifice bunt attempt was caught, Jose was doubled off of first. After the game, Dickey appeared distraught, and made the classic comment about the team needing to stop saying they were better than this, as “maybe we’re not.”
The team quickly turned things around the next night, with Capuano throwing an excellent seven innings, and the offense breaking out for nine runs and six extra base hits. Thursday saw another well-pitched game, with number one Mike Pelfrey throwing his first good game of the year, Ike continuing to be The Man, and the team seeing an eighth/ninth inning bullpen combo of Isringhausen and Krod that would have truly been something six or seven years ago—and might yet turn out to be in 2011.
Saturday saw the team jump out early, with another Ike HR, and Izzy and KRod striking out five to close out the last two innings. The team really broke out on Sunday, with eight runs (and seven walks!) and another well-pitched game, this time a sorely-needed one from Niese.
The team went into the day off Monday having won four in a row, with the fans re-energized and the players surely feeling much better about themselves before heading out for a difficult six-game week on the road.
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The Return of Jason Bay: Bay came out hitting like he was still in a Boston uniform. Five H, including two 2B and a HR, two BB, and great hustle as he circled the bases on a blown pop-up by Hunter Pence Wednesday. Bay showed power, and his return was certainly a welcome sight, but he also struck out seven times in his first seventeen plate appearances; hopefully this will not continue. Bay’s return vividly illustrated how one player’s presence can cascade through the offense; in addition to the team’s overall performance, Ike and Wright had a great four-game stretch with Bay in the lineup.
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The Times They Keep A-Changin’: Alderson continues to give the players reason to stay on their toes and the fans reason to believe he is serious with another personnel move: the demotion of the ineffective Carrasco. Gee will stay on the team, presumably as long as he continues to show poise and results. The reported team consideration of moving Niese to the pen also shows that there will be none of the inertia shown in recent years by previous management; Alderson will not hesitate to make moves, even if it means sending a relatively high-paid veteran like Carrasco down. This should warm the heart of even the most negative of fans; Sandy is indeed not only playing for the future-he clearly wants this team to succeed now as well.
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Met Injury News: The return of Chris Young, expected tomorrow in DC, is another welcome sign. Young looked great in his two starts, and his keeping this up will be key to continuing the resurgence.
Would it be a Met week without DL action? Pagan left the game early Wednesday with a muscle issue, and was put on the DL; hence, the Mets managed a whopping five innings with their intended 2011 outfield playing together.
Parnell remains on the DL, but with the way he was pitching, this may have forestalled a trip to Buffalo.
Ronny Paulino is expect to return this week. He has a career .881 OPS against lefty pitchers, and his playing at this level could seriously improve Met backstop production. Thole remains a player with much potential, but he is either in a terrible slump or the league has begun to solve him offensively. Let us hope it is the former, as the offense Thole has often shown before the recent swoon, combined with Paulino in a straight platoon, could be a serious shot in the arm for this team.
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The Week to Come – Let’s Be Optimistic, But Cautiously So: Yes, after the 5-13 start, a four-game winning streak sure feels good. But still, the team managed to salvage just the last game of the series with the Astros, then swept a Diamondback team which looks terrible overall; the pitching appeared truly atrocious. The Mets clearly performed better at all aspects of the game over the weekend, but the opposition gets much more difficult this week-first they face the somewhat surprisingly 10-10 Nats, then it is on to Philadelphia, where Blanton, Halladay, and Lee most likely await.
Should the Mets repeat this week’s 4-2 record going into the day off before a very tough nine-games-in-nine-days stretch (SF, LAD, COL) begins, the team will be able to feel great about itself. Let us hope that’s what we are discussing in one week!
18 comments
metsfan4decades
4/25/2011-10:27pm at 10:27 pm (UTC -4)
Love this new weekly series, Kingman.
I might be a fool but I don’t believe this current 4 game win streak is solely the result of playing the D’Backs. Let’s face it, the Astros aren’t much better than the D’Backs and we only salvaged one game from that series.
I’m cautiously optimistic there’s something else at work here.
- Maybe it was Dickey’s comments about taking an honest look in the mirror.
- Maybe it was Bay’s return to the lineup, or Beltran playing both ends of a double header and all subsequent games since then.
- Or how about the team getting the not so subtle message Anderson is putting out there that if you’re not performing anywhere near par, you might be ‘outta here’.
Could be a combination of all the above and then some that has the tide turning.
Whatever the reason, I believe we’ll see a level of play more in line with the talent on the team that we’ve been watching since the season started.
I have no idea what the pitching matchups will be for this upcoming road trip. It’s all going to come down to pitching because I think we can score some runs with most of the regulars in there.
Let’s just keep right on rolling with those Wins, boys.
stickguy
4/25/2011-10:40pm at 10:40 pm (UTC -4)
it often comes down to little things. Beltran and bay playing mean that Harris and Hairston aren’t. The SP finally seems to be settling in after a rough start, and having them average 7ip for a run through the rotation means the pen (especially the weak links) don’t get as much use or exposure.
I also stand by the idea that they were just totally out of sync/in a slump/something strange for that 10 days or so. Every team will have stretches like that during a season, it just becomes more obvious when it is early in the year (and of course, the fans are so worried about a quick start!)
so IMO they were not as bad as they looked in that stretch. Just like the red Sox weren’t a sub-.200 team.
metsfan4decades
4/25/2011-10:43pm at 10:43 pm (UTC -4)
Wait a minute…I just figured out what the catalyst was. It WAS Dickey;
The specter of doom pervaded the Mets’ clubhouse on Friday, but not for the reasons you might think. R. A. Dickey brought a full Darth Vader costume to Citi Field, complete with helmet and voice modulator, and he wore it around the locker room, startling teammates and attendants.
So says the NY Times in it’s post titled:
Refusing to Surrender to the Dark Side
kingman 26
4/25/2011-10:45pm at 10:45 pm (UTC -4)
Thanks MF4D!!
I agree with all of this from you both:
- Maybe it was Dickey’s comments about taking an honest look in the mirror.
- Maybe it was Bay’s return to the lineup, or Beltran playing both ends of a double header and all subsequent games since then.
- Or how about the team getting the not so subtle message Anderson is putting out there that if you’re not performing anywhere near par, you might be ‘outta here’.
- Beltran and Bay playing mean that Harris and Hairston aren’t.
Regardless of what the week ahead shows, change is happening, players are being told in no uncertain terms that if you don’t produce we will try something new, and we keep seeing new faces.
I love all of this.
And if we sweep the Phils, I GUARANTEE I will be as happy as you two!
stickguy
4/25/2011-10:51pm at 10:51 pm (UTC -4)
Not sure how you will take this, but I thought of you before. My daughter wants me to take her to a game down here (philly) and was asking when the Mets were in (figuring that I was more likely to want to go to that game!)
Problem is, she wants to go so she can get a phillies hat. And not a plan red one, a spiffy design one, so she has something to wear in the summer (and not a Met hat, because people down here won’t know what that is!)
side benefit to her is probably that it will really steam her older brother’s clams!
kingman 26
4/25/2011-10:57pm at 10:57 pm (UTC -4)
HAHA!!
I am always honored if you think of me.
Trust me, I wish they were in last as much as you; I guess for me, my reaction manifests itself in jealousy at all they have done right in the last five years and all we have done wrong.
And when I went to a game in 2007, Utley signed a ton of autographs for Met fans, and Rollins smiled and joked with Met fans, even when they were razzing him. I think these incidents have a lot to do with my attitude towards them. That day, I had to really like Rollins—he was all smiles with the fans at Shea who were screaming at him all day and he won over dozens of people in the 3rd base boxes. He came off as a serious class act, painful as that was, as did Utley. And the little bastard hit a 2-run riple out of Beltran’s reach to win the game.
metsfan4decades
4/25/2011-11:22pm at 11:22 pm (UTC -4)
I don’t know much about Utley as from what I understand, he tends to try and fly under the radar and doesn’t talk to the media much. Or maybe the media doesn’t bother with him much – not sure.
But Rollins? It’s funny how one or two incidents can shape the way we think about a player. I cannot stand Rollins. From his post WS quotes, to his WBC quote of ‘I just want to stop down on their (mets) necks, to being too good to take the team bus to Shea, driving his own car, arriving late and being benched as a result, and a few other unflattering articles and quotes.
I have no idea what his real character is but to me, he just comes off as well…one of those players I love to hate.
stickguy
4/26/2011-8:47am at 8:47 am (UTC -4)
Utley has the reputation down here of being the single most boring person in the world. Never expresses emotion, one word answers to the media, never says anything vaguely interesting. For the most part, the press just does not even bother with him.
Though to make Kingman happy, he also has the reputation of playing until a body part falls off.
Rollins likes to hear himself talk though, that is for sure.
kingman 26
4/26/2011-8:55am at 8:55 am (UTC -4)
Don’t disagree with any of that; and I do remember what Utley said the one time he DID go before a microphone at the Phils’ WS celebration! Remember?
Maybe I should have told my 2007 Met-Phillie game at Shea story earlier—I swear, if you saw those two interacting with Met fans that day, you would feel differently about them.
Rollins came across as a real person, a good person, a respectful person, and they both came across as people who respected the fans, appreciated the fans, and realized how lucky they are to do what they do for a living.
This was before Collapse 1, and Met fans kept yelling at Rollins to get his golf clubs ready for the day after the regular season ended, and he was visibly smiling at some of the remarks (we were right behind the visitors dugout). And after the 2-run triple, he smiled so broadly at the fans, but in such a good-natured way. You had to like him that day.
stickguy
4/26/2011-8:57am at 8:57 am (UTC -4)
no, they are phillies. I would still hate them for that.
Ceetar
4/26/2011-8:56am at 8:56 am (UTC -4)
So he’s like Jeter than, completely boring, without the steroids and the undercutting his MVP-caliber teammates?
stickguy
4/26/2011-9:00am at 9:00 am (UTC -4)
yes, something like that, just without the massive ego, the smirk, or the prima donna-ness.
Speaking of Jeter, man what a bad contract that is looking like (on the field, ignoring the “icon” aspects of him). Did not realize but he had a snazzy, Castillo-like .701 OPS last year, and so far this year is cruising along in the low .600 range. And about to turn 37. And they have him for 3 more years after this one?
I hate the yankees.
Ceetar
4/26/2011-9:06am at 9:06 am (UTC -4)
best case scenario is that the constant media attention to the slump (and now the A-Rod/book thing) wears on him and he starts getting snippy with them.
I hope his bloop single comes on a day A-Rod hits three home runs and the Yankees lose. The bloop single being a 2-out hit with the tying run on second that he needs to drive in, but the hit isn’t good enough to do so and they lose.
stickguy
4/26/2011-9:14am at 9:14 am (UTC -4)
It will be fun to see how long the media will turn a blind eye to him being a sucky shell of his former self, before they start turning on him.
Oh and of course, the fans that love him so will start with the booing and want to run him out of town if the team isn’t dominating anyway (hell, even then they will start with the “what have you done for me lately” stuff!)
kistics
4/26/2011-9:21am at 9:21 am (UTC -4)
Must break your heart to hear that your daughter wants a Phillies hat. My daughters are too young to know anything, but one thing that I teach them is “Guys with Red hat are bad guys. Guys with Blue hats are good guys”.
kingman 26
4/26/2011-9:23am at 9:23 am (UTC -4)
My brother’s little girls tell our Dad that they “love the Yankees” and it is the ONLY thing that can get him angry with them!
But they don’t mean it. I hope.
metsfan4decades
4/26/2011-9:31am at 9:31 am (UTC -4)
LOL…whatever happened to family values?
First and second generation in our family are Met fans.
Third generation? Half are Philly, half are Yankee fans. Not a Met fan among them.
As far as Jeter…what other team would have offered their aging SS that kind of contract? I don’t know that the Yankees were really caught between a hard place and a rock with that. Would they really have had FA market competition?
I think they paid for the ‘C’ on the uniform and to appease the fans. Looks like it’s already coming back to bite them.
kingman 26
4/26/2011-9:43am at 9:43 am (UTC -4)
Well, as far as Jeter is concerned, I think they looked at how much money they have made in the last fifteen years, re-counted those 5 rings, 7 pennants, and 8,000 playoff appearances, examined his actual performance rather than listen to the amateur sabermetricians who like to say he is overrated, and they paid him what he is worth, in terms of how much money he has helped them make.
I would guess that they would be happy for him to be a platoon/bench player in a year or two and pay him this deal, based on the truly immense amount of money they have made in what can be termed the “Jeter-Mariano” era.
His H, R, SB %, BA, OBP during those years were HOF level. As is his leadership.