Everyone's picked it up in our shiny new Manuel-mobile.
Lets take stock of everyone who is doing his job well:
1) Pelfrey: First he found his four-seamer, and then he found his confidence. Now he's gone 8 starts without a loss, has won five straight, has an ERA under 4.00, has gone 7 IP his last two, has outdueled one of the NL's best in Lincecum his last time out, is #2 in the league in fewest HR's allowed, and has gone more starts w/o giving up a HR than any Met starter since El Sid. This kid's now looking like the 1st round pick he was, and it only took him 26 mediocre starts (4 in '06, 13 in '07, and 9 this year) to get him there. That's basically 3/4 of a season.
Pelf will probably hit the wall around 175 IP, as so many pitchers do the first time they get there in the majors, but he's a piece of the puzzle that you can have confidence in now for the long term. And from the GM's perspective, he's locked up and cheap, as any home-grown talent is. And let us not forget, Pelf got turned around when Petersen was still here. A nice good-by kiss from Rick P to the Mets from a classy guy and good coach.
2) Beltran: Even though over the past 9 his July average is kind of soft, he's still plated 50 ribeyes since May 1. That's about a 128 RBI per year pace. Plus, he's pulled up his RISP to a respectable .280, which is a huge improvement over where it was earlier this year.
3) Wright: Currently tied for 3rd in the league with 70 RBI. That's pretty respectable and speaks for itself, despite the fact it's been a quiet year and he's probably capable of a lot more.
4) Reyes: .316 in May, .305 in June, and .364 so far in July. Jose Jose Jose has turned it on, and he's scoring runs by the bushel. He's back to being the straw that stirs the drink.
5) Chavez: After a much improved .286 in June, he's hitting .351 so far in July. The two hole agrees with him, and with his patient contact hitting and bunting prowess it's not hard to see why. As always "everyday" Endy seems to come through when the team really needs him.
6) Tatis: I'm eating crow on this one for now. Tatis has been everything you can ask from a fill-in player who you've got out of position. He's played a respectable LF, can spell Delgado at first, is hitting over .300, and has multiple game winning hits. Every winning team needs a b-tier player to step up with some timely big hits, and F Tat's been doing that so far this year.
7) Santana: OK, one could've expected the guy to be better. But let's face it, he's doing his job well. His ERA is under 3 and the Mets still can't buy the guy a win. The run support totals have been embarrasing. He leads the starters in ERA, WHIP, and innings (saving the pen), as an ace should.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Tatis is definitely rockin' it, I'm eating it big time on that one so far.
I wonder if improvement in pitching is because of Peterson / Werthen switch, or something else. I just can't honestly believe that peterson was holding them back and werthen has turned it around. So if not, then either it's just a lucky streak or maybe the players are somehow more relaxed and got over some mental hump themselves. FYI, Saturday's game set a record: Mets are first team to keep opponents to 3 hits or fewer in 5 straight games. Nicely done.
The stat I saw on ESPN last night was, first team since 1900. I don't know if they meant that another team turned the trick in 1900, or that this was the first instance in the modern era.
BTW, what sport could be cooler than baseball, when 1900 represents "the modern era"?
Post a Comment