Seven in a Row and Counting?

(by Brett Kahn)

With the all-star break vastly approaching, the home-field advantage in the World Series has most likely caught the attention of game participants Billy Wagner and David Wright.

A current seven-game winning streak has catapulted the Mets into a second-place tie with the Florida Marlins, only 1.5 games out of first behind the Philadelphia Phillies. The winning streak started with three in a row at Philadelphia, three straight against San Francisco and one against Colorado.

Although the Jose Reyes', David Wrights, and Johan Santanas are mostly responsible for this sudden outburst, there is one player that has come out of nowhere to garner much attention. His name is Fernando Tatis.

Since the beginning of the streak, Tatis has recorded 10 hits in 23 AB's. (.435 BA) He has also exploded for three home runs and seven runs batted in. But is he the main cause for the Mets recent success?

Boomer and Carton in the morning on WFAN New York, recently discussed what Mets players were saying about their new manager Jerry Manuel. One of the positives mentioned was that Manuel is starting to get the guys to play Mets baseball and not Yankees baseball, which former manager Willie Randolph was notorious for.

The Mets will look to end the first-half of the season having won nine in a row. They will try to do that by finishing off the final two games against the Colorado Rockies today and tomorrow. Pedro Martinez is on the mound today looking for his second straight win.

Inconsistency is the Name of the Game

(by Brett Kahn)

At 40-41, the Mets have been one of the most inconsistent teams in baseball this season. There are a lot of reasons for this. I would like to analyze the recent subway series against the Yankees to give people an idea of how inconsistent the Mets really are...

GOOD

Carlos Delgado racked up 3 HR's and 10 RBI's in the four-game series.

BAD

He only managed four hits in 15 AB's. (.267) Those four hits also only came in two games.

GOOD

Jose Reyes went 6-for-16 in the series. (.375)

BAD

He didn't drive in any runs, only stole one base, and was picked off.

GOOD

Oliver Perez threw a gem in the finale going seven innings while only giving up one run and striking out eight.

BAD

His ERA dropped to 4.98 on the season.

GOOD

The Mets scored 20 runs in the four-game series. (five runs/game)

BAD

15 of those runs came in the first game and are now batting .211 with two outs and RISP.

Consistency is the key to success. The Mets have yet to figure that out.

Stories to Follow The Subway Series

(by Brett Kahn)

It has been a tough week for me to keep up with this blog, but I want to continue to report on as much as I can. If it becomes too hard for me, I will decide and let everyone know before hand...Thank you for your support and go Mets!

Reyes Steers the Ship

(by Brett Kahn)

It has been mentioned before that when Jose Reyes goes, so do the Mets. So, let's actually prove this is true using stats.

In the 36 wins so far this season, Reyes is batting .340, with six HR's, 21 RBI's, and has tallied 21 SB's. His on-base percentage at home is .401 and his slugging percentage is .604.

Now, here are some of his lead-off statistics. As the first batter of the game, Reyes is batting .324. When he leads off an inning, he is batting .354, with 4 HR's and a .608 slugging percentage.

Lets now look at how Reyes performs in the clutch. With two outs and RISP, one of the most telling statistics in baseball, Reyes is batting .318 with 2 HR's and 10 RBI's, in 27 games. In the eighth inning of games, Reyes is batting .367, with 6 RBI's. In the ninth, he is batting a whopping .421.

It is clear that Jose Reyes is the focal point of the Mets' offense. If he continues to be solid like we have seen in the past, the Mets will be a team to reckon with come the latter months of the season.

I Guess It Had to Happen, but Why Now?

(by Brett Kahn)

Willie Randolph's status as manager was indeed day-to-day. However, after two straight wins, why did Omar Minaya decide to pull the trigger now?

At 34-35, the Mets are far from where they want to be after 69 games. After two straight wins, however, Willie seemed to be safe for another day. That wasn't the case.

At 3:15 this morning, Randolph was given the official word that he was let go, along with pitching coach Rick Peterson and first-base coach Tom Nieto.

Whether it were the on-field pitching decisions that Randolph made, or the off-field racial comments, Minaya decided to step out of the dugout and make an iffy timing call to the bullpen for Jerry Manuel.

Manuel isn't that big of stranger to winning, however. In 2000, he won AL Manager of the year while guiding the Chicago White Sox to the best record in the American League at 95-67.

Although he might be the best man for the job at this juncture, the question will always be asked why now? Why fly Randolph out to the west coast to manage one game? Was it so that Minaya could hide the decision in the throws of the early morning? If so, Minaya might be joining Randolph on the unemployment line earlier than he thinks.

Payroll Disaster

(by Brett Kahn)

Everyone knows the Mets have an enormous payroll. How big is it? $137.4 million. Listed below are all of the contracted players for this season and how much they are making. Judge for yourself who is worth their money and who isn't...(All salaries are in millions of dollars---only players making guaranteed major league salaries are listed)

Carlos Beltran- $18.6
Johan Santana- $16.98
Carlos Delgado- $16
Pedro Martinez- $11.8
Billy Wagner- $10.5
Moises Alou- $7.5
Orlando Hernandez- $7
Oliver Perez- $6.5
Louis Castillo- $6.25
David Wright- $5.28
Brian Schneider- $4.9
Jose Reyes- $4.375
Scott Schoeneweis- $3.6
Ryan Church -$2
Mike Pelfrey- $.199
Ramon Castro- $1.98
Endy Chavez- $1.8
Matt Wise- $1.2
Aaron Heilman- $1.2
Marlon Anderson- $1.05
Pedro Feliciano- $1.025
Damion Easley- $0.95
Duaner Sanchez- $0.85
Fernando Tatis- $0.56
John Maine- $0.45
Ambiorix Burgos- $0.415
Angel Pagan- $0.4015
Joe Smith- $0.398
Jason Vargas- $0.394

SOURCE: ESPN New York Mets Salaries

1 Loss, 2 Loss, 3 Loss, 4

(by Brett Kahn)

It's always tough to lose a game 2-1. You have the satisfaction of knowing that your starting pitcher was solid but your offense was not. Imagine that feeling after three straight 2-1 losses. That is how the Mets feel right now.

Mike Pelfrey, Johan Santana, and Oliver Perez all pitched well enough for their team to win, giving up a combined three ER in 17 IP. (1.59 ERA) The only problem was the Mets' bats decided to take three games off.

The Mets offense tallied 30 hits in 134 AB's, a batting average of only .224. In the final game of the series, the Mets were able to bat .286, but a combination of Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner couldn't hold the Mets lead as they fell 8-6.

The Mets now find themselves 30-32, 7.5 games behind the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies. With Ryan Church heading to the DL, look for the blue and orange to use more of Endy Chavez and Fernando Tatis for the time being.

The Amazins' will start a six-game home stand tonight as they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. John Maine will start for the Mets.