Straight shooting and honest answers, that’s what we are getting from Jerry Manuel so far. After one week in the driver’s seat, there seems to be the feeling that things are bit more normal than usual for the Mets.
(Agreed. Quickly, Manuel has quieted the media and fan base.)
From making his pitcher wait on the mound for the reliever after a pitching change to his small group meetings in the clubhouse, Manuel is trying to make this team come together. And there is no question the Mets are more relaxed and are simply just playing better.
(Agreed. The Mets 3-3 start does include Met players showing a better overall effort, the results haven’t shown yet in their winning percentage.)
But make no mistake that these Mets have a long way to go. A winning streak of 6 or 7 games would be a nice start. However, it would be nice to see the Mets win 15 out of 20 or something close to that. Then we might truly begin to think the Mets have turned the corner.
(From your mouth, to God’s ears, Lou. Are the Mets capable of winning 6 straight, or 15 of 20 ? If the Phillies continue to struggle, winning 6 out of 10, like they just did, for an extended period, may be enough to catch Philly & Florida.)
While no one publicly is blaming Willie Randolph, you get the sense that something dysfunctional was going on in the clubhouse. Whether it was Willie’s thin skin or Tony Bernazard’s meddling, the level of distraction had to have been taking its toll on the Mets continued efforts to separate themselves from last year’s meltdown. At least now the Mets cannot use the distraction of Willie’s future as an excuse. If they revert back to their lackadaisical ways then they can only blame themselves.
(Good point. The “excuse” is gone. The bulls-eye is now on Omar, and if the players don’t show quick improvement, some may be former Mets between now and the July 31st trade deadline.)
Hopefully Ryan Church will be back for the Yankee series. He is slated to play a couple of games with the Brooklyn Cyclones this week before the Mets determine if he is well enough to be activated. That would be a big lift to the club.
(Absolutely ! Mets need his defense, and proven power from the # 2 or # 5 spot in the lineup. Remember how well the Mets played when Church hit 2nd, Castillo hit 8th, and Church’s power had Reyes scoring frequently ? I would love to see that again.)
With the conclusion of the road trip, the Mets must be grateful that the furthest west they travel will be St. Louis and Houston. They are done with the west cost for this season. The Mets California record is 5-8. If you factor in games at Arizona and Colorado, the Mets record west of the Mississippi is 10-12.
(This could be huge, especially as the weather gets hotter, and the players get older. Staying primarily on east coast time, and no more west coast trips could reduce fatigue, and allow this team to get invigorated.)
After 74 games, the Mets remains about as .500 as you can get. Their overall record is 37-37. At night the Mets are 23-23 and during the day they are 14-14.
(Scary ! But, it does show their mediocrity, and makes me question when the media has unrealistic expectations for this year’s team. At 37-38, with 87 games remaining, can the Mets win 53 of 87, a .609 winning percentage, to get to 90 wins ? That may be needed to make the playoffs.)
The Mets home record is 20-14 and on the road they are 17-23. The Mets like lefties having played to a 15-9 record while struggling with right-handers at 22-28. For June the Mets are 10-10. They are 14-9 in series play with 2 splits. The Mets favorite day of the week to play is Wednesday. On Wednesday, the Mets are 9-3.
(It’s interesting how playing against lefties used to be a problem, and even with the Mets’ predominantly lefty-hitting lineup, especially with Alou injured, that they are 15-9 vs. lefties. It’s time to contact Katy Feeney, who prepares the schedules for all teams, for Major League Baseball. Fewer west coast trips, more games on Wednesdays. Good luck, Mets !)
1 comment:
The Mets have to look to win series. if they just win two of three, they will be looking good at the end of the year. The big thing is to win game one of every series, which they unfortunately didn't do laste night.
Santana has to step up. I know he only gave up one earned run last night, but the bases were still loaded, and he gave up a salami to the other pitcher. Totally inexcusable. Not only is more (and better) expected of him, he is being paid to win these games. He has pitched well, for the most part, but has pitched poorly in his last two or three games.
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