Mets Have Great Chance to Pull Away in NL East
After a brutal, but winning road trip out west, the Mets head home to Shea for what should be a fairly simple homestand. The Mets won today, and with the Braves losing to the Cardinals, the Mets increased their lead in the NL East to 3.5 games heading back to
NY for a 7-game homestand against the Pirates (41-56) and the Nationals (42-56).
The Mets (55-43) have a great chance of pulling away in the NL East as the Braves head on the road for 7 games. Though the schedule may seem easy for the Braves, they have to be careful because they may end up being the ones to give up Bonds’ record-breaking 756.
If the Mets can win both series, they can most likely take at least a 5 game lead, all depending on how the Braves can do.
…ohh and also it doesn’t hurt the Mets that veteran outfielder Moises Alou should be back for the series opener on Tuesday.
Valentin to 15-Day DL, A’Hern Called up
Mets 2nd baseman Jose Valentin fractured the right tibia, fouling a ball off his shin last night. The Mets called up the great minor league star, Anderson Hernandez. Hernandez always does great in AAA and does horrible in the majors.
Valentin said last night to reporters that he’ll most likely be out until sometime in September.
Pedro Return Around Late August
Pedro Martinez’ Mets return is most likely going to be in late August. He is aiming to throw a simulated game within the next week or so, and then he’ll be off to make some rehab starts in the minor leagues before joining the Mets. He’ll be slotted into the rotation, probably with Jorge Sosa being the odd-man out.
Meanwhile, Moises Alou has been doing great in rehab starts in Florida and is expected back to the Mets starting lineup within a week or so.
Mets win High-Scoring Game
Final: Mets 13, Dodgers 9
Derek Lowe had a horrible first inning, as the Mets scored 6 runs and batted through the lineup, allowing Reyes to come up to bat twice in the first inning.
Carlos Delgado stayed hot, hitting a home run in back-to-back nights.
Tom Glavine’s start was horrendous. The Mets turned to long reliever Aaron Sele, who did a great job and picked up the win. He is now 3-0 this season.
Marlon Anderson, who was called up before the game, and will fill the spot of the struggling Julio Franco on the roster, did great. He singled in the first and came around to score. He had two hits in the game.
State of the Mets
Yesterday the Mets (51-41) had a great chance to widen the miniature gap in the standings between them, Atlanta, and Philadelphia. The Mets lost to the Padres last night to kick-off their 7-game road trip that also includes a trip to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers. The Mets are currently 1.5 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves, who are losing right now, and 5 games ahead of the Phillies.
Howard Johnson, the team’s new hitting coach, ordered every player to take early batting practice, something the team didn’t see from recently-fired hitting coach Rick Down. He is expected to do this about once a series.
Most people right now are saying the Mets will be in 2nd place at the end of this road trip, which is certainly possible. The Mets face a tough schedule while out West, and need to win at least a few games out of this series to stay in first. I have one thing to say about this: It all depends on the Braves, whether they can win games or lose them.
One thing to notice is the way Reyes steps out of the box on his stride as a right-handed batter. It is odd that he has had success as a batter while doing that, because it is hard to reach an outside pitch doign that, and could also make a borderline strike look WAY outside when you step out, because your head becomes farther away from the plate.