213 Miles From Shea

It really has been a crazy half. In the first half of baseball the Rays and the Dbacks were two of the hottest teams in baseball, the Yankees spent considerable time in the cellar of their division, the Mets were under .500 and in third or fourth place (when in third, not behind Philly and the Braves, but Philly and the Marlins), the Tigers played poorly, St. Louis was a surprise and the same can be said about the White Sox. As we wrapped up the first half, the Rays started to falter, the Yanks started to rise, the Mets started to streak, the Braves still stunk, the Tigers started to get hot, and the NL West decided to take a vacation.

So out of this mixed up, Bizzaro World Baseball (as Sports Illustrated called it in late May), what parts are true, and what parts are false? The Mets rise is for real, although I am biased, but it will be a race for the division until the end of the season (next weeks games with Philly should be a very exciting, nervous, anxious time for all of us). I like the Rays, I believe they will stay near it till the end, but by mid September the Red Sox will get the division. The Rays are young and they need sometime to build stamina for the long baseball season. When it comes to Detrioit, their recent turn around will continue because they are built to win. If the White Sox keep playing like they are, then this should be a big race down the stretch. I can't believe I am going to say this, but the Cards look good for the wild card, the Mets/Phillies/Marlins race will really need to heat up for two of those teams to make the wild card spot. With the NL West, thats just a shame. A couple of season ago, who ever wanted the West got it, and it looks like it will be the same thing this year. The Rockies and Padres have both been real disappointing this year. I know the Rockies made an impressive run at the end last year, but it will take a lot for that to happen this year. If they trade Fuentes, then its over, if they don't, its probably still over for them.

Lets see this second half of ball! Lets Go Mets!

The Mets have really turned it up the last 10 games as they have risen to a tie for first place and of course, getting all three major back page newspapers (Newsday, Daily News, New York Post) to all have the same headline on the back of “first and ten”. There have been many stars over the streak, but I would like to focus on the hitting of the streak as many players have prevailed in many statistic categories. The five hitters that should be looked at are Reyes, Wright, Beltran, Delgado and Tatis, who all have played a role in this streak.

Reyes: 43 AB, 6 R, 15 H, HR, 5 RBI, 6 BB, 3 SB, .349 BA
Reyes has been the spark plug that is needed at the top of the lineup. He is getting on base by hitting and by walking. He is getting home, and he is just helping the Mets cause. That .349 BA is something too, especially when you consider that he went 0-5 in yesterday's win, so he really is hitting well.

Wright: 42 AB, 7 R, 10 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 5 BB, 3 SB, .238 BA
Wright is the only Mets star that has been struggling during this streak. Before last night, his numbers would look much different because he got a homerun, two hits, and 4 RBI in last night's game. That being said, he still came through in the clutch (Although previously 2-28 in the ninth inning this year before hitting that homer) and has demonstrated why he is a key part of this team. Even with his recent struggles to get on base, he still has 7 runs over the last 10 games, which means the guys behind him are producing.

Beltran: 42 AB, 10 R, 13 H, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 4 BB, 4 SB, .310 BA
This is the Beltran we have wanted all year. Not only has he been slugging, but he has been balanced. His power numbers are up, which is reflecting well in his run production. He also has been getting on base and running wisely with 4 stolen bases, and scoring 10 runs. If he plays like this the rest of the season, he can easily be the catalyst  needed in the cleanup spot in this lineup.

Delgado: 40 AB, 10 R, 16 H, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 6 BB, .400 BA
Last Friday, I wrote about Delgado starting  to hit his stride, and that has been evident over the last 10 games. He is slugging and getting on base and scoring runs. The only thing that surprises me is that he doesn't have more than 6 RBI's, because his batting average suggests that he would. He is scoring, and making his presence known.

Tatis: 35 AB, 8 R, 15 H, 4 HR, 11 RBI, SB, .429 BA
The best offense producer is Tatis. Who would have thought that at the start of the season, but it is true. He is slugging the ball right now, getting the Mets back it games. He is getting those runners across the plate and getting himself across the plate as well. Lets hope he can keep this up as well.

Delgado struggled last year and if you look at his stats as a whole from this year, it looks like he is struggling again. However, when his numbers are split, one can see that he is starting to pick up the pace. In his first 52 games this year (up to June 1st), he had 193 AB, 25 R, 44 H, 7 2B, 8 HR, 25 RBI which all broke down to a .228 BA and a .307 OBP. His career numbers are a .279 BA and a .383 OBP. So looking at that, he was doing terrible.
Since then, he has turned things around. Since June 1st:
    38 G, 144 AB, 24 R, 39 H, 11 2B, 8 HR, 25 RBI, .271 BA, .350 OBP
Those numbers are more like where Delgado should be. In those 38 games, he had as many RBI's and HR as he did in his first 52 games this year. July has been even better for Delgado:
    10 G, 39 AB, 10 R, 15 H, 5 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .385, .457 OBP
So far in July, his averages are up. On the whole since June, his power numbers and run production are slightly down (mostly due to his 9 RBI game at the end of June). I am not saying that Delgado is going to keep going and have MVP type numbers but if he can keep up the pace he is on since June 1st, he will be a huge help for the Mets current playoff push.
Keep hitting man, keep hitting.

With Castillo down on the DL, the Mets called up Argenis Reyes from the minors to help take over some playing time for the injury plagued team. Who is Argenis and why does his name sound familiar? Reyes is 25 years old and is in his first season with the Mets organization, his previous five have been with the Indians, and this past week he made his major league debut. He should sound familiar because of Spring Training this year. He had a very good spring hitting .433 in 30 AB including 4 runs, 13 hits, a double, a triple, a homerun, and 5 RBI. So far with the Mets this season, he has had 13 AB with 4 hits, 3 runs, an RBI and .308 Batting average.

When you look at his stats from the past several years in the minors, you know that he is a fast player. In his 300 AB in New Orleans this year, he has 13 stolen bases. The previous four years (04, 05, 06, and 07) he has had at least 24 stolen bases or more. Hes not Jose Reyes or Carlos Gomez fast, but if he is stealing like that, it means that he is either above average fast, or he has good base running instincts, and either is fine. Here are his 08 and 07 minor league stat lines:
    08: 300 AB, 38 R, 87 H, 11 2B, 3B, 22 RBI, 13 SB, .290 BA, .353 OBP
    07: 467 AB, 65 R, 136 H, 21 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 32 RBI, 27 SB, .278 BA
His numbers look good. He doesn't have a lot of power, but he is also young. How he develops will be interesting in the sense that I feel he has been a bit under the radar. Also, the Mets are hoping that their first round pick of Reese Havens pans out second base, and he has been doing well in Brooklyn. The way this team goes through second basemen, having a surplus of them might be a nice change of pace. Lets Go Mets!

There are so many good things that come out of a 6 game winning streak besides the best thing which is winning six games in a row. One thing the Mets proved over the last six games is their ability to win without their starting outfield. At the start of the season, the outfield was supposed to be Alou, Beltran and Church (Hey, the ABC outfield), with Beltran hopefully having his 2006 numbers, Alou helping against with left handed pitching, and what ever we would get out of Church would be fine.
Thanks to injuries, the Mets had to send out Pagan, Beltran and Church. Pagan and Church were then big surprises. Pagan was hitting the ball really well, and Church was starting to look like the slugger on the team. Over the course of the season, the Mets had to start playing Chavez on a regular basis with Tatis, Evans, Anderson, Aguila and a new acquisition of Nixon due to injuries of Pagan and Church.
Church has been coming and going, Pagan might finally be on his way out, and Alou's near future with the Mets looks dark with surgery looming. To add to the problems, Nixon goes down on the DL.
So, what looked from the start to be a mighty outfield has been recently anchored with Beltran in center and then a mix of Tatis, Chavez, Aquila and Evans around him. On paper that would look like a huge hole in this lineup, especially when the loss of Castillo is added in the mix, but the Mets have been winning. Out of all of them, the most surprising has been Tatis. I remeber watching Tatis a few years ago with the Orioles when he was a back up to the back up at third base. Now he has 4 hits this season that have won games for the Mets. Lets hope our mix and match outfield can extend this winning streak through the next series with the struggling Rockies and through the All Star Break.

The Mets will be sending Santana, Perez, Maine, and Pedro to the mound during this four game set that can swing the momentum for either team in the NL East this weekend. The worst situation is the Mets drop to 8.5 games out of first place, and 5 games under five hundred, and the best situation has the Mets 3 games above .500 and a half a game behind the Phillies. The Marlins, currently 2.5 out of first, will be watching this series closely as well.
Over his last five games, Santana record, 0-4, is real disappointing. However, when you look at his numbers, the situation is much different. During that stretch, with 32 innings of work, Santana has walked 12, struck out 32, and has posted an ERA of 2.53. He is a second half of the year pitcher, and that time of the year is now here. Hopefully he can repeat his earlier outing against the Phillies this year where he allowed 3 runs over 4 hits, walked none, and struck out 10 on his way to victory.
Perez's last five have been great compared to his season so far. He has a 2-1 record, 30.1 innings pitched, walked 9 and struck out 26 on his way to an ERA of 3.56. Hopefully he can dig back into that ability he displayed in his last outing where he confused the Yankees and was hitting 94 mph with his fastball. He is 0-1 in two games against Philly this year, despite having an ERA of 0.00. He has allowed 7 hits, 8 walks and has struck out 9 during those two games.
Maine has been struggling as of late. In his last 6 games, he is 3-2 over 34 IP, walked 12 and struck out 26. During that time his ERA has been 4.24. He had a good outing against Philly this yeah, but got the ND. He had 6 innings, one R, 5 BB and one K. Hopefully he can come back to form.
The Mets pitching for the first three games can easily be reliable or can easily be destroyed….like everything else this season. Lets Go Mets! Beat the Phillies!

The Braves have sent down Francoer to AA to find his swing. On the season he is batting .234 with a .121 over the last 18 games. He is one of those players that it is easy to forget his age. I have completely forgotten that he is only 24 years old. The word that is flying around suggests that he will probably stay in AA till the allstar break. This is a story to check up upon later to see how he is doing.

The big news day on MLB Trade Rumors is that the Brewers might include Matt Laporta (7th overall pick last year) with Alcides Escobar. There aren't many trade packages right now that could be better for the Indians, who also looked at the Brewers' Taylor Green. I much rather see Sabathia go to the Brewers if he has to be moved rather than another suitor like Philadelphia. Sports Illustrated reported last week that the Rays could also be suitors down the line. As long as its not Philly, I am happy. Philly is looking at Bedard as well and I feel that Sabathia is more likely to be moved than Bedard.

The Baltimore Sun reported today that the Orioles are interested in acquiring Eckstein from the Jays. Shortstop is currently one of their weakest positions right now and if this happens, that would be great for the Orioles.

Recently, I attended a Myrtle Beach @ Frederick Keys game with the camp that I work at, and it was another great game, this time because of the cheering. Cheering at games is always fun and memorable when it gets creative (just remeber any college games you have ever attended, and you will know what I mean). Our section started to do the Maryland Soccer cheer, which is when ever the goalie moves his foot, the fans shoot if it was his left or right. This time, it was done to the third base coach, who caught on to what we were doing by the end of the inning and started to hop into the dugout.
Besides the cheering I did get to see a few prospects that are highly touted. The first was the lead off hitter for the Pelicans, Gorkys Hernandez. Hernandez is a future star of the hated Atlanta Braves and guys, he is the real deal. He had an amazing game at the plate ripping a two hits at the start of the game on pretty much the first pitches he saw. He also tracked down a deep deep fly ball to center, leaped and fell basically back down midway up the warning track. He is hitting over .300 in high A ball and should be moved to AA soon. (Hernandez and Jair Jurrjens were traded from Detroit to Atlanta for Edgar Rentaria).
On the Keys side, two hopeful future stars for the Orioles were playing. They were Billy Rowell and Pedro Beato. Rowell's play at the plate has been shaky so far this season, but he is young (I believe he is either 20 years old or below) and his defense is good. I saw Beato pitch in Aberdeen two years ago. On a whole I know he has gotten better, but this was a rough game for him.
It's always interesting to see the players that you read about over the internet and here mentioned in top prospect lists. Its just part of the charm of minor league ball.

Today the Mets will participate in a gimmicky, and fun double header. Taking the ball in the first game will be Pelfey who has really evolved over the last five games. Over his last five games, he has won two decisions (back to back, the two most recent games), and one of those games was his worst of the five. In those last five, he pitched 32.2 innings, posted a 2.76 ERA, 13 BB and 20 K. With that, he has lowered his ERA at home down to 3.06. These now seem more than glimpses of greatness and now look like signs of greatness. Next season with Pelfrey should be one to remeber.
With Wright and Reyes hitting well yesterday, today feels good for the Mets. They will be facing an unknown pitcher in the first game who has allowed one run over 14 innings pitched far this year (Giese).
About the current state of the NL East. Now is the time for the Mets to get hot. They won 5 of 8. Then they dropped 2 of 3. With the Phillies only 2-8 over their last 10, and the Mets one game under .500, but only 3.5 out of first place. All of the signs point to one winning streak, that if the Mets can get on it, they can easily take over first place in the division. The next four games can be a great place to jumpstart a spark to carry the Mets through the allstar break.
Lets Go Mets!

Since the start of 2008, about 15 prospects have gotten formal introductions on this site and now its time to update statistics (2008) on five players. Some of them are putting together great seasons, others are struggling, and most are showing signs of improvement:
    Eric Brown 4-6, 6.22 ERA, 16 G, 68 IP, 16 BB, 43 K
    Lucas Duda .270 BA, 296 AB, 19 2B, 5 HR, 42 RBI, .351 OBP
    Scott Moviel 7-7, 5.03 ERA, 15 G, 73.1 IP, 24 BB, 50 K
    Francisco Pena, .246 BA, 228 AB, 14 2B, 4 HR, 28 RBI
    Tobi Stoner 1-6, 2.74 ERA, 12 F, 69.0 IP, 15 BB, 64 K
A lot of these players a young. For example, Pena, a highly touted catching prospect is only 19 years old and is playing low A ball. His .246 BA might seem bad, but last year he batted .210, so he is hitting .36 points higher. His place on the Mets, or any team, in the future really will depend on how he grows over the next few years.
Duda has a very interesting BA split. He is hitting .270 overall this season, which includes a really bad left handed pitching BA (.195 BA), but he is crushing right handed pitching to the tune of a .302 BA.
Stoner is really doing well. He recently got moved to AA ball and is still pitching well. He is having a great year. I don't know if he is really being noticed for it yet. If he finishes off this year strong, you can bet he could start getting attention in the off season.It will be fun to watch how all of these prospects pan out over the rest of the 08 season.