Thursday, June 3, 2004
I really think Jae Seo wasn't trying very hard during spring training. I've written this before, but I'm going to say it again. Whether it's a cultural thing, or a language thing, or whatever, I don't think he ever grasped the fact that he could lose his starting job in spring training.
For those of you who need a refresher, Seo had a very impressive season as a rookie last year (9-12, 3.81 ERA in 32 games). He came into spring training with the understanding that he was Art Howe's number four starter. For whatever reason, Seo did not pitch well during spring training. As a result, he started the season in the minor leagues, and did not get called up until Scott Erickson got hurt in the first week of the season. Seo took the minor league assignment as an insult, and after the call-up, he's only had a couple of bad starts. Last night, he gave up just one run on three hits in six innings pitched, improving to 3-4 on the season. That was his second straight solid start against the Marlins. I really think Seo didn't understand that he wasn't an established veteran, and that spring training for him this year was not just an exhibition season, but also a long tryout. The fact that he feels a little bit of heat as Scott Erickson nears a return to the majors is sort of a contributing factor, but overall, I think Seo is a solid pitcher, and these types of outings will be the norm from him.
Ty Wigginton continues on his torrid pace. He set a Mets record last night by getting an extra-base hit in his eighth straight game. I think that it's kind of funny that Jason Phillips is just about as hot as Wigginton right now, but Wigginton's hits keep finding the gaps, while Phillips keeps hitting it right at people. Once Phillips starts getting a little luckier, the offense should pick up.
Speaking of the offense picking up, isn't it amazing that the Mets are doing all this with minimal contributions from Mike Cameron? I think he's starting to come around, though. He's had a couple of 2-RBI games during this 4-game winning streak, and he's starting to look like he has a clue at the plate again. That was also a nice aggressive steal of third base last night after he doubled.
The versatility of the Mets infield right now (without Jose Reyes) is pretty fun to watch. I love how Wigginton just upped and moved to second base without skipping a beat, allowing Todd Zeile to play everyday. I like Danny Garcia, but a Zeile-Matsui-Wigginton-Piazza infield right now is much better than one with Garcia. It also allows for some creativity when Piazza gets pulled in the late innings, whether it's Joe McEwing, Garcia, or Eric Valent replacing him in the field.
Notes: I was surprised that A.J. Burnett pitched pretty well last night in his first start back. That's a pretty promising thing for Florida. I had forgotten, though, his record against the Mets. After last night, Burnett is now 0-5 against the Mets, winless in 10 career starts...The rest of this series should be great - too bad I can't watch any of it on the Comcast package. I guess I'll have to rely on the ESPNEWS crawl and the internet.
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