SO FAR, SEO GOOD

Mets 10, Nationals 5 (WAS: 9-9, NYM: 10-8, 1 GB)

This game turned out to be the best-case scenario for the Mets. Ed Coleman brought up a valid point on WFAN Friday, saying that a rain out might be the best possible thing for the Mets on Saturday, after it was revealed Kaz Ishii was going to miss the start and be placed on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his side. The Mets did one better than the rain out, playing the game, and winning quite handily, 10-5.

I didn't get to watch this one, but I tuned in for a half-inning on the radio as I drove to work. By that point, the Mets were already up 10-0. The Mets beat up Tomo Ohka and Joe Horgan. Jae Seo was called up to make the start on Saturday, after pitching 4 and a third innings for Norfolk on Tuesday - so that was short rest for him. He was very good - going 6 innings, giving up 6 hits, no walks, just one run, and striking out 4 to pick up the win. Seo has been very inconsistent at the major league level, but sometimes he just pitches brilliantly, like he did today. He was starting to get knocked around a bit in the fifth inning (I heard on the radio that Carlos Beltran made an outstanding catch, diving headfirst into the gap to rob a hit, after Seo started to tire), but the Mets probably won't need him to be the answer to their pitching woes...for a while at least.

Here's the deal with the Mets' rotation. Thursday is an off day, so the Mets can skip the five spot. Then the following week, they can get away with skipping number five again. So the Mets won't need a fifth starter until the second week in May, and by then, Kris Benson is expected back. So a bullet might have been dodged today by a great outing from Jae Seo.

Notes from this game: Cliff Floyd went 2-for-4, he now has a 10-game hitting streak. He NEEDS to stay healthy....Future Hall of Famer David Wright went 2-for-4 - is he breaking out of his slump?....Carlos Beltran* was 2-for-2, which is great, but Mike Piazza was 0-for-4, which is not great.

Two points that I want to get into further. First is the asterisks following the names of Beltran* and Pedro Martinez*. If you don't know why they're there, go back to the end of spring training in my archives and see if you can find the article where they started. The point here, though, is that I feel like I should get rid of them, because these guys are doing awesome, and aren't like those free agents of the past who shy away from the Mets uniform. The problem, though, is that these guys have been doing great with the asterisks attached to their names, so I'm afraid if I take the asterisks away, one of them will get hurt or something. So I'm going to keep asterisking, although it might not be relevant any longer...now it's superstition.

Secondly, Victor Diaz. Diaz went 4-for-4 on Saturday, with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored, and 3 RBI. He's sixth in the National League with a .362 batting average. When Mike Cameron gets back from the DL, Willie Randolph wants to send Diaz back down to Triple-A to get him regular at-bats, rather than sitting on the bench at the major league level. I understand Randolph's point there, but the Mets need to keep Diaz's bat in their lineup. I think at this point, Diaz is better than Cameron. Cameron showed he wasn't as great a center fielder at Shea Stadium as he might have been anywhere else last year...he's the reason Beltran* and Martinez* have asterisks after their names! He also showed he wasn't willing to move to right field for a clearly better player, and it wasn't until he realized the Mets' potential with Beltran in center that he agreed to move to right. The Mets don't need Cameron over Diaz. I say trade Cameron as soon as he shows he's back and healthy, and give Victor Diaz right field at Shea.

Speaking of Shea, the Mets are now 7-1 at home, and they've won 10 of 13. A big test comes on Sunday, against Livan Hernandez. Victor Zambrano will try to outduel him. The Mets have shown they can beat up the lesser pitchers...I'd love to see them get 10 runs off a quality pitcher (Livan Hernandez would qualify...I'm not so sure about Al Leiter). After the Nationals leave town, the Mets will host the Braves.