With such a huge lead in the division (16.5 games), the Mets are finding ways to stay motivated in the season's final month, with each series presenting a unique opportunity for creativity. For this weekend's series in Houston, it represents a chance for the Mets to knock the Astros out of the playoff picture, thereby letting the Mets rid themselves of a potential playoff problem - the strong 1-2-3 pitching punch of the Astros.
So far, the Mets have done what they wanted to do. On Friday night, they survived a rough return to the rotation by Tom Glavine, outlasting Houston, 8-7. And on Saturday, the Mets got a great start from John Maine, and again, some very good bullpen work, beating Houston, 4-2.
Saturday night also saw another player return from the DL - Cliff Floyd (also see his work in St. Lucie below), and he contributed right away. He had 2 RBI, going 1-for-3 in the win. I didn't see this game (it was on local TV in both New York and Houston), but read about it, and it appears Carlos Beltran made a great catch in center in the 9th inning, but hurt his knee, and had to leave the game, walking off the field "gingerly". I expect the Mets would rest Beltran as much as possible with everything well in hand - it's trouble whenever Beltran's legs are involved.
David Wright was 2-for-3, with an RBI - the trips to hitter-friendly Colorado (it's still hitter-friendly for the Mets) and Houston have really broken him out of his slump. And as much as I wasn't crazy about the deal, the slump break-out really seems to coincide with Shawn Green's arrival, and the fact that he's been hitting behind Wright. Now with Cliff Floyd back, Wright should be seeing plenty of good pitches to hit. His average is back up to .305.
With Floyd, Green, and Beltran all in the outfield, Endy Chavez finds himself as the odd man out. (unless Beltran's injury keeps him out, and Chavez fills in at center). Willie Randolph says he will continue to find playing time for Chavez, and he did Saturday night, resting Green, and resting Jose Reyes, batting Chavez leadoff, and starting Anderson Hernandez at short. Randolph will surely be putting some interesting lineups on the field what with the September call-ups and the clinching imminent.
The Mets go for the road sweep on Sunday with Orlando Hernandez going against Roy Oswalt.
MAGIC NUMBER: The Phillies split a doubleheader with the Braves, so the one loss coupled with the Mets win knocks the magic number down 2, from 14, to 12. The Phillies and Braves play another doubleheader on Sunday, so there's a good chance we can be down to ten before Monday!
RING, BELL FOR BULLPEN HELP: The first September call-ups for the Mets were Royce Ring and Heath Bell, the yo-yo's of the year, now up for the rest of the year. (This was only worth noting because I wanted to use that headline.)
FOOTBALL: I posted a quick note on the Jets site about the fact that this will be a tough year to keep two blogs going. But I also posted some instructions on joining the pick 'em pool, so we can pick games against each other this football season. It's at fantasysports.yahoo.com, join the private group: Johnnyjets Group, and the password is: jetsfan. This way we can pick against each other, all 6 readers!
THE KID'S KIDS: Cliff Floyd helped the St. Lucie Mets to a win Friday night, hitting two home runs in a rehab start as the Mets won, 6-1. On Saturday, St. Lucie beat Vero Beach. With Daytona's game rained out, the Mets are a game better than Daytona, but still a half-game behind Palm Beach for the second-half division title.
ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: The Tides had four straight games rained out, so I didn't miss anything from Alfonzo's comeback. On Saturday, they played a doubleheader against Durham (the other rainouts were cancelled games, with only a few days left in the season), and Edgardo Alfonzo played both games, going a combined 0-for-5, seeing his average drop to .252. There are reports that Alfonzo will not be a part of any September call-up for the Mets.
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