The New York Mets continue to play solid baseball despite being down 3 everyday players and stand at 18-13 on the year as off May 10th. The team just swept the 5 time defending NL East Champion Philadelphia Phillies in Pennsylvania for the the 1st time since 2006 and have won 5 of 6 overall. Two trends have carried them early in the season, the offensive depth and bounce back of the club. The Mets have a major league high 11 comeback wins(two in the Phillies series) and consistently do major damage with two outs. The starting pitchers have not been great but they keep the team in the game while pitching coach Dan Warthen and Manager Terry Collins have done a great job with the rebuilt bullpen. I usually do not like to make assessments before June 1st but I believe the 2012 New York Mets can and should compete for a postseason birth. This is a tough, resilient bunch that has taken on the personality of their skipper and team leader(3b David Wright), they grind and battle for 27 outs. More importantly to Mets fans, this is a group that is both easy to watch and root for. Lets look at some important news stories regarding the club.
Outfield: Rookie Kirk Nieuwenhuis(.304,2 homers,10 rbi, 16 runs) has been outstanding since joining the team in game 2 with both his bat and glove. With the return of CF Andres Torres, the rookie has moved to LF and continued to contribute. Torres, who is an excellent defensive player, has hit .367 with a homer, 7 rbi and 6 runs in 8 games since coming off the DL. He has taken to the Mets patient plate approach and Collins has moved both around the lineup depending on the matchups. RF Lucas Duda has been consistent and provided power(4 homers, 16 rbi) from corner outfield spot. Collins might have some interesting lineups when regular LF Jason Bay returns from his rib injury.
Injury Bug: Besides the injury to Bay, the team has lost two of their 2nd year players to injury in the last week. SS Ruben Tejada(.305,8 rbi, 14 runs), who was doing a splendid job taking over for the departed Jose Reyes,was placed on the DL May 7th with a strained right quad. Meanwhile, C Josh Thole(.284,homer, 7 rbi) suffered a concussion after a collision at home plate May 7th and was placed on the New seven-day DL created by MLB for concussion injuries. If Thole, who still has some dizziness issues, is not improved after the 7 days, he can be placed on another seven-day DL or he can go on the regular 15-day list. These are both big losses and important members of the club heading forward but the team has depth at both spots- Justin Turner and prospect Jordany Valdespin can play SS while back up C Mike Nickeas and veteran Rob Johnson will fill in short term. Meanwhile Collins would like 7 year major leaguer Ronny Cedeno(Knee tendinitis) to take over at SS when he comes off the DL sometime in the next week. He would allow Turner and Valdespin to stay in their usual super sub roles and give The Mets weapons off the bench. Ideally, Cedeno will start until Tejada returns.
Jordany’s Big Night: Valdespin’s first major league hit was both memorable and important. The hit was a game winning three run homer off of Phillies all star closer Jonathan Papelbon in the Met’s 5-2 win over Philadelphia May 7th. Prior to the at bat, he was 0 for 6. The story gets better. The ball ended up in the hands of a 8 year old boy who is a big Phillies fan. The young fan, Andrew Wixted, contacted the Mets and returned the ball to the team. The 24 year old rookie now has a present to give his Mother on Mother’s Day. Good job, Jordany and even better job, Andrew!
Pelfrey’s rotation spot: When the team lost RHSP Mike Pelfrey to season ending elbow surgery, the team’s lack of starting pitching depth was exposed. Call up Chris Schwinden struggled, was sent back to Triple A and Collins decided to give long time veteran Miguel Batista a shot to fill the rotation. After struggling in his first start May 1(2 and two third innnings, 3 hits, run, 4 walks at Houston) he rallied May 8th vs the Phillies(5 and a third innings, 8 hits, 4 runs(2 earned), 2 walks) to help the Mets win. Batista will get at least one more start with RHP Chris Young(Shoulder) just starting minor league rehab and minor leaguers such as Jeremy Hefner, Jenrry Mejia, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler not being major league ready at present date. This is an issue that fans need to focus on, keep track of how the team does in these starts. If this team does not make the playoffs, this might be a big reason why.
Murphy’s improvement: Most followers of the Mets knew 2B Daniel Murphy could hit but many thought he was a glorified DH playing in the National League. However, he we have seen a marked improvement in his play defensively at 2nd base. I believe the addition of Tim Teufel to the coaching staff, a member of the 1986 World Champions, has helped Murphy tremendously. The former Triple A manager was an excellent defensive 2B and has tutored Murphy, who is a known worker. Daniel almost makes a hi-light type play nightly now and Teufel’s influence cannot be understated.
