The All Star Break is over with and while the Mets sit on top of the roost in the division, the Mets are going to have to be better in the second half. The reason being is, the Braves and Phillies aren’t going away and there’s a good chance one or both of them are going to make a move soon to improve. The only problem is, the Mets best bargaining chip has been a problem. Lastings Milledge is probably the biggest talent the Mets have right now, he’s just been a pain in the you now what. Now he’s coming back from an injury and after a good game at Double A, he’s proclaimed himself as being ready for the Mets. Still, he’s a top notch talent and while I probably wouldn’t have wanted to see him go last year, he’s just been too difficutlt and he hasn’t even shown us much yet.
Still, a two game lead is a two game lead and the Mets have to keep things going. The pitching has been spotty but it’s got the job done and the hitting has been good but not top notch like last year. Pedro Martinez, the last I heard, was still on pace to be back in August and if he’s close to 100%, that will give the team a huge boost.
If there’s an MVP on the team, I’d have to pick up Jose Reyes. He’s the man who drives the offense and while his power numbers are down (his .439 slugging is almost 50 points below last year’s mark), his strikeout to walk ratio is nothing short of phenomonal for a guy who, just two years ago walked just 27 times. He’s walked more times then he struck out (47 to 46) and his .387 OBP would be a career high. And he’s also on pace to steal 80-90 bases with all of the doubles and triples. He’s become the leadoff hitter that everyone was hounding for him to be all of these years. If he has one knock, it’s that his stolen base success rate isn’t as high as it’s been in year’s past but the fact that he’s being aggressive is worth something.
The best pitcher in the first half has to be John Maine. At 10-4 and a team leading 2.71 ERA, Maine is showing he could take over as the staff ace. Oliver Perez has also been a pleasant surprise and while Tom Glavine is just a touch above .500, he’s been a workhorse for the team with a team leading 115 2/3 innings.
The guy that needs to come around is Carlos Beltran. Since a solid April, Beltran hasn’t hit above .240 in a month since with July being his worst month so far. He does have a couple of weeks to turn that around though and it’d be nice to see that happen.
The Mets go up against the Reds for four games here after the break. El Duque gets the start in the opener against Bronson Arroyo and tis is a series that the Mets should be win. The Reds are still at the bottom of the National League heap and the Mets have to make sure they stay there.
