I’d never want to complain about my team being too good, but it certainly makes for an anticlimatic season. While every other division is mired in some kind of race, the Mets have had a hammer lock on things since June. They took one step closer to the inevitable this weekend with a three game sweep over the Rockies.
Of concern is David Wright’s slump. He showed flashes of hitting out of it on Friday when he went two for four with two RBIs and a run. Endy Chavez hit a two run homerun and Steve Trachsel picked up the win. He gave up three runs on seven hits and three walks with six strikeouts in seven innings. Billy Wagner saved his 29th game.
Lastings Milledge showed his potential yesterday. He went three for three with a homerun and two RBIs in the Mets’ 7-4 win. Dave Williams made his first start as a Met and threw a nice game. Aaron Heilman picked up the win and Wagner picked up save number 30.
Orlando Hernandez was pounded in his last start but he bounced back nicely today. He threw six shutout innings and he struck out eight. The only two runs came on solo homeruns by Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran. Hernandez even stole a base. Wagner saved his third game of the series and brought his season total up to 31.
All the news isn’t good though. Tom Glavine may have a blood clot in his shoulder and could require season ending surgery. While this won’t matter too much heading into the end of the season, it leaves us without our second best pitcher in the playoffs. After Pedro, Trachsel and Hernandez, it’s kind of a crap shoot as to who that fourth starter would be in October.
The Mets magic number is 26 so it probably won’t be until September when we clinch. Next up is three against a streaky Cardinals. They’ve been up and down but right now, they’re the second best team in the NL (barely). You could be seeing a preview of the NLCS.
