- Ruben Gotay needs to start. He's just so much better than Jose Valentin right now. After providing the back end of back-to-back homers with Jose Reyes to lead off the game last night, (the first time, oddly, that that has ever happened in Mets history) Ruben knocked in Lastings Milledge with what proved to be the winning run in the 5th inning. Even before flying out in the 7th with Reyes at second, Gotay had an excellent at-bat. Love the 'stache, but Gotay certainly looks more comfortable at the plate right now. He's developing great chemistry with Reyes as well.
- Speaking of Milledge, how about this kid? The Mets' supposed bad apple and Elijah Dukes reincarnate did exactly as he did in Spring Training last night, coming up to the bigs, saying all the right things, and playing hard on the field. That Gotay single he scored on for the winning run? He came around from first, hustling all the way when he saw Ryan Freel fumble the ball in center. Hard to argue with that.
- Speaking of Reyes, it looks like he's trying to shut anyone up who's become critical of him since the not-running incident in Houston. Both his home run to lead off the game and hustle double in the 7th by Reyes definitely set a good tone for the second half of the year. Keep dancing, Jose.
Everyone's just jealous because you're having more fun than they are- Good start for El Duque despite a 2nd inning blemish of a 2-run single by Scott Hatteberg. Last night's start (6 innings and 7 Ks with the 2 runs) is kind of like El Duque's season. Despite getting the win, he's now had only 9 decisions, (5-4) but it would be inaccurate to say he hasn't been good fairly consistently this year.
- Hopefully last night wasn't a sign of things to come in the second half for the Mets' still shaky clutch hitting. Paul Lo Duca may have lined into that double play in the 6th, but it was a soft liner. Then with second and third and no outs in the 8th, Carlos Delgado waved at a 3-1 something that was about a foot outside and possibly a quarter inch off his shoetops, flying out to too-shallow-to-score-on-a-sac-fly left. Following Delgado, Lo Duca and Shawn Green both failed to get either runner home as the Mets wasted a golden oppurtunity to add some insurance runs. This will play out as it will play out, but the Mets at some point are going to need to hit better with men on base.
- Lastly - As much as I love Willie Randolph, I think the Mets' firing of Rick Down and releasing of Julio Franco sends a good message. Willie is smart, and Willie likes guys who play hard, but Willie can also be very stubborn, and Willie can also make moves just to reiterate that he's in a position of power. Willie wasn't happy about Rick Down leaving, but Omar Minaya basically towel-whipped him and kept him honest by making what Willie called the "organizational decision" to fire Down. Then, the man that Willie's pinch-hit with over and over again this season to reiterate that he's in a position of power was let go. I love Randolph and the winning attitude he brings, and Omar should keep the power-usurption to a minimum, but in this case it was appropriate.
It's nice outside, the Mets won last night, and I got off of work 3 hours early today. Have a great weekend!
(Photos courtesy gettyimages, colorvisiontesting.com)
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