Good Morning Mets Fans!

How sweet it is!  The Mets are playing inspired baseball, they have won 10 of their last 11 games and they are a remarkable 17-5 since the 21st of May.

Yesterday Jon Niese kept the streak alive with 7 solid innings and the offense took care of the rest as the Mets beat the Indians 8-4.

Niese won his third start in a row in his hometown (or close to it) and has proven to everyone that he has the stuff to be a solid middle of the rotation starter.  In the month of June, Niese is Niese is 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA

"This is what we anticipated," manager Jerry Manuel said after the Mets tied a season high with seven doubles, two by Ike Davis. "We're built on pitching and defense. If we stay hot with the bats, we'll be a really, really good team."

The offense was solid throughout, and each starter had at least one hit.  The only down news was Jason Bay leaving the game with a thigh bruise that he received after another hustle hit.  The hustle hits have been a staple of Bay's game all year long, but this one is likely to cost him at least one game.

"It knotted up on me," Bay said. "My left leg hit his butt. We'll see how I feel tomorrow."

David Wright hit a key double to plate two.  He now leads the National League in RBIs with 52.

NL RBI LEADERS		RBI
David Wright	1. David Wright, NYM	52
	2. Troy Glaus, ATL	51
	3. Albert Pujols, STL	49
	4. Jonny Gomes, CIN	48
	5. Corey Hart, MIL	47

Angel Pagan finished the game with 3 hits and 3 RBIs--he looks like he's out of the mini-slump.  When Pagan and Reyes are both hitting at the top of the order the Mets score runs in bunches--yesterday they did just that.

And finally, another tip of the cap to Elmer Dessens for pitching two innings to close out the win.

This is Mets baseball, this is your team, and this is why we endure...it's a magical run.

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
N.Y. Mets (37-28) «	0	0	5	0	0	3	0	0	0	8	14	0
Cleveland (25-39)	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	1	0	4	9	0

Player of the Game

New York
A. Pagan	AB	5
	R	1
	H	3
	HR	0
	RBI	3

Related articles

• Post Game: Mets 8, Indians 4 (metsblog.com)
• Mets 8, Indians 4: Mets Win Their Sixth in a Row (nytimes.com)
• Mets double up Indians, make it six straight victories (cbssports.com)
• New York Mets Score Plenty Of Runs For Jonathon Niese In Sixth Straight Win (bleacherreport.com)
• What to do with Angel Pagan? (metsreport.com)

Mets Have a Chance for a Special June

I was looking at the schedule this morning and it's clear that the Mets have a golden opportunity for a special month of June.

After starting the month 1-0 thanks to a Mike Pelfrey special, Johan Santana takes the hill against the Pads, and then the Mets return home.

For the remainder of the month they face:

• 6 against the Marlins, 3 home, 3 away.  Marlins are tied with the Mets at 27-26
• 3 more against the Padres at home
• 3 at Baltimore--Orioles are 15-37
• 3 at Cleveland--Indians are 19-31
• 3 at the Yankees--Yankees are 32-20
• 3 at home against Detroit--Tigers are 26-25, but only 11-15 on the road
• 3 at home against Minnesota--Twins are 31-21, but only 13-12 on the road

It is such a strange month...15 games against American League teams against only 11 National League games.

Thankfully the Mets play the absolute two worst teams in the AL, and maybe in all of MLB.

The fact that the Mets have 4 off days in the month, one a week, also bodes well for the team, as does the favorable travel schedule.  If you include the Yankees games, the Mets will sleep in their own beds for 2/3rds of the month--unheard of in today's game.

The scheduling gods were certainly kind to the Mets in June, now let's see if the team can take advantage of their largess.

"Give Rod the Nod" Campaign

Mets fans want to see Rod Barajas in the All-Star game, and we can certainly help by going here to vote.

The 34-year old Barajas has been a revelation for the Mets, both with his bat and his glove.  He currently leads all catchers in homeruns and RBIs, and his slugging percentage is second only to Miguel Olivo.

That said, the most important contribution he's making just might be with his personality.  Barajas has developed exceptional relationships with his pitchers and the amount of "shaking off" from last year to this year is noticeably less.

If you look at the stats, Barajas is certainly above average defensively, with the 9th best CERA in MLB to go along with the 4th best RF in the NL.  He does fall short in terms of throwing this year, but he commands the game from behind the plate, works well with the staff, and I have not seen him make a bad decision all year. 

Speaking of throwing--Barajas has an excellent arm and has thrown out 33% of baserunners in his career, and 34% just last year.  His totals this year are down, but they are also not running on him very often.  By season's end I fully expect that stat to normalize back toward the mean.

NL Catcher Sortable Fielding
RK	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	GS	FULL	TC	PO	A	E	DP	FPCT	RF	ZR	PB	CSB	CS	CS%	CERA
1	Geovany Soto	CHC	43	39	340	327	312	14	1	1	.997	8.64	3.012	1	30	8	.211	4.46
2	Russell Martin	LAD	46	45	404	387	357	25	5	1	.987	8.52	2.972	3	23	10	.303	3.99
3	Bengie Molina	SFO	40	37	320	303	281	21	1	1	.997	8.49	2.931	1	37	7	.159	3.29
4	Rod Barajas	NYM	41	39	349	328	314	12	2	3	.994	8.40	3.021	1	15	2	.118	4.23
5	Miguel Olivo	COL	38	38	335	303	274	26	3	2	.990	8.07	3.083	3	13	16	.552	3.46
6	Brian McCann	ATL	41	39	331	294	273	16	5	3	.983	7.87	3.170	1	23	9	.281	4.08
7	Yadier Molina	STL	46	45	403	350	323	25	2	5	.994	7.78	3.237	2	10	13	.565	2.52
8	Chris Snyder	ARI	41	39	345	286	260	26	0	0	1.000	7.47	3.395	2	25	11	.306	5.93
9	Carlos Ruiz	PHI	39	38	334	272	247	24	1	2	.996	7.30	3.463	1	24	7	.226	3.55
10	Ryan Doumit	PIT	44	42	367	299	276	21	2	1	.993	7.28	3.485	4	41	4	.089	5.09

There are certainly some great choices for all-star this year at catcher, but for many reasons, it's time for Mets fans to get out and vote to "Give Rod the Nod".

The current popular vote totals for National League catcher are:

1	Yadier Molina, Cardinals	316,795
2	Carlos Ruiz, Phillies	259,227
3	Ivan Rodriguez, Nationals	247,998
4	Brian McCann, Braves	203,377
5	Russell Martin, Dodgers	160,698

Barajas 2010 Season Stats
SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	42	149	22	40	8	0	11	30	4	20	0	0	.268	.291	.544	.835
Career	855	2670	321	641	157	1	103	385	147	464	2	2	.240	.284	.415	.699
Last 7 days	5	18	2	5	1	0	1	6	0	0	0	0	.278	.263	.500	.763
Projected	151	536	79	144	29	0	40	108	14	72	0	0	.268	.291	.544	.835

What to Do With Jeff Francoeur?

Jeff Francoeur is in a funk--a major funk.

We only need to look at the numbers to see a player that has a serious deficiency in terms of his approach at the plate.

Francoeur is swinging at the first pitch a staggering 46% of the time.

The league average is 25%.

Ike Davis swings at the first pitch 21% of the time--David Wright does it 29% of the time.

Francoeur has not worked into many hitters counts either.  He's seen a 3-1 count in only 7% of his at-bats compared to 11% for the rest of the team.

Finally, he is swinging at 56% of ALL pitches he sees.  The rest of the league, including pitchers, swings at 44% of pitches.

He's walked twice since April 18th, with 16 strikeouts over that span.

The worst part of this is that early in the season Francoeur was working the pitcher and seeing more pitches and getting better counts.  This means that his recent performance has been REALLY sub-par, given that he went from league average to way below league average in a very short period of time.

The question is, how to change him from these bad habits?  How to get him to look at a pitch or two, even if it means watching a first pitch fastball right down the middle?

I honestly don't know the answer, and until someone gives him some sort of ultimatum, it's going to be more of the same.

Perhaps a few games on the bench will convince him of the error of his ways.

The Season Long Hump--Step One Complete

Some people break up the season in quarters of halves, I like to view it by month.

Last year the Mets had month after bad month, and the schedule was certainly not their friend.

In June and early July there were two stretches when the Mets played 20 games in a row, and August it got worse, with the Mets playing 29 games with one day off.

I chronicled the scheduling issues quite a bit last year, including this piece on 20 games in 20 days.

In 2009 the Mets got off to a sluggish start in April, only to turn on the jets in May and take what was their only division lead for the year.  In June the wheels fell off as the injuries mounted, and we were all left to think what could have been as one frustration piled on top of another all the way to the merciful end.

Still, with all of the challenges of 2009, the team was far better at home than on the road:

2009 Home/Road
Split	W	L	RS	RA	WP
Home	41	40	343	350	.506
Road	29	52	328	407	.358
2009 Month by Month
Split	W	L	RS	RA	WP
April	9	12	96	97	.429
May	19	9	138	111	.679
June	9	18	108	146	.333
July	12	14	93	108	.462
August	10	19	117	151	.345
September	8	20	103	142	.286
October	3	0	16	2	1.000

This year's schedule is quite a bit more balanced:

• April:  16 home games, 7 away games, 3 off days, 16 games in a row
  
• May:  12 home games, 17 away games, 2 off days, 17 games in a row
  
• June:  12 home games, 14 away games, 4 off days, 9 games in a row
  
• July:  11 home games, 15 away games, 5 off days, 11 games in a row
  
• August: 13 home games, 15 away games, 3 off days, 13 games in a row
  
• September: 14 home games, 13 away games, 3 off days, 10 games in a row
  
• October:  3 home games, 0 away games

Thus far in 2010 the schedule appears to be the Mets friend, and the 11-5 home record certainly attests to that fact.

Yes, they certainly have taken great advantage of the abundance of April home games, but make no mistake--those games were against some of the best clubs in the National League, even if some of those clubs aren't playing that way at the moment.

April Opponents and 2009 Winning Percentage:
3 vs Dodgers (.586--won division)
1 vs Philly (.574--won division)
3 vs Colorado (.568--wild card)
3 vs St Louis (.562--won division)
3 vs Florida (.537)
3 vs Atlanta (.531)
4 vs Chicago (.516)
3 vs Nationals (.364)

So the Mets had two opposing forces to begin the year--a plethora of home games, yet those games were against the best teams the senior circuit has to offer.

Bottom line is the Mets did what they had to do--they used the scheduling advantage in their favor.  With one more April game remaining, the team is 4 games over .500 and sits atop the NL East.

Looking ahead to May we can see that it will be a challenging month from a schedule perspective.

There are:

• 17 road games against 12 home games.
• 5 games against the Phillies
• 3 games against the Yankees
• 3 games against the tough SF Giants
• 4 games against the Marlins

No easy task, but as long as the Mets continue to play well as a true team, they will continue to do well.

One thing is for certain--the first hump was met and the team kicked it right on its ass.

Good Morning Mets Fans!

A 9-1 homestand does wonders for your confidence.

It also helps push a team up in the standings, and in the case of our beloved Mets, it pushed them all the way from last to first.

The Mets, at 13-9, are a half game up in the NL East, and they now own the 3rd best record in the National League and the 6th best record in baseball.

There are many reasons for the team's success, including fantastic starting pitching, a dominant bullpen, an awakening offense, and a shot in the arm from the newest Met.

Ike Davis has impressed his teammates as much as he's impressed the fans.

“He’s given us a shot in the arm,” David Wright said. “He solidifies a pretty good lineup.”

“He’s been a good major league player,” Jason Bay said. “You wouldn’t know he’s been here a week.”

Luis Castillo remains the most consistent Met.  He has reached base safely in each of his starts, and his OBP continues to climb.

Jason Bay and David Wright have found their strokes, and each man found the gap at Citi Field with consistency over the past few games.  David Wright's OBP sits at .438, and Jason Bay is at .387.

But more than anything its been the pitching.

For all the crap Omar Minaya takes, I will once again state that the man put together a world-class bullpen anchored by one of the best closers in the game.

Toss in the mastery of Pedro Feliciano and a deep bunch of setup men for Jerry to leverage, and it's easy to see why a one run lead is often enough.  These guys are getting the job done and then some.

So we all take a breather today...read, rest, re-energize, and then head to Philly tomorrow to keep the mojo going.

It sure feels good to be a Mets fan right now--enjoy your coffee!

National League
EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	DIFF	STRK	L10
NY Mets	13	9	.591	-	11-5	2-4	96	72	+24	Won 7	9-1
Philadelphia	12	9	.571	.5	3-3	9-6	114	90	+24	Won 1	4-6
Washington	12	10	.545	1	7-6	5-4	93	107	-14	Won 2	6-4
Florida	11	11	.500	2	5-5	6-6	106	103	+3	Lost 2	4-6
Atlanta	8	13	.381	4.5	5-4	3-9	77	91	-14	Lost 8	2-8

PED Player Update: It's a NL Pitcher

Still not named, but here is the update from Craig Calcaterra:

A Major League PED suspension is imminent
UPDATE:  I have learned that the player to be suspended is a National League pitcher.

So here is what we know...

1. Not a Met
2. Mid, Not "Big" Name
3. Pitcher
4. National League
5. Not Chico Escuela

My guesses:

Jason Marquis, Wandy Rodriguez, Brad Penny, Carlos Silva, Bronson Arroyo 

Why do I hope it's a Philly?

Shedding Optimism

From Andy the Lawyer

Clearly, Jerry Manuel isn't a good tactical manager and he makes some outrageously dumb decisions (including at least 2 or 3 last night) but I still think the roster, as constructed by Omar/Wilpon, was simply never going to be a team of any quality. Doesn't mean Manuel shouldn't be fired (he should) but lets not delude ourselves into thinking Bobby V. would get this set of personnel to the playoffs.

There are a variety of ways to have a winning team in baseball, and the Mets right now aren't good at any of them. You can win with a huge offense (like the 2006 Mets did, and like the Phillies do now), or you can win with very good pitching (like the 2000 Mets did). The current Mets team, as constructed, has neither.

As to offense, I've posted this elsewhere, but people really fail to acknowledge that good offensive teams don't have just 1 or 2 good hitters, they have above-average major league hitters up and down the lineup. Here are the comparisons of the Mets PROJECTED (keep in mind, this is based on a lineup with Beltran back) #2 and #6 hitters - hardly the "core" of the team - compared to the big offensive clubs - based on career OPS:

Yankees: Johnson (.849 OPS), Posada (.862 OPS)
Boston: Pedrioa (.830 OPS), Beltre (.779 OPS)
Philly: Polanco (.765 OPS), Ibanez (.825 OPS).

Mets: Castillo (.722 OPS), Franceour (.749 OPS).

Just for comparison, in 2006 the Mets #2 and #6 hitters typcially (although that year alot of guys batted 6th) were:

Lo Duca (.746 OPS), Green (.850 OPS)

And in 2000 (when the Mets were carried by their pitching and had a below-average offense, not their offense) their #2 and #6 hitter typically were:

Derek Bell (.757 OPS), Todd Zeile (.769 OPS)

So even in a year when the Mets offense wasn't very good, they STILL had better depth in their lineup than they planned to have this year, even going into spring training.

Now, as to pitching, its much simpler. In both 2006 and 2000, the Mets starters were 3rd best in the NL in runs allowed, giving up only 4.51 and 4.56 runs per game respectively (can't find a way to isolate starters ERA compared to the rest of the league that year on Baseball Reference).

This year, we went into the season looking at a rotation that included a multiple Cy Young winner (Santana) and then 4 guys who can safely be considered the worst 2-5 of any team with a 100 million dollar payroll.

Maine's career ERA is about the NL league average, but when you factor in his injury history and his last 3 years, its hard to see how reasonable it was to expect to match that. Ollie Perez has been a below average MLB pitcher for his career, with an ERA over 5.00 in 6 of his 9 MLB seasons. Pelfrey had an ERA over 5.00 in 3 of his 4 MLB seasons. Neise is essentially a rookie given his lack of MLB experience.

In short, the Mets front office put together a team that focuses on its "highlights" (Santana, KRod, Wright, Beltran, Reyes) while surrounding those highlights with players who are signficantly below the league average. That's not how winning teams are built - they have depth in the lineup and the rotation, and they don't stop adding pieces just because they believe they have found an ace, a closer, and the 3-5 spots in the lineup.

The Mets "core" may still be good, but a baseball team is not assembled by finding 5 good players and surrounding them with crap.

Mets April Schedule Could Determine 2010 Success

There's something about the Mets schedule each year that always seems a bit disconcerting.

Last year there was June and early July when the Mets played 20 games in a row, and August, when the Mets played 29 games with one day off.

I chronicled the scheduling issues quite a bit last year, including this piece on 20 games in 20 days.

In 2009 the Mets got off to a sluggish start in April, only to turn on the jets in May and take what was their only division lead for the year.  In June the wheels fell off as the injuries mounted, and we were all left to think what could have been as one frustration piled on top of another all the way to the merciful end.

Still, with all of the challenges of 2009, the team was far better at home than on the road:

2009 Home/Road
Split	W	L	RS	RA	WP
Home	41	40	343	350	.506
Road	29	52	328	407	.358
2009 Month by Month
Split	W	L	RS	RA	WP
April	9	12	96	97	.429
May	19	9	138	111	.679
June	9	18	108	146	.333
July	12	14	93	108	.462
August	10	19	117	151	.345
September	8	20	103	142	.286
October	3	0	16	2	1.000

This year's schedule is quite a bit more balanced:

• April:  16 home games, 7 away games, 3 off days, 16 games in a row
  
• May:  12 home games, 17 away games, 2 off days, 17 games in a row
  
• June:  12 home games, 14 away games, 4 off days, 9 games in a row
  
• July:  11 home games, 15 away games, 5 off days, 11 games in a row
  
• August: 13 home games, 15 away games, 3 off days, 13 games in a row
  
• September: 14 home games, 13 away games, 3 off days, 10 games in a row
  
• October:  3 home games, 0 away games

The real question surrounding the 2010 schedule is a simple one, "can the Mets take advantage of of the abundance of April home games?"

It's possible, but when we look at the Mets opponents in April, the home field advantage becomes obscured as the Mets play some of the best teams in the NL.  In fact, other than the Nationals, the Mets go up against the cream of the crop to start the year, including games against all four playoff teams.

April opponents:
3 vs Dodgers (.586--won division)
1 vs Philly (.574--won division)
3 vs Colorado (.568--wild card)
3 vs St Louis (.562--won division)
3 vs Florida (.537)
3 vs Atlanta (.531)
4 vs Chicago (.516)
3 vs Nationals (.364)

So the Mets have two opposing forces to begin the year--a plethora of home games, yet those games are against the best teams the senior circuit has to offer.

When you're a losing team, the schedule always looks tougher than it probably is.  But make no mistake, the Mets are going to get challenged early and often, and though the season is certainly a marathon, the first month might just tell us a lot.

Mets Baseball Card of the Day: 1984 Darryl Strawberry

Today's entry is the 1984 Darryl Strawberry.

1984 was Strawberry's second year in the big leagues, and it was a great one. After winning rookie of the year in 1983, Strawberry had anything but a sophomore lump, with 27 doubles, 26 homeruns, and 27 stolen bases.

His 127 OPS+ was excellent, and he led the National League in Power/Speed.

These terrific numbers for the 22-year old Strawberry led to his first All-Star game and confirmed what everyone knew--Strawberry was one of the most gifted players the Mets had ever seen.

His career with the Mets seemed destined for Hall of Fame greatness, though sadly, drugs and alcohol issues would haunt Darryl for decades.

I have never publicly told this story, and at the time I didn't believe it.

In the Fall of 1986 I was home on my first military leave after joining the Air Force.

My friend and I went to the Mets v. Cubs game in which the Mets clinched the pennant...it was pandemonium. I met a girl at the game and quickly ditched my buddy (we're still friends to this day). The girl's friend was dating one of the Cubs, and they invited me to go out with the three of them after the game. The player wasn't a star, but if I printed his name you would know it.

After the four of us had dinner, we started partying and drinking and drinking and drinking some more, and the conversation got real loose. By this time the player and I were in "buddies for life" mode and quite impressed with ourselves. He thought I was a pilot (and I did nothing to disabuse him of this notion--remember, this was when "Top Gun" was all the rage), and I was thrilled to hang out with a ballplayer and two very nice looking ladies at an upscale Manhattan drinking establishment.

I asked the player about the Mets, and he told me about Strawberry and Gooden's heavy partying--everything, including out of control cocaine use--but I was 19, very naive, they were my heroes, and I didn't believe a word of it.

It was a great night, and at the time the closest I had ever been to hanging out with baseball players. As for the girl, well, the long distance thing didn't work out since I left shortly thereafter for a few months of training in California, and then went on to Korea for a two-year assignment.

When I found out Gooden entered rehab a few months later, in early 1987, I realized every word the player had told me was true. It was devastating to all Mets fans, and most us believe to this day that the drug and alcohol problems on those teams certainly prevented them from winning another World Series title or two.

Strawberry's best years, 1987 and 1988, were just tremendous, and he absolutely should have won the MVP award in 1988--Kirk Gibson's numbers pale in comparison.

We all remember Darryl fondly, but in the backs of our minds, we also always think, "What could have been?"

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When is the 1979 Team Celebration?

This Saturday the Mets will celebrate the historic 1969 World Series champs.

What I want to know is when will they celebrate the 1979 team, for this year's Mets surely resemble that bunch of misfits much more than our revered 1969'ers.

1979...yup, 30 years ago. You remember that time...hostages, run away inflation, post-Vietnam, crappy technology...the Mets.

Yes, the Mets....1979 was probably the worst year in team history....until perhaps now.

It down right sucked...maybe not as much as the then new Commodore Vic-20, but it sucked. You see the Commodore Vic-20 was "less than $300" according to William Shatner, who was on hiatus from his "spoken word tour". It also featured something called "Gorp".

How bad was that computer? Well, in comparison to the 1979 Mets it was actually pretty damned awesome.

You see the 1979 Mets were last, or next to last, in everything.

12th out of 12th in attendance.

At 63-99, they had the worst record in the National League.

They scored the second fewest runs in the league.

Joel Youngblood led the team in HRs with 16.

Craig Swan, Pat Zachry, Wayne Twitchell and Roy Lee Jackson were the only players on the entire roster to have winning records.

Swan went 14-13
Pat Zachry went 5-1
Wayne Twitchell went 5-3
Roy Lee Jackson went 1-0

Thankfully they had Pete Falcone going 6-14 to offset all that pitching prowess.

Skip Lockwwod led the team in saves with 9.

And yes, the team featured none other than Tim Foli.

"Hey Tim, do they make those jackets for men?"

So my friends, as the end of the season grows near and you find yourself with an urge to scream about the 2009 club, I ask you this: please remember our history.

It will make you feel better....I promise.

I am really looking forward to seeing all those great 1979 Mets on the field for their big celebration--just as 30 years from now we'll celebrate this 2009 bunch when Omir Santos hobbles out to home plate with a beer gut and a gray beard to a huge standing ovation.

Of Outs and Walks

I don't pretend to be Mr. Sabermetrician, though I love baseball statistics.

Like many of you, it started with the backs of baseball cards and newspaper box scores and went from there to Bill James, and thinking about metrics that matter.

Throughout the revolution in baseball statistics one thing is universally understood--outs are the most precious thing in the game (you only get 27), and letting the other guys get on base is bad.

Pretty simple, no?

That brings us to the Mets under Jerry Manuel.

We're only going to look at two statistics here today: Intentional Walks Allowed, and Sacrifice Hits (Bunts).

One stat puts the opposition on base, and the other takes away one of those precious 27 outs.

2009 Intentional Walks Allowed: The Mets have issued 43 Intentional Walks in 2009, 3rd most in the big leagues behind the Dodgers and Marlins. For comparison purposes the Cards, under Tony LaRussa, have issued 11. The Rangers, under the Nolan Ryan concept of pitching, have issued 7, the fewest in MLB. And because we hate them and no conversation would be complete without a mention, the Yanks have issued 20.

2009 Sacrifice Hits (Bunts): The Mets have Sac Bunted 59 times in 2009, again, 3rd most in the big leagues behind the Dodgers and Reds. For comparison purposes, Boston has 11 sac bunts. Of course the National League will sac bunt more, so keeping it in the NL, the bottom two are the Phillies and Brewers with 37 and 36, respectively.

Now again, I'm no sabermetrician, but I do know this--giving away outs and putting the opposition on base time and again doesn't really work--we've seen that with our own eyes. You can point to the injuries as the reason for these numbers, but that doesn't hold up as the Mets were among MLB leaders in both of these categories the first month of the season when everyone was healthy.

Just an FYI, in 2008 the Mets led MLB in Sacrifice Hits, and were 9th in Intentional Walks.

In 2002, Bobby Valentine's last year at the helm, the Mets were 6th in Sacrifice Hits and 5th in Intentional Walks.

In 2000, when the Mets won the NL Pennant, they were again 6th in Sacrifice Hits and 13th in Intentional Walks.

Bottom line for 2009: these strategies just don't work with the team constructed as it currently stands, and Jerry Manuel doesn't seem to understand this by refusing to deviate from his game plan to give away outs and allow baserunners.

It's time for a managerial change, and count me as one who hopes it's not Bobby Valentine.

David Wright Not Feeling at Home

David Wright is back on a tear and ranks 2nd in the National League in both Batting Average and On-Base Percentage.

His streaky hitting, however, is somewhat problematic, and the consistency isn't what it's been in season's past.

One reason for this, perhaps the only reason, is Citi Field.

Let's look at the numbers, home and away, for the past four seasons:

2006 Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	582	96	181	40	5	26	116	66	5	113	20	5	.311	.381	.531	.912
By Breakdown	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	165	30	47	13	1	6	28	27	1	29	7	1	.285	.385	.485	.870
vs. Right	417	66	134	27	4	20	88	39	4	84	13	4	.321	.380	.549	.929
Home	284	48	89	19	2	13	61	32	1	45	8	1	.313	.378	.532	.910
Away	298	48	92	21	3	13	55	34	4	68	12	4	.309	.385	.530	.915

2007 Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	604	113	196	42	1	30	107	94	6	115	34	5	.325	.416	.546	.962
By Breakdown	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	166	32	60	16	0	11	35	27	2	21	10	4	.361	.449	.657	1.106
vs. Right	438	81	136	26	1	19	72	67	4	94	24	1	.311	.404	.505	.909
Home	278	56	93	20	1	16	50	49	4	53	17	3	.335	.435	.586	1.021
Away	326	57	103	22	0	14	57	45	2	62	17	2	.316	.400	.512	.912

2008 Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	626	115	189	42	2	33	124	94	4	118	15	5	.302	.390	.534	.924
By Breakdown	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	157	44	60	18	1	9	34	37	2	26	10	2	.382	.497	.682	1.179
vs. Right	469	71	129	24	1	24	90	57	2	92	5	3	.275	.351	.484	.835
Home	301	61	101	22	0	21	68	56	2	52	10	3	.336	.437	.618	1.055
Away	325	54	88	20	2	12	56	38	2	66	5	2	.271	.345	.455	.800

2009 Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	200	36	69	16	3	3	34	37	1	54	14	8	.345	.448	.500	.948
By Breakdown	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	38	7	16	4	1	1	8	8	0	3	4	1	.421	.511	.658	1.169
vs. Right	162	29	53	12	2	2	26	29	1	51	10	7	.327	.432	.463	.895
Home	96	16	26	3	3	2	10	12	1	34	6	3	.271	.358	.427	.785
Away	104	20	43	13	0	1	24	25	0	20	8	5	.413	.523	.567	1.090

• His home batting average: .313, .335, .336, .271
• His home OBP: .378, .435, .437, .358
• His home SLG %: .532, .586, .618, .427
• His home OPS: .910, 1.021, 1.055, .785
• His home strikeouts: 45, 53, 52, 34 (projected for 106 home Ks vice 55 projected road Ks!)

In his last 10 home games, DW was 10 for 36 with 14 Ks.

Contrast that with his last 10 road games: 12 for 33 with 5 Ks.

The strangest part of these stats is that Citi Field appears to fit perfectly into DWs gap hitting ability. He's historically a guy who draws a decent amount of walks and puts the ball in play.

So what is it? Is he not seeing the ball? Too much pressure? Is the sample size too small?

I honestly don't know, but I do know this...

The Mets are about to embark on some critical June home games: 3 vs the Phils, 3 vs Tampa Bay, 4 vs the Cards and 3 against the Yankees. There is one 6 game roadtrip sandwiched in the middle at two road stadiums where DW should hit a few HRs--Yankee Stadium and Camden Yards.

For the Mets to stay near the top, they will absolutely have to beat these teams at home, and they do have a fine 17-9 home record. Just imagine what it would be with David Wright hitting well at Citi. It is probably the difference between first and second place.

David Wright is having a fine season overall, and if he can get his home numbers anywhere close to his road numbers it could be a great one.

The question is will he do it?