Has Lastings Milledge Figured It Out?

Like many of you, I've been paying a lot of attention to other stories of interest around the league. Let's face it, these last few months of watching the Mets have left a void that needs to be filled.

One of the more interesting stories has been the ups and downs of Lastings Milledge.

At one time he was slotted in as a Mets "can't miss star" of the future. He came up quickly, tried to make a splash with his play and his words, the fans treated him like a rock star, and he was promptly smashed down by his teammates for a number of reasons that included his brash and cocky attitude.

If Milledge was the proverbial nail that was sticking up, Billy Wagner and several other vets were willing hammers ready to smash him down.

He was then traded in a controversial move to the Nationals for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider, and his career took a decided turn south.

In a sub-par 2008, Milledge struck out 96 times in only 523 at-bats while putting up a 91 OPS+ and displaying more of the maturation issues that got him into trouble with the Mets.

After opening 2009 as the Nationals starting rightfielder, Milledge was sent to the minors just two weeks into the season after arriving late for a team meeting.

He was sent a very clear message. The Nats manager at the time, Manny Acta, damned Milledge with faint praise after the demotion:

"Lastings is going through what a lot of players go through, where they go down at times like this," he said. "We're still . . . I'm still a big fan of Lastings. I think Lastings is going be a good player. I told him on the message that I was pulling for him, and I'm anticipating him being up here again and making a contribution."

That contribution came in the form of a trade to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates acquired outfielder Lastings Milledge and reliever Joel Hanrahan for outfielder Nyjer Morgan and reliever Sean Burnett to the Nationals.

The trade was supposedly another one-sided deal in which the Pirates gave up too much for too little. Nyjer Morgan was an immediate hit with the Nationals, while Lastings was sent to AAA.

But then two things happened: Morgan went to the disabled list and Milledge was called up to Pittsburgh after blistering AAA pitching to the tune of a .333 batting average.

After being called up on July 31st, Milledge has continued to rake.

He has a .325 batting average and a 119 OPS+ in 33 games for Pittsburgh. Moreover, he's batting a gaudy .463 over the last 14 days.

Milledge himself credits his success with his own personal happiness.

"It really is a dream come true to play for the Pirates," Milledge said. "With growing up in Bradenton and the Pirates having held spring training there forever, I always thought it would be cool to play for them. I was hoping they would draft me out of high school and was disappointed when they didn't. So when I found out I got traded to the Pirates I was very excited. It's been a great experience so far being in this organization."

"I've done some things I'd take back but I'm a little older and wiser now," he said. "You also can't believe everything you hear or read about someone. Some of the things that have been put out there about me make it sound like I'm the worst guy in the world but that's not the case.

"I like to smile, have fun, and joke around with people. Some people think you're not allowed to do that in baseball. That's the way I've got to be, though. I play the game better when I'm relaxed and having fun."

Milledge's attitude has not been an issue since the Pirates acquired him, though, and he has seemed to assimilate well into his new organization.

"He's been a good teammate and he's worked very hard," Pirates manager John Russell said. "He's done everything we've asked."

So while the jury is very much still out on Lastings, I'm personally very happy to see him playing well. Milledge is a solid baseball talent with maturity issues, and I still believe the Mets should not have let him get away.

As to whether or not he's truly "figured it out", no one truly knows. That said, a strong finish to 2009 could lead to a very big 2010 for Lastings.

2009 Season Stats
SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	41	148	14	43	8	0	2	15	9	34	4	4	.291	.342	.385	.727
Career	294	1021	120	273	48	5	27	127	72	211	32	17	.267	.330	.404	.734
Last 7 days	6	22	3	8	3	0	0	3	2	5	0	0	.364	.400	.500	.900
Projected	66	238	23	69	13	0	3	24	14	55	6	6	.291	.342	.385	.727

Good Morning Mets Fans!

And a very good morning it is.

The Mets did their job against the Diamondbacks, going to Phoenix and winning 2 of 3 from the hottest team in baseball. The ultra-talented, and young, Diamondbacks certainly look like the real deal, with great starting pitching, a hustling attitude, and enough offense to make them a legitimate contender.

But the Mets flexed their muscles and did exactly what they had to do against the snakes.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
N.Y. Mets «	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	5	6	2
Arizona	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	10	1

W: J. Sosa (4-1) L: C. Qualls (0-2) S: B. Wagner (7) HR: NYM - D. Wright (6) ARI - None

Recap/Box · GameCenter

In what was one of the more intriguing pitching matchups of the young season, neither the Diamondbacks Dan Haren nor the Mets Johan Santana had their 1A stuff, but both were reasonably effective.

When both starters exited after 6, Santana had a skinny 2-1 lead on the strength of a David Wright homerun in the 4th, and it was "game on".

Joe Smith relieved Santana in the 7th and quickly got two outs, but the DBacks pieced together a run to tie the game.

In the 8th Pedro Feliciano came in and the game became exciting. Chris Burke led off the inning and dropped a bunt that Feliciano fielded and threw wildly past first base.

Burke began running in earnest for his destination--third base, while the game Ryan Church hustled like a madman after the errant Feliciano throw. Church grabbed the ball and fired a bullet to David Wright, who snared it and, in one sweeping motion, dove at Burke to nail him with about one inch to spare.

It was a game changer that seemed to sap the life out of the Diamondbacks. A professional, major league play that we haven't seen in rightfield for some time.

"He's got a great arm, but for him to get to the ball as quickly as he did with a lot of room out there, he didn't have a chance to set his feet and get a nice crow-hop like he normally would," Wright said. "To get to the ball quickly, release it quickly and have that much on it, it's pretty impressive. We all know he has a strong arm, but he didn't have a lot of time."

"The biggest thing is just getting a grip of it and letting it go," Church said. "Just basically chuck it."

As the Bergen Record said, Church has been the most valuable player on the team through the first month, with his bat and his arm.

Church has been a star for the Mets in all facets of his play. He is hitting .318 and the Mets are now 7-1 with him in the 2 hole in the lineup.

We reported earlier that Church is one of the more underrated outfielders in the game. He gets a great jump on the ball, has a rifle arm (he was a pitcher in college), and has a career .993 fielding percentage. He is now tied for the major league lead with four outfield assists and hasn't made an error all season.

Before the throw he also hustled in to grab a shallow bloop by Chris Young with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth inning and Santana struggling to get through the inning. That one, Church joked, "I had that all the way."

Still, he seemed surprised that anyone wanted to talk to him after the game.

"I guess it was huge because of the situation," he said. "Anytime you can help the team win a ballgame. That guy could have been on third with nobody out. Whatever helps, just chip in. I didn't get it done with the bat. Just do it with defense."

In the top of the 9th, with the DBacks on their heels, the Mets pounced. Carlos Beltran and Moises Alou singled to start the frame, then Carlos Delgado grounded to Jackson, who overthrew shortstop Augie Ojeda to allow Beltran to score.

"Any time a team makes mistakes on you, you make sure you make them pay for it," New York manager Willie Randolph said. "It was kind of a weird game. A few crazy things happened out there, but we scored early and late and got the job done."

New York went on to load the bases and get an RBI single by pinch hitter Marlon Anderson and an RBI sacrifice fly by Jose Reyes.

Billy Wagner came in to close with another perfect inning to give the Mets the win.

All in all a great game. The top of the lineup: Jose Reyes, Ryan Church and David Wright, continue to get it done. Willie Randolph, who likes a set lineup, seems to have fully come around on Church in the 2 hole and the results speak for themselves.

In other news, the NY Post comments on Rick Peterson's silence this year.

The Daily News has a nice piece on the return of Brian Schneider.

Here's an injury update on Ramon Castro, Matt Wise and Pedro Martinez.

Enjoy your coffee!

The Mets, The Mets, The Mets

One bit of good news to start off your day. Brian Schneider's thumb has gone from this to this:

I think having him back on the field will help a ton.

Yesterday was brutal. Ollie Perez absolutely melted down in what could have been his easiest game of the year.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that there isn't all that much to say this morning. It was a "bad beat", and you just have to chalk it up to one of those things. How often does a game get delayed 40 minutes for a freakin water main break?

It was an omen.

Apparently Ramon Castro tweaked his leg again yesterday....unbelievable. Hope for the best, but word is he walked really slowly off the field after injuring himself last night in a rehab game.

The Broadway opening of Angel Pagan and the Mets defense yesterday in their new hit "Fielding Follies" was a real crowd pleaser.

Oh good! Billy Wagner is starting to rip his teammates in public....that always goes over well.

Anyway, let's make something happen in Arizona....we did win three in a row before yesterday's beating, so all is not lost on this writer...win another series, play another game, fight the good fight always.

--Dave

Is There Such a Thing as a Power Innage?

Bing, Bang, Bam...Jose, Ryan, and Carlos.

The Mets 1, 2 and 4 hitters turned Matt Chico's night into one he'd like to forget, blasting long balls and leading the Mets to a 5-2 victory over the Nationals.

Ryan "Can't hit lefties" Church crushed a hanging curve over the right field wall and continues his hot hitting. In two games as the Mets #2 hitter, he's looked very impressive at the plate and, perhaps more importantly, extremely comfortable as well. Ryan Church is now batting .340 and is fast on his way to becoming a huge fan favorite with his marquee good looks and professional on-field demeanor.

Beltran struck the big blow of the game with a 3-run blast that signaled the end for Chico. In addition to his homerun, Beltran drew his club leading 13th walk of the season to raise his OBP to a sparkling .448. Beltran, who looked tentative all spring, appears very close to being 100%.

John Maine wasn't his sharpest tonight, but he limited the damage and made it through 6 2/3 innings before turning it over to Joe Smith and Billy Wagner.

Both relievers pitched well, and Smith, despite hitting Lastings Milledge, has really displayed the good ball movement and control that won him the job last year. Of note is the fact that Smith has not allowed an inherited run to score in 2008.

Billy Wagner notched his 2nd save of the year and now sports a perfect 0.00 ERA in a mere 4 innings of work through the Mes first 13 games.

Tomorrow the Mets Nelson Figueroa tries to complete the sweep and re-kindle a little of the magic he had in his 2008 Mets starting debut.