Mets - 3 of 4 (5 of 6) (6 of 8)

sporting goods

Picking up on Darlucky's request... The Mets have also begun to play good baseball, perhaps not surprisingly coinciding with the return of Kris Benson and Mike Cameron. Things to be happy about for the Mets:

1. Mike Cameron is back and scorching the ball. Ignoring his complaints about how difficult it is to transition from Centerfield to Rightfield, Cameron has been an absolute marvel. Willie dropped him in the 2-hole and somehow he looks a little more patient than I remember. I would still like to see David Wright in the 2-hole, but a competent on-base threat is a nice change. But if Cameron reverts to the K machine that he typically is, it has to be Wright's turn, despite his age.

2. Aaron Heilman is pitching great. Heilman is doing so well that the Mets absolutely cannot send him down when Ishii comes back. First, he is pitching better than Ishii would. Second, both Heilman and Ishii are better than Zambrano, Ishii just a little. I would not be surprised if, when Ishii is ready, the Mets discover a minor DL-worthy injury for Zambrano and he has to make a couple of rehab starts in AAA, a la Steve Trachsel a couple of years ago.

3. This Piazza guy is pretty good.

The bad:
The Mets refusal to use young players. For each Victor Diaz, the Mets give us the threat of sending down Heilman, and the wasted roster spots of Manny Aybar and Mr. Koo. Koo stinks. He has mediocre stuff and can't get out lefties, kind of a necessity for your lefty specialist. Please return young Royce Ring to the majors. He can't be worse than Koo, and with on the job training might actually be a shut 'em down reliever. And true to form, Aybar is horrible. Any right-handed reliever from AAA would be better. I'm looking at you Scott Strickland. Get healthy soon.

UPDATE: Koo actually does get lefties out, they only have a .214 Batting Average against him. Of course, overall he has a .306 BAA, which means that Willie Randolph is an idiot for pitching him against Righties.

UPDATE II: Manny Aybar still sucks. .316 BAA.

UPDATE III: Royce Ring is still better than both of them, and certainly doesn't belong at AAA.