Thanks to Carlos Beltran. Yes, the same Carlos who was booed earlier this season. The same Carlos who was questioned when he sat out with a bad hammy. The same Carlos who still can't seem to hit well at Shea. The same Carlos who, when on the road, treat opposing ballparks like batting cages.
Coming into this seaosn, Turner Field was a Field of Nightmares for the Mets. It seemed like they could not buy a win. This season though, the worm has tuned. After taking 2 of 3 earlier this season, the Mets came in to face a streaking Braves team. The Braves were hot, and were making noise about overtaking the Mets to win the division for a 15th straight season. The Mets, to their credit, did not spout much. They decided to let the bats do their talking.
Friday, Pedro made his return from the DL. After a poor first inning, he wound up going 6 innings. The pen did the rest, scoreless innings from Pedro Part Duex, Filthy, and Country Time for the save. Wright and Reyes had HR's, and Beltran was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and a walk. Nice start, as the Mets won 6-4.
Saturday was a thing of beauty. The wife and I took the kids to see both sets of Grandparents, so I missed most of the game. When we arrived at my folks house, the game was on, and I was please to see a score of 10-3 Mets. Dad of course said "shh" when I got a little excited, old habits die hard. The final was 11-3, El Duque pitching 8 innings, giving up 3 unearned runs. The Undertaker did his part, going 4-4 with 2 runs and a walk. Carlos Beltran went 2-5, 5 RBI's and 2 runs on 2 HR's. Carlos Delgado was hit in the knee with a Tim Hudson pitch, and Met fans were once again concerned. There was no reason.
Sunday was the final nail in the coffin. Delgado returned and went 4-5. Wright went 2-4, Reyes 3-5, and Beltran went 2-6, another 5 RBI's and two more HR's, including his third GS of July. A good day for all, save for Tom Glavine, who last 4 innings, giving up 6 runs. Might be time for Pedro to give Tom some of that chicken he had so Tom can have a few days off to work on his command. The starters are not deep on this team, and they need a right Tom Glavine for the Playoffs.
The Field of Nightmares is now Beltran's personal sandlot. The demons have been exorcised. Note to Marcus Giles, when you mouth off, make sure you back it up. Letting a playable groundball go through your glove is not going to make you fondest dreams come true, though it will help those of Met fans. Sorry to see Larry Jones go down with a bad oblique. He probably came back too fast. Now, I hate Larry, but I gotta give him props for playing this weekend. It was a big series for the Braves, and they needed all the help they could get. I don't want to hear another word from the Braves, with the exception of "No Mas" or "The Mets are our daddy's".
The beast is now slain. Even with the big lead, Met fans were concerned about this series. Thankfully, there was no reason to be. The Braves are now 15 back, with little to no hope of even the wild card at this point. As for the rest of the division, what little competition their was from the Phillies is now done, as they dumped Abreu and Lidle to the Yankees for a bag of bats and balls. It is amazing how Cashman is able to pull off these deals. Perhaps he has Darth Marc pull the old Jedi Mind Trick. The Marlins are young, see them in a couple of years when they age a bit. As for the Nationals, well, not much there once they dump Soriano today.
As for potential Met trades, so long as teams are asking for Milledge or Pelfrey, Omar better be hanging up the phone. El Duque righted himself, and is seemingly the #3 starter right now. Maine has been very good his last couple of starts, so he could potentially be the #4. Could Omar trade for a hopeful, such as Kip Wells, perhaps, but only so long as the cost is low. He, or a reasonable facsimile are not that much better than what he has. Aaron Heilman and lesser prospects for Barry Zito would be nice, but will probably not happen. There are 7 hours to go. If anything happens, check back here for my comments.
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5 comments:
I know people like to bash the Yankees (I despise them and love to take pot shots as well), but I think the Abreu trade was a good one for them. Do I think it punches their ticket to the WS? Of course not. But they got him for nothing but $$$$. The Phillies were trying to get Milledge for Abreu from the Mets. The Yankees traded CJ Henry, a non-prospect and 2 pre-prospects for him.
I don't think anything significant will happen before the deadline. But I still daydream of the Oswalts and Schmidts....
That Abreu trade was a freakin heist.
Leave it to George to put a damper on a "Sweep At The Ted" weekend.
Bastard.
I love your happy recaps Ed :)
I just hope having Abreu's contract on the books next year may make the Yankees blink first in the game of $$$'s chicken we play this offseason over ppl like Zito.
Anybody for Carlos Beltran Part II?
Danny, Mike - like I said, Cashman has a way of making these deals. It is amazing that he can give up nothing for something. Abreu will fit in nicely in the lineup. Lidle is better than Sideny Ponson. Will he start in the playoffs? That is a stretch, with Mussina, Wang and Big Eunuch.
I wish Omar could pull off something like that, though as it stands, the Mets have to be the NL Favorite.
Adding Roy, oh boy, now that would be a heist. I know Uncle Cliffy may not like him, but since he wants to win, he would deal with it. Mike Piazza dealt with Pedro, various Yanks dealt with Roider Clemens.
Schmidt is probably more likely. He would be a nice #3.
As for George Mike, piss on him.
dep - good point about Abreu and contract, though Sheffield is off the books at the end of the season, as is Mussina. George will spend whatever it takes. Cashman's control only goes so far. If the Mets wind up having a special fall, George is going to want to retool in a big way.
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