Half Full?

I could do a clever mid-point awards/grades for each player post here, but frankly, I am not that clever, and know that many other Met bloggers will be doing the same on a player by player level. I will instead do a team wide report card, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Ugly - Jose Lima having started 4 games for the Mets. Even if he had only started 1 game, the simple fact that this retread had to start one game would have qualified for this spot. This is not an indictment of Lima Time! (though he does suck), rather, the situation that caused him to be relied upon to start is what is ugly.

Coming into the season, the staff of Pedro, Tom, Steve, Brian and Victor seemed OK. Yeah, Zambrano stunk, but he was not bad for a number 5 guy, based on numbers. Bannister had a good spring, and showed promise. Glavine had had a great second half, and Pedro was Pedro. Alas, the wheels started to come off, once Zambrano's arm came off and Bannister's hamstring popped. The lack of starting pitching depth was exposed. John Maine could not make it through one start without having an injury, and thus, we were afforded the (dis)pleasure of Lima Time! Thankfully, he did not last long, but once Pedro's hip acted up enough to cause him to be DL'd, and a makeup doubleheader was required, Lima Time! Was back. Thankfully, the last outing appears to be the last time, though he will no doubt clear waivers, and be in Norfolk again.

Also ugly - Kaz "Mothra" Matsui. Just freaking awful.

The Bad - Injuries. Beltran missed time earlier this year. Cliff Floyd has been hurt off and on all year. Pitchers with injuries. Nady lost an organ, and now has a fractured wrist. Reyes cut his finger (Jose, the next time you dive into first, I will personally smack you around). Delgado has been playing with a rib injury of some sort. All in all, a lot of injuries. Were it not for the good, this team could easily be far behind in this division, even given how bad it is.

The Good - For the first time in history, the Mets have 3 players with 20 HR's at the break. Now, this team has not always had a lot of power hitters, but that is still something to be surprised about. In addition, David Wright has 74 RBI at the break, the most ever. Now, that is shocking. There have been a lot of players on this team in the past who have driven in a lot of runs, yet no one has had this many at the break. Not Straw, not Gary, not Todd, nor Robin, not Mike. That my friends, is impressive. Carlos Beltran has been nearly the player we thought we were getting two winters ago. The fielding has been very good, the bat, as good as hoped. For a while it seemed the two Carlos' were playing "top this" for the HR lead. Delgado has been slumping, which (I hope) is due to his injury. Hopefully the 4 days will give him time to recover a tad. I do not want to think of this lineup without him there. He protects Beltran, and helps Wright. If Uncle Cliffy can get on track, this lineup can be truly dangerous.

The bench has been good. Say what you want about Willie not being the best manager, but he knows how to keep his bench active. Edny Chavez has done a good job pretty much each time he has been called upon. Woodward has filled in well, though he needs to get the average up a tad. Jose "Stache" Valentin has been a revelation at 2nd since the dismissal of Mothra. Julio Franco, in the clubhouse, dugout and field has been more than expected. The team is more than just the name guys, it is the bench, and this bench has done well.

The bullpen has been a revelation as well. Omar made up for last year's mess in a big way. Darren Oliver has been unbelievable. Taking over for Lima Time! The other night for 5 shutout innings was what the team needed with a double dip the next day. Chad Bradford has been as close to automatic with inherited runners as possible (the count is now 5 of 36 I believe). Duaner "Filthy" Sanchez is, well, Filthy. I loved how he plunked Cabrera the other day. For all his whining, Feliciano has been good for the most part. Aaron Heilman however is a concern. I hope he uses these 4 days to work on his mechanics. He will be needed in the 2nd half. Billy Wagner as well needs to improve. Yesterday, despite giving up a HR, he threw strikes. That is what he needs to do. No more messing around, throw the ball for strikes. What is needed now is the starters to go a bit deeper into games, allowing the pen some rest.

This group seems to get along real well. They pick each other up. Various players have played key roles in victories, whether stars or bench guys. The recipe has been mixed appropriately. I look forward to more good play in the second half.
I will feel better about good play in the playoffs with a new third starter.

One last thing, I read today where Joel Sherman had a little story in The Post about how the Mets should go after Willis, with some quotes from Billy Wagner. The way the story was written, Joel appeared to put some words in Billy's mouth about who should be traded. That bothered me a bit, but what really annoyed me was the fundamental error in the story. Joel feels that the Mets should trade whoever is necessary to get Willis now, including Milledge or Pelfrey. Now, if it took Milledge, I would not be too upset (though I think Lastings will be a good player), but Joel should know that Pelfrey CANNOT BE TRADED UNTIL JANUARY 2007. A drafted player cannot be traded until he has been under contract for a year, and Mike signed in January 2006. For pete's sake, this guy is a professional sports writer, covering baseball, and he advocates trading a guy who under MLB rules cannot be traded. The Post, once again, takes a credibility hit. Stuff like this annoys me to no end. Now, I'm not perfect, and I may mispost a stat or make an error from time to time (though I will try my best to avoid/minimize them), but I am a fan, not a professional. Joel is a pro, and should know better.