How Was Your Weekend?

On the heels of the beating administered to the Cardinals, hopes were running high amongst the Shea faithful heading into Atlanta for a fist place showdown. After Friday, we were feeling even better. Oliver Perez pitched a GEM, as the Mets walloped the Braves 11-1, with O Pea's only blemish being a solo home run given up to Jeff Francoeur. Jose Reyes had two triples, Alou and Valentin had doubles, and DW had two. All the starters had a hit, and the boys looked to be locked in. O Pea pitched 7 strong innings, with 6 k's, no walks, and allowed only 5 hits, making me happy for real and for fantasy purposes, and elating Coop. Ambiorix Burgos and Joe Smith finished it up. Things looked good.

Saturday was a different story, as they lost 5-3. The defense was the main culprit, as Green had an error on a catchable ball, which extended a Braves rally. Delgado also made an error. Glavine pitched well, but not great, as the cold impacted his feel for the ball. The cold didn't impact John Smoltz, who once again mastered the Mets lineup. Green was the only hitter who did much, going 3-5, the rest of the lineup was mostly quiet, including David Wright, who struck out 3 times against Smoltz. They left 13 men on base, which is a problem dating to late last season. It would not improve yesterday.

Alas, I did not get to see much of the game yesterday. My mom's side of the family is populated with Yankee fans, so, watching much of the Mets game was out of the question (though Dad and I had fun watching as the Yanks lost). I saw a little, and ran out to the car to get updates on the radio. What I heard was not good, nor was what I saw. Outside of home runs by Green and Castro, there was little offense. Reyes was left on third, twice, once with no outs. A total of 6 hits, and 7 LOB. Now, this was Kyle Davies they were facing, not exactly a top flight starter, though he did have a complete game against the Mets last year. Heilman took the loss, as he was the first reliever to give up a run (two actually) this year. El Duque was good again, continuing the Mets string of excellent starts, though 4 walks is not a good thing in the long run.

The problem is timely hitting. Now, it is early, but this was a problem late last season, as well as in the NLCS. I'm getting a little worried about Wright. He did have a couple of doubles on Friday, and has had a hit each game this year (and 18 straight dating back to the end of last season). Mike McGann over at Flushing University has a column discussing Wright, it's worth a read. Something needs to be done about the lack of timely hitting. Those who had suffered read my ramblings since last year know I am not a big fan of Rick Down. This is Rick's job, and he better do it. Atlanta is improved (though it looks like Hampton may have an elbow injury, so that is going to hurt them a bit). Philly isn't going to suck all year long (though, I hope they will for the next 3 days). It will possibly be a dogfight, so the bats need to get going.

Home Opener today. Second to last at Shea. John Maine on the mound versus Cole Hamels. Jimmy Rollins, prepare for the boos baby. I'm sure he is expecting them. Let's just hope he doesn't use it as motivation. Alex Nelson at Metsgeek has the breakdown of the Philly starters. I hope to be attending the Thursday evening game, weather permitting. For today, Gamecast and Metsgeek open thread will have to suffice. I think taking 2 of 3 would be a nice message to Jimmy. Let's get it done boys.

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In addition to checking up on the Mets via radio yesterday, I had to check up on my Islanders. They won Saturday, and the Leafs beat the Habs, setting up a "win and in" for the Isles yesterday. The Devils started Scott Clemmenson instead of Brodeur, which is sure to annoy Leafs fans. It was 2-0 Isles with 5 minutes left. Then, 2-1 with 10 second left. The Devils tied it with .9 second left, with the goalie pulled for the extra skater, leading to OT. OT was scoreless, and I made it home in time to see the shootout, which the Isles won 2-1, clinching a playoff spot. They now get ready to face the President's Trophy Winners, the Buffalo Sabres. Isles coach Ted Nolan started there, so that makes for a nice story line. On paper, it looks like the Isles have no shot. Buffalo won 3 of 4 meetings during the season. The Isles have been playing full bore for a week, so a letdown is possible. And they are using their third string goalie, Wade Dubielewicz. It is not going to be easy. But the whole season wasn't. Most (if not all) the experts picked the Isles to be 30th out of 30 teams after an off season of turmoil. But Rick DiPietro proved to be worth nearly every penny of his $4.5 million a year contract (alas, it is a 15 yr contract). Jason Blake had a career season with 40 goals. Ryan Smyth was a late season addition. Can they win? Sure. But it is going to take a career defining performance from Dubie. And a playoff awakening from Alexei Yashin, who seems to go quiet once the playoffs start. Somebody better light a fire under his ass. Maybe Carol Alt should withhold favors until he shows he can dominate a playoff series. He has the talent to do so. But does he have the drive?