L Millz is Coming Y'all!

Hide the women and children.

I joke, I kid. I'm looking forward to Lastings being back, for a LOT of reasons. First, he's a hell of a lot better than Ricky Ledee. Second, it's another bat with some pop in the lineup. Now, he isn't going to hit 20 HR's, but he is going to get his share of extra-base hits. With the lower third of our batting order (Green, Valentin) struggling, this is a good thing. He had 3 homers in his rehab stint in Binghamton, including 2 on Monday, and hit well over 400. Nice. He's in Brooklyn today and tomorrow, to get some more at-bats.

Odds are he will be here on Thursday as the Mets take on the Reds in a 4 game set. Hopefully, starting in left field, and hopefully, batting second. Why second you ask, and not 7th or 8th? Because PLD is not getting it done in the #2 spot, and the thought of Valentin or Easley hitting there makes me ill. The other options would be Wright or Beltran, but Wright is doing well in the #5 spot, and well, we know Willie ain't moving Beltran. Is Lastings the perfect answer? No. But he's the best one we have right now in my eyes.

Plus, he's gonna bring some exuberance with him. He's an excitable guy, and he wants to succeed. He's gotta know the fans will be on him if he does poorly, or says or does anything dumb. I'm sure he knows Willie and the boys will be on him too. It's time for him to prove that "he got his grown man on" and show those skills we've been hearing about.

Also returning this weekend should be Oliver Perez. He threw a rehab game yesterday, and reports had him feeling fine. He went 4 innings with 7 k's and reported no pain in his lower back. I don't need to explain how vital to the rotation he is.

Moises Alou is in St Lucie to rehab his quad. This is good news. Hopefully all goes well and we can get him back in early August. Then, we can have him in left, in a sorta platoon with Milledge perhaps. Once he returns, he's gonna need days off of course. Around that time we may see Endy Chavez, another left field option. Who knows, if Green keeps faltering, then perhaps Milledge can play some right field. The good news, no regular season games in Boston.

Then, in the middle of August, Pedro.

It's all falling into place fans. We jumped out to the early lead. Then, the injuries and awful play hit. Yet, the lead is still there. Now, the wounded are returning. Just in time for the stretch run. Buckle up, the second half of the season is about to begin.