A Good Road Trip

It looks like the Mets are starting to get on that roll I have been talking about since I started this blog; the roll I have been waiting to see, along with most Met fans. Following the All-Star break the Mets took three of four from the Reds. While that may not be a big accomplishment, I have seen many contenders lose out on first place because they could not handle the last place teams. Following the Reds, the Mets took two out of three from the Padres. It may not have been pretty, but they did it. Now, they will have, at the worst, a split with the Dodgers. With the Padres and Dodgers could well be in post season play.

Since moving on to play the Dodgers, the Mets have looked like a stronger team. Thursday’s game showed their ability to continually score. As for Friday, I would have liked it if the Mets could have handled Tomko, because they should have been able. Still, the pitching held them in the game and some late inning runs gave them the victory. This is another way they were able to win last year.

I do feel sorry for Valentin as he has had some bad luck this season. As someone who believes in being loyal to those who help you out, I do feel a certain amount of loyalty to Valentin. Still, in terms of the Mets as a team, Rueben Gotay had been getting a lot of the playing time. He still needs some work, but he certainly looks like the future. One could actually argue that Gotay cost them today’s game as not turning the double play late in the game led to two runs scoring for the Dodgers, the two that made the difference in the game. Still, I admire the way Gotay plays.

Beyond Gotay, there is Damion Easley. He has been good off the bench and has looked pretty good in some of his starts this year. Also, while Marlon Anderson is now considered an outfielder, when he played with the Mets previously, he played second base. I do not know if he still is able to do it, but it might be another option.

Even today’s loss does not have me too disappointed. As I indicated, the worst they could do is split a four game set with the Dodgers. That means they win four out of seven on the west coast against two strong teams.

Let’s Go METS!