Slippery Slope

"I'm not going to go all season without a walk," Reyes said after the game. "I don't want to lose my aggressiveness, but I'll take a couple of walks. You'll see."

I am of the opinion that the Mets will not win much this season with a leadoff hitter that gets on base with a .310 OBP, which looks pretty good when presented with Reyes' .271 OBP. Reyes clearly needs to walk more, but it is a tough spot for anyone. Trying to adjust and get more discipline is a tough thing to do during the season. That was what Spring Training should have been for. However, due to Reyes' injury history and the need for him to prove he is healthy, he was up there going 100% and taking his hacks and running all over the field. One thing Jose can do is stop swinging at curveballs in the dirt. That is one logical progression in the right direction that probably will not impact his game much. The kid rarely hits them and swings at them about 100% of the time.

I cannot fault him for his approach in the pre-season and his all out play, but the Mets really do have a problem and not in the good way like trying to figure out what to do with Victor Diaz when Mike Cameron comes back. Asking Jose to make adjustments now at such a vital spot in the order could lead to him getting on base less, thinking too much, and completely floundering. If the Mets do happen to ask Reyes to work on any part of his game and take pitches, he needs to be dropped in the order. Batting leadoff is no time to experiment with anything. The Mets should address this carefully and should have addressed this with Reyes during the Winter Leagues and Spring Training. Willie's approach to Reyes at this point is the right one if he intends to keep him in the leadoff spot, which is debatable whether or not that is the right for the Jose and the Mets right now. One curious thing about this situation is that Wright was going to have to earn his chops, but Reyes does not. Both are young and inexperienced, and although Wright seems to be a much more seasoned and productive hitter, Reyes is the one with the free pass because of what the Mets want him to be, but is not right now.

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How about the Mets better than expected offense so far? The Mets are ranked 12th in the majors in BA, 10th in runs, 14th in OBP, and 10th in SLG. In the NL, the Mets are ranked 4th in runs, 6th in BA, 7th in OBP, and 5th in SLG.

Can lightning strike twice? Jae Seo takes his sparkling 1.50 ERA to the mound to keep the Mets over .500. If Heilman can win two games, anything can happen.

From NJ.com:

With his home run against Mike Hampton in the fourth inning of the Mets' 8-4 loss to Atlanta yesterday, Floyd extended his hitting streak to 14 games. He's batting .358 in that span with 12 runs, five homers and 15 RBI, and is fast approaching his own career-best hitting streak of 18 games.

Floyd's homer against Mike Hampton was a laser out of Shea. Cliffy's $6.5 million is looking like a great bargain this year so far.

We all thought the Mets bench was improved, but at this point, they are automatic.

Mets pinch hitters are batting .484, the best mark in the major leagues.

That is not going to continue, but Marlon Anderson looking like Teddy Ballgame off the bench works for me.

Jose Reyes has a higher SLG% than Carlos Beltran .438 to .437.