Things I Learned While I Was Away

April 11th started a string five consecutive series that the Mets have not lost. Met fans have not had to endure a losing series since the first two of the season. Tom Glavine will be turned to keep the streak alive against the Atlanta Braves and Mike "The Schools are Better in Colorado" Hampton, who has been downright nasty this year. According to NJ.com, Tom Glavine, has a 1-6 lifetime record and 8.76 ERA (36 earned runs in 37 innings) against the Braves. Hey, at least Chipper will be out of the game.

Danny Kolb is no John Smoltz. Shit, Danny Kolb is no Braden Looper at this point.

Reyes' play on Monday made every shortstop in the MLB cry with jealousy. What an injustice it would have been if Reyes did not get awarded back the SS position.

Cliffy needs to bat 4th daily.

I think it is safe to say David Wright is done slumping.

The day might have come, when Mike Piazza bats 6th. It happened to Sammy Sosa in '04 and it it should happen to Piazza this year unless he turns it on fast.

Johnny Estrada needs a few high and tight ones.

              AB  2B  RBI  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
Everyone Else  43   3    4 .186 .255 .256 .511
The New Mets   17   3    5 .353 .421 .529 .950

He is becoming the new Met Killer. Something needs to be done about him getting a bit too comfy.

Aaron Heilman may just be useful after all.

Victor Zambrano is a wild man. He is used to working out of jams in Leiter-like fashion for his relative success in the past, but his .337 BAA, 2.01 WHIP, and 5.64 ERA are ugly. The good news is he can only get better. The bad news is, it might not be much better. Either way, I've already filed the Zambrano deal under bust and I've been holding out for while. Kazmir is holding his own at 21 years old with a 3.68 ERA, .241 BAA, and 1.41 WHIP and while I never thought the trade would even out in the end, I thought Zambrano would be really, really good for the Mets this year. He still might be good, but in a good rotation, Zambrano would never make it past being a third starter and that simply is not enough value in return.

* * *

Willie is denying any of that personal catcher business.

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck chances are it is a duck. But Willie Randolph said that's not necessarily so.

For the third time in Pedro Martinez's last four starts, Juan Castro -- and not Mike Piazza -- was the starting catcher last night against the Braves. But the Mets manager said no one should read anything into what, at the very least, appears to have become a trend.

"That's just the way it falls," Randolph said. "I told you earlier I wasn't going to get into that personal catcher thing. Coincidental, I guess. If he was healthy tonight, he would have played."

After Heilman's miraculous turnaround (or seemingly miraculous turnaround) Royce Ring may be next.

Royce Ring figured the call would come. Just not this soon. "I figured I'd need a good first half to give myself a chance," said the lefty reliever who arrived yesterday from Triple-A Norfolk. "It was a little earlier than I thought it would be. I'm real happy. Overwhelmed." Ring, 23, was recalled late Monday night after the Mets designated reliever Mike Matthews for assignment. In seven games for the Tides, Ring allowed one earned run and seven hits while striking out seven and walking three in nine innings.

A once highly touted closing prospect, Royce lost a few MPHs on his fastball and some skill. It looks like he may have adjusted himself and put himself back on track. Maybe he's finally figured out how to pitch with a loss in velocity, but whatever it is, it's working.

Brian Banniser and Brett Harper are still on BA's Prospect Hot Sheet.

3. Brian Bannister, rhp, Mets (Double-A Binghamton)
One of three minor league pitchers with a 4-0 record (and yes, we know W-L is a bad way to judge pitchers, but yes, all three of them are on the hot sheet), Bannister also gave up his first run of the season in his last outing, and now sports a 0.42 ERA and a 26/5 K/BB ratio in 21 innings. Not bad for a guy who entered the year with a career record of 12-11, 3.72 in 40 games.

So he's accrued 33% of the wins that he totaled in 40 career games in four games in 2005 for those of you keeping score.

Baseball Prospectus continues to rate the Mets highly. They enter in at #8.

Victor Diaz's insane week (.409/.552/.909) vaults him into VORP top 10. Pedro Martinez continues to dominate NL hitters: 29 IP, 11 hits allowed, 4 walks, 38 strikeouts, 2.17 ERA, 99.8 pitches per start. These aren't Art Howe's Mets.

Diaz in the top 10 VORP? Not to bad for a kid who was tabbed for AAA.

CBSportsline is starting to give them some respect by checking them in at #12.

Surprisingly one of the more potent offenses in the NL of late. Their 99 runs scored are No. 2 in the NL entering Tuesday's games.

Rob Neyer ran down some interesting stats about Coors Field.

1. Zero
The number of 1-0 games played at Coors Field in 10-plus seasons?

Zero.

Granted, these days the 1-0 game is an endangered species everywhere. But the Rockies have played in nine 1-0 games since moving into Coors. Just none of them at Coors. And 2-0 games? Only two of those in Denver.

Meanwhile, Coors Field has hosted 103 games in which both teams combined for at least 20 runs. And on May 19, 1999, the Rockies and Reds set a (still-standing) major-league record by combining for 81 total bases. The Rockies lost that one, 24-12. But their real problem has always been losing road games. And as long as people like me are making lists like this, they're going to keep losing too many road games.

Scary stuff. I guess Mike Hampton did not research baseball stats and pitcher's success there like he did schools, which are great in the Denver area in case you've not been made aware of that information.

I think we all know Jim Duquette will be a good GM one of these days, but he never got the chance to at Shea. His Diaz move is certainly helping his resume and if Royce Ring can contribute, that will only help his cause more.