Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Kaz Ishii turned in a sparking performance last night to close the Mets to within two games of first place. What we knew about Kaz before he came over to the Mets was that he was erratic and had control issues, but could be effective. Ishii has been alternating good starts and bad starts by giving up five, zero, five, one, seven, and one earned runs in consecutive starts. In three of his six starts, he gave up one run or less. In the other three, he gave up at least five runs or more and has been the pitching equivalent of Mike Piazza. It has been feast or famine with Ishii because he either gives you a sparkling game or a completely gives you no chance at winning.

In his three starts giving up one or less runs:

IP   H   ER   HR   BB   SO   ERA   WHIP   BB/9
20  10    2    0    8   10  0.90   0.90   3.60

In his three starts giving up five or more runs:

  IP   H   ER   HR   BB   SO   ERA   WHIP   BB/9
15.2  15   17    3   13    9  9.77   1.79   7.47

What's clear here is that when Ishii does not shoot himself in the foot, he is a very, very successful pitcher. On the year, his BAA is .202 and his OBPA is .318 so he is not getting beat with bats too often. When he is on, he is solid pitcher but when he is off, he is walking pitchers with the bases loaded and giving people fits. I'm not expecting him to change to now since it is the way he has always basically been, but if Rick Peterson and Kaz Ishii can figure this enigma out to be a bit more consitant, the Mets will be very happy.

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Game plan for today? Flip the bat, take your time getting down the line on walk, or whatever else that Josh Beckett can get pissed at.

The most recent episode was last Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies. In the sixth inning, Beckett became indignant when Phillies outfielder Kenny Lofton flipped his bat after Beckett walked him. Beckett had words with Lofton as the teams' benches emptied onto the field.

Beckett said he didn't like the way Lofton threw the bat. The Marlins' pitching coach, Mark Wiley, went to the mound to tell him Lofton had been flipping his bat that way for years.

Easy big guy.

Two Mets make the all-time worst lineup. Eddie Kranepool (sorry Steve if you are reading this) and Al Leiter check in on the dubious list.

Anyone up for some hot rumors?

Cameron is off to a great start, and savvy Mets general manager Omar Minaya is sure to want a quality major-leaguer or a pair of top prospects for Cameron. If the Mets send Cameron to the Astros, top second-base prospect Chris Burke likely would have to be headed to Queens in return.

In the Mets-Padres rumors, Phil Nevin has been mentioned often in rumors for Cameron. Nevin has a no-trade clause, and nothing in his past gives any indication the former bust could survive in New York.

Chris Burke is legit and would be perfect for the Mets to build upon for the future and Josh Barlfield is a power hitting second baseman that would be a welcome addition as well. While Nevin would be an OK pickup, the Mets would undoubtedly need more in return as they would with a deal with Astros involving Chris Burke. As good as Cammy has been, Diaz looks ready and able to help this team in 2005 and beyond so this is golden opportunity that Mets do not have very often. For once, they have the upper hand.

The Mets are tied for second in the NL and tied for third overall in K/9.

Elias Sports Bureau, Friday night's game marked just the fifth time since 1990 that a 1-0 game ended with neither team having issued a walk. It was the second one involving the Mets, who beat Philadelphia 1-0 on June 15, 1994, when Bobby Jones did not surrender a walk.

Draft stuff from Jon Heyman and Newsday:

Omar Minaya and his execs have seen St. John's reliever Craig Hansen so much, you'd think it's a done deal at No. 9. But some insiders suspect the Mets are watching the local product (Glen Cove) partly for positive press and might take Florida prep outfielder Andrew McCutchen, 6-7 Wichita State right-hander Mike Pelfrey or University of Miami third baseman Ryan Braun instead. USC catcher Jeff Clement is moving up but might go to Milwaukee (fifth) or Toronto (sixth).

One scout is convinced the Mets will take Pelfrey after Minaya saw him in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. "The Tigers [picking 10th] are absolutely sick. He was throwing 95, 96 all game," the scout said.

Kent Malmros has a great article on college closers.

Minor update:

• Binghamton beat Trenton 4-2 while Mike Jacobs continues his hot hitting. He went 2 for 3 with a double to bring his average up to .285.
  
• Hagerstown beat Delmarva 9-5. Carlos Gomez went deep once and had two RBIs. Jesus Flores was 2 for 3, two runs scored, a homer, and two RBIs.
  
• St. Lucie beat Clearwater 7-6. Shawn Bowman and Alhaji Turay both went deep and had three RBIs. Milledge walked in his only plate appearance and I have no idea if he left injured or what.
  
• The Tides were the only Met affiliate to lose getting downed 3-1 to Ottowa.