The Big Four

I posted an article going over at Metsgeek.com about how the Mets' top three starters stack up against other teams' top three starters since June 1st. I had also gathered the stats on the top four, so instead of letting it go to waste, I'm going to use those numbers here and add in Tom Glavine and see if the Mets still stack up favorably.

Teams        ERA   Teams         H/9
Astros       2.58  Athletics    6.55
Athletics    2.82  Braves       7.60
Cardinals    2.90  Cardinals    8.03
Mets         2.97  Astros       8.03
White Sox    3.23  Cubs         8.08
Braves       3.28  Mets         8.37
Nationals    3.45  White Sox    8.43
Angels       3.60  Indians      8.65
Blue Jays    3.78  Angels       8.74
Padres       3.93  Padres       8.80
Mariners     4.01  Nationals    9.03
Tigers       4.04  Red Sox      9.04
Cubs         4.10  Mariners     9.13
Red Sox      4.15  Brewers      9.41
Indians      4.17  Blue Jays    9.53
Twins        4.20  Dodgers      9.59
Dodgers      4.21  Yankees      9.67
Brewers      4.30  Tigers       9.68
Rockies      4.41  Twins        9.71
Yankees      4.56  Marlins      9.82
Marlins      4.57  Orioles      9.88
Phillies     4.78  Phillies     9.94
Royals       4.79  Diamondbacks 9.99
Diamondbacks 4.81  Pirates     10.03
Orioles      5.01  Rangers     10.28
Pirates      5.26  Rockies     10.30
Rangers      5.36  Royals      10.41
Giants       5.44  Giants      10.43
Devil Rays   6.48  Reds        10.73
Reds         6.70  Devil Rays  11.11

The Mets top four rank 5th in ERA, 27th, in K/9, 7th in H/9, 13th in K/BB, and 9th in wins. Tom Glavine has taken a lot of heat lately, but when added back into the equation, The Mets are still atop nearly every team when it comes to ERA and remain very solid in terms of H/9. When you take the Mets top four starters and they way their are pitching right now, they hang with any team and give the Mets a chance to win. As for the only weak link, we know his days are numbered, but what can we reasonably expect from Steve Trachsel when he returns after he returns from a year off at 34 years old? I think Trachsel is going to have some issues coming back, and being that there are two months left in the season, I'm not sure he is the better choice of Jae Seo if the Mets are going to make a serious run at things. It will take him a while to get up to speed and he will need a few weeks as is in the minors pushing him back to mid August to possibly join the big club anyway. It's time to let Seo get a few shots and give the Mets five solid starters.

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Minor update:

• Ottawa beat Norfolk 6-5. Anderson Hernandez went 2 for 5 with an RBI and Eric Valent went 2 for 4 with a run scored, a double, and a walk.
  
• New Britain beat Binghamton 8-5. Lastings Milledge went 0 for 4 with a walk and a strikeout, Mike Jacobs went 3 for 5 with two runs scored, a triple, and his 19th homer on the year, and Brett Harper went 2 for 3 with two runs scored, his fifth homer at AA, two RBIs, and two walks.
  
• Hagerstown vs. West Virginia was rained out.
  
• Kingsport vs. Greeneville was rained out.
  
• The GCL Mets beat the GCL Marlins 6-2.

Lastings Milledge gets some love from BA on their latest Prospect Hot Sheet.

5. Lastings Milledge, of, Mets (Double-A Binghamton)
Put on the fast track after heating up in the Florida State League, the 2003 first-round pick responded to his Double-A promotion by going 10-for-21 (.476) in his first five games.

Gaby also continues to be on their radar.

15. Gaby Hernandez, rhp, Mets (High Class A St. Lucie)
After limiting Sally League batters to a .179 average in 18 games, the 19-year-old Hernandez got the win in his Florida State League debut with five solid innings.

Want more?

19. Brian Bannister, rhp, Mets (Triple-A Norfolk)
Gunning for a look at the major league level, Bannister walked a season-high five in his Triple-A debut on Monday, but got the victory by allowing just one run on two hits over 5 2/3 innings.

That could be the first time I have ever seen the Mets with three players in their top 20 and Anderson Hernandez is still an honorable mention and one hot week away from joining the top 20.

I love how the bench players are continually topping each other and they are all coming up huge time after time. After having a lackluster bench over the past few seasons, the Mets seemed to have found a good formula.

Is Matt Durkin and Scott Hyde playing poker with Kaz Matsui and Alay Soler somewhere? What happened to those guys?

Just to give everyone and idea of how much Adam Dunn will cost, the Orioles inquired about him and any deal for him started with Eric Bedard. Not finished, but started with Bedard. The Reds are in no rush and are looking to cash in large.

"I would think that we would add somebody or a couple of bodies to address some of our needs," Glavine said, adding later, "We tend to judge it by who we've played, who we're chasing. And you evaluate it talent for talent. And you really don't see anybody that's, talent wise, any better than us."

So much for drafting Humber because he seemed safe and healthy. I guess the idea is that Phil started overthrowing since he strained his abdominal muscle and that could have been the root of it. This sucks, but the Mets have two guys on the depths charts in front of him in Yusmeiro Petit and Brian Bannister and have Jae Seo and Aaron Heilman as well. It does however alter Omar's possible plan of dealing some minor league pitching. You do not know if Humber will ever recover and he will not be pitching in games until next August at the earliest. Best case scenario is that he gets four or five starts in '06 and he will have all of '07 in the minors with an eye on the majors in late '08. It is good that he gets his out of the way now and it does not interrupt his career once he reaches the big leagues.

Steve Trachsel will start for St. Lucie today vs. Vero Beach.

Willie on dropping Piazza:

"What's the big deal?" Randolph asked. "It's from fifth to sixth. ... He's on my team. He's in the lineup. He's playing. Instead of hitting fifth, he's hitting sixth.

"I just think I'm putting the best lineup together and I've said that from Day One. I've moved my lineup around all year long. This is a waste of time to talk about."

Kaz Ishii will regretfully get to start against Jake Peavy tomorrow. Basically, if the Mets are to win the series, they need to win today and I predicted a sweep on Metsgeek.com, but now I am just predicting 2 of 3.

Oh jeez...

POTENTIAL CATCH: Padres catcher Ramon Hernandez deserves a close look this week. Hernandez appears likely to become a free agent this winter, when the Mets figure to pursue him as Mike Piazza's successor. Hernandez, 29, has a solid reputation for pregame video preparation, likely the product of his time in Oakland with Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson. He's reportedly dumping agent Eric Goldschmidt for Scott Boras, with whom the Mets have developed a recent relationship.

The Yankees time in first place was short-lived. They are back below the Red Sox where they belong.