Tom Terrific

The two things that you have heard about Tom Glavine that have been responsible for the tremendous pitching of late have been him pitching inside more and using his curveball more. Whatever it is, Glavine has been putting up numbers comparable to the best in his long Hall of Fame career.

Going back to the All-Star break of 2005, he has been spectacular. Cy Young Award winning type of good in fact.

 W  L   ERA   G     IP  BAA  WHIP  k/9  bb/9  k/bb
10  8  2.24  21 148.67 .226  1.04 5.45  2.00  2.73

That stretch of games has been the best on the Mets staff and that includes Pedro Martinez.

 W  L   ERA   G     IP  BAA  WHIP  k/9  bb/9  k/bb
10  5  2.96  18 121.67 .213  1.04 7.62  2.52  3.03

Both have been great for the Mets, but Glavine has been a tick better since that time. For good measure, Glavine has batted .304 during that stretch in 46 at-bats. After his first season with the Mets in 2003, this signing looked like another Steve Phillips disaster. Then after a 3.60 ERA in 2004 and a 3.57 ERA in 2005, it looked a lot better. In fact, if Glavine's contract did not vest, the Mets would have presumable not picked him up for another year and he has proven to be just as big of an asset to this team as Pedro since last season's midway point.

After his 2003 it would have been unthinkable for the Mets to extend him for another year, but at this point, a one year extension before the season's end does not seem like a big stretch. Glavine has looked as good as ever and with him closing in on 300 victories, it sure would not be so bad to see him do it as a Met.

* * *

Don Burke does not want yesterday's loss to take away from a spectacular April. The scary part is, the Mets have a six game lead and a 16-8 record while having room for improvement. Improvement that most likely will happen as this team goes along and the team and players make adjustments. I doubt we have seen the best from this team and they still managed to come of the gate and do some damage.

Um, so the rookies can only ump Pittsburgh or KC games and the vets have to baby sit the Yankee games?

"I think it's a crime that the league would assign a rookie umpire to a crucial series like this. It's just stupid," Steinbrenner roared. "I'm really P.O.'d at the league for sending those kinds of umpires - a rookie umpire in here to do this series. We're going to see them (today)."

If the Yankees are worrying this much about the umps and calling a Toronto series in April 'crucial', I think it is safe to say they are worried about something bigger. Like maybe their $200 million team missing the playoffs and their weak pitching.

Bob Klapisch has a nice article that basically says no matter what happened yesterday, the Mets are still the team to beat.

Sooner or later, Wright will calm down, and Floyd will remember the virtues of patience. Even if Victor Zambrano is a lost cause (which he is), the Mets still have the bullpen to die for in the East. Barring any serious injuries, or a turnaround in the clubhouse chemistry, the Mets could spend the summer doing calisthenics for the postseason.

Of course, no one's ready to turn the page to October. Not yet. Not publicly. But the Mets played a sloppy game on Sunday, and still cleaned out the Braves' bullpen.

The fact that they lost hardly put a dent in Randolph's belief in his players. That confidence is spreading fast, or as Delgado cryptically put it, "We like what we're seeing."

BP's this week in quotes...

"When you are a first, there will be some people that are uncomfortable with the fact that you are a first, and they will try to create non-baseball issues if they have the opportunity. I just see that as people that are uncomfortable with the fact that there's a Hispanic in a position of authority. ... It is what it is."
--Mets GM Omar Minaya, on his perceived Latin-heavy roster (Sacramento Bee)

"You can't blame a guy for trying to put together one of the best teams available. I mean, last year on the free-agent market [Minaya] got the best pitcher and probably the best position player. They just happened to be one from the Dominican and one from Puerto Rico."
--Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado, on the roster

"And this year he just traded for a couple of guys, and when he needed a closer he went out and he got Billy Wagner. Nobody said anything about him getting an American guy."
--Delgado

"The way I look at it, you need 25 guys to win regardless of the color of their skin or where they're from, so I think he's done a great job of putting together a good team."
--Delgado, on Minaya

"I always tell Carlos he's a gringo anyway because he speaks such good English and is so articulate."
--Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca, on Delgado

As for some interesting Barry Bonds related quotes...

"Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record. We don't celebrate anybody the second or third time in."
--Commissioner Bud Selig, on how MLB will not celebrate formally when Bonds passes Babe Ruth in the home run record book (New York Times)

"We celebrate new records, that's what we do. We're being consistent. There's nothing to read into that."
--Selig

Technically, he is right. But a large part of this country, myself not included, hold Ruth's 714 in higher regard than Aaron's 755 when it relates to Bonds and if he passes them.

"High velocity is one of the most overrated things in pitching. I can be going 70-80 miles an hour down the highway for two hours, and I feel like I'm not moving, like I'm going 20. And then you hit that off-ramp and all of a sudden you're slamming on the brakes, because you've been going faster than you thought. Your eyes adjusted to the speed. I think major league hitting is no different. If a guy's throwing 95, by the third at-bat, the hitter's seen 10 to 15 pitches. It's not fast anymore."
--Maddux