En Fuego

Jose Reyes is on fire and that does not come close to quantifying what Reyes is doing right now.

Reyes will ride into Boston tomorrow on a 13-game hitting streak during which he's batted at a .561 clip — 32 for 57. He has a hit in all but one game he's played this month. His batting average is up to .302; his on-base percentage, a lofty .361.

"He's an inferno right now," Down said matter-of-factly. "The reason for this? He's got talent. His pitch selection has gotten better, and he's taken a shorter approach."

How much better can he get?

Reyes just smiled and said he's enjoying this while he can. Beltran said Reyes is good enough to be a No. 3 hitter, something Randolph probably doesn't want to hear yet.

Jose Reyes is a streaky hitter. When he is hot, he is extremely hot. When he's not hot, he is not even lukewarm. He is ice cold.

Games 1-10:  .304/.333/.522
Games 11-20: .150/.209/.175
Games 21-30: .370/.463/.565
Games 31-40: .182/.234/.341
Games 41-50: .255/.327/.447
Games 51-60: .189/.231/.378
Games 61-70: .452/.521/.667
Games 71-75: .652/.652/1.130

Jose's biggest problem has been his consistency. That is what is so frustrating with him because he looks like he is learning on the job when the Mets need stability in such an important spot. However, right now he has found a bit of consistency to say the very least. Reyes is .561/.583/.912 in his last thirteen games and the Reyes road show went into Canada and showed the fans a .643/.643/1.000 weekend and two back to back four hit games. A lot of average fans might not really know that much about Reyes besides some decent overall numbers in his past years. Unless you watch him daily, there is nothing awe-inspiring outside of the fact you know he steals. However, to watch him is to see a kid that oozes athletic ability and perhaps the most exciting player in the game to watch.

Wright and Reyes open eyes in every city they go to and while the NL towns are familiar with the two who are gaining tons of national exposure daily, the AL towns are not as familiar with the both of them. With Reyes now flashing some pop, he is third on the team in extra base hits with 37 behind Wright's 40 and Beltran's 38. The Mets have three guys on pace to knock over 80 extra hits and Reyes is on pace to have 42 doubles, 22 triples, and 18 homers. Really scary stuff.

Reyes was going to get better. He broke into the league so young and probably a bit too soon. He has showed everyone that he has talent, but he also showed everyone that he has plenty of things to work on. If the kid does figure it out, the sky is the limit and no other player in the league will be as exciting to watch and as big of a game changer. Is Reyes on hot streak or did he figure it out? While we know he won't hit like this forever, something certainly could have clicked with him. If it did, the Mets might have three guys in the top ten for All-Star balloting.

* * *

"I'm actually feeling generous. I was going to offer to send a case of K-Y Jelly to the Mets' clubhouse. For as many guys that are prepared to use it. Give me a number."
--Anna Benson, wife of Orioles pitcher Kris Benson, on her husband beating his former team (New York Daily News)

When Duaner Sanchez walked off the mound on Friday I was thinking Tommy John....goodbye Duaner. However all is well as it was only a pinched nerve but it was scary to say the least. You never like to see a pitcher walk off the mound like he did, but when they identified it as his shoulder and not his elbow during the broadcast, I felt better about the entire situation. With Bell pitching well right now and six other capable arms all together, there is no rush to bring Sanchez back and this time off will probably do him good anyway.

Some news on Cliffy:

Cliff Floyd is expected to DH today in Port St. Lucie, his first game action since spraining his left ankle in Los Angeles on June 6.

This is high praise considering that Blue Jays play in the AL East:

"That's the best lineup we've faced all year," Blue Jays outfielder Frank Catalanotto said.

The Mets are now an astounding 11.5 games in front of the Phillies who have now dropped to four games under .500 and have lost four in a row.

Henry Owens is good.

His numbers for the B-Mets this season are beyond impressive. He has nine saves in nine opportunities. His ERA is 0.83. Opposing batters are hitting .083 off of him. He has 44 strikeouts and seven walks -- a strikeout-walk ratio of better than 6:1 -- in 21 2/3 innings.

Owens, a member of the Mets' 40-man roster, has been as nearly automatic for the B-Mets this season.

"His mentality stems, I think, from the fact that he wants to pitch in the big leagues," said B-Mets pitching coach Mark Brewer. "And he wants to go out there at this level and stick it up somebody's fanny."

Owens has gaudy statistics, a fastball that consistently reaches the mid-90s and a slider that spins toward the plate in the mid-80s.

"Anytime he's throwing his (slider) for strikes, as a hitter you have no chance," B-Mets manager Juan Samuel said. "With his breaking ball as a hitter, there's nothing you can do."

Ambiorix Concepcion was promoted to Binghamton after his solid play for the St. Lucie Mets. Concepcion was 22 and playing Advanced A-Ball and will turn 23 this October. While he was not far off in terms of the league he was playing in and his age, Concepcion is taking up a spot on the 40-man roster. He really needed to step it up after his disappointing 2005 season and he did just that. He only went deep one time, but has twenty one doubles which certainly bodes well for him as the Florida State League is tough on hitters. With a good showing in Binghamton in the second half of the season, Ambiorix could be fast tracked and possibly boost his trade value and give the Mets a valuable trading chip.

Dayn Perry sings the Mets praise in his latest Power Rankings.

Not to damn them with faint praise, but this is rather easily the best team in the NL at the moment and probably for the long term. The back of the rotation remains a sore spot, but they rank second in the senior circuit in bullpen ERA. And, of course, you’d be hard pressed to find a more productive trio than David Wright and the Carloses. Big stretch ahead, as their next 10 come against the Reds, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees.

Phil Humber is back.

"I was competing again," he said Saturday morning. "And it felt good. I felt I was at my best."

Not in terms of performance -- four runs, seven hits, a walk and seven strikeouts -- but in terms of the potential he brought to the mound.

His fastball -- 91 to 94 mph -- was back, he said, as it was before his ulnar collateral ligament betrayed him. His curve and change-up had returned, too. He lacked precision, but that was to be expected after a protracted layoff.

"I've never had trouble throwing strikes," Humber said. "But my pitches, the strikes, were up.

"First game back, I wasn't worried about that."

Or his elbow. No problems, no pain. He was on a pitch count -- 75 was his limit.

Good stuff. He got hit a bit in his first start back in the GCL, but that is no big deal. He struck out seven in four innings and was throwing hard. When Clint Everetts returned to action, he was about 5 mph off his normal velocity and had to build up his arm strength. With Humber already throwing as hard as he did before he left, it is entirely possible he picks up a few MPHs on his fastball. If he can find his control quickly like he found his fastball, he could move very fast. While there is no need to rush him, 2006 taught us that you can never have to many starters and Humber could be a phone call away in 2007 should he be needed with a full time rotation spot with his name on it in 2008.

Mike from Mike and the Mad Dog is dumb. What really irritates me about them is how they just exhibit no complete knowledge of baseball and when they don't know something, they make it up. While Mike was talking about BJ Ryan and gushing about how great he is and how great of a year he is having, a Boston fan called up and said if you are going to talk about Ryan, you have to give Papelbon his props. Mike then said that Papelbon was not having the same year. The guy then went on to compare their stats. Innings were about the same, Ryan had a few less hits, Papelbon had a few less walks, and Papelbon had a lower ERA. After knowing they have roughly the same innings and same hits and walks, Mike proceeded to still try and keep up his ridiculous fight and said "I don't care about that, what's his WHIP? I need the WHIP." Umm...Mike, WHIP is walks + hits / innings pitched. If you had all three components for each guy and they were about the same, it's safe to say they have approximately the same WHIP. Ryan's is .66 to Papelbon's .68 and Mike finally agreed that Papelbon is having a year as good as Ryan.

Hey, it's not like a Yankee fan who does a sports talk show should know much about the Yankee's biggest rival and the team they are looking up at in the standings. It is completely sickening how much money they make and how they just like to make unsubstantiated claims. In this instance the guy got his two cents in and luckily he had the stats in front of him. If he didn't, Mike would have just spoke over him and said the caller was wrong and never even known he was just making shit up. But all that is just par for the course for him every day during his show.