Do The Right Thing

I like Angel Pagan a lot, but the just thinking about the return of Moises Alout makes me happy from an offensive standpoint. I do understand the step back in defense the Mets will be taking, but as good as Pagan has been, Alou is a just a beast.

Over the last four seasons, he has dropped an OPS+ of 131, 138, 132, and 138. Sweet. As good as Angel Pagan is, Alou is miles ahead offensively. For me, Alou is more the passable enough in left with solid defense everywhere else with the exception of first, so it is hardly a concern.

The Mets are rolling right now and their starting pitching has been sparkling for the most part and the only real blemish with this team right now is Carlos Delgado and his 64 OPS+. That is horrific and Delgado really needs to be dropped. Enter in the real problem, which is Willie.

Mets manager Willie Randolph said it's premature to consider reacting to first baseman Carlos Delgado's slump.

For now, Delgado remains in the fifth spot in the Mets' lineup.

"It's too early for me," Randolph said. "A lot depends on how the team is doing."

If Willie insists on batting Castillo second and will continue to be stubborn with Delgado, there are not many options out there. Castillo, his 61 OPS+, and his inability to hit a ball out of the infield have no business being anywhere but 8th and Delgado is just a diminished player at this point, but we know how this story is going to play out....at least in the early chapters.

Reyes OPS+ 114
Castillo OPS+ 61
Wright OPS+ 207
Beltran OPS+ 100
Delgado OPS+ 64
Alou OPS+ kickass
Church OPS+ 127
Schneider OPS + 88

The weird thing is Willie did drop Delgado last year and had dropped Castillo this year. There were some moments of clarity, but he inevtiably goes back to his stubborn ways and thinks the players are still capable of their yesteryear production. If you come to grips with that, the most optimal lineup should be Reyes, Church, Wright, Beltran, Alou, Delagado, Schneider, and Castillo.

I do not buy into balancing the out the lineup and spreading out your big guns. Your best players should be at the top and the bad hitters should be at the bottom. For me, it is simple. For others, not so much. I truly hope Willie comes to grips that Castillo and Delgado are done and does the right thing. He should not wait for a complete disaster to take action, but make sensible decisions when they are the obvious and right thing to do.

* * *

Frank Thomas is a big, big man.

Last night was a ugly game. Very ugly. However, I did enjoy watching Zambrano and Marmol. Zambrano striking out Wright with back to back filthy pitches in the first was fun to watch and watching Marmol strike out Anderson with a frisbee was fun as well.

Other than that, ugly, ugly, ugly.

Wright is awesome.

Know who had a hotter week than the Braves' Chipper Jones? OK, nobody had a hotter week. But in the interest of spreading things around a little, let's give some credit to the Mets' David Wright, who hit .522 in his team's six games, with a sick .633 on-base percentage and nine RBIs along the way. Wright was so good for the Mets -- who, by the way, went 5-1 -- that he overshadowed the re-emergence of shortstop Jose Reyes (.429, two homers, two RBIs, two stolen bases). Reyes scored seven runs in the six games, two more than he had in his first nine.

Tim Marchman talks Yankee baseball.