1. At this moment, the three division leaders in the NL are all playing better than .600 ball. It is easy to believe that will continue for Philadelphia and St. Louis, and that they will win divisions. It is harder to believe about San Diego, which at 20-12 is currently tied with Philadelphia for the best record in the NL.
But the Padres hot start suddenly throws them, at the least, into a playoff discussion we would not have envisioned six weeks ago.
And it looks like it is going to be quite a traffic jam for the NL wild card. At this moment, the Giants lead for the wild card and eight teams are within four game.
We tell you this because the Mets are one of those four teams, just a game back of San Francisco after their strong rally yesterday to beat the Nationals.
That the wild-card race is likely to be tight all season emphasizes the need to maximize every win. So it is good, for example, that the Mets removed the ineffective Frank Catalanotto from the roster and added Chris Carter, whose go-ahead, pinch-hit double last night was vital to the win.
The Mets have to keep churning their roster when they see opportunities to hunt down those extra wins. Clearly Gary Matthews Jr. is next up on the chopping block after Mike Jacobs and Catalanotto already have been evicted.
I know Mets fans already are talking about trades for Roy Oswalt or Cliff Lee. But that is not happening right away, if at all. For now, Omar Minaya and his staff need to stay vigilant for every opportunity – the waiver wire, Independent leagues, minor trades – to upgrade the roster.
Every win really does count.
2. The Yankees did a lot of winning early this season without significant contributions from their Nos. 3-4 hitters Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Of late, both have improved their output, specifically Teixeira, and you can imagine the Yankees being even more menacing because of that.
The Mets have been in a similar situation with their Nos. 4-5 hitters – Jason Bay and David Wright. They have somehow played better than .500 ball without power from Bay and with too many strikeouts for Wright; and without sustained excellence from either.
Last night both went 3-for-4 to highlight the Mets’ 16-hit attack. These are hitters of pedigree, and the Mets should feel like they have a lot more coming from both of them, and No. 3 hitter Jose Reyes.
And, if that is the case, the Mets’ offense goes up a grade or two.
3. The Yankees believed their set-up core was going to be a major asset this year. But it has mostly not worked out that way. Chan Ho Park has been injured most of the season. David Robertson and Damaso Marte have failed to follow up strong postseasons with powerful performances this year. Alfredo Aceves is heading to the DL and Boone Logan has failed to translate a strong spring training into regular-season success.
Only Joba Chamberlain has been consistently strong in front of Mariano Rivera. He struck out the side in the eighth inning Monday in Detroit – albeit the Nos. 7, 8, 9 hitters before Detroit closer Jose Valverde did the trick to save a victory against the Nos. 2-3-4 batters in the Yankees lineup.
Still, Chamberlain has a 2.45 ERA in 15 game, with a .204 batting average against and 17 strikeouts in 14 2-3 innings.
He is further galvanizing the idea that he is definitely a reliever now and in the future. For his career, Chamberlain has a 1.69 ERA as a reliever with a .187 batting average against and 96 strikeouts in 74 2-3 innings.
