Through the first 15 games of the season, only the Double-A Detroit Tigers were a bigger offensive joke than the Mets.
But in a brief cross-section of the last four games, the Met offense has produced slightly more line drives than one-liners.
Before last Thursday’s lineup shakeup, the Mets (8-11) had scored a National League-worst 44 runs and were last in the league in hitting with a dismal .214 mark. At that point, the Tigers were hitting in the .160s, but the Mets were clearly the dregs of the Senior Circuit.
Since manager Art Howe replaced Roger Cedeno with Roberto Alomar in the leadoff spot, the lineup has responded with 25 runs in the past four games.
Although the Mets are still the league’s worst hitting team, they’ve raised their average to .229. And at least they’re only 15th in the league in runs now – ahead of Arizona.
The Astros, who have the league’s fifth-best team ERA at 3.84, will try to stop the budding juggernaut in a three-game series beginning tonight. Here’s a look at reasons for the Mets’ turnaround:
The Alomar Shuffle. If you’ve ever had to cover for a co-worker who couldn’t do his fair share, you should understand Alomar’s current plight. Maybe it stinks, but that’s life.
Last Thursday, on the day he replaced Cedeno in the leadoff position, Alomar spoke with a twinkle in his eye about his favorite spot in the batting order. It wasn’t leadoff.
No, Alomar was referring to the days when he hit third for Cleveland, remembering a 2001 season when he hit .336 with 20 homers and 100 RBIs.
Nevertheless, Alomar, who began swinging the bat well during his return to his native Puerto Rico, has raised his average five points – from .281 to .286 – since being installed in the leadoff position.
He clearly doesn’t prefer it, but he’s worked deep into counts, allowed his teammates to see pitches and been the offensive pest he was in the mid-1990s.
He’s 4-for-13 with five walks, four runs scored and two RBIs in this recent stretch.
Two-out runs. In the first 15 games, the Mets only produced 10 runs after two outs in an inning. Those 10 runs came in five games, so the team went 10 other games without scratching home a run after two outs.
Since Thursday, the offense has produced seven two-out runs, including at least one in each of the past four games. Even Cedeno has come through, picking up two-out RBIs on Saturday and Sunday.
Deep bench. Tony Clark came through with a three-run, tie-breaking pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning of a 6-3 victory on Friday. Clark already has three homers in 18 at-bats.
Vance Wilson shook off the rust of not playing for six straight games and hit the crucial game-tying homer in the seventh inning Sunday. The underrated Wilson is now hitting .235 with five RBIs in 17 at-bats.
In a spot start Saturday, Jay Bell drove in a run, walked three times and scored twice. So far, it appears one of the team’s strengths is the bench’s ability to produce like regulars.
Or maybe that’s an indictment of the regulars.
