MET NOTES
PHILADELPHIA – Like most people, Joe McEwing read a newspaper yesterday. McEwing saw the oft-printed statistic that since his last hit on May 25, he was 0-for-29.
Quizzed about it hours before last night’s game with the Phillies at the Vet, the Philadelphia-area native couldn’t remember off whom he got the hit (Florida’s Vladimir Nunez in the ninth inning of a 6-5 loss at Shea), but he remembered it was a single.
Manager Bobby Valentine said Tuesday he would start McEwing somewhere last night to get him back on track, and he put the supersub at second base in the series finale against the Phillies in order to give Roberto Alomar a break in the upper 90-degree heat.
McEwing might see the bad news, but he doesn’t let it affect him.
“It only makes it worse,” McEwing said. “I feel great mentally and physically, and mechanically I feel the same.”
The 29-year-old is more than a hitter, so it’s tough to use the barometer of batting average to judge his effectiveness. His average was .267 on May 25 and was at .192 before last night.
“My confidence is still here,” he said. “I know I’m better than this.
“Sure, you definitely want to hit. That breeds confidence. But my confidence is knowing even though I’m struggling, I can help the team as a defensive replacement, pinch-runner, pinch-hitter. I feel I can help every night.”
John Valentin also was in the lineup, at shortstop, spelling Rey Ordonez. Valentin has 18 RBIs in 102 at-bats and is a proven run producer. He may see more time if he can prove to Valentine he can handle the workload.
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MLB security honcho Kevin Hallinan was at the ballpark yesterday and was pulling players out of the clubhouse one by one, including OF Tony Tarasco, who told police he and Mark Corey smoked marijuana before the relief pitcher had a seizure on June 26.
The matter was not believed to be drug-related. Hallinan also deals with keeping unsavory characters away from ballplayers.
He said one of the reasons for the talk was recruiting Phillies and Mets for the Rookie Career Development Program, which instructs young professional ballplayers how to avoid trouble.
Hallinan could not comment on the Post report of an earlier incident concerning Tarasco in Montreal in April.
