Kicking It Into Gear

By Mike "The Voice" Silva
Posted Saturday, May 12, 2007

I finally return to the keyboard after a two week absence thanks to my new Free The Fan radio show. We missed you, but the broadcasts have been great. Stop by ...

Over the first six weeks of the season the Mets have been great, average, and mediocre. Sure, 75% of the league would want the problems of a team a half game out of first place going into Friday nights game. Often my Fox Sports Radio colleague, Joe Bouno, has chided me for being overly pessimistic about the way the team has played.

What concerned me going into the Arizona/San Francisco road trip was how the team seemed to play like a car stuck in neutral. Often a good performance would be followed up with a dud. When you factor in losing four of six to Atlanta, coupled with key veteran injuries (El Duque, Valentin), you have a recipe for anxiety for this loyal Mets fan.

Fortunately the schedule maker provided just what the doctor ordered: A trip to Arizona. We very well might look back at Damien Easley’s homer and the recent road trip as the point where the 2007 Mets started to “click”.

Last Thursday’s 9-4 victory over the D-Backs will never be confused with an Ulti-Mets Classic. What it might be is a microcosm of the season to date. The offense struggled at times against young Micah Owens despite the starting pitching (Tom Glavine) providing another solid outing.

Sound familiar? Here is the difference: The Mets fought back against Jose Valverde in the ninth for six runs. The key at-bat being Damien Easley’s 3 run blast. It was vintage 2006 after Wright capped the comeback with a 3-run homer of his own. Sure the game is well over a week old, but just look at how crisp the team has played since that game. Delgado and Wright have started to hit. The team has found ways to score early and maintain leads. If you were not already convinced then the comeback against the Giants' bullpen Wednesday afternoon should have sold you!

What better way to cap a road trip then to benefit from an Armando Benitez meltdown. That, in of itself, means things are starting to get better!

There are times where a season starts to take shape and build its personality. I believe the 2007 Mets are taking form. The starting pitching seems to be for real. The bullpen is just as good as last season. When Mota and hopefully Sanchez come back, watch out!

Finally, the offense is starting to show its depth and versatility. Just think no contributions from Delgado and Wright have still yielded the most runs in the National League. Makes you feel good about what could be in store this summer.

I hope this column doesn’t jinx a potential good run. After all, after last night’s 5-4 win over the Brew Crew marks the first team milestone this season: 10 games over .500! My colleague Joe might actually have an easy ten minutes with me on Sunday. At the end of the day perhaps the big lead and easy times of last summer has clouded our vision as a fan base. This team, like most others, needed time to find themselves and their stride. They may not have completely “clicked” yet, but the sure have started to kick it into gear. Thank you Damien Easley!

Mike Silva discusses NY Baseball every Sunday on Free the Fan Radio. Check out his webpage at www.freethefan.com/radio you can also listen live at www.am1240wgbb.com between 9-11 PM EST.