Let’s Not Get Ahead of Ourselves Now

By Ed "In Westchester" Semlies
Posted Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The season got off to a rousing start, with a 3 game sweep of the defending World Champs. Fans were happy, as we got a little bit of revenge for the NLCS (granted, the regular season means little compared to the NLCS, but it was nice to ruin the Flag Raising, and then the Ring delivery, and then TLR sunglass night, well, the latter is every night, but still).

The Mets were the talk of the town. Even Mike and the Mad Dog were signing the praises of our beloved Mets. Steve Phillips was nowhere to be found, and fans were ecstatic. We were heading to Atlanta to face the Braves who were also 3-1. The first game saw Oliver Perez pitch like the Ollie of 2004, and the offense put up an 11 spot, and our boys were 4-0 and it was good. Then, they lost the next two to Atlanta, and people started to get a little worried. Now, we can handle, somewhat, losing to John Smoltz, but Kyle Davies? That’s not supposed to happen. But we fans shrugged it off and the Mets headed home to face the Phillies in a 3 game set for the home opener. The starting pitching had done very well, putting the doomsayers on their heels, and the lineup, while it had faltered the last two games of the Atlanta series, was still potent.

The hype leading into the series was all about payback for Jimmy Rollins comments about the Phillies being the team to beat. Well, they were in game 1, as the boys came back from a 5-3 deficit to win 11-5. The rotation showed a crack, as John Maine walked the world, and was pulled in the 5th. Ambiorix Burgos came in with the bases loaded and got the final out, but in the 6th, he gave up a home run to Ryan Howard with 2 on. Some questioned Willie for leaving Burgos in, or not walking Howard (I did not, Pat Burrell was on deck, and Pat likes to torment the Mets. Plus, why not test Burgos early in the season as opposed to August). The rest of the pen, Pedro Dos, Joe Smith and Billy Wagner shut the door. Jimmy Rollins proved he is no slick fielder with a key error in the 8th that opened the floodgates to a 7 run inning. We were happy. The next game, that happiness turned to fear.

The Ollie Perez we got was the 2005 Ollie, he who walks too many and can’t throw strikes. Seven walks, 1 hit batter, and 3 runs later, Sele came in, and fans were worried. Is this the Ollie we are going to get? Where is Nady now? The following cold night, Tommy Glavine started off wild, but settled in. Jimmy Rollins took him deep twice, but Jose Reyes scored a run and drove in two, Moises Alou drove in a run as did Tommy. The Mets took 2 of 3 and waited for the Nationals, who figure to be the 1962 Mets of this year. Alas, hitting with RISP continues to be a malady, and the Mets could only split a rain shortened series with the Nats (that’s your gift Manny, no more for you.) El Duque was the latest starter to put in a poor performance, giving up 6 runs. More ammo for the haters. The Mets are now 7-4 and in second place, ½ game behind the Braves.

So what am I rambling about here? What’s my point? Well, to start, we cannot get too high or too low. A season opening sweep of a depleted defending World Series Champ was nice, but the Cards have issues. Yes, it was nice to make Phillips and other experts look like fools (not that Steve needs the help), but it is silly to make snap judgments based on 3 games. Same goes for the Atlanta series, yes, it was disheartening to lose 2 of 3 to the Braves, but the same thing happened last April, and that didn’t really matter at the end of the season, or by the end of April really. Taking 2 of three from the wounded Phillies is nice of course, but how good of a measuring stick are they at this point?

The pitchers will have ups and downs, starters and relievers. The pen has done a good job for the most part. The starters have struggled of late. In a couple of weeks, the reverse may be the case. As for the lineup, Reyes is on a roll, and people are already talking MVP. Stop. Now. I mean it. It is the middle of April. Do not talk MVP yet. He will slump, and you know what, at that point Beltran, or Delgado or Wright will be hot, and we will talk them up as MVP. Remember last year, we did the same thing. I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve consideration, because frankly, if he keeps this up he should win in a walk. What I am saying is that it is too early to be handing out awards or raising flags and minting rings. This is not a team firing on all cylinders. The area that I am concerned about is hitting with RISP, since this was an issue late last year and in the NLCS. But I am going to take my own advice and not get all worried yet, but there is a longer track record with this to look at and cause worry. The failure to get a runner in from 2nd or 3rd with less than 2 outs have to stop. If not, it is going to bite them in the ass more than it has done so far. The pitching is a concern too, but all teams have similar concerns, and with a more regular schedule and some better weather, that will come around.
 

The stop and go of the schedule so far is making it hard on fans to get into it. It is probably having the same impact on the players. Being 7-4 after 11 games is on track for a good season, one that should win the division. I said it last year, and I’ll say it again now, win 6 of every 10. Win series. Don’t worry about other teams, worry about ourselves. Don’t get too high after a sweep, or too low after a couple of bad games. It’s early yet. Insert your favorite cliché here.
 
Professor Ed hates Ferris Wheels, Roller Coasters and anything else that goes up and down.

Feel free to bash Ed in the forums, or at his site EdinWestchester.blogspot.com