Mets Week Nine: The kid is alright

The Mets had a merely average week, winning three out of six. But the Braves lost six out of seven to drop below .500 and out of second place. So the Mets remain comfortably in first place, four and a half games separating them from the Phillies as they head west.

The big story of the week was the arrival of top prospect Lastings Milledge in the major leagues. He got off to a slow start and his behavior drew quite a bit of hot air from the local media. But a big game on Sunday gave a glimpse of his potential. In five games he's already hit a pair of doubles and a home run and his defense has been pretty impressive when he's not making dumb rookie mistakes. He may head back to AAA when Xavier Nady is healthy, and that's probably not the worst thing in the world. But Milledge should be a solid major league outfielder by next Spring at the latest.

Also making the most of an opportunity to start this week was Jose Valentin. Once the Mets finally accepted that Kazuo Matsui's offensive ability had not accompanied him on his journey from Japan to the US, they gave Valentin a shot at playing second base. He'd gotten off to a terrible start in a reserve role, but had shown signs of life in May. And he kept it up once given the chance to start, leading the team with a 1.455 OPS and three home runs this week. Second base has been the biggest hole in the Mets' daily lineup this year, but if Valentin can resemble the player he was prior to his lost 2005, he can definitely fill that hole.

First base, on the other hand, has become a problem. Carlos Delgado hit just .208/.300/.406 in May after an excellent April. The Mets have had enough offense to pick up the slack, but this slump has really become a concern.

Otherwise, the story remains unchanged for the Mets. They keep winning despite a lot of bad pitching. This week they'll take their show on the road to the west coast with three games in Los Angeles and four in Arizona. Hopefully Bill Plaschke will find the time to write another love letter to Paul Lo Duca upon his return to LA.