This is more fun

The Mets salvaged the month of June after a poor start thanks to a return to National League competition. They went a respectable 8-7 in interleague play, and if the World Series is changed to a best-of-fifteen format I like their chances, but they've put up a much healthier 38-27 record against the NL. This past week they took five of seven from the Cardinals and Phillies, finishing June with twelves wins and fifteen losses and extending their division lead to four games over the second place Braves. Sadly a Sunday loss meant a streak of five straight wins continued to elude them.

The key to the Cardinals series was pitching, as the Mets scored just seven runs in three games but they took a bit more advantage of Citizen's Bank Park's cozy dimensions, scoring twenty-two runs in four games. The worst starting pitching performances of the week came from Jorge Sosa and Mike Pelfrey on Saturday and Sunday as each gave up three runs in five innings. Sosa got a win and Pelfrey a loss. John Maine had the best start of the week, limiting the Phillies to just two runs, one earned, in eight innings on Friday, with four hits, no walks and six strikeouts.

Several Mets had good weeks at the plate, including Carlos Beltran with four home runs in two games on Friday and Saturday and David Wright hitting .273/.414/.636 in the seven games. But perhaps most surprising was the man who led the team with eight hits on the week, Carlos Delgado. It was not quite an offensive explosion, but the struggling first baseman hit .308/.379/.692 for the week with a pair of home runs. He's had brief flashes like this before and is still hitting a paltry .232/.296/.424 for the year, but a good week is a good week and if he can continue to be productive, the Mets could regain their status as an offensive juggernaut.

This week's episode of bizarre bullpen management came in Tuesday's loss to the Cardinals. Willie Randolph brought Scott Schoeneweis in to pitch to a right-handed batter in the top of the eleventh inning. To the surprise of no one aside from perhaps Randolph, the game did not remain tied for long as Mr. Three-Years-$10.8-Million allowed the first batter he faced, Brendan Ryan, to hit his first major league home run. I understand that as long as he's on the team, he has to pitch once in a while--though Aaron Sele might beg to differ--but Randolph consistently uses Schoeneweis is situations that do not play to his meager strengths. Entering Sunday, righties were hitting .339/.437/.729 against him. Basically, he turns every right-handed hitter into Sammy Sosa circa 2001. There's no reason he should pitch to anyone but lefties. And even then only if Pedro Feliciano is unavailable or the Mets are at least four runs ahead or behind.

In happier news, four Mets were chosen for the National League's All-Star squad. Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran were chosen by the fans to start and Billy Wagner joins five other closers on the pitching staff. While John Maine was clearly robbed--he's a top five starter whether your stat of choice is wins, ERA or Baseball Prospectus's VORP--the Mets will have a solid contingent of players trying to make sure game one of the World Series takes place at Shea.

The Mets (46-34) will conclude the first half of the season on the road with series in Denver and Houston. Game one against the Rockies (39-43) will take place Monday night and pit Tom Glavine (7-5, 4.12, 297 career wins) against Jason Hirsh (3-7, 5.21, 6 career wins). Oliver Perez (7-6, 3.14) and Maine (9-4, 2.74) will finish up the series for New York against Aaron Cook (4-5, 4.70) and Josh Fogg (3-6, 5.31), respectively.