With Beltran & Reyes Carrying The Team, The Swagger Is Back

What a game and what a thrill it was to see the Mets deliver one knock-out blow after another to the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers last night.

Until Jason Bay hit the first of two Mets grand slams in the game, the Mets had gone 299 games and 280 plate appearances with the bases loaded since their last grand slam.

In that same span, Mets opponents had hit 18 grand slams, so the Mets still have a lot of catching up to do, but oh how sweet it was Tuesday night watching the Mets pummel the Tigers 14-3.

What were the odds that the Mets could swat two grand slams in one game? A million to one? Two-million to one?

And yet when Carlos Beltran came up in the fifth inning with all those ducks on the pond, who among you didn’t sense that our mighty right fielder was about to launch one into the ozone layer?

It was as if the baseball gods had written it in the stars.

Suddenly the hard-charging Mets are playing with swagger.

Every passing day more and more fans are taking note of what is transpiring right before their eyes. With every hit off the bat of Jose Reyes the team becomes more energized and even more focused and determined to win.

If you’re looking for any stars in the rotation or in the dugout, you might find yourself straining your eyes.

Aside from Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes, all you really have is a collection of players that are either too old or too young, or too unremarkable or too mediocre. But somehow it all works. Somehow they tune out all the nay-sayers in the fan base and they just keep on keepin’ on.

With Reyes energizing the top of the order and Beltran powering the middle of the order, they have taken all the pressure off everyone else and for the first time in a long time, the rest of the team is playing loose and not tight.

That is what happens when a leader carries a team…

In essence the message becomes “just do the best that you can and we’ll take care of the rest.”

We hear about Jose Reyes leading the league in over a dozen offensive categories, but how many of you realize that Carlos Beltran now has 53 RBI’s and is in the the top six and hanging with a pack that includes Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Matt Kemp, Lance Berkman and Ryan Howard?

“I love RBI’s,” Beltran said after the game smiling from ear to ear,  “it was so good.”

So who are these Amazin’ 2011 Mets?

We may not have the answer to that right now, but who cares??? Sit back and enjoy the ride and marvel at the magic that is unfolding before you.

These Mets, who were counted out by so many of their own fans are playing some great baseball – exciting baseball.

The starting pitching has come around, the bullpen is holding leads, the defense has not let them down, and the offense is ranked right up there with some of the best teams in baseball.

What more can anyone ask for from a group that is winning despite losing two key players in David Wright and Ike Davis, and have yet to get one inning pitched from their ace Johan Santana. They are winning despite few significant additions in the offseason.

We are seeing the evolution of an envigorated and rejuvenated Mets team that is playing with confidence and determination.

Sit back and take it all in.