After a brief hiatus taking finals, I’m back to subject myself to more repetitive anxiety by watching Mets games.
It’s been interesting to step away for a week and come back with a fresh perspective. Things have changed a bit. The Mets have a four-game winning streak for one.
There are some things that haven’t changed—or they’ve gotten worse. Here are a few observations I’ve made over the last week:
Lucas Duda is improving
I like what Duda has been doing at the plate lately. In the last seven days he’s batted .320 with eight hits, one home run and five RBIs. His OBP is also .346 in that stretch. His numbers aren’t sexy, but they’re solid. He’s not taking the first pitch every time anymore. If it’s a first pitch fastball, you’ll usually see a healthy cut from Duda. That’s a promising sight for an RBI guy like him. If he can improve on his already successful plate discipline, he could be poised for a productive year. He should be a lock in the three or four spot. I almost like him better batting third because it gives David Wright, a better hitter, more chances to hit with more runners on base similar to the Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips tandem in Cincinnati.
Ike Davis is appalling
I know. We’ve all heard it so much, but it bears repeating as long as he stays in the lineup. You know a guy’s going badly when the nicknames for him on Twitter start getting creative.
- Strike Davis
- Ikkke
- Ike Vegas
The list goes on. Don’t be deceived by his recent 2-for-4 performance Mets fans. His approach at the plate still needs a lot of work. His hands are so low when the pitch comes in it’s amazing he can even make contact. He’s doing a lot of flailing during at-bats even when he winds up with a hit. His multi-hit game might even make things worse for the team. He could get enough slack to start another horrendous slump.
Matt Harvey is putrid
Okay, maybe putrid isn’t a good word. I just like classifying his pitches in words like “filthy” or “disgusting.” That’s what Harvey’s been even on off days. He now holds a tidy 1.83 ERA with 84 strike outs and 17 walks in 78 innings pitched, but is only 5-0. I’ve expressed my fears about this situation. Onus isn’t put on the win-loss record so much, but you can see Harvey getting visibly frustrated during these games. When Brett Gardner scored the Yankees only run in Tuesday’s win, Harvey’s rage was too much to contain. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but mark my words; he’s going to wear himself out mentally and physically if he doesn’t get more run support.
Daniel Murphy is the model of consistency
Remember when Murphy was in a 9-for-61 slump? Me either. Double Dan is back to his old ways with four doubles in the last seven games and batting over .300 again. So far, this is the third season in a row where Murphy has been putting up these kinds of numbers and it looks like he’ll end up around .300 for the third-straight year.
What are your thoughts during the current streak?
