Before we begin, I know that people will largely will remember this All-Star Game for the fact that it nearly ended in a tie again, but that was the best played all-star game I've seen played in awhile. A lot of extra inning games can go 1-2-3 with an occasional runner at 1st for awhile, but extras last night didn't disappoint, whether it was stellar defense (except for you. Mr. Uggla) or guys stepping up even though they were out of position, it made staying up til 1:45 a little defensible. And say what you want about Billy, at least he's consistent when it comes to blowing games. Thank you and Dan Uggla for nothing. Now on with the 1st half grades of the hitters and coaches.....
Jose Reyes: B Reyes continues to be a flashpoint for the team with the media and fans. Some feel he can do no wrong and others (myself included) feel he can stand to mature a little bit. As demonstrated in 2006 and the first half of 2007, when he's locked in, this team is near unbeatable. When his mind wanders, mediocrity lurks in the shadows as seen in the first month and a half of the season. To his credit, Reyes is htting over .300 at the break and is starting to re-gain better patience at the plate that he had lost since last September which reminded fans of the 2004-2005 Reyes which would swing at almost anything and inhabited his ungodly potential. While he has still shown immature fits such as throwing his glove in the air during the game against the Hankees and storming off the field in Anaheim, Jose seems to be getting better on his focus and is fourth in the NL with 32 steals (but caught stealing 10 times, which is almost half his total all of last season) , which could be the difference as to whether this team plays in October or not.
David Wright: A While D-Dubs has yet to get on a tear of sorts, he is 5th in the NL with 70 RBI and an OBP% of .380 and a continued rock in the lineup. If not for the efforts of The People's Champ and Ryan Church, the Mets would've been behind Atlanta in June and ther optimism that is glowing right now certainly isn't happening. As stated, he and Beltran have not had their streaks yet and that's what makes this team so scary.
Carlos Beltran: B Sure, Carlos has his 4-5 game flashes of brilliance, but he has had 2004-like streaks here the last 2 years and we have yet to see that. Beltran continues to provide arguably the best centerfield defense in Mets history and the occasional 3-run blast, but we know he is capable of much more. Why a B you ask? Beacuse while it is not the 06/07 Beltran, it is certainly not the 05 Beltran and that's above average to me.
Carlos Delgado: C Ahhhhh, the man I have thrown much hateration on for the first 2 and a half months. While the real life Pedro Cerrano still can't hit a curveball to save his life (making the parallels between the two all the more eerie) and his defense is just about average, I have to give credit where its due. Delgado's recent surge is a key reason for the 9-game charge to within a half-game of the Phils. Plus, I always have to give credit to a guy who goes into "The Cathedral" (by the way, if I hear one more person say the real MVP of the All-Star Game is Yankee Stadium, I will assault them Kyle Farnsworth style) and punk the Hankees the way Delgado did in the doubleheader.
Ryan Church: B+ The only reason I'm not giving Church an A is because he hasn't been around more to produce, which is no fault of his own mind you. As I said earlier, without Wright and Church's play in the first month and a half this is already a lost cause. Whether Church plays another game this year or not (and at this point it's day-to-day), the Mets have ripped off the Nationals for this season thanks to the efforts of Church and Schenider and the contuining Alex Ecobar impression from Lastings Milledge in D.C. *knock on wood*.
Moises Alou: Incomplete The one word that sums up the Alou Era in New York.
Luis Castillo: C+ Aside from his early season struggles, Castillo continues to do what he always does, slap hits, set up Jose on the bases, leg out the occasional infield hit, play solid defense and have his knee give out every 2 weeks or so. While signing him to a 4-year deal is ridiculous on so many levels, Castillo ended up being one of the reasons Johan decided to head to Queens, well that and 137 million ducketts. If Manuel keeps the platoon of Easley/Argenis together to ease the burden on Castillo's knees from playing every day, I'm fine with that.
Brian Schneider: B I was initially against the trade since I believed Milledge could be the key to getting Santana at that point, I'd like to declare here that I am a dumbass. My friend Anthony and I came to the conclusion before the season started that he and LoDuca were a wash offensively and the difference being that Schenider is a little better defensively and isn't a hothead. Schneider has proved much more than that by often shutting down the opposing team's running game, handling the pitching staff exceptionally and growing a goatee that makes him look exactly like my friend T.O'C. The only oddity with Schneider is that his walk-up song is "Sweetest Girl" by Wyclef, which is the 2nd most depressing song of the decade behind City High's "What Would You Do?" I'm wondering if he chose that or he requested nothing and in Shea's never-ending quest to have loud noise at all times (seriously people, enough with Kevin James screaming at us) came up with it. And even then, what the hell? How is that motivational?
Fernando Tatis: A In a season full of swings and misses, Omar pulled a rabbit out of his hat on this one. Tatis has filled in admirably at the corner OF's and at 1st and 3rd, hitting .292 with 4 homers and 19 RBI. He also has 2 of the biggest hits of the season, the GW double against the Marlins to start Willie's Last Stand and the homer in the 12th in Philly two weeks ago.
Damion Easley: C+ Aside from the recent surge and the go-ahead homer against Colorado last Friday, Easley's had a par for the course: Good for a fill-in for a few gamees, but not for a month straight, provides some hitting and just enough defense.
Angel Pagan: B- Another unsung hero of April and early May and another great scrap sign by Minaya. Pagan was great in the field and excelled in the 2-spot while Castillo was ailing. I hope Manuel will give Pagan his due playing time when he hopefully returns later this month. A guy like Pagan is essential to a winning team, he certainly won't put up big numbers (after all, he's yet to homer as a Met), but does all the little things that help in the long run.
Endy Chavez: B Endy continues to do what he has always done in his time in Queens. Provide stellar defense, a steady bat that will get him on base and have his only home run come in May that always comes in timely spot.
Argenis Reyes: Incomplete I can't give a grade on him yet because we have such a small sample to go on, but I like what I see. Don't know what we'll get from his bat, but his defense has been exceptional. If the Mets get ANY offense from him, he's a modified Anderson Hernandez and that cat was just as good with the glove.
Ramon Castro: C- Average year from the team prankster. The minus you ask? Well, that's what happens when you don't know game time.
Marlon Anderson: D+ While I love Marlon and wouldn't speak ill of him, he just doesn't have it anymore, which is a shame because his old clutch hitting is needed down the stretch.
Raul Casanova/ Robinson Cancel/ Gustavo Molina: D Casanova launching a few homers was the only thing that kept this group from an F.
Nick Evans/ Trot Nixon/ Chris Aguila/ Andy Phillips/ Brady Clark/ Abraham Nunez: F------------ I hate to lump the kid with the has-been and the never-weres, but they all equal skid marks.
Omar Minaya: B- The landing of Santana makes up most of this. He can make up for it by getting bullpen help before the deadline, which would make this team a legitimate contender as I've been saying since last November.
Jerry Manuel: B+ Whether or not the recent turnaround can be attributed to the new manager is debatable, but one thing is for sure, the Manuel Administration is definitely more hands-on than his 2 predecessors. Manuel has not felt the need to manage by the payroll and give days off from time to time and brought some stability to the bullpen by assigning roles and has actually seen some improvement. The biggest difference amongst fans has been that Manuel has shown more emotion in one month than Randolph did in 3 years. Granted, this doesn't make that much of a difference, but it has certainly won over fans and players alike.
Dan Warthen: B Now I don't know if Warthen has been the difference in the recent production of the rotation, but you can tell that they've been more relaxed than ever. As I said yesterday, the biggest change has been with Mike Pelfrey, who Warthen told to trust has fastball more, which allows him to set up his slider. The jury's still out as to whether Warthen can be renewed for next year and beyond, but he's done a solid job so far.
Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson: C- Much like two of his old pupils in Oakland, the myth of Rick Peterson was debunked in the last year and a half. Whether he was too stubborn or he put too much pressure on the pitchers, the wonders that Peterson had once worked had long disappeared by the time the hammer came down. Not that Rick really cares, I'm sure he's in a hammock in the Turks and Caicos, smoking a pipe and reading Ivanhoe. One of Willie's faults, and a Manuel strength, was that he was insistent on pretending that The Collapse never happened, where as Manuel uses it as a motivational tool. Say you get mauled by dogs while you ride your bike by the pound, you keep in mind where not to go and how to get around it, you don't just keep going past the place. Let it be said that Willie is a class guy whose only fault was that he thought if he kept doing the same thing the result would change, and we all know what the defnition of that is.
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