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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 22, 2006
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Considering our bats have been less than our desired affects, one thing I have noticed is that we have been scoring runs against the better pitchers in the game right now. We have just faced Arizona's best three and raised all of their ERAs. We also have faced other teams best pitchers and have done well enough. Our BA is low but we have been scoring runs. There have been things to complain about like not hitting against the lesser pitchers in the league, but we have shown that we can score runs against the better pitching, which is a good thing.
Delgado has been hitting better and we have our lineup in tact. There will always be hiccups along the way, but we just took two games from the hottest team in the league on their field against their best pitchers who were a combined 14-1 before we came into town. This is a good sign of things that aare capable to come.
Reyes seems to be gaining some patience at the plate. There are still some things that I would change like moving Castillo back to second in the lineup and Church to 5th. Leave Delgado at 6th he seems to be hitting there and Alou to 7th until he is fully back into the game and see how he develops. Or we could try to put Wright in the 4 spot as our natural clean up with Church in the 3 and move Beltran to the 5? I don't know whether or not that could help, but I don't mind things the way they are.
We are turning the corner and doing the things we need to do to win. Hopefully we can stay hot for a while and stop these streaky spots. the one thing for certain is that noone takes us lightly at all. Even though the Phils have a much better Line up than we have right now they also give up runs. It should be a long season of cat and mouse with them. The Braves seem much better than their record would indicate as well. And the Marlins are finally starting to tail off a little.
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Reputation:94
Level:All-Star
Since:Apr 18, 2007
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i agree with your post completely except the line up portion
its proven the Mets are a better team with church in the two hole
reyes
church
wright
beltran
alou
delgado
schenerider
castillo
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Reputation:84
Level:All-Star
Since:Apr 24, 2008
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rad, ur right that the Mets have been better w church in the 2 hole but batting castillo 8 takes away from louis entire offensive effectivness. his whole career (which has been a pretty good one in the 2 hole) has been about slappin the ball around, drag bunting and gettin on base. wen he does, he uses his legs by swiping bases and bein put in motion for hit n runs. if hes in the 8th hole he cant do ne of that cuz hes followed by the pitcher. and hes not a big rbi guy so hes not drvin runners in in front of him. just a thought, just a bad situation cuz church does look good in the 2hole and the mets do play better. just sux that omar gave louis that contract.
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Reputation:94
Level:All-Star
Since:Apr 18, 2007
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i agree illmatik ... but i like louis in either 7th or 8th because in the later innings he can be a sort of leadoff hitter and then someone like endy or marlon can bunt him over maybe for reyes and church to score him...
or
willie can also do a double switch late in games and have louis go 9th then reyes then church...
get wut im sayin
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 22, 2006
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You all make great points, but I was making a statement referencing the whole team and also the fact that Church is providing RBIs. He and Wright are the only ones really producing in that category. Putting him in the two limits that. Putting him in the 3 or 4 wouldn't be bad with Wright in the other spot. Beltran has to be moved if he keeps up his slump. I do like what Castillo does in the 2 and I like what Church does, but we need his bat in the 3 or 4 spot right now. It is not good when you have all your run production spent already in the 2 and 3 hole. Yeah it worked but nothing else did. And besides that was also when the lineup had a real weird look to it, because of injuries.
We have to look at the whole picture.
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Reputation:95
Level:Superstar
Since:Nov 30, 2007
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Church seems to be hitting well, no matter what spot he's in. Castillo is slumping, but he hits better in the 2 spot than in the 8. I think I still like Church better in the 2. I agree about Beltran moving back, but I don't think it's gonna happen. At least not in the near future. Willie gives veterans like Beltran lots of respect - sometimes too much, IMO.
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Reputation:84
Level:All-Star
Since:Apr 24, 2008
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i know beltran has been strugglin lately, but what would u think about him battin in the 2 hole? thats where he started off his career in and he was good for us wen we had him there his 1st yr w us. i hope he starts hittin man, we need him.
also, i kno this is a stretch, but what about battin louis 9th and the pitcher 8th? hear me out. we would basically have 2 leadoff hitters and lousi could be utilize his game like he was in the 2hole. either drag bunt or work a walk to get on base for the top of the order. the Brewers were doin this a lil bit this season. just a thought. ne thing to spark out bats.
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 22, 2006
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I hear your point but there is no way we put our pitchers before Louis Castillo. That would be a blatant notion of disrespect and we are all about respect our aging players. The one thing I like about Louis in the 2 hole is that he does work the count and can get in a pitchers head even if he makes an out. When you are looking at your pitch count after the first inning it can be a long day. Pitchers tend to make careless mistakes or try a little harder to get out of innings faster. It is something that our Batting coach needs to work on is getting our guys a little more patient and fouling off pitches better.
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 22, 2006
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Tal,
Glad to hear things are working for you with the fixing part. I go see doc later today to get results of my MRI. Age isn't always a beautiful thing.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I don't give this division to anyone. All I was and still am saying is that it will be a long year and a tight race, as long as the Marlins don't run away with it right now(lol). I was making points to show the parity. If you underestimate any of the 4 of our teams you will be in for some frustrating time. Amazingly enough your SP is going deeper into games even though they give up runs, not collapse type runs but a few runs per outing. It is your relief pitching that has been looking real good right now. That is what has surprised me the most about the Phillies.
I couldn't pick a winner of our division right now. The only thing I do know is that while the Mets BA is low they are matching just about every team in the league minus a few like the Cubs in Runs scored per game. In a way we have been the most efficient scoring runs per hit. That is surprising to me. Long season bro.
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