Two things about Wednesday's victory over the Braves:
Since the Detroit Tigers series, Mets starters have given up 14 runs in 56 and a third innings. That's good for a 2.23 ERA. Now I know you shouldn't trust September stats, but with Jon Niese coming back from injury, Dillon Gee pitching well all season (adding to that with one run given up in seven innings today), and Zack Wheeler in the precocious position of either turning into boom or bust, does it really mean absolutely nothing?
Second, Bobby Ojeda is talking about Lucas Duda in the post game saying stuff like "he's no longer listening to what everybody is telling him, he's swinging the bat hard and getting results, and he's taking charge of his career." My assumption is that he's talking about the fact that Lucas is swinging the bat instead of walking. When are people going to learn that the best hitters in baseball do both? Drives me up a wall when people complain about Joey Votto walking and getting on base. Joey Votto is an elite hitter. And he swings the bat while he's selective at the plate. Lucas Duda is nowhere near Joey Votto in terms of talent. And he frustrates me to no end sometimes (especially last season). But if Duda ever finds the groove where he can hit balls hard while still being selective at the plate, he's going to be a halfway decent hitter. He had a good game today with a dinger, a double and a single. But it isn't because he decided to swing at everything. Selectivity at the plate means you get good pitches to hit. Duda's problem has always been not being able to hit those pitches with authority. There's a happy medium. It has nothing to do with "taking charge of your career" as Ojeda says. Selectivity means getting better pitches to hit. Hitting those better pitches will make you a dangerous hitter. The players that do both are the best hitters in baseball. How hard is this to understand?
Okay, that's my rant. Very good to see the Mets not get swept in that God forsaken ballpark known as Turner Field where nobody washes their hands and they have a good luck charm known as "Waffle House". The Mets go to Cleveland next, and Zack Wheeler goes against Scott Kazmir on Friday … so be sure to have your acid or your mushrooms or whatever you use to groove into an alternate universe ready to ingest. I think the Mets face Schoup on Saturday and Rick Vaughn on Sunday. I'm not sure.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
