New York Mets

The New York Mets are currently 24 - 21 on the season. Most people would look at their record and say that it was decent and nothing to be over happy about. I don't look at it that way though. I look at their winning percentage which is .533, or 53%. If you take that number and multiply it by the 162 game season, that will put the Mets at a final record of 87 - 75. I would gladly take almost 90 wins from a team that was expected to be the door mat of the National League East.

My expectations for the Mets this season was for them to compete and have a chance at beating each team that they played. I didn't expect them to come out and win the division running away. All I wanted was for them to compete, which is exactly what they are doing right now. I give a majority of the credit to Terry Collins, David Wright, and Johan Santana. Collins has brought in a winning mentallity to their locker room. I love the fact that he is realistic as well and he himeself admitted that all he wanted to do this season was compete. David Wright pushed his batting average over .400 with three more hits last night against the San Diego Padres. I also expected Johan to be effective. I was not going to be one of those fans who exepected him to come back and win the Cy Young award coming off shoulder surgery. I was going to be happy if his ERA ended around 3.50 or lower. Right now, his ERA is sitting at 3.24, which is more than I expected. I can't ask for much more out of him.

The encouraging part is that the New York Metropolitans win on both the road and at home. They are 12 - 9 at home and they are 12 - 12 on the road. The only concern I have for them is their run differential. They are -35 in that category, which is never a good sign. Either way, this season has been a success this far and I hope they can continue playing and winning. Go Mets.

Brandon Beachy

Brandon Beachy is one of the best young pitchers in the game today. He is currently 25 years old with room to grow. The Atlanta Braves star shut out the Miami Marlins last night by himself. The final score was 7 - 0. He only allowed five hits and gave up no walks. He has the lowest ERA in the major leagues among qualifying pitchers. It currently stands at 1.33. He has seven quality starts in the eight starts that he has made thus far. The only reason why he doesn't have eight is because he pitched five innings in his first start of the season. A pitcher needs to throw six innings to qualify.

Brandon Beachy isn't a household name yet. Soon enough, he will be a name that everybody remembers.

Brandon Beachy of the Atlanta Braves.



Angels fire hitting coach, Trout doesn't care

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have fired their hitting coach Mickey Hatcher. Of course, everyone thinks that Hatcher is now the reason why Pujols is struggling and I don't believe that for a second. Kendrys Morales is batting over .300 and Mike Trout certainly hasn't had any problems hitting the baseball. Trout is all of 20 years old and has been a player thus far than Bryce Harper. Both have tremendous potential and its to early to judge. Harper gets all the media attention, but to this point, Trout deserves it more.

Pujols went 3 - 4 last night and that certainly won't hurt. Erick Aybar is another member of the Angels who has struggled mightily this season. It was even reported that he was going to be benched if he wasn't such a strong defender at short stop, a gold glover.

If you talk to anyone that follows baseball right now, the only thing you will end up talking about will be Albert. "What do you think is wrong with Pujols?" is the question you will receive. Some people say that is it because of the massive contract. That is another thing that I just can't believe. When you are in the batters box attempting to hit a 94 MPH fastball with a reaction time of less than a half a second, the last thing you are thinking about is your contract. See ball, hit ball.The fact of the matter is that he is chasing and swinging at pitches in the dirt. It is not something extremely complex and difficult to figure out. All he has to do is swing at strikes and the ball will do the rest. Maybe the best thing for him to do at this point would be to get a couple tips from Mike Trout.

The Angels young center fielder - Mike Trout.





Poor Washington

Its one step forward and two steps back for the Washington Nationals right now.

Positives:
Strasburg is back from Tommy John surgery and is still lights out
Bryce Harper is playing well and has not been rattled by the media or the major leagues
They have the lowest starting pitching ERA in all of baseball
ESPN was in town last night to broadcast their game in prime time

Negatives:
Ryan Zimmerman has been on the DL
Michael Morse has yet to play in a game this season due to injury. He was arguably their best hitter last year.
Jayson Werth broke his left wrist last night and there is no timetable for his return
Although they were playing in prime time last night, the Phillies reigned supreme
Adam LaRoche has missed three of the last four games with injury

The Washington Nationals looked to be the real deal and it appeared to be their year to possibly make a run at the division title with the Phillies having injury problems of their own. Now both the Phils and Nats are both dealing with major injuries. Maybe the Nationals need to hire a new trainer.

Ryan Braun (Going going gone)

4 - 4 with three home runs, a triple, and 6 RBI's. That's not a bad day at the office for the Brewers left fielder. This is the first time in the history of Petco Park that three home runs were hit by the same player in the same game. That is no easy feat to accomplish. He hit the home runs in his first three at bats and then, as an encore, he decided to take it easy on the Padre pitchers and only hit a triple.

Sadly for baseball fans, the first question to come to mind is, "Did he do it clean?" This is exactly why baseball needs to get rid of steroids. A player that accomplishes such a feat should not be hindered and bothered with questions like that. Fans should be able to enjoy the moment and not worry if he did it naturally or not. Even though he was "proven" not guilty, his name was still linked and will be forever.

Bryce Harper

The Washington Nationals brought Bryce Harper to the major leagues to play in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night. The previous day, he was playing for the Syracuse Chiefs and the game was snowed out. The very next day was spent flying over to Los Angeles and arriving at 2:00 A.M., then preparing for his major league debut the same day. Harper went 1 - 3 with an RBI. He also displayed his arm strength by throwing an absolute bullet to Wilson Ramos. The runner would have been out, but Ramos dropped the ball.

This should be the beginning of a very successful career for Harper. Its hard to believe that he is only 19 years old. Most people at that age are almost ready to finish their freshman year in college. He is playing in the MLB and needs to make sure to enjoy it and have fun. If he puts unecessary pressure on himself, he will not succeed. He has a long career ahead of him and needs to play the game for the right reasons.

Here is the link to the amazing throw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyGj8dwlMUo

He also made an amazing catch against the wall while playing center field.



David Wright Makes History

New York Mets third baseman David Wright now holds the record for most RBI's in franchise history. Wright hit a two - run home run last night, at Citi Field, off Mark Buehrle last night to straight away center field. His career RBI total with the team is now 735 and he passed Darryl Strawberry for the honor. The past few years Wright has been criticized for his lack of power and injury problems so it was fitting that he hit a long home run for the record.

Some have questioned whether the Mets should sign him to a long term deal or not. I see no reason why they shouldn't. He doesn't need to sign a ridiculous deal like the Angels did with Pujols. I see nothing wrong with signing him for four or five more years to a deal with a lot of incentives. When healthy and not playing in the Grand Canyon that used to be Citi Field, he is a productive player at a premier position.

David Wright. The Mets all - time leader in RBI's.