Let's say you had a veteran on your team who is batting .307 against righties but has been struggling against lefties. Though everyone agrees he is a great clubhouse presence, his power numbers are way down (though he is still a threat to hit a dinger once in awhile). He eats up certain pitchers - pitchers that we happen to face quite a bit this season. He brings speed to the lineup and has stolen a few bases.

It is unbelievable how these injuries are piling up lately. Pedro starts the season on the DL, we all expected that. Alou, well, we all expected he would be spending some time on the DL this season. Then Valentin goes down, but at least Easley has been stepping up relatively well, especially with some clutch hits early on to build our confidence in him.

We got what we needed last night in the win vs. the Florida Marlins. For the most part at least.

We got a win, combined with an Atlanta loss to Philadelphia. So we get a game back in the standings.

We got a sharp outing from Orlando Hernandez, who just returned from the DL. That makes me feel good. Pitching is still strong.

Is there any doubt? I talk about this in my latest podcast.

Shawn Green has done very well at the beginning of this season. I think he is being driven by Lastings Milledge. Think about it. This is most likely Green's last season and if he doesn't play well he will go to the bench and Lastings will start in right field.

Could we ask for more at 4-0? Don't think so. And we're not talking one run nail biters here. The Mets have been kicking butt. And on the road no less.

We're putting the National League East on notice that all the talk of the Mets getting beat by the Phillies is a bit premature.

The excitement of the 2007 season is just around the corner. The first issue I'd like to address would be the presence of Shawn Green. With a medocre 2006 campaign with the Mets, there are a lot of Met fans that are very concerned with his production or lack there of. Since coming over to the Mets, Green hit .257 with an on base percentage of .325.