Endy Magic Redux

Mets backup catcher Mike DiFelice started the second half of Wednesday's doubleheader and went 0 for 2, eventually pinch hit for by Endy Chavez and replaced in the field by Kelly Stinnett. In case you hadn't noticed (and it's okay not to have, what with the Mets being the best team in baseball and all), this dude is hitting .053 since being called up from AAA.

I, of course, was hoping for a post-game press conference exchange something like this:

Randolph: "The kid's got heart. His play in the field is much better."
Reporter: "Does it matter that he bought the team?"
Randolph: "Next question."

But I did not come here today to bitch about the Mets' own temporary Baginsky or his running partner, Anderson Hernandez. Nor did I come to discuss the badass performances turned in
yesterday by a couple of Pittsburgh castoffs. I mean, Dave Williams, Oliver Perez ... geez, enjoy the view from the stands during the playoffs, right?

I'm as big a Perez fan as there is -- I thought the trade was the right move at the time, and I like it even more now that Oliver has shown more than a few sparks of his old self in a new organization. (Yep, Xavier Nady is hitting .342 for the Pirates. He's a class act.)

And we'll get into what the postseason roster should look like once the injury situation settles down and the moment draws nigh, but the point is that there's pretty much no scenario in which Perez or Williams are on board for that, 1 run across 18 innings or not. Bad luck.

I want to focus on a fella who absolutely will be on the postseason roster. A guy who will probably start in American League parks should the Mets be so fortunate as to advance to the World Series. A Venezuelan heartthrob of the highest order.

That's right. I'm talking Endy Magic. Can you feel it coursing through your capillaries?

Amazingly, I think we all can. The Talented Mr. Chavez had himself another fine day yesterday, tapping a two-RBI triple over the head of Matt Diaz and adding two more hits and a walk across three games. His average is up to .311, and in nearly 300 crucial at-bats.

Carlos and Spliff have been on the shelf at various times. Blastings is still feeling his way around the major-league batters' box. The X-Man is in the Steel City. Michael Tucker remains Michael Tucker. Gerald "Ice" Williams decomposed sometime last year. And Endy, who could have killed the team with all the playing time he was given, has in fact thrived.

There is literally nothing more you could ask for from this guy. His defense has been an awesome sight to behold. The guys in the SNY booth will often spend whole innings hooting and hollering about a jump he got in the field, and they're not blowing reefer smoke.

His bunting has been precise, consistent and maddening for the opposition. You can bet that if Scooter were still calling games for the crosstown team, he'd be annoying Michael Kay by talking up Chavez's skills. Which would inevitably make Kay respond by praising the bunting of some schlub like Cairo or Nick Green. I fucking despise Michael Kay.

To say this has been a turnaround for our hero would be a severe understatement. Endy's defensive chops have never been in doubt, but his stickwork has never been something to admire.

Example: Endy, in the majors since 2001 and then 27 years of age, spent most of last season playing for the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Pacific Coast League (AAA). He hit .253/.330/.333. He wasn't exactly begging for a callup.

He got it anyway, moved up to Philly near the end of the year. He hit .215/.243/.299. Those are Cheddar Ben numbers. And Cheddar Ben's a soccer player.

The difference, as has been noted about a milion different times during the season, has been our hero's different approach at the plate. Endy's bat speed has never been the problem per se, even though it clearly has not been adequate. But for years, he had a power stroke that simply did not match up with his pencil-shaving physique.

He's finally, at age 28, adjusted, shortening up his swing and looking to push the outside pitch into left field. That has resulted in more punches over short, and when he really gets one he can drive it to the opposite field, a double into the corner.

(MLB.com spray chart here. If you look at past seasons, you'll see how many crappy groundouts to second he recorded. Not pretty).

It's also a result of him being more aggressive in the count. Ordinarily, pitches per plate appearance (P/PA) is a decent barometer of selectivity and a proxy for walk rate.

But while Endy's walk rate is steady, his P/PA has fallen to 3.53 this year from a career high of 3.81 last year and 3.71 the year before. For the moment at least, he's jumping on the pitches he likes, and having success with them.

Will it last until next year, or even the postseason? You'd really like to hope so, but pitchers are inevitably going to make adjustments and start pounding the ball inside on him. Endy's going to either have to learn to foul those guys off and wait for his pitch, or do something new.

But, in all likelihood, that's a long term problem. For now, I'd advise Endy watchers to treat this season like any other magic show.

Watch this shit now, because you never know when he'll take the stage again.