T.S. Eliot Didn't Know Shit, or, Y2K's April Recap

(Note: Sip knows what David Wright needs, and he's turning to his old pal Rick Vaughn to get it -- check it out immediately below this piece from Cheddar Ben.)

One month down, an undetermined amount of months to go. More is better, don't you know. Let's be clear about one thing -- as of now, the Mets are 15-9 and only a half-game out of first place. A .625 winning percentage is excellent. At the same time, there's still a lot to look at as the 'Amazins head into May flowers with some injuries, some question marks and some huuuuuuge studs. I'm talking sizable.

Here, then, is Y2K's April recap, done Eastwood-style.

THE GOOD
Reyes and Beltran raking

These guys had a joke of a month, each hitting .356 (tied for seventh in the league) and flat out sonning the NL's pitching. Reyes, the prodigal one, ran wild from Day Uno, finishing April with 16 extra-base hits, 17 stolen bases (against only 3 CS), and a 16-11 BB-K ratio. Plate coverage, patience ... everything we've ever wanted or imagined is coming to fruition in this guy, which happens to be extrordinarily bad news for everyone else in the league, as he's just dominating games in the early going.

Beltran, for his part, has followed up a career year the way you'd prefer -- by lining up for another one. His line is .356/.412/.663, which resembles a composite Jimmie Foxx season from the mid-1930s. He leads the team with six HR, and he's even swinging the stick well at Shea, hitting .347 at home through a month. That's a positive sign for the fans who want to see their No. 3 hitter do the damn thing in person. For once.

The Maine Event
Some of y'all were doubters. Some of y'all suggested that he wouldn't strike enough guys out, that last year was a fluke, that he wasn't even a dependable rotation guy. Well, fair enough, but it must hurt -- HURT, baby! -- to see John K. Maine put up those vintage Pedro numbers.

Oooh, it's nice. Five starts, a 4-0 record, and a 1.35 ERA with 30 Ks in 33 innings. That's what we call SUCCESS, suckers. Isn't it sweet? Mmmm! A revelation! [Seriously, the ERA will come up as the season goes on, as the peripheral numbers just don't support him allowing so few runs. But here's your NL ERA leader through April. Suck on that, Huddy.]

Contributions from unexpected quarters

Moises Alou's hot start you might have anticipated. The guy always hits when he's healthy, and while .349 was probably beyond everyone's expectations, it wasn't like this blindsided us.

Not so with our main mensch Shawn Green, who lit up my predictions and the eyes of every young Semite in the tri-state area with a wonderful start to the year. He came out in .355/.412/.538 fashion, knocking in clutch runs and scaring the hell out of pitchers who thought they were going to have an easier run through the bottom of the Mets lineup this year.

Hah. Caveat: the production is very batting average-heavy, he's only hit .300 once in his career, and his power numbers aren't up much from last year, so we can expect to see him come back to Earth as his BABIP does the same. But for now, he's replaced the ailing Sam Rothstein as the new Golden Jew around these parts. (Abe, call me!)

Also, I think the, ahem, 0.00 ERA from rookie reliever Joe Smith comes as something of a surprise, considering none of you except for me (and possibly Lister) had ever heard of this dude before he made the team, and I only knew him because it just so happens he's a former North Adams SteepleCat. The sidearm delivery is working for now, he's not only getting grounders but striking guys out (14 in 12.1 IP) and is doing it for pennies on the dollar. The kid looks like he should be delivering copies of Newsday out by Paul Lo Duca's girlfriend's house, but here he is with a sub-1.00 WHIP and Willie's full confidence. Not bad for a first month on the grind.

THE BAD
The worst third baseman in New York

For David Wright, the situation has deteriorated from A.F.O.M.G.'s formulation of "Not a slump, just not 'Not a slump'" to the less wordy and far less ambiguous "slump." Our All-American superstar hit like a bad Luis Castillo in April, shooting out a .244/.370/.311 line with a grand total of zero homers since what seems like the original Armstice Day. His mechanics look all screwed up, still too uppercutty and jumpy; Keith sounds like Bob Vila in the booth trying to get David to level out his swing. Who can tell from here, but the attitude seems positive enough, and there's no visible signs of panic from the dugout -- Willie hasn't been fiddling with his spot in the lineup yet, or calling for the Bobby Abreu-style bunts. But this will not stand. He's still got that square jaw going for him, I guess.

Bats in the Pelfrey (groan, slap, whimper)
This was covered very recently at the site, but rookie hurler Mike Pelfrey ain't getting it done at the moment. That is all.

THE UGLY
Delgado, Lo Duca sucking

My, I'm as blunt as a spoon, but there's no way around it. The Mets cleanup hitter, their big slugger, their first baseman and wise veteran presence, well ... not good. This was a whole month and more than 100 plate appearances with a line of .188/.262/.260, which would have killed a team that didn't have five red-hot bats backing each other up. I can't pretend I have any idea what's ailing him, so cross your fingers.

As for Lo Duca, all the productive outs in the world (and he's still tops at putting the ball in the right spots) aren't enough to help the team when you're hitting .237 with a whopping total of two extra-base hits and playing your characteristically mediocre defense. He may be scuffling with some minor injuries -- I'm pretty sure I haven't seen a game on TV where he doesn't take a bouncing pitch in the fingers or get whacked by a backswing or something else painful-looking. All the same, these two guys are anchoring the squad in the Davy Jones sense of the word.

Pain train a-comin'
The Mets have quite a few old players. In fact, the Mets have the oldest player, who looked like the ghost of Paul Robeson out there in the ninth inning against the Nats on Saturday night. Me, A.F.O.M.G., the White Phil Ivey and some assorted other peeps were watching from Kid Slick's hipster pad down on Bedford Avenue when the comeback started, and we straight giggled every time they showed a closeup of Franco's ancient torso. I mean, the guy looks like a wax carving of himself. Maybe it was just the RFK lighting, but nothing flattering was going.

Anyway, back to my point -- old players get hurt more easily than young players, and we saw the process start just yesterday. El Duque to the DL with bursitis. Valentin to the DL for a month with a knee. Even young Blastings went down for six weeks with a foot thing.

You can expect to see more of this coming in the future, which is why we're going to have to hope that Endy keeps hitting .368 (Endy magic!), Easley and Castro keep doing their thing and the pitching doesn't deteriorate much more. There's a good amount of depth built into the roster and the system, but let's keep our heads up and eyes open.

Look for the next monthly recap next month, stupid. Use your head!