Underdogs? No way!

Underdogs? No way!

Beltran wants us to be in first place when he gets back, and I agree.

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I went out and supported the team last night, at Citi Field, in section 520 of the Promenade. I haven’t been here in a couple of weeks, but it felt like I was returning home.

This came after a trip to Yankee Stadium, which I’ll write about later, but I’m now confident to say that Citi Field is the best stadium in New York. And that’s without a Seaver statue.

I’ve heard an idea about naming the area just in front of the bridge and above the bullpen "The Piazza", which I think is a cool idea. Although, I think it might be a better name for the food court area on the Promenade behind home plate. After all, wouldn’t you look for Piazza behind home plate, not out in the bullpen?

The Mets had a great bounce back win yesterday, after a flurry of roster moves including Carlos Beltran to the disabled list. This means that David Wright and Luis Castillo are the only two starters who have not spent time on the DL. Daniel Murphy as well, but he hasn’t seen regular time through May, so it’s hard to count him.

However, that’s the key. If Daniel Murphy is a regular player, and he’s starting to show that maybe he is, things may not be as grim as they seem. Ryan Church has been doing well since returning. Brian Schneider hasn’t been his pre-injury disasterous April self, and while he’s not Piazza and Manuel still likes Santos over him, it’s a good thing to see him getting big hits. Santos is avoiding the inevitable drop off you’d expect from a career minor leaguer.

The only blight right now might be FernandoTatis.

Tatis is being awarded way too much playing time for playing so poorly. He’s grounding into double plays at an alarming rate, which makes you wonder what he was doing in the cleanup spot last night or even being a pinch hitter for Murphy on Sunday night?

For weeks now, Keith Hernandez has been pointing out Tatis' messed up swing, comparing it to last year. Give Tatis a rest, and lets get Evans some outfield starts. He was starting to hit in the minors, and he has some power. I know he’s as right-handed as Sheffield, but he could be a good solution to who to play when you rest Sheffield, who needs a lot of rest to contribute to this team.

So, are the Mets underdogs? I say no.

The Phillies are having injury problems as well. So instead of trying to tread water, not lose ground, and hope everyone comes back healthy, I say go out there and ride the guys that are hot, and take back this division. Maybe Santos will drop off, maybe Murphy won’t hit .300, but they’re hitting now, and there is no reason we can’t win now.

Especially if Nieve is serious about being good. Redding drops some decent games on us, Livan seems to be acceptable. Santana is Santana, and hopefully Pelfrey is just having a blip in his early career. There is hope for Perez and Maine coming back, and there is always Niese in the wings. The bullpen is still excellent, as long as Manuel recognizes the need for rest, and Parnell can make the proper adjustments. It seems like he can, Parnell really does look like a serious player.

Parnell could probably use some days off, as could Feliciano, but I have confidence in those guys if they don’t get burnt out.