Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here: Mets Take Another From Phillies 7-5

Hail! Hail! the gang's all here
Never mind the weather
Here we are together.
Hail! Hail! the gang's all here
Let the fun begin right NOW!

In some ways, it was like the sweet respite of a calm stomach between violent bouts of marathon dry-heaving.

Two days after Tom Glavine nearly reduced his Hall of Fame credentials to rubble in a single, scandalous outing against these very same Phillies, Kris Benson and Aaron Heilman, two young Met pitchers with a suddenly positive upside, combined to lead the Mets out of the mental hospital of inconsistent starting pitching by tossing 8 innings of 6 hit, 2 run ball, surrendering only 3 walks and striking out 11.

In many ways it was indeed a day of Madame George and roses for the Mets as Benson welcomed himself to the 2005 season with a promising outing, Aaron Heilman continued his slow crawl to respectability, Mike Cameron made his 2005 debut with a pair of doubles and two runs scored and Mike Piazza finally broke out of his miserable slump with 4 hits, including a 3 run homer.

But don't get happy just yet.

The dry heaves are scheduled to return as soon as tomorrow when Victor Zambrano takes the mound against the Milwaukee Brewers, who after their most recent victory over the Cubs, have now won 7 straight.

*****

It was a bit surprising that Cryin Mike Cameron's return not only didn't spell the demotion of Victor Diaz to Norfolk, it didn't even knock him from the starting lineup. Instead, Cameron took over in right field for Diaz and Diaz took over for the sizzling Cliff Floyd who, mired as he is in his miserable 20 game hitting streak and struggling to maintain his torrid pace of destroying all pitching he faces, understandably needed a day off out of the lineup.

*****

Oh, the most nauseating and uneasy phrase of the day was hearing Bradon Looper warming up in the bullpen....as it turned out, Looper earned another save and it was Mike DeJean's turn in the "Let's see how fast I can blow this lead" driver's seat instead.

DeJean, needing three outs with a 5 run lead, surrendered a 3 run homer to Phillies leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins but was removed before irrevocable damage could be inflicted following a dazzling performance in which he allowed 4 hits and 3 runs with only 25 pitches.

Looper struck out the last batter of the game to earn the save.

*****

Mike Piazza's 4 for 5 outing raised his batting average from .198 to .231 in one game. His secret? Well, for the first time all season, Cryin Mike Cameron hit behind him. And for a change, he was able to start a day game following a night game rather than succumbing to this annoying cliche that a catcher his age can't do so. Maybe a little less pampering is good for the old man after all.

On another happy hitting note, Marlon Anderson started off the 8th with his 9th pinch hit of the season. The MLB record for pinch hits in a season is 28, by John Van der Wal for the Colorado Rockies in 1995.

*****

A few things we Met fans should be thankful for:

1. Tim Worrell is not in our bullpen. Our bullpen may have its share of blemishes but really, he's thrown 11 innings of relief during which brief time he has given up 22 hits and 12 earned runs. Yesterday he allowed the game to be blown open giving up the three run slam by Piazza.

2. Vicente Padilla is not in our starting rotation. This afternoon's starter for the Phillies, Padilla fell to 0-4 and saw his ERA rise to 10.57. There aren't many pitchers in the National League you can say this about, but even Glavine's not THAT bad.

******

Although there isn't much to be expected out of Zambrano's outing against the Brewers tomorrow, it might be worth nothing that he made his Met debut last year at Milwaukee's Miller Park and got his first NL win in that game.

He will face Doug Davis, LHP (3-3, 4.79).

Who's Hot

The Brewers, for one, with 7 wins in a row.

Over the last 7 days Lyle Overbay is 11 for 14, 3 homers and 8 RBIs. This makes Cliff Floyd's streak look like small potatoes.

Bill Hall, their shortstop, has 12 hits in his last 24 at-bats.

As a team, Milwaukee has hit .293 with 7 homers in their last 6 games.

Oh, just wait til we see what they do to Zambrano and Glavine!

The pitching of the Brewers is also spot on. A 2.83 ERA over the last week, giving up only 40 hits and 18 walks over the last 54 innings.

Looks like the Mets will have their work cut out for them.