The Mets have a player who has stolen 149 bases over the past four season. He has one stolen base this season. He will make $119 million over the next seven years. You know who he is.
So what's the deal with Carlos Beltran not stealing any bases this season? It may have something to do with where he's hitting in the lineup and who's been hitting after him. It may also be that he simply doesn't have the green light, though I can't imagine why that may be.
The lineup thing may have some merit, though. Maybe Mike Piazza or Cliff Floyd don't feel particularly comfortable batting with somebody in motion. Some hitters are distracted by base-stealers, and some just don't like having to take a pitch when that pitch might be the one you can hit. I don't really know; I'm just conjecturing here.
We're six weeks into the season and I think it's time Willie stops protecting David Wright. He is the most patient player on the team, and I think the Mets might be better off with him batting third and Beltran batting second. Wright, who sees upwards of five pitches every plate appearance, would be an ideal candidate for Beltran to break loose on the basepaths.
With that in mind, here's my modified Mets lineup:
1. Mike Cameron ; why not? draws a lot of walks, has pop, might steal more 2. Carlos Beltran ; batting earlier, he should attempt more steals 3. David Wright ; most patient hitter on the Mets, should help Carlos' SB 4. Cliff Floyd ; cooled off, but still a beast 5. Mike Piazza ; hitting better of late 6. Doug Mientkiewicz ; he's gotta hit somewhere 7. Jose Reyes ; shouldn't be able to sniff leadoff with his OBP 8. Kaz Matsui ; the second coming of Rey Ordonez?As should be the case, the Mets' five best hitters get to see the most at-bats, and their two worst hitters (as of now) see the fewest. Reyes and Matsui simply haven't shown me anything to warrant batting them in the top half of the lineup. Reyes should probably still be in the Minor Leagues and Matsui still in Japan, but that's beside the point. That's my lineup.
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In other news, I wrote a couple of new articles at MetsGeek.com the past couple of days. Enjoy.
- 2005 Mets: The First 35 Games
- Upcoming Series: St. Louis Cardinals Pitchers