The old Reyes is back, thanks to Beltran

No one is ever allowed to knock Carlos Beltran for his leadership skills again.

The mass of stories making it's way around the web right now details how Beltran talked to Jose Reyes and told him, "Man, I want you to be the Reyes you always have been."

Apparently, it worked. Reyes hit his first home run of the season last night, and later in the same inning, Beltran took Matt Chico deep for a three run blast. After Beltran's home run, the camera flashed to the Mets dugout, where everyone could see Reyes up and dancing on the field, being his old, excitable self again.

Thank you, Carlos Beltran. Here are some quotes from around the web:

NY Post:

"As a teammate, I know, I see when somebody's not happy and I didn't think he was happy," Beltran said last night. "I tell him 'I want you to be the Reyes that you always have been."

NJ.com:

"I want to smile and have fun," said Reyes, who hit his first home run of the season. "It's hard for me to be quiet in the dugout."
---
"He didn't feel right," Beltran said. "We're happy that he's doing it again. We don't care if other teams get offended. We're going to play the game like that."

Daily News:

"Carlos Beltran, he's the guy, kind of quiet in the dugout," Reyes said. "He needs that, he needs the thing I do in the dugout. That's why he come to me and talk to me." Asked if he would help Beltran learn how to be more of an extrovert, Reyes smiled.

"He's not going to jump at all. He's not like that," said Reyes.

Surfing the Mets:

Said Reyes: “Everything is back.”

On the Mets Beat:

Carlos Delgado also played a role in this, Reyes said.

Everyone is always down on Beltran for not being outspoken enough, but that's just the way he is. Beltran is a professional player. He goes out and plays the game without all the riffraff. The media is down on him because they never get anything out of him. He plays but doesn't talk about it. Good! Just because he's in New York doesn't mean he has to be a media darling.

I absolutely love Beltran. Sure, he's injured occasionaly, but not like many other players. As Fire Joe Morgan pointed out, Beltran has played 151, 140, and 144 games for the Mets over the past three seasons. I bet a lot of people don't realize this. Beltran is invaluable to this team with his glove, his bat, and his leadership.

And good for Delgado to get in there. Now someone needs to tell him to get back to writing in his diary everyday so he can start hitting again too.

Related: [Hot Foot]

Photo of the Day: Wagner

New York Mets closer Billy Wagner recorded the save Wednesday night for the Mets, who won 5-2 over the Washington Nationals.
Wagner is yet to allow a hit so far this season.
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Game Recap: Mets 5 -- Nationals 2

The New York Mets used the long ball to get ahead, and stay ahead for good, Wednesday night, beating the Washington Nationals by a score of 5-2.

John Maine made the start for the Mets, his third of the season, going 6 2-3, allowing five hits and two earned runs. Maine was a little wild, walking four, but also striking out four. Maine walked Christian Guzman to lead off the game and allowed a single to Ronnie Belliard before a sac-fly from Ryan Zimmerman, brought in the first run of the game. He then loaded the bases with a walk before getting two straight fly balls to end the threat.

In the fourth, Maine allowed a solo home run to Austin Kearns to deep left field. In the seventh, with two outs, Maine walked Guzman and Belliard, and was removed from the game in favor of Joe Smith.

Maine hasn't carried his hot spring training over to the season, but he had a pretty good outing tonight. Still a little wild and a little inconsistent, but there was definetly improvement tonight. Maine seems to be coming back to form, which is excellent news. Good stuff, Maine.

Smith struck out Zimmerman with two men on to end the seventh. Smith came out for the eighth, striking out Nick Johnson to start the inning before hitting Lastings Milledge on the forearm. Smith then induced a double play off the bat of Kearns to end the inning. Smith went 1 1-3 hitless, striking out two.

Smith has been absolutely stellar so far this season. He came on strong at the end of spring training and has been even better during the regular season. The question is: What happens to Smith when Matt Wise comes back?

Billy Wagner came into the game in the ninth inning to try and earn the save and close out the game. Wagner set the Nats down 1-2-3, striking out Aaron Boone to end the game. Wagner is yet to allow a hit so far this season.

Hey Wagner, why don't you take off your coat and stay awhile. It was nice to see you again. Keep on truckin'.

The Mets knocked around Matt Chico for seven hits and five runs in only five innings of work.

After going down 1-0 in the top of the first, the Mets answered back as Ryan Church crushed a solo home run to deep right field, over the Azek sign in the Mets bullpen. Remember: Chico is a lefty. Two home runs for Church, both off of lefties. Church went 2-4, scored twice and drove in one run.

Church is proving he's an everyday player. I absolutely love this guy and have been singing his praises since the day we traded for him. Side note: Lastings Milledge went 1-3 tonight and missed a diving play in center field. Tough play, but he got leather on the ball and couldn't complete it.

The Mets were held scoreless until the fifth inning, when Jose Reyes led off with a solo home run to deep left field. Reyes went 2-4 tonight, driving himself in, and therefore, scoring once. The team kept at it, as Church and David Wright singled to follow Reyes. Carlos Beltran came to bat and crushed a three run home run to deep left field. This was Beltran's first home run of the season, and his third straight game driving in a run.

Reyes, Wright and Beltran all seem to be hitting their stride's right now. Can you imagine the whole team getting hot right now? It'd be perfect and set the tone for the rest of the season after a bit of a rocky start.

Numbers to note - Luis Castillo: 3-4, three singles...Carlos Delgado and Angel Pagan: 2 K's each...One double play turned...Seven left on base...

Game Ball: Maine and Beltran.

Beardless watch: 5-2.

John Maine's final line

John Maine: 6.2 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K.

Maine gave up a sac fly in the first and a solo home run in the fourth, but looked pretty good tonight. Still had his early struggles, but got key outs when needed. Good stuff.

Mets second in worth

According to Forbes magazine, the Mets are currently second on the list of franchise worths, ranking in at $824 million.

The Yankees, not surprisingly, are first, worth just over $1.3 billion, while Boston ranked in at third, worth $816 million.

From the AP:

The Mets had an operating profit of $32.9 million, according to Forbes. Boston, according to Forbes, had a $19.1 million operating loss.

The Mets are the only team in the top three to have an operating profit, which seems odd to me. The Yankees actually had a $47.3 million operating loss.

Game Preview: Nationals @ Mets -- 4/16

The New York Mets take on the Washington Nationals for the second game of a three game set. The Mets took game one by a score of 6-0.

Lineup:
SS Jose Reyes
RF Ryan Church
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Carlos Delgado
LF Angel Pagan
C Brian Schneider
2B Luis Castillo
SP John Maine

Maine vs. Matt Chico

After all the talk about Castillo getting a day off, I'm glad to see he's still in there. I love Church in the two-hole. Keep him there.

Fire Joe Morgan takes on the "gamer" team

If you don't read Fire Joe Morgan, you're missing out.

In their latest post, they pick apart a post on "gamers" and "non-gamers."

Carlos Beltran made an appearance on the non-gamer or "Barry Bonds" list. FJM set the record straight (quote from original in bold, FJM's take non-bold).:

Carlos Beltran - The Mets gave him $119 million to be the player they would build their team around. He's been unreliable, frequently missing time to injury and playing poorly in the playoffs. The Mets have shifted their focus to third baseman David Wright - an up-and-coming gamer.

This is just inexplicable. Carlos Beltran, on the whole, has been brilliant in the playoffs, with an overall OPS of 1.302 and a slugging percentage of .817! He hit 3 home runs in the 2006 NLCS for the Mets. Do Lowell Cohn and son remember the 2004 playoffs, when for 12 games Carlos Beltran hit like he was using Mjolnir for a bat? He hit 8 home runs in 46 at bats! This is the choker you're complaining about?

Also, games played as a Met: 151, 140, 144. Not perfect, but he's not exactly Rich Harden, either. The last two years Carlos Beltran has been super-valuable for both his offense and his defense.

So does Pedro Martinez:

Pedro Martinez - He's been hurt for the last 2 seasons, and who knows how long he'll be out now with a pulled hamstring. He's always been a controversial player, throwing at players' heads and fighting with old man Don Zimmer. Now that he isn't a dominant a pitcher, he's more of a distraction than he's worth. Gamers don't distract their teammates.

He's the most dominant pitcher of his era, and maybe ever. He's declining with age. What a lazy SOB. Also, fighting another team's coach should be the number one characteristic of any gamer list worth its salt.

Thank you FJM. I love you. Keep it up.

Marco Scutaro? What? Why?

I saw this jersey in the new outdoor Mets Team Shop. I know the photo is blurry, but I think my mind was jumbled by what I was seeing.

First of all, why is there a Marco Scutaro Mets jersey in existence?
Secondly, why is it in a Mets team store and not in Scutaro's mother's house?
Third, why is it hanging, behind the counter and away from all the other jerseys none the less, in the Mets Team Store? Did I ask that already? I'm losing it.

I've come to the conclusion none of these questions will ever be answered.

Photos from Nationals @ Mets -- Jackie Robinson Day

Washington Nationals @ New York Mets -- Jackie Robinson Day -- 4/15/06

Photographic evidence of Duaner Sanchez, in case you didn't believe your eyes during last nights game (at the end).

Getting fed up with Castillo

After reading this story from the Post, I'm starting to worry about Mr. Luis Castillo.

From the Post:

Asked if he needs some time off, Castillo said: "Sometimes, I do. When I play three or four games in a row, maybe I can get a day off. I'm going to talk to Willie about it."

He's joking, right?

Castillo is fresh off a four year, $25 million deal, and he needs rest after playing three games?

I've been a huge fan of Castillo since he came to the team, as he has pretty good range and developed a nice camaraderie with Jose Reyes for turning double plays. He's very willing to give himself up in a bunting situation, and seems very "for the team."

I know he's working on some bum knees, but he just had them surgically repaired. I thought playing on grass instead of the artificial turf in Minnesota would help him out. I guess I was wrong.

He looks sluggish, slow and, I'm pulling no punches here, downright lazy. That butcher-boy swing he takes at first can barely get the ball out of the infield. He has no power left in his bat, not that I expected home runs from him, but he seems incapable of getting the ball past the pitchers mound.

In the field, he still shows a bit of a glove, as he made a few nice running plays in the field last night. He still has a decent arm, as he's able to turn double plays fairly well. The trouble he has is gimping over the second to turn it. I'm worried about his knees. He just doesn't seem comfortable out there, running, fielding, or even standing.

Omar Minaya gave this guy four years?! I was expecting Castillo to get in two good years, decline for his third, and be a platoon / bench player in his final year. At this point, I'd be happy with one decent year, at the most. Half a year, even.

Something needs to happen soon, because I'm getting pretty sick of Castillo's play. I know he's perpetually injured, so I can cut him some slack there, but he needs to start performing or something is going to need to happen.

Put Argenis Reyes on the fast track.