A Glimpse Into The Future

The monkeys will be checking out a bit of the Futures Game today to catch a glimpse of the Mets top prospect Fernando Martinez. Everyone remembers that when Omar Minaya traded for Johan Santana, Martinez was the one prospect he immediately pulled off the table. This Mets regime typically challenges its minor league players and as a 19 year old playing in AA, Martinez illustrates this strategy more than any other Mets farmhand.

So far this year, Martinez has been good, but not yet great(.294, 4 HR, 21 RBI in 218 at-bats this season in Double-A. He was slowed down by a hamstring injury and Mets VP Tony Bernazard has indicated that FMart may have been called up if the injury had not slowed him down. Martinez was limited to 60 games at Double-A Binghamton last season because of a broken bone at the base of his right hand that required surgery. He still needs to put together a few weeks of dominant play with some increased power before he is called up. The situation with Alou & Church may cause the Mets to rush him, but they should be cautious for now.




ANGEL IN THE OUTFIELD?

Looks like Angel Pagan will be back with the team soon after the All-Star break. Pagan was doing a nice job before his injury, but he lacks the power to be a fulltime solution. Still with Robinson Cancel and a perhaps overmatched (though the monkeys feel the jury is still out on that) Nick Evans filling up roster spots, Pagan would be an upgrade for the bench.

EARNED CONFIDENCE

It was refreshing to hear Damion Easley talk about "earned confidence." What a 180 turn from last year's Carlos Delgado quotes about the Mets being so good that they get bored sometimes. Lesson learned? Looks like it was by some.

METS STREAK GIVES METS A MULLIGAN FOR THE FIRST HALF

The monkeys posted a clip of the Dallas "Dream Season" before the Phillies series and said if the Mets swept then it would be like everything that had happened before never happened. The Mets came close taking 3 out 4. With the Mets now only 1/2 game out, it is almost like a new season as we head toward the second half. It was outlandish for the producers of Dallas to tell their audience that an entire season of the show was only a dream. However, it would have been just as outlandish for fans to think the Mets were going to basically get a mulligan on the first half of the season after all the drama and poor play. Caps off to the Mets for their fine play heading into the break.