Mets 5, Giants 1

By now you've probably heard about the injury to Mike Piazza. It's still being called a "strained right groin" but the latest word is that he's likely to miss "a significant amount of time." This is of course a devestating blow to the ineffectual Mets' offense. Aside from being the biggest name in the Mets' lineup, Piazza had also been by far the best hitter on the team so far this year. If he had enough plate appearances to qualify for the league lead, he would be in the top ten in the NL in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage at .333/.422/.613 for a 1.034 OPS. The next highest OPS on the team is the .878 belonging to Jeromy Burnitz, who will apparently return from breaking his hand on Tuesday. We Met fans may have to rely on The Ewing Theory for a little peace of mind.

The Mets called up catcher Jason Phillips from Norfolk again, where he was hitting .346/.435/.564 with 4 home runs and 20 RBI. And in a really smart and unexpected move, he started today at first base while Vance Wilson was once again behind the plate. Tony Clark has not worked out at all as a starter at first base and seems much more useful coming off of the bench, so I hope Art Howe will continue to try to get Wilson's defense and Phillips' bat into games. Phillips went two for five with an RBI single in the ninth. Wilson had a walk in four plate appearances.

The Mets lineup in general was refreshingly youthful today, as the first three batters were second baseman Marco Scutaro, right fielder Raul Gonzalez and Phillips. Scutaro went one for three with a walk and a run and played solid defense at second. I would hope that when Roberto Alomar returns to his post at second, presumably tomorrow, Howe will find a way to get Scutaro in the game somehow. I don't know if he can play shorstop, but if he can, I'd much rather see him out there than Joe McEwing. Cliff Floyd delivered the big blow of the game with a two run home run in the fifth, his seventh of the season.

And on the mound Steve Trachsel gave the Mets a terrific performance, going eight innings, the longest start by any Met pitcher this year, giving up just the one run on four hits and one walk while striking out three. He only threw 93 pitched, and I would have liked to see him get a shot at the complete game, but Armando Benitez came in for the ninth after Trachsel had been pinch hit for during the Mets' ninth innning rally. Benitez gave up one dubious hit that would have been an out had anyone other than Roger Cedeno been playing right field and struck out one. Trachsel is now 2-2 with 4.50 ERA.

Tomorrow, the Mets try to earn a split against the defending NL Champs before heading home. Tom Glavine (4-3, 3.76) goes for the Mets after having a decent start blown by the bullpen in Colorado. He will be opposed by Young Kurt Ainsworth (3-3, 4.56). Hopefully the Mets' lineup will resemble today's youth movement somewhat.   ¶ joe | 7:38 PM |