HOUSTON — The overriding theme of April for the Mets was “Punish thy Neighbor.”
Thrust immediately into division play by the schedule, the Mets responded with a 10-5 record against the NL East and showed they have the weapons to compete with the Marlins, Braves and Phillies, in particular.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis emerged as a savior after Andres Torres hit the disabled list after only one game, and David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Josh Thole have been consistent offensive threats.
But the biggest factor behind the Mets’ early success has been starting pitching, with Johan Santana, R.A. Dickey and Jon Niese combining for a formidable 1-2-3 punch.
There are still plenty of questions about rotation depth and closer Frank Francisco, but for now the Mets can’t complain: It’s May 1 and they still are interesting.
MVP: David Wright
Wright broke his right pinkie, costing him three games in the first full week of the season, but has played through the pain and produced big numbers.
He made his most dramatic statement by hitting a home run in Philadelphia on his first pitch back from the injury, but look closely enough and Wright seems to be in the middle of every Mets rally these days. He has about 100 million good reasons to continue at this pace.
LVP: Jason Bay
You hate to pick on the wounded, but Bay wasn’t exactly thriving before he fractured a rib diving in the outfield last week. He had produced a few big hits for the Mets, but driving the ball with consistency was still an issue for him.
All hell is sure to break loose if Kirk Nieuwenhuis is still playing at a high level when Bay is ready to return from the disabled list. But that’s a decision manager Terry Collins won’t have to make until later this month.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Mets will be on the road for 14 of 21 games before heading back to Citi Field for their longest homestand of the season. Three games in Philadelphia next week followed by a weekend series in Miami will serve as big division tests. The Phillies will come to Citi Field for three games beginning on Memorial Day. The Mets need to keep building on their impressive record against NL East opponents.
YOU DON’T WANT TO BE TERRY COLLINS IF ...
… another starting pitcher goes down. As it stands, the Mets will swallow hard and start Chris Schwinden every fifth day and hope he can at least serve as a bridge to Chris Young’s return later this month.
As much as fans had grown to loathe Mike Pelfrey, the righty was an innings-eater. Not only did the Mets’ rotation worsen by losing Pelfrey for the season, the bullpen likely will be further stretched.
ON THE HOT SEAT:
Frank Francisco’s woes have been masked to a degree by the Mets’ late-inning magic. But the right-hander needs to get his act together fast and start showing he deserves to remain the closer.
Francisco has battled a sore hamstring in recent days after having knee trouble late in spring training. Jon Rauch, except for a rough outing Sunday at Colorado, has been dominant and could easily move into the closer’s role if Francisco’s performance doesn’t improve.
5 KEY STATS
4
Total runs scored for Johan Santana in his five starts this season. Santana is 0-2 with a 2.25 ERA, but only once has pitched into the seventh inning.
6
Stolen bases by the Mets, which ranks last in the National League.
47
Runs scored by the Mets with two outs.
472
At-bats without a homer for Ruben Tejada, the longest drought of any Mets position player.
.494
David Wright’s on-base percentage, which leads the major leagues by 4 points over the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp and is 37 points clear of American League leader David Ortiz of the Red Sox.