Calling Carlos Beltran.....

It was obvious right from the start that one of these teams was going to play in the postseason and one of them would not be.

The New York Mets looked ready and primed for the postseason during their win over the dilapidated Pittsburgh Pirates. They received a strong start from John Maine, who has been dominant all year, they received quality defensive play from their outfielders and an especially nice snag by 1st baseman Carlos Delgado and last but not least, they received some significant offense from some unsuspected sources.

With both Carlos’s, Beltran and Delgado, struggling to produce the way they have, the offense has been reliant upon secondary contributions and on Tuesday night, it was young, brash outfielder Lastings Milledge and starter John Maine who brought the pop.

Milledge hit an RBI single to precede his 2 run home run that sealed the game for the Mets while John Maine hit his first career home run, a 2 run job of his own. Infielder Ruben Gotay also had an RBI as did declining outfielder Shawn Green, while the middle of the lineup, the superstars failed to hold their own, especially Beltran who struck out three times and is really falling apart at the seams.

The next week of games favors the Mets in their playoff run as well as they still have two games hosting the lowly Pirates and then play host to the unsightly Washington Nationals for 4 games. If the Mets can hit a nice hot streak here and put some distance between them and their nearest competitors without having to give up the farm for some last-minute help, that would certainly be the ideal.

Their opponent tonight was the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates don’t have much to look forward to come postseason time, other than an extended vacation.

With tonight’s loss Pittsburgh is now 41-57 and is a seller to be sure over the next week. Unlike previous years though, the Pirates have been trying to add some quality help now but were quickly turned down by the Blue Jays when they requested Troy Glaus for Jack Wilson and a packaged deal. Shocking.

The Pirates will likely move some relievers and perhaps some offensive power all to make room for players even younger than those currently starring for the disappointing club. Pittsburgh did have one bright spot on Tuesday though, and it wasn’t the poor pitching of highly acclaimed starter Ian Snell, it was the reappearance of struggling slugger Jason Bay who had a huge night with 2 home runs and 3 RBI.

Perhaps Bay enjoyed the 6th slot in the batting lineup where Manager Jim Tracy put him to hide him a little bit from the glare of the clean-up role. If these are going to be standard results, I say keep him 6th. If only Bay could get some help to come and help revitalize this team for this winner-starved town.

Diametrically Opposed

Lastings Milledge is getting another chance at Major League Baseball. With the sad release of the aged Julio Franco, the Mets added some desperately needed youth and outfield energy as they called up the capricious Milledge to take his place.

Franco has been around the Big League’s for longer than Milledge has been alive but at the ripe old age of 48 (soon to be 49), this may be the end. Designated for assignment after hitting just .200 and receiving only 50 at-bats through the first half of the season, unless Franco can call in a few favors and get some type of minor-league deal with an old GM buddy, his days in the Show appear to be over.

This is a sad way to go out for the soon-to-be pension eligible Franco. He began his career in 1982 with the Phillies and has since played with 8 other teams. After essentially disappearing from the baseball radar from 1997-2000, he reappeared as a member of the Braves in 2001 and was a valuable role player for the team until 2006 when he signed with New York. His role has diminished since coming to the Big Apple and on Thursday, his role was cut altogether.

In contrast, Lastings Milledge is at the start of his baseball career. Feels like he has been for about the past 5 years though. Immaturity and inconsistency plagued Milledge throughout his brief career, in the minors and last season in the Major League’s. He failed to make the team out of spring training and has seen his playing time go to Carlos Gomez and Endy Chavez while he has toiled away in triple-A.

Now, with both Gomez and Chavez out of commission, Milledge is getting his chance to vie for playing time with the esteemed trio of Carlos Beltran, Shawn Green and David Newhan. There’s an outfield that strikes fear into people.

If Milledge can put it all together, he will either develop into a steady, everyday outfielder for the Mets, or they will use him as a bargaining chip to attempt to weasel an experienced arm from a below .500 club.

Two players whose careers are respectively at sunrise and sunset, only time will tell if Milledge can have any more of an impact than Franco did.