Brad Carroll's GameDay: State Of The Mets 17: R.A. Dickey Continues To Shine, Rest Of Team Continues To Slump For Fading Mets

State Of The Mets 17: R.A. Dickey Continues To Shine, Rest Of Team Continues To Slump For Fading Mets

By Matt Straub

Our State of the Mets column is back for its 17th installment with a trade (for Kelly Shoppach?!) and another week that has the team falling farther and farther below .500. As always, we want to hear what you have to say about your favorite (or least favorite) team below in the comments section. And check back each and every week for the latest from the Mets.

Opening Statement

Kelly Shoppach has arrived in New York. All right, that was a bit sarcastic. Shoppach might actually be a useful piece for the Mets, who might be able to teach Josh Thole some things along the way. Besides, the Mets need something to be happy about after another disappointing week that has made even the modest goal of a .500 season seem far-fetched. The week was sort of a microcosm of the Mets’ season. There were flashes of hope tempered by crushing losses that let out whatever air was starting to fill the team’s balloon again. With playoff dreams long departed and the team looking to the future anyway, this is the time of year to take stock of what the team might have going forward. Unfortunately, sometimes doing that requires big steps backwards.

Johan Santana was rocked again. (AP photo)

The High Point

Like most of the team’s high points this season, this week’s involved R.A. Dickey. There was a time in the middle of the season when Dickey seemed to be fading a bit, or at least showing signs of being mortal. In the last couple of weeks, however, he has completely regained his form, including a dominant performance in Thursday’s win over Miami. The Marlins’ Jose Reyes, who Mets fans may have heard of, had his 26-game hitting streak snapped by Dickey’s dancing knuckleball. “Nothing close, nothing close,” he told the AP of his day trying to hit the mystery pitch. Dickey struck out 10 and ended a nine-game home losing streak for the Amazin’s, who have been anything but since the All-Star break. The win was even more important after what happened the day before.

The Low Point

Miami 13, New York 0. Giancarlo Stanton 4, New York 0. It was ugly. Chris Young didn’t make it out of the fifth inning, surrendering seven runs, all earned, on seven hits and three home runs, two hit by Stanton. The Mets blew through seven pitchers in an attempt to get through the night without decimating the bullpen. Manager Terry Collins doesn’t have many bullets in his bullpen gun, but got the team past the game with a chance to win the next day, which is all you can ask for in that situation. Starting R.A. Dickey helps, too. Honorable mention goes to Saturday night, when Johan Santana didn’t get out of the second inning in a 9-3 loss to Atlanta. Santana has been awful in his last three starts, but at least the Mets scored in this game.

Terry Collins continues to look for answers. (AP photo)

Three Up

R.A. Dickey: From the end of June to the end of July, Dickey struggled, getting beat up several times and putting forth some average outings the rest of the time. His next three starts, however, were impressive, with just three earned runs scoring in 23 innings. Most important, he has become a stopper. Other than that four-week stretch, Dickey has been there to stop slides and lift spirits, even if only for a day. That’s something Santana hasn’t done of late.

Chris Young: His 5 2/3 shutout innings against Cincinnati weren’t breathtaking, but he bounced back from his performance against Miami nicely Tuesday night. His ability to turn the page is something the Mets’ young pitchers should try to emulate.

David Wright: A stretch of seven solid games deserves a brief mention considering his struggles in the second half.

Three Down

Johan Santana: 7, 6, 6, 8. Those aren’t today’s lotto numbers, those are the number of earned runs for Santana in his last four starts. We’ll never know if the added pitches from that no-hitter were his demise this year, but in his nine starts since that day his ERA has gone from 2.38 to 4.58. Even a stint on the DL couldn’t help. At this point, it’s probably best to just send him home for the year to get some rest.

Josh Edgin: The three-run homer he gave up to give the Reds a walk-off win Tuesday was one of the crushing losses I mentioned earlier.

Frank Francisco: In his last three games, he has given up three runs and recorded four outs.