Schwei: David Wright, Justin Turner Make A Short Stop As Mets' Shortstop
By John Schweibacher
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The Mets lost both Jose Reyes and Daniel Murphy to injuries Sunday in their 6-5 loss to the Braves, forcing manager Terry Collins to use both Justin Turner and later David Wright at shortstop for the first time.
Here are some other unusual Mets shortstops in club history, with the number of games they played at short for the club:
Ron Hunt 1
Rod Kanehl 2
Joel Youngblood 2
Fernando Tatis 2
Jeff Kent 3
Lenny Harris 10
Bobby Valentine 14
Wally Backman 19
Kevin Mitchell 24
Hubie Brooks 27
The Mets have been much more successful this season with the bases full than they were last season. Coming into the week, Mets hitters are a combined .317 (33-for-104) with two homers and 85 runs batted in with the bases loaded. In 2010, the Mets hit just .244 (32-for-131) with no home runs and 87 RBI's.
Here are some of the Mets' historical single-season highs and lows with the bases loaded:
Best team average with bases full
1995 .385 40/104
1997 .338 44/130
1999 .335 54/161
2006 .321 45/140
1985 .319 36/113
Worst team average with bases full
1981 .161 10/59
1968 .188 21/102
2004 .192 25/132
1962 .207 25/121
1972 .207 23/111
Most grand slams in a season
2006 10
2000 8
1999 8
1987 7
1997 6
1985 6
Seasons with no grand slams
2010
2007
1996
1979
1974
1965
Most RBI's with bases full in a season
1999 148
2000 145
1997 135
2006 130
1986 126
The Mets conclude their homestand with four games against the San Diego Padres before heading to Arizona for a weekend series with the Diamondbacks.
This will be the first meeting of 2011 between the Mets and Padres, who will face each other again next week in San Diego. The Mets went 2 and 5 against the Padres last season, dropping 2 of 3 in New York. The last time the Mets hosted a four-game series vs. San Diego was in August of 2004 with the Padres sweeping the four games at Shea Stadium.
The Mets swept the three-game series against the Diamondbacks when the two teams faced each other at Citi Field back in April, while the D'backs swept the Mets last season in the three-game series in Arizona.
Last month, the D'Backs released ex-Met Aaron Heilman, who later signed a minor league deal with the Phillies. With Heilman no longer in the major leagues, just two members of the Mets' 2006 post-season pitching staff are currently active; Guillermo Mota of the Giants and Darren Oliver of the Rangers.
Here is a list of the Mets pitchers who appeared in the post-season in 2006 -- where they last pitched or are currently pitching:
Tom Glavine 2008 Atlanta (retired)
John Maine 2011 Colorado Springs AAA (left club in June-mulling retirement)
Oliver Perez 2011 Harrisburg AA (currently on D.L)
Guillermo Mota 2011 San Francisco (active)
Steve Trachsel 2008 Baltimore (retired)
Aaron Heilman 2011 Lehigh Valley AAA
Billy Wagner 2010 Atlanta (retired)
Pedro Feliciano 2011 NY Yankees (D.L. out for season)
Darren Oliver 2011 Texas Rangers (active)
Roberto Hernandez 2007 Cleveland/LA Dodgers (retired)
Chad Bradford 2009 Tampa Bay (retired) (will be portrayed in movie "Moneyball" in September)
Schwei's Runs, Hits and Errors:
Runs: Power and Speed. Mets match Citi Field club record with four home runs Saturday in 11-7 win over Braves. Mets also steal four bases, giving them four homers and steals in the same game for just the second time in team history (5/23/06 vs. Phillies).
Hits: Jason Bay. Mets left fielder brings nine-game hitting streak into this week, going 16-for-35 with four doubles, two home runs and eight runs batted in over the nine games.
Errors: Wrong Foot. Mets loss to Marlins last Monday night dropped the club to 0 and 9 in the first games of homestands in 2011.
