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Melting pot of on-field success
The Amazins are New York's one, big happy family
By Troy E. Renck
Denver Post Staff Writer
Powered by the likes of Carlos Beltran (15) and Jose Reyes (7), the high-flying Mets bring the National League's best record (80-49) to Denver tonight. "They don't really have any weaknesses," Rockies reliever Jose Mesa says. (AP / Kathy Willens)
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New York - At 11:30 a.m. at Shea Stadium recently, approximately an hour before first pitch, nearly half of the New York Mets were hanging around their lockers.
Jose Reyes was sorting through mail with a smile. Catcher Paul Lo Duca and a few relievers watched an NFL game on a big-screen TV. Starter Orlando Hernandez swung a bat, practicing his golf swing. Pedro Martinez hobbled through with his boot and cracked a few jokes.
Clubhouse commotion is common in the big leagues. What separates the Mets is their clubhouse communication. The barbs fly from each side of the room. No one is spared from Latinos to Anglos to blacks. This didn't happen by accident.
Beginning in spring training, the Mets have organized team dinners away from the field to build chemistry and create a bond necessary to thrive in a carnivorous media market.
"I give that a lot of credit for bringing everybody together," said shortstop Jose Reyes, arguably the game's most exciting player. "It's helped us get to know each other, so that when we are on the field we don't worry about anything but winning."
Well, the team that eats together now feasts together. The Mets have devoured opponents, standing alone as the one National League team capable of making American League bullies perspire as the season creeps toward October.
The Mets begin a three-game series tonight at Coors Field, swaggering into town with their playoff berth rubber-stamped. They mauled the Rockies nine days ago, effortless calisthenics before sweeping the Cardinals - a thrashing that has left Mets fans talking World Series or bust.
There is so much to like about this team - an NL-best bullpen ERA (3.09), a resilient rotation - but the separating factor is the lineup.
When left fielder Cliff Floyd returns, the Mets, winners of nine of their past 10 games, will have seven former all-stars in the top eight spots.
"We can beat you in a lot of different ways," general manager Omar Minaya said.
With the acquisition of outfielder Shawn Green, the Mets have an offensive attack that ranks with the ghosts of recent Yankees past. No National League team has scored more runs this season. And this group crushes when it matters most, delivering 43 home runs with runners in scoring position.
"The Mets are the most unbelievable team: Boom-bah, wow, what a job they are doing," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen gushed.
Picking up where Guillen left off, Rockies reliever Jose Mesa added, "Oh, man, they don't really have any weaknesses."
That the Mets remain confident despite unsettling questions about top starters Martinez (calf) and Tom Glavine (finger numbness) is a tribute to their first five hitters. Reyes, Lo Duca, center fielder Carlos Beltran, first baseman Carlos Delgado and third baseman David Wright have blasted 112 home runs, with 400 RBIs. The Cardinals blush at those numbers, the Tigers aren't close and even the Yankees, with a lineup only a Black American Express Card could love, can't compare.
"Getting Carlos (Delgado) was the key. It gave our lineup more balance," said Wright, who at 23 appears on Vitamin Water bus ads and jogs to batting practice with "Wright for President" signs above the dugout. "I am sure his average isn't where he wants it to be, but he's such a presence."
Delgado, more than anything, allowed Beltran to regain his comfort level. His leg strength back after a rigorous offseason program, Beltran is in position to become the first Mets player to win league MVP honors.
"You don't usually see a guy with his power who can run like that," said Reyes, whose 54 stolen bases are tops in baseball. "And if I get on, Lo Duca can move me over and you know one of those guys (in the middle of the order) will knock me in."
Manager Willie Randolph, not known for hyperbole, admitted his team's lineup can be "devastating" when it gets pitches to hit. The sheer force of the bats masks concern about twin aces Martinez and Glavine. Martinez just began a rehab assignment in Florida, and Glavine is expected to return to the rotation this week after a blood-clot scare.
"I can't be bragging when I am not playing," Martinez said. "Ask one of the guys in the lineup."
Lo Duca and Reyes laughed. Martinez then disappeared, searching out a meal. Dinner would be served a few hours later, the Mets bearing knives, forks and bats.
"It's like Pedro says, 'If you want to be on this team, you better bring your "A" game,"' reliever Roberto Hernandez said, "because everyone here is focused on winning a championship."
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
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