June 21, 2011, Oakland A's-New York Mets advance for Metro NYC Newspaper
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The Mets are in a fascinating position near the midpoint of the season.
At 35-37, they were tied with the Nationals for third in the National League East entering last night’s late games and trailed division leader Philadelphia by 91⁄2 games. But manager Terry Collins does not view the wild card as a playoff life raft, even though the Mets are only 4 1/2 back of leaders Atlanta, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Not with 89 games remaining in the schedule.
“In our division, even though the Phillies are up there pretty far, they haven’t gone through a real slide yet. When they do, I think this division could bunch up,” Collins said before Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the Angels. “There are [89] games left to play. It’s a little early.”
It’s more than a little impressive for the Mets to even be in the NL playoff pack despite the losses of Johan Santana, David Wright and Ike Davis. It is a testament to a team that appears to have a grind-it-out mentality along with an aggressiveness on the base paths that has seen them steal a major-league best 22 bags this month.
Still, it would certainly help the Mets cause if Jason Bay joined in on the fun. The high-priced left fielder is only hitting .222 with two home runs and 13 RBIs this season. Bay, though, entered Sunday’s finale versus L.A. 7 for his last 17 before going hitless in four at-bats.
“His pitch selection has been much better. When he was really struggling, he was up there trying to hit everything. I think he’s backed off that and he’s a lot more selective. Therefore, he’s gotten some pitches to hit. He has not expanded the strike zone; he’s made them come to him,” Collins said. “When he begins to really feel good, feel comfortable, he’ll drive some balls. I don’t know if I want him to lift balls. I don’t want that swing to change; I want him to create some backspin, that’s for sure. As the summer goes along and he continues to swing the bat well, I think we’ll start to see him drive more balls.”
Bay agreed with Collins’ assessment about seeing the ball better before noting that he had made a mechanical change to his swing.
“I’m using my legs a little bit bet better and that’s allowing me to reach pitches; use my legs to get there instead of flailing with my arms. You kind of feel that way allows you to see the ball better. I agree with that I’m hitting better balls but I think it’s a result of using my legs more, staying in my crouch a little bit longer and allowing myself to do that rather than flying open,” said Bay.
This is the fourth time in history that the two franchises will play. The Mets have an 4-2 record in two regular season series while Oakland beat the Mets in seven games to win the 1973 World Series.
http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/895634--confident-collins-gunning-for-nl-east
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 10:08 AM
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