Baseball Week 2

We saw some great things and some not so great things on the diamond this week. We saw the Mets rattle off six straight and the Phillies look anemic until their stopper hurled a gem yesterday. We saw Gary Sheffield get in a Bosox fans mug and John Smoltz look human.

• The Mets are playing outstanding baseball. Good pitching, timely hitting and smart baserunning are the keys in baseball and the Mets are executing as well right now as anyone. Their team batting is astounding over the last week and they have Glavine going today in an attempt to sweep a good Marlins team.
• The Phils had a rough week and needed John Lieber to be their stopper. He was. He threw an amazing 75 pitches in eight innings yesterday and Chase Utley stabbed a screamer to secure a shaky save for Billy Wagner. In perhaps the best compliment a catcher can give a pitcher, Todd Pratt summed up the performance thusly: "He was dirty, he throws strikes, he doesn't throw it down the middle, and his pace is unbelievable." High praise indeed.
• The Nationals now sit atop the NL East and are playing good ball against good teams. Vinnie Castillo is playing like he was still back in the hitters paradise of Colorado with a BA of .452 and an OBP of .514. Very lofty numbers. He has three jacks and 11 RBI.
• John Smoltz is now 0-3 and the Bravos look human. Jimmy Rollins touched up Smoltzy for a dinger in yesterday's game for the eventual winning run. Granted, the Braves are averaging less than a run a game for him but he does look hittable.
• In other news, I previously commented on the Sheffield incident here.

Lastly, for more in depth coverage of baseball, go to this round-up of baseball blogs.