It was incumbent on the Mets to get a good start in April and they did. It portends well for the rest of the season---Great starting pitching, some strong relief pitching at points, some clutch hits and for the most part decent defense. If the season ended tomorrow, their 13-10 record would put them in the first round of the playoffs. They are already up 4.5 games on the Marlins and 2 ahead of the Phillies.
With the excellent start, there could be a lot of possible April MVP candidates.
The obvious ones are:
David Wright---.397, 14 rbi's, 3 home runs and only 11 K's. Intangibles include coming back after only a few days from what could have been an injury in which he could have easily ended up on the DL. That was an early turnaround point for the Mets
Kirk Nieuwenhuis--- .311, 6 rbi's, 2 home runs. Intangible include coming in after the Day 1 Torres injury and owning center field. He has brought energy, enthusiasm and great defensive play. Even though he only has 6 rbi's--he seems to get clutch hit after clutch hit (including last night).
Josh Thole---.322, 5 rbi's, 1 home run, .412 on base percentage. Intangibles include getting on base about twice a game every game. He has proven to be a consistent strong hitter and his defense has improved
Daniel Murphy--.311 and 7 rbi's. Intangible are that he is a hitting machine. The man can flat out hit as he proved last year as well. Always want him at bat in big situations.
Lucas Duda---.256, 13 rbi's and 4 home runs. Intangibles are his potential power numbers. Sure four home runs in a month does not conjure up images of Babe Ruth, but anyone who has consistently watched Met games can tell you is that he can be intimidating at the plate. He has also shown to be clutch. As Ike starts hitting, the power combination (including Wright) will be among the best in baseball.
Jon Niese---Four Game--- 2-0, 2.81 ERA. Intangibles are that he has been consistently good with strong control. He gives great hope for the future.
R.A. Dickey---Four Game--3-1, 4.44 ERA--Intangibles are that he has been a great leader and outside of one bad start explaining the 4.44 ERA, he has been terrific. Good sign that April is usually his worst month.
Jon Rauch-- 10.2 innings--3-0, 2.53 ERA---Intangibles are that he has been clutch game after game when they have needed him--just look at his record.
Bobby Parnell---3.48 in 10,1 innings---Intangibles are the most incredible stat of the month---15 k's in 10.1 innings. I think the maturation of Bobby Parnell has finally occurred. He could be a potential great future Met closer (though I still have faith in Francisco)
My Co-MVPS;
All these player could make a case for being the April Met MVP. Here are my two choices.
1) Johan Santana---Sure he has not won a game yet but his ERA is 2.25. Anyone who has seen him pitch this year knows he has one awful start, but other then that he has been dominant. Even when he doesn't have his best stuff, he can still pitch a great game (see Rockies last Sunday). He set the tone for the season on Day One. Who knows what will happen the rest of the way, but in April he proved again why he has been one of baseball's most dominant pitchers over the last decade.
2) Terry Collins---You got a love a manager who is about the players first--no bravado, no controversy, just playing the role of professional manager. This year he has played the role well---even keeled (for the most part), defends his teams, seems to handle the young guys well, good strategist. What's not to like.
Hopefully the Mets will continue their great play in May. I said before the season started that they would be a playoff team--I'm certainly not changing my tune after a good April.
Thanks to Ultimate Mets Database for proving to be a great resource for this article
http://ultimatemets.com/profile.php?PlayerCode=0845
