What was that about Mets pitching?

Game 4: Mets 11, Braves 1
4-0 for the season

We got home from dinner in the bottom of the 6th, when the Mets were up 5-1. Amazingly, even at that late point in the game, we didn't miss seeing even half of the team's runs scored. It's hard not to feel elated about the start of this season, even as I know that getting too excited now is a fool's choice-- it's the beauty of MLB is that the season is long, and no four-game performance predicts another. Never the less, one can't argue that this is anything less than a fantastic start to the season, and that pre-season performance means little once the season starts.

Oliver Perez was a hothead last year, the epitome of a young pitcher with great stuff who needed to learn to calm down to reach his real potential. I was struck in watching him tonight by the change in his demeanor on the mound; he didn't have the wild reactions to each individual pitch that he did when he was pitching last year. Sure, he still hops over the foul line on the way back to the dugout after every inning, but he looks in all ways much more relaxed than he did last year. He doesn't even get as much air in his jump over the foul line as he did last year. Perez chalked up 6 strikeouts (and a number of truly beautiful pitches), and when they took him out of the game in the bottom of the 8th, he'd retired 10 Braves in a row. He even hit, and scored two runs. The only disappointment is that after letting him hit (and watching him score a run), Willie and Rick Peterson replaced him on the mound to start the 8th inning. I know it's practically unheard of for a starter to go more than 7 innings these days, but Perez had not yet started to lose his stuff when he was taken out of the game. I wonder if I'll ever again see a pitcher throw a complete game, or even 8 innings.

Speaking of Oliver Perez, we've been through the full rotation of pitchers. I'm really hoping that we stop hearing dire warnings about Mets pitching sometime really, really soon. As Gary Cohen said at the end of the broadcast of the game, there's been "outstanding Mets starting pitching performances so far this season." I'm also glad to see that while the ESPN guys were touting the Braves' starting pitching, my father looks to be correct in his assessment (relayed to me on Tuesday night) that Atlanta's bullpen is "made of glass."

The story of the game beyond Perez's performance is clearly Jose Reyes and his two triples and 4 RBIs. He's just so much fun to watch, just as electric as the commentators always say. The outfield continued to produce, with four hits and and RBI between them. When the Braves intentionally walked Beltran to load the bases with two out in the 8th inning, LHJ said "I know he's not hitting like the rest of them yet, but that's a mistake. Delgado can punish you." How right he was.

So, we beat another 3-0 team by 10 runs. Not a bad way to end the week.