Mike & Ike

For all of the criticism that Mets GM Omar Minaya has taken for not addressing the team’s overall pitching needs this year, you couldn’t say that the man hasn’t drafted well, especially in the first round. Mike Pelfrey, who Omar drafted with the 9^th overall pick in 2005 has been magnificent through his first eleven starts of 2010 after a rocky 2009 campaign. And rookie, Ike Davis (drafted 18^th overall in 2008) has proven to be poised at the plate and a more than formidable defender at first. (search: Ike Davis railing.) With these two home-grown talents to go along with now veteran Mets, Jose Reyes and David Wright, the Mets seem to have the makings of a decent core four going forward.

Throw in the 23 year old left-hander Jonathon Niese who looked very good in his June 5^th return from the DL against Florida (7.0 IP 1 ER 1 BB 6 K’s) and who knows? Maybe the fans will even return to Citi Field to watch their dominant home team play! http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

But Met fans have reason to be pessimistic. The metaphorical spiral of the Mets organization going downward since Adam Wainwright’s curveball struck out Carlos Beltran to end Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS seemed to have spiraled out of control after an abysmal 2009. But fear not Met fans. That same Carlos Beltran that took that nasty Wainwright curve could now foreseeably return to the Mets lineup shortly after the All Star Break. The flexibility that would offer manager Jerry Manuel in his outfield could prove lethal with a fresh Beltran, Pagan, Bay, Francoeur rotation.

The baseball season is just heating up, and I’m starting to smell some magic in Flushing (Not intended to be toilet humor) With what the Atlanta Braves have proven with their recent hot streak, (20-5 since May 10^th) the National League is wide open. And the Mets appear to be in prime position for a run. If Omar wants me to continue eating his sweet, sweet candy, he should bring in some arms to reinforce an overexposed bullpen and a starting staff that seriously lacks depth. But for now, I like his Mike & Ike.

Hawk Drobnis is a co-host of Gotham Baseball LIVE and contributor to gothambaseball.com