Viva Castro!

Steve's right, the Mets are done. After winning seven out of 10 at home, they've dropped seven of their last 10; they simply can't resist the warm embrace of mediocrity. When that line drive slipped past Carlos Beltran yesterday afternoon, allowing the Brewers to pull off their second straight late-inning win, I heard the bell ring. Unlike Steve I wish they'd been able to trade for Manny, but even that was more for 2006 than this year. Ever the optimist, I started thinking of the positives. At this point maybe Willie Randolph, looking ahead to next year, will feel more comfortable juggling the line up, maybe give Wright some at-bats in the #3 spot, pencil in Castro for a few more starts behind the plate, give Heilman a start or three (sweet merciful god I hope this happens soon, let there be no more of Ishii's antics!). But all of those calls are based on instinct, I suppose numbers should play a role in such decisions, too. Once you've figured out who you expect to return next year, you have to figure out who's been most productive this year. So, while procrastinating some real work, I cooked up the following formula to see which Mets players have helped the offense the most.

Long version: (Runs + Runs batted in - Home runs) divided by (At-bats + walks)

Short version: (Runs produced) divided by (Plate appearances) For example, if Reyes goes to the plate 10 times and scores 5 runs, he produces .500 runs per at-bat.

So here they are, your top run-producin' Mets for the 2005 season:

(Runs produced per plate appearance)

Ramon Castro - .288
David Wright - .259
Cliff Floyd - .252
Victor Diaz - .230
Jose Reyes - .225
Carlos Beltran - .220
Mike Cameron - .220
Mike Piazza - .203
Kaz Matsui - .200
Doug Mienkiewicz - .188
Marlon Anderson - .176
Chris Woodward - .173
Miguel Cairo - .143

Note that two of the top four do not start for the Mets. Note also that the $119,000,000 man is firmly nestled at #6.