MET NOTES
SAN DIEGO – Here’s a staggering thought: Roger Cedeno could actually improve his career batting average after this season.
In case you stopped watching Cedeno right around the time he stopped playing center field, you’ve missed him reclaim a starting spot in the outfield and regain the leadoff spot. And after finishing July with a .247 batting average, Cedeno had raised his average to .276 following Tuesday’s 3-for-4 night.
Cedeno was a career .277 hitter entering 2003, so he’ll improve on that mark if he can continue to improve a couple of points this season.
“He’s swinging the bat great,” Art Howe said. “He’s doing his job – setting the table.”
Cedeno has been scorching the last two weeks or so. Entering yesterday, he has hit safely in 14 of his previous 16 games, scoring seven runs in the last six games. Asked if he’s made any major mechanical adjustments to his swing, Cedeno said he’s simply seeing the ball better.
“In ’99 and all the years I had good years, I started slow,” Cedeno said. “If we have a good year, I don’t care about April.”
Much was made of Cedeno’s unhappiness in July. According to one source close to the team, the player personally asked interim GM Jim Duquette to trade him. But Duquette couldn’t, because nobody would take on the rest of his four-year, $18 million contract.
Now, if he continues to finish strong, it’s a possibility (albeit slight) that the club could trade Cedeno’s bad contract to another team for another overpaid player.
“I just try to play the game,” he said. “It’s hard to control a lot of things.”
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Jose Reyes’ 17-game hitting streak was snapped, but it deserves a final look. He went 31 of 73 in that span, with 18 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, a home run and five RBIs. The rookie shortstop collected six consecutive multihit games during the team’s undefeated homestand. Reyes was 0-for-4 on Tuesday.
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Mets lost on Tuesday for the first time since Mike Piazza was activated. Piazza went 0-for-2 with two walks. Although the 10-time All-Star was removed in the eighth inning, Howe said it was for defensive purposes. In a one-run game, Vance Wilson came in to discourage the running game.
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Tom Glavine continues to sparkle since his return from a strained right oblique. Glavine lasted 6 2/3 innings on Tuesday night and allowed just one earned run. He’s now surrendered only two earned runs in his last 192/3 innings dating back to July 29.