Game #61 (33-28) - Robert Allan is on Fire

I didn't get to watch last night's game in full, so just a couple of notes from the boxscore, as the Mets got a rare road win, albeit against the worst team in baseball.

• Another successful start for R.A. Dickey, his fourth straight start with a W.  Once again he posted an above average strand rate, which continues to be the key to his success.   After last night, Dickey's strand rate of 82.9% is 7th in the major leagues (interestingly, Pelfrey is 8th with 82.4%); only one player finished with a higher rate in 2009 over the full season.  Look for Dickey's ERA to get closer to his 3.91 xFIP in the next month.
• David Wright showed that perhaps his struggles in Thursday's doubleheader were an aberration, going 3-4 with 2 RBI.  Wright is now hitting .462 in his last 12 games.  While most of that damage has been done against lefties, he has shown flashes of his former competence against righties.  I'm not getting my hopes up just yet, but if Wright can make some adjustments there, this team might be able to make some noise in the NL East.
• Congrats to Chris Carter on his first major league home run.  Carter's power numbers have always been borderline elite at the minor league level, and while I personally don't think he has potential to be a well rounded hitter, it would be great if he could add some pop to the tune of a homer ever 20 AB's or so.  His pitch selection leaves something to be desired, as you can read more about here, in a great piece from Amazin' Avenue.
• Jason Bay went for another 0-fer yesterday and he's now 1 for his last 21.  Bay's OPS still sits at a measly .780, and he looks on track to repeat his miserable 2007 performance with the Pirates, although he hasn't been as bad as that quite yet.  His 2007 WAR was an ugly -0.7, while this year he's managed a 1.0.  Were his WAR converted to dollars for free agency, Bay would be worth around $3.6M - quite a far cry from his actual salary, and an even bigger differential from his $22.6M value from last year.  Did somebody say Jeromy Burnitz?
• To give you an idea of just how bad the Orioles are, they are currently on pace to finish the season 45-117.  The only times this century a team lost 117 games or more were the 1916 Philadelphia A's, who managed the feat in 154 games, and the 2003 Tigers, who finished 43-119.  Too bad there's no Strasburg or Bryce Harper in the 2011 draft.

The Mets will look to win their 7th game in the last 8 tonight in Baltimore, with Hisanori Takahashi taking the hill against 23 year old Orioles lefty Brian Matuz.  If the Mets find a way to lose this one, trust me, I'll have a lot more reasons tomorrow about why being a met fan sucks.