The Mets Just Won't Stop Winning

Mets cruise to win at nearly empty Turner Field

For the Braves, the book on pitching to Ike Davis must look a lot like the one on pitching to Pedro Cerrano from "Major League."

"Straightball, I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid."

Tommy Hanson has gotten Davis out almost every time they've faced off over the course of their brief careers by throwing hook after hook and watching the Mets first baseman flail away until he made an out.

Hanson saw no reason to change his approach with the score tied with two outs in the sixth inning and even intentionally walked David Wright to get a chance to baffle Davis with benders.

The curves kept coming, but Davis didn't falter and he took number five deep into the almost totally empty Turner Field stands for the biggest blow in what turned out to be a 6-1 Mets win. It was a big win for Davis against Hanson's curveball, to be sure, but also his second straight game with a home run to put some more distance between him and his dreadful start to the season.

That wasn't the only unlikely home run the Mets hit on Monday night. They got an icing on the cake homer from Jason Bay in the top of the ninth, a nice surprise from a player whose closest cinematic playalike is Timmy Lupus from "The Bad News Bears."

Bay also made a great catch in the fifth when he robbed Jack Wilson of a home run, something that might have been even more impressive than his home run. His inability to hit since signing with the Mets has overshadowed the fact that Bay's defense has been horrific enough to violate the Geneva Convention, but it has been and Monday's catch was a reminder that defense was something else Bay was supposed to do well.

Perhaps the secret of the jammed finger is to thank for his performance. David Wright's pinkie didn't keep him out of the lineup long before returning with a home run and now Bay has shaken off his own digital distress in fine fashion.

It's a shame no one was there to see it -- or Dillon Gee's sharp outing powered by one of the worst beards in follicle history -- but it seems there was a report that you could contract the German measles by showing up for last night's Braves game. Not really, although it certainly looked that way thanks to a fan turnout that rivals your nephew's T-ball game.

The Mets are supposed to be the NL East team plagued by no fan support. They are also supposed to be the team who needn't bother showing up for games this season.

Suppositions can be as incorrect as the book on Davis, however.

Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.

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