Impaled

It's bad enough that the Mets have to look across the dugout for three days and be reminded of game 4 from the 1988 NLCS, when Mike Scioscia blasted a tying home run against Doc Gooden to basically win the series for the Dodgers. But when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Orange County California USA Planet Earth come to Shea for a three game set, they'll also remind the Mets of what they could have had if the Wilpons weren't so cheap during the winter of 2003. Vlad Guerrero makes his return from the disabled list tonight, and was reportedly killing the ball in batting practice yesterday in preparation for his return.

Great, just in time.

Friday: Bartolo Colon (7-3, 3.10 ERA) vs. Kaz Ishii (1-4, 5.14 ERA)

Darin Erstad is a notorious singles hitter off of Ishii, hitting .583 (7 for 12) lifetime off him. Erstad is hitting .284 off lefties this season. Meanwhile off of Colon, Carlos Beltran represents the good, hitting a lifetime .343 (12 for 35) with 4 HR's lifetime. Doug Mientkiewicz is also hitting well lifetime off Colon with a lifetime .333 (11 for 33). Mike Cameron represents the bad, AND the ugly, with only 2 hits off Colon in 23 AB's for a healthy .087 lifetime average.

Saturday: Jarrod Washburn (3-3, 3.86 ERA) vs. Kris Benson (4-2, 3.74 ERA)

More of the same against Washburn...Beltran: 7 for 21 with 2HR's lifetime against Washburn. Mientkiewicz: .400 lifetime against Washburn (6 for 15). Cameron: 7 for 31 (.226). Steve Finley is a lifetime 3 for 16 against Benson.

Sunday: John Lackey (5-2, 3.93 ERA) vs. Pedro Martinez (7-1, 2.45 ERA)

Gee, what a surprise. Doug Mientkiewicz is a lifetime 5 for 14 (.357) off Lackey, while Mike Cameron, yet again, is anemic against an Angels pitcher (2 for 14, .143, one HR). Darin Erstad is easily the most successful hitter vs. Pedro, a lifetime .278 (10 for 36) off him. Vlad is hitting .273 lifetime against Martinez, but only 3 for 11. He does have a HR off him.