On May 29th, the concept of the Terrible Trio was introduced. In the previous 22 games, John Buck, Ike Davis and Ruben Tejada combined to go 32-217 (.147) and the Mets went 8-14. They only had that many wins thanks to some outstanding pitching efforts. In the eight wins, the Mets scored 24 runs.

That night, Tejada was injured and his anemic bat went out of the lineup. The Mets finally sent Davis down after an 0-3 night on June 9th. And Terry Collins finally started giving Buck some time off, even if he continues to play him way too much. Since May 30th, Anthony Recker has eight starts and the Mets are 6-2. And as pointed out to me in the Game Chatter last night, not one of those starts has come with Matt Harvey on the mound

Perhaps you will be amazed to hear this but once the manager stopped writing in three players into the lineup on a daily basis who hit like pitchers, the offense improved! This improvement was due to some very necessary “addition by subtraction,” combined with some fortuitous BABIP luck.

Omar Quintanilla replaced Tejada at shortstop and has played nearly every day. In the process, the Mets went from having one of the worst offensive shortstops in the majors to one that ranks in the top half. Among the 43 shortstops to amass at least 100 PA this season, Tejada’s .529 OPS ranked 40th. Meanwhile, Quintanilla’s ranks 13th – ahead of more-heralded players like Jimmy Rollins and Alexei Ramirez – and he’s doing it with a .300 BABIP.

The improvement at first base is a bit tougher to identify, if only because Collins wasted a week starting Jordany Valdespin. Eventually he made the extremely obvious decision to move Lucas Duda to first base. In five games at his natural position, Duda put up a .357/.550/.429 line before getting hurt. Since then Josh Satin has logged the majority of time at the position. In 10 games at first base, Satin has hit the cover off the ball, with a .389/.511/.556 triple slash line.

Duda’s initial game at first base came on June 17th. Since that point, the Mets are 10-6. Previously they were 14 games under .500 at 25-39. The Terrible Trio were hurting the Mets with their offensive ineptitude and Duda was hurting them with his atrocious outfield defense. Take multiple rotten hitters and one lousy defender out of the lineup and suddenly the Mets are playing at a .625 clip, one that would produce 101 wins over a full season.

The Mets have also been bolstered with the addition of Eric Young Jr. In 13 games, Young has a .321/.371/.429 line thanks to a .367 BABIP. Obviously it’s not going to last but it sure has been fun while it has. Even if he regresses all the way to his lifetime mark of a .680 OPS, that’s still 180 points higher than what Davis gave the Mets this year and he’s a pretty substantial upgrade defensively over Duda out in left field.

There has been another offensive improvement in the lineup recently and that’s with the production of Juan Lagares in center field. This year, Mets center fielders have combined for a .601 OPS, the worst mark in the National League, which sees an average .714 OPS from the position. In his first 25 games, Lagares had a .430 OPS. But in his last 21 games, covering 80 PA, Lagares has a .701 OPS, which is a Ruthian figure for the 2013 Mets.

If you are used to getting the worst production in the league, to jump to near average is a massive improvement. Lagares’ hitting has undoubtedly helped the Mets and combined with his defensive contributions, he has played a big role in the recent strong play by the club. His proponents will point out how the improvement came with more consistent playing time. The killjoys in the crowd will point out that it took a .373 BABIP to produce these numbers.

The question becomes how the Mets continue to put up strong offensive numbers. Since moving Duda to first base, the Mets have scored 72 runs for an average of 4.5 runs per game. In May, when the Terrible Trio was playing every day, the Mets averaged 3.3 runs per game. In the same span, the Mets have allowed just 57 runs, with 13 of those coming in one game.

That 15-run advantage works out to a .615 Pythagorean record or just slightly worse than the Mets’ actual record of .625 in the span. What the Mets have been doing since improving their offense and defense has not been a complete fluke and it should not be treated that way by Collins and Sandy Alderson.

There’s no reason to rush to reinsert Davis and Tejada into the starting lineup. There’s no reason to continue to play Buck six times a week. And there’s no reason to put Duda back out in left field.

When everyone is healthy, my preference would be to have Duda, Murphy, Wright, Quintanilla, Young, Lagares and Byrd as the nominal starters, with Satin, Tejada, Brown and Nieuwenhuis as the reserves. Buck should play 3-4 times a week, with Recker getting at least two weekly starts, more if his hitting demands it.

Shortstop should be a straight platoon, while Satin plays against every lefty, although he should see time at all of the remaining three infield positions. Yes, it’s okay to give David Wright a day or two off each month. And the same goes for Marlon Byrd, too.

That would make Davis, Justin Turner and Valdespin as the odd men out. It should be noted that two of those three have been absent during the recent 16-game stretch of improved play, while Valdespin is 1-for-11 in that span. It’s been said that Davis will not be a platoon player when he gets recalled. In that case, here’s hoping he enjoys the rest of the summer in steamy Las Vegas.

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