While Mets fans and media are sure to continue their calls for manager Jerry Manuel to be fired after the Mets' latest loss — a 6-2 stomach punch delivered by the Colorado Rockies — let's take a look at the numbers, shall we?

Fellow members of Braves Country, our beloved Braves are 18 games above .500 and will end tonight up by at least 2.5 games ahead of the red hot Phillies.  We sit a half game out of first place in the National League, and we have the second biggest division lead in Major League Baseball.

Are you hurting in the run category? Here are some reasonably available players that can help you out.

Dexter Fowler, OF, Colorado Rockies
Fowler scored 12 runs over the past 15 days while hitting .364 with a HR, eight RBIs, and two SBs. On the year, he’s hitting .244 with 47 runs, three HRs, 19 RBIs, and 11 SBs. Dexter is owned in 35 percent of ESPN and 26 percent of CBS leagues.

Last Night Rewind

The answer is absolutely not.

The Bleacher Report editorial staff asked me my opinion of the designated hitter. Do guys like Vladimir Guerrero of the Texas Rangers and David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox help the game, or is their specialization bad for baseball? I consider myself a baseball purist (I dislike artificial turf, 12-man pitching staffs, innings limits, pitch counts, and the Wild Card) but I do like the DH.

Dan McCutchen throws hard. Maybe too hard. That could be why he can't seem to last long enough in games to be a viable starter.

McCutchen reminds me a little of a Baltimore Orioles kid from a few years back named Adam Loewen. That 6'5'' lefty was a hard thrower who struck out nearly one batter an inning, and was basically unhittable for up to four innings. But by no later than the fifth, he would weaken, because he was tired. Beyond that, fughedaboutit.

Here are two pitching lines from Tuesday night:

Pitcher A: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K

Pitcher B: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Guess which pitcher took a win last night and which pitcher took a loss? Pitcher A is Colorado Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez, who suffered a 1-0 loss to the New York Mets last night. Pitcher B is Los Angeles Dodgers righty Vicente Padilla, who got credit for the win last night in the Dodgers’ 15-9 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Yes, it was better than a loss, but it was ugly. Bruce Bochy's statement after the game was an exercise in understatement.

"We left some men on base, but after a tough trip to Atlanta, it's nice to get a win to start this home stand. We grinded hard to win that game."

The San Francisco Giants are a gritty, gutsy team, which just might be enough, but they were extremely fortunate last night against the Chicago Cubs.

In the mile-high city, there is an outfielder having the best baseball season you haven't heard about. 

His name is Carlos Gonzalez, and he has been a menace to National League pitching this season.

Carlos Gonzalez, 24, is a tall, lean lefty with a sweet swing. 

Originally from Venezuela, Gonzalez is in his second full year with the Colorado Rockies.  He came to the Rockies in the Winter of 2008 when the Rockies dealt Matt Holliday to the Oakland A's. 

For those of us that love the game of baseball, there's one thing that we've gotten used to seeing but is something we don't see very often—the collision at home plate.

Baseball isn't a contact sport; it's never been known as one. But it has been known to happen and is part of the game.