Since When Did d'Arnud Have Power?

It was one of those games that, as a baseball player, you could only dream of having. Hitting a home run in a Major League Baseball game is accomplishment enough. Hitting three in a game, doesn't happen very often. And for a guy like Travis d'Arnud, it must have felt better than it would for most other baseball players.

Its been a rough go of it for d'Arnud this year, who's now on his third team this season. he started with the Mets, was designated for assignment. Played one game in a Dodgers uniform before landing with the Rays. He's nopw played 40 games in Tampa and seemd to find his footing. Look no further than Monday's performance, clubbing three home runs and driving in all five runs in a 5-4 win.

For a guy who's had the career he's had, it must have been like a weight off his shoulders.

Lets face facts, he's been a little average at best as a Major League catcher. He's a .245 lifetime hitter and has never hit about .250 in a season in which he's played more than 100 games. He's been riddled with injuries during his career and can't stay put behind the plate. When the Mets got him from the Blue Jays, he was supposed to be the prize player in the R.A Dickey trade, but it just never really worked out for him in New York. Now I'm not saying he was supposed to be the next really great hitting catcher, but he was supposed to be good enough.

Since the game Monday, he's come back down to earth. And a small part of me does feel bad for Travis, he's never really been able to get his career on track. He's a nice enough guy, but injuries have cost him over the start of his career in the biggs.

To make this situation more interesting, I heard sports fans calling into talk radio the day after Travis went off saying that it was a mistake that the Mets let him go. I disagree. There's a couple of names that come to mind right away that you could point at, right now, and say that was a mistake letting them go. Justin Turner and Daniel Murphy are the top two that right away come to mind as mistakes made by the Mets in letting them go. I'm sorry, but letting Travis go was a great thing for the Mets, he wasn't getting it done when they needed him to and couldn't stay on the field.

He had one hell of a night from the leadoff spot against the Yanks, and I'd like to see him keep it going for his own sake. If he can stay healthy, maybe we can see a glimpse of what he was meant to be in the Majors. But for now, his performance on Monday will have to do