MET NOTES
Mike Cameron leads all NL center fielders in range factor, which measures a player’s putouts and assists divided by innings. He’s third in zone rating, which is the percentage of balls a player fields in his particular defensive zone.
In short, Cameron, a two-time Gold Glove winner, may be the best defensive center fielder the Mets have had since Tommie Agee.
But here’s the thing: It’s likely he’ll get even better as the season goes on.
Cameron admitted he is still getting acquainted with Shea’s center-field patch and in particular with how the ball travels in Flushing.
“I guess when it warms up here, the ball travels a little bit better,” Cameron said. “I’m still trying to get a clean view and feel on how the ball travels here and everything.”
Cameron said his positioning in center has changed as well.
“I can’t really play as shallow as I want to,” he said. “Learning how the ball travels here, I’ve got to play a little bit deeper occasionally.”
*
Jose Reyes had an off-day yesterday in his return from a strained right hamstring but is scheduled to play tonight for St. Lucie at Clearwater. There is no way Reyes will return to the Mets by the end of the homestand tomorrow, but he could very well be back this Friday in Florida.
*
Braden Looper, who will face his ex-Marlin mates on Friday, admits he follows how his former team is doing. But it’s only because of the many acquaintances he still has on that team.
“I keep track of them because I know so many of them so well,” said Looper, who spent five years with the Marlins. “It is not so much their record. It is more I have a lot of friends on the team.”
*
Minor league update: Aaron Heilman was roughed up in his latest outing, allowing five runs in 7 1/3 innings. He now has a 4.61 ERA at Norfolk . . . As for David Wright, Binghamton’s third base prospect reached base three times Sunday, rapping two hits, including his eighth homer, to boost his average to .338.