Shutting People Up

Marc Raimondi at SNY, writes about Shawn Green and how he's answered every question asked so far:

The right fielder was hitting .149 in Spring Training while Lastings Milledge - everyone's favorite outfield prospect - was hitting .369.

Now, Green is making Randolph look like a genius. Through Sunday, Green is batting .351 with four home runs and 18 RBIs. He's slugging .535 with a .417 on-base percentage, making him one of the most productive hitters in a deep lineup thus far.

The last few years have been odd ones for Green. Between 1999 and 2002 for the Blue Jays and Dodgers, he hit 40 or more home runs three times and was a fixture in the Most Valuable Player race in each of those seasons. Since then, though, he's only averaged 21 home runs per season with the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Mets.

His batting average has always been solid and his on-base percentage hovered around .350 in those seasons, but he's never been the power hitter he once was. Last year, when the Mets got him in a trade from Arizona in August, he hit only .257 with four home runs in 34 games. Green did hit .315 in the playoffs, but with no home runs and only three extra-base hits.