Marlins 6, Mets 5 (46-46, 3 GB)

Absolutely horrible. This is an absolutely horrible loss for the Mets. Scott Erickson pitched great. He definitely pitched well enough to win. Ugly defense combined with some poor relief cost the Mets. What a way to ruin July 19th, aka "Mike DeJean Day".

So I guess I'll start with DeJean. The Mets finally traded Karim Garcia, to the Orioles, for the reliever. (I should be so happy right now, but instead, I'm so sad.) DeJean's numbers, to put it bluntly, suck. I'd like to think Rick Peterson can work with him to improve those numbers, but I just don't know. Peterson has done wonders with the Mets' starting pitching, but it seems like it comes at the cost of the relief corps. So the other hope with DeJean is that he performs better in the National League than he fared in the American League.

Now to the game. A 4-0 lead!! The Mets blew a 4-0 lead! Here were the encouraging aspects of the game. Mike Piazza seems to have found his stroke. He hit the ball on the nose a couple of times. "The Greatest Ballplayer Who Ever Lived" Jose Reyes had one of his best games since he's been healthy. He also is playing very well in the field. And Erickson, again, looked great. Maybe he'll feed off the fact that he's playing important games and continue to pitch well.

Unfortunately, there won't be many more important games at this rate. The bullpen inherited a 4-2 lead, and blew it. Vance Wilson looked like crap behind the plate. I don't know what was going on with the catchers last night, but there were more balls going to the backstop than you see on the pee-wee fields at I.C.Y.P. (My little league.)

I don't want people pointing fingers at Art Howe for this one either. The man takes enough crap from enough people (including my mom). He couldn't leave Erickson in much longer - the man hasn't pitched a major league game in years. He pushed all the necessary buttons - the players just didn't come through for him. The one move which probably raised the most eyebrows - when he brought in John Franco - turned out to be one of the best moves all night. The bullpen has had its share of shining moments this year...but it needs to be perfect if the Mets are going anywhere.

If I were a betting man...wait, I am a betting man.... If I could legally bet on a baseball game in the next 24 hours, I would bet a lot of money on the Mets winning Tuesday night's game. They won't lose two in a row at home to the Marlins. The big problem, though, is that the Mets should have won two in a row at home against the Marlins.

The Braves are playing the Phillies, and beat them on Tuesday night, so for now, the Mets are chasing Atlanta, and they're tied for third with the Marlins, 3 games back.

WRIGHT WATCH: Sorry, forgot about the Wright Watch yesterday. The Tides were off on Monday, and maybe that's a good thing for everyone's phavorite phenom, David Wright. Wright's been slumping. He went 2-for-4 in his last game, Sunday, and is hitting .308. But he's just 4 for his last 17...2 for his last 12.