Mets 6, Yankees 5 (41-39, 2 GB)

SWEEP!! Wow, even I didn't think that would happen. But that's huge. That was number 3, 4, and 5 in the rotation...and now Tom Glavine and Al Leiter start off the four-game series against the Phillies. There's a very good chance the Mets could be in first place by the All-Star Break. Consider - the Mets have been blasting the ball the past couple of games - and Mike Piazza hasn't been part of the home run barrage. He's well overdue for a homer. And now the team heads to the launching pad that is Citizens Bank Park. If they keep hitting the ball this way, everyone will homer in this series.

Steve Trachsel did exactly what I hoped he would do on Friday night. Hopefully his bad starts are behind him, and he'll pitch consistently the rest of the season like he did in the first game of the Yankees series. Matt Ginter is in trouble - he might have lost his rotation spot with Saturday's performance. But the Mets were still able to pull out a win, which was big too. Then Jae Seo - I'm telling you - somehow he comes up big in big games. He's kind of like the Masato Yoshii of this Mets team - he has some real klunkers out there, but when it comes down to it, he gets the wins when it really counts (or in Sunday's case, he puts the Mets in position to win).

I saw Sunday's game, but didn't really see much post-game. (Although I was subjected to Yankees/YES coverage at my Yankees-fan aunt's and uncle's house.) Anyway, I never got a rule interpretation, but I don't understand what all the fuss was about when Jorge Posada got hit with the ground ball. I understand if the Yankees thought Piazza deflected the ball and then it hit Posada. Then he shouldn't have been out. But if the argument was that Posada got hit with the ball after it was past Piazza, I don't get it. I was always under the impression that if a grounder hit a runner, no matter where the fielder was, that was a dead ball, and the runner was out. Because what's the rule? Is it still a playable ball? I wouldn't think that's the case...but who knows. That could be why the Yankees put the game under protest. But I think I heard that the umpires ruled the second baseman (Ty Wigginton) could have had a play on the ball. So that would make the whole argument (and the Yankees' protest) moot.

So, what's next? The Mets play the first of four at Philadelphia on Monday night. The Marlins are home against the Pirates, also at night. In the NL East, the Mets are now tied with Florida, 2 games back of the Phillies. Florida's won just 2 of their last 10. The Mets are very capable of beating Philly here in these next four games. And then if Florida is still reeling after that, the Mets have a very good chance of taking that series. I really feel that the Mets will build off the momentum of this Yankees series and run off a bunch of wins here leading up to the break. They're playing great baseball right now. This should be a fun week.

ALL-STAR NEWS: Mike Piazza will be the starting catcher for the National League, voted to the All-Star team by the fans. Tom Glavine was named to the squad by Marlins manager Jack McKeon. Braden Looper also probably deserved to go, but I think the team is pretty fair, because a lot of other closers are having big years. Armando Benitez, Eric Gagne, Danny Kolb, and Danny Graves are all very deserving. So it'll be Glavine and Piazza representing the Mets in Houston next Tuesday. Not bad. Next year will be interesting to see whether Piazza makes the team as a first baseman...and it'll probably be the first All-Star appearance for THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes.

WRIGHT WATCH: Bad weekend for David Wright. He went 1-for-10 for the weekend, with 2 walks, and three strikeouts. His average dropped from .355 on Thursday to .319 on Sunday. He'll still be called up after the All-Star break, though.