A NIGHT OF COMEBACKS

But it's not over yet. The Phillies just retired the Mets in the bottom of the ninth, and I need to go to bed.

This was one of the best games the Mets have played all year (from an offensive standpoint). Whenever they play the Phillies, I get the feeling that they're never out of it, no matter what the score is. It seems like, eventually, the Mets will get back even with Philadelphia - it's just a matter of when. Sometimes it doesn't happen, most of the time, the Mets at least threaten, Tuesday night, the Mets did it three different times.

Cliff Floyd is really, really swinging the bat well - he homered again on Tuesday. And Julio Franco had a key pinch-hit, getting the game to 6-5. (Full disclosure, I missed the Franco RBI double - I was watching a live in-dugout interview with Boof Bonser on the Twins' telecast.) Chris Woodward also had a big pinch-hit. And David Wright hit career homer number 48 to get the Mets' scoring started.

The negative - not a good start for Steve Trachsel. He gave up the Phillies' first 6 runs - but in fairness, could have been out of a jam tied at 2 - Endy Chavez had Pat Burrell nailed at the plate, but Paul LoDuca dropped the throw. That led to a big 4-run inning, when it should have been 3 outs. But Trachsel still gave up a 3-run bomb - he's still too inconsistent - he pitched into a lot of tough situations Tuesday.

Interesting note - the Phillies are 17-0 this season (as of this writing) when they led after 7 innings. The Mets came back on them in the eighth...when THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, hit a game-tying 2-run homer, with 2 outs.

It's 8-8, top of the tenth, and I need to get some sleep. Or, more specifically, watch the rest of the game in bed, and not blog afterwards.

MAIL: Guess who this is from?

"Johnnymets -

Pedro would have had 4 days rest and would be available to pitch Thursday against the Phillies. However, Willie has decided to give Pedro another day of rest and start him against the Marlins on Friday. This makes no sense to me. I understand that Pedro needs a few extra days here and there. But, do you think it makes sense to give him that extra day against the Phillies. What if Thursday's game turns out to be the rubber game, or worse yet, a game to avoid a sweep? Is Willie thinking clearly that Jeremi Gonzaliez should get the start at such an important game? Don't you think Willie should push Gonzalez to Friday against the mostly Triple A Marlins? What do you think?

Annoyed Mets Fan from Queens"

The "Annoyed Mets Fan from Queens" always keeps me grounded when things are going well for the Mets. He'll always find that dark lining on the cloud...but he makes sense here. The thing is, Pedro* pitches very, very well in Florida. And I bet that Willie Randolph is considering the fact that Pedro* needs to get another win, not another no-decision, just to keep things upbeat in the clubhouse. So that should come against Florida. I bet that's a factor....finally getting Pedro* to 6-0.

The other thing is, Jeremi Gonzalez has to start either Wednesday or Thursday. He's not really up for debate. Up for debate is the fact that Alay Soler, the Cuban defector, is going to start one of the games against Philly (I don't think the Mets are sure yet whether he's going Wednesday or Thursday). But I think they have enough confidence in Soler that they feel he is the best arm to go for them in this series. I am pretty excited to see Soler - he's a big guy. About 6'1'', 240 pounds. In summary, I give Randolph the benefit of the doubt here.

***Update after I wrote this...Soler will definitely start Wednesday, with Thursday's start going to either Gonzalez or Darren Oliver. Apparently, Gonzalez has been battling the flu.

THE KID'S KIDS: The big rivalry started Tuesday night - the St. Lucie Mets taking on the Tampa Yankees. Too late for me write about it here - but the Mets still have a 2-game lead in their division, entering Tuesday night's action.

LAST-PLACE LASTINGS: Apparently last place is getting to Milledge and the Tides. I didn't realize this in yesterday's posting, but Milledge sparked a benches-clearing brawl with a slide that spiked Richmond's third baseman - the son of Atlanta GM John Scheurholz. (Curiously, this isn't mentioned on the minor league website I'm checking for results.) I wonder if he's going to get suspended for that - he didn't spike the guy maliciously, it seems it was on a slide.

On Tuesday night, a big win for Norfolk, with an 11th-inning run giving the Tides a 3-2 win over Syracuse. (They're still in last place.) Lastings Milledge had a big game - going 3-for-6, with 2 doubles and an RBI. He is now hitting .286 on the season.

FANTASY UPDATE: I'm mad - the What If Mets' bullpen blew a 4-0 9th inning lead (hmm...sound familiar), and went on to lose in 11. So I've lost two straight to the Braves. I'm still 3 games back of the phillies, two behind the Nationals, and 2 ahead of Atlanta. I need to take game 3 Wednesday morning, then at least split with the Blue Jays - they're one of the toughest in the game right now.

The Wife is getting tired of the What If updates. "What If you stopped telling me about those games?" she said Tuesday night. I think it's that pregnancy, making her cranky.

BEAT THE STREAK: Of course Vlad got a hit against Texas Monday night...and he already homered early on in Tuesday's game. So I'm working on a little 3-gamer...one more night of Guerrero against the Rangers, who just can't get him out.