The Phillies had a moment in the sun on Monday night, crushing Pedro Martinez* and the Mets, 13-0 in Philadelphia. I was expecting big things with Pedro* on the mound, as I'm sure most Mets fans were, but things went horribly wrong right from the get-go Monday.
Pedro* gave up 6 runs, all earned, in just one inning, not returning for the second with what's said to be a strained calf. The Mets could have really gotten out of that first inning without a lot of damage, but Lastings Milledge misplayed a ball in the outfield, Pedro* made a throwing error on a pickoff attempt, and Carlos Delgado just missed a grounder. It was a sloppy inning, and a sloppy night, and that's going to happen every now and again.
The Mets need to take two out of the next three from the Phillies - 3 in a row, to bury Philly, would be really nice.
MAGIC NUMBER: The busy weekend prevented a magic number update, so this is the first time we're seeing the 32 - but it didn't have any movement Monday. The Phillies' win keeps it at 32...but the Mets, by beating the Phillies, can decrease the number 2 at a time over the next couple of games (that also depends on how the Marlins, in Los Angeles, and the Braves, in Washington, fare - if one of those two teams moves into second place, the Mets would only pick up a game by beating the Phillies.) It's tough when the first-place lead is so big, and the second-place race is so tight.
THE KID'S KIDS: St. Lucie lost on Monday, and Daytona was postponed, so the deficit for the second-half lead is a half-game. There are just 21 games left in the season, and 4 of those games are Daytona-St. Lucie head-to-head. Palm Beach is also lingering, a game behind St. Lucie.
ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: Columbus beat Norfolk on Monday night, but Edgardo Alfonzo was 2-for-4, hitting his second homer of his Triple-A season, and improving his average to .276. His first homer came Friday, when he began what's become a pretty impressive stretch, raising his average from .239 to .276. Wonder if he's changed a swing, or started to feel more comfortable, or what.
BEAT THE STREAK: I'm done with Beat the Streak for the season - not enough games left to actually win the contest, so I'll just have to wait until next year, and save myself the trouble this year.
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