THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE METS DON'T GIVE TRACHSEL A TON OF RUN SUPPORT

Dodgers 9, Mets 1 (NYM: 88-54, LA: 76-67)

I admit, the Mets took a backseat on Sunday to the first Sunday of the NFL season (please see the Jets blog for more on that). And it was a lot easier to ignore the baseball game when the Dodgers jumped out to early 4-0, 5-0, and 9-0 leads.

The Mets' only run came on a Jose Reyes homer, his 19th of the year. Steve Trachsel gave up 4 runs in 2-and-2-thirds - against a possible playoff opponent. I am telling you - I do NOT want to see him in a tight spot in the playoffs...and I'd prefer not seeing him in any spot in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, Brian Bannister pitched in relief in the game, giving up 5 runs in 3 innings of work - 3 of those runs coming on a Nomar Garciaparra homer. Eric Stults started for the Dodgers, and pitched very well, getting his first major league win.

The Mets open up a series in Florida on Monday, with a magic number of......

MAGIC NUMBER: It's 4, because the Phillies lost to the Marlins. The Marlins are now tied with the Phillies for second place, so the Mets will have to beat the Marlins and need the Phillies to lose over the next few days in order to decrease the number by more than one. I still suspect the clincher will come Friday in Pittsburgh.

Dave Williams goes for the Mets on Monday against Anibel Sanchez, who is making his first start since his no-hitter last week.

PEDRO* UPDATE: There's a chance we'll see Pedro Martinez* back on the mound for the Mets this week - actually, a very good chance. He hopes to be back no later than Friday. My bet is he's the one to pitch the night the Mets have a chance to clinch (and, like I said, there's a great chance that will be Friday night against the Pirates).

THE KID'S KIDS: Holy smokes! On Saturday night, for the second night in a row, the St. Lucie Mets scored multiple times in the 9th inning to come from behind and win in the FSL Finals. This time, trailing 3-1 in the 9th, the Mets got a 3-run homer as part of a 4-run ninth to come back and beat Dunedin, 5-3. Game 3, which could be the clinching game for the Mets, was Sunday night at 7pm, finishing after I posted (St. Lucie leads 2-0 in the 5th), so I'll update that on Monday.