ANALYSIS THROUGH EIGHTEEN WEEKS

Sorry not to give you advance notice, but obviously I didn't write all weekend. Luckily, it's time for another bi-weekly analysis, which will allow me to catch up on a variety of things at once.

MOST IMPRESSIVE: I've been meaning to write about this for a while, and now's as good a time as any since we're starting to see the promotion of a lot of the Mets youngsters. First and foremost, 33rd overall draft pick, Bradley Holt (though he seems to be going by Brad now) - who we've written about before - is having a great season with the Brooklyn Cyclones (3-2, 2.06 ERA, 58 K in 43 IP). And the Mets just called up Eddie Kunz, a closer at Double-A. He joins Dan Murphy, Nick Evans, and Carlos Muniz, already at the Major League level. And then there's Brandon Knight, off to play in the Olympics, and Jonathan Niese, who will be with the Mets at some point this season.

It's funny - only Niese and Knight are with Triple-A - the rest are all at lower levels...and while the talent in New Orleans (AAA) is some young, mostly veteran retreads, the lower levels of the Mets system seem chock-full of talent (Fernando Martinez, their top outfield prospect, is also at Double-A.).

Why is this relevant? Well, first off, I think the Mets have better minor league arms than they're given credit for. Secondly, with the Sports Illustrated article about David Price's importance to Tampa down the stretch, and the references to what Joba Chamberlain did with the Yankees last year...is it such a stretch to think that a couple of these young arms could help the Mets bullpen heading into September this year?

We'll keep an eye on the progress of all of these guys.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: I can't believe the Mets didn't make a trade deadline move. Parts of this I'm fine with - I didn't want them to trade for Manny Ramirez. Other parts I'm not sure how to feel - I think they need a corner outfielder who has a little more experience than Dan Murphy. But with the farm system coming along like I've already mentioned, I'm going with the thought process that it's a good thing the Mets didn't get rid of some young talent.

LEAST IMPRESSIVE: Billy Wagner blew another Johan Santana win on Sunday, and now he's hurt...or, I guess he's been hurt for a while and now he's getting it checked out again. Whatever...he's hurt the Mets a lot this year - my confidence level in him is at Braden Looper-type levels heading into the last couple of months.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The Mets battled back to first place only to go 1-5 in their last six games, including this weekend's sweep in Houston. Now they're three out, and they're behind the Marlins and Phillies in the standings. The Phillies were reeling, and the Mets didn't pull away. Now it's going to probably be a battle the rest of the way.

MOST IMPRESSIVE: I don't think I've talked about him since the first or second bi-weekly analysis, when he was just terrible, but CC Sabathia has been just the opposite since being acquired by the Brewers. All he's done in 6 Milwaukee starts is go 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Tampa Bay is still not going away, but let's also add the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins. This was supposed to be a throwaway year, and here they are leading their division the first week in August.

LEAST IMPRESSIVE: Saw the Oakland A's at Fenway Park against the Red Sox on Friday night (more on that tomorrow). They are pathetic. They're 53-57 right now, but fading fast. Frank Thomas is the only threat in that lineup.....and is he really even a threat anymore?

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: My pick to win the American League, the Cleveland Indians, sits dead last in the American League Central. They've been awful all year long.

Shifting gears.....

He's not winning himself many friends around the league, and count me out when it comes to defending Brett Favre. If he had at least considered a trade to the Jets I'd sing a different tune...but to hold a team hostage the way he's doing and only accept a trade within the division....he should be arrested.

And one more football note:

The Southern Bureau has kept us on top of a number of things in baseball and football...he's done fine work keeping the blog updated through comments when I've been away (enough so that I just realized I should give him total access to the blog, something only The Wife has had up to now). It's because of the Southern Bureau that we knew of Brad Holt before the draft...and if you're a Chiefs fan, it would have been the Southern Bureau that let you know about rookie kicker Connor Barth before he came to Kansas City.

Well, the Southern Bureau's own blog is where you can get an inside look at NFL Training Camp through Barth's eyes - it's good stuff, and he's involved in a competition for the job, too.

ALL TOO FAMILIAR

The optimist in me wants to just say, "It's only one game. There's two more against the Phillies, the Mets can take two out of three and be back in first place." But the reality is, this is just what happened last year - late comebacks by the Phillies finished the Mets, and they still really haven't recovered.

The pessimist in me, the one who realizes this is one of the most frustrating seasons in recent Mets history, and the one who feels like it might end in disappointment, says Tuesday night's game was the one the Mets needed to have, because it was their ace on the mound, and it was supposed to set the tone against the Phillies.

"But wait," says the optimist. "Remember the fourth of July? The first of four in Philadelphia? The Mets were supposed to win that one, too, and set the tone. They lost that Santana start, and all that did was spur them on to a 10-game winning streak...and that loss was a game the Phillies also won in their final at-bat. And the Mets are still 7-4 against Philly this year."

So I guess all is not lost - but it certainly puts the Mets in a bad spot tonight losing in the fashion they did last night. Especially since it's unknown whether Billy Wagner will be available again, and no one showed the ability to slam the door at the end of last night's game.

In part, I blame Johan Santana. Earlier this year, I wrote how it was part of what a smart pitcher Santana is that he knows his limitations as a pitcher, and isn't always pushing himself to the point of bodily harm to go that extra inning. Well, I'm starting to realize that maybe he could push himself once in a while, especially in what he called his "biggest game with the Mets", and on a night when the Mets knew they didn't have their closer (as unreliable as he is). (In this, I agree with what Tim Smith wrote in the New York Daily News - you can check it out here.)

OK, so Santana threw 105 pitches. He threw 75 of them for strikes - he probably wouldn't have thrown a ton more in the ninth, the way he was throwing, and if he got into trouble, then you turn to the bullpen.

You can also blame the defense - Jose Reyes made a bad play trying to get a force at second on a slow grounder with the bases loaded. In that situation you have to get the sure out - that's the benefit of a 3-run lead. Instead, the Phillies kept the bases loaded, and had no one out forever in the ninth inning. And of course the bullpen gets its share of the blame. (I'm not sure why Aaron Heilman wasn't the choice to start the inning, or Joe Smith - both do well against righties and lefties. Maybe because Duaner Sanchez had closed before....but I didn't like that Smith only faced one batter.)

But for a change, you couldn't blame the offense in a Johan Santana start. 5 runs isn't a ton, but it was enough last night. And they could have added more if it weren't for some good defensive plays by the Phillies, where you just have to tip your cap. Chase Utley laid out for a liner to end an inning with the bases loaded, and Endy Chavez was nailed at the plate twice - once from left, once from right - you have to take your chances with his speed on the basepaths, so I don't blame him at all.

The pressure is on John Maine tonight. The last time he faced this situation, he pitched well, and then left the game with that arm cramp. What the Mets need is a win in game two against Philadelphia. Then, and only then, will Tuesday night's game become "only one game".

METS KILLERS: It dawned on me last night that the Phillies have definitely built their team a bit around players who do well against the Mets. They have Pat Burrell, who has been killing the Mets on a Chipper Jones-like pace his whole career. Then they traded for Joe Blanton, partly because of his career record against the Mets (in limited starts, granted) - in two previous starts he hadn't allowed a run to New York. And then there's So Taguchi, who was one of the reasons the Mets lost to St. Louis in 2006, and he had a huge pinch-hit in the 9th inning last night. Perhaps this was common knowledge to others, but I just realized it last night watching Blanton and later Saguchi.

TRADE UPDATE: Great move for Arizona picking up Jon Rauch. I'm not sure what their setup situation has been, but if they move Rauch in to the setup position for Brandon Lyon, that's where he's most comfortable. And if they need him to close, for whatever reason, he's proven he's more than capable of doing that. Now that they're back to .500 the Diamondbacks might as well be the team to come out of the NL West...and Rauch will certainly help. (Although this young second baseman they traded away seems like a good pickup for Washington - apparently he's very fast, with a good batting average and on-base percentage. Seems like he'll be a good leadoff hitter, and could be a big part of their future...worth keeping an eye on. He was sent to Triple-A.)

ANALYSIS THROUGH SIXTEEN WEEKS

Time again to give you my thoughts on the good and bad from the Mets, as well as around baseball:

MOST IMPRESSIVE: This current stretch, where the Mets have won 11 out of 13, has saved their season. Again, I'm mad that the Mets are only showing signs of life this late in the season, but better late than never, I guess. Huge series beginning Tuesday night at Shea against Philadelphia, which the Mets could come out of in sole possession of first place (and watch out for Florida, surprisingly still just a half-game back). The Phillies are on the ropes, waiting to be knocked out.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: The Mets need a corner outfielder, no doubt. But what Fernando Tatis has done in the meantime has been huge. He's the type of player you see on winning teams - stepping in when called upon and producing. He single-handedly got the Mets two of those wins on their winning streak. Unfortunately, you can't count on him the rest of the way to do this consistently. That's why he's a "surprise".

LEAST IMPRESSIVE: I wrote last week about how Jose Reyes needed to have a huge second half for the Mets. He came out of the All Star break going 1-for-13 in his first three games. He popped a lot of balls up, a sign he's either tired or trying to do too much. That's just what the Mets didn't need. The Mets went 1-2 over that stretch...but this story has a happy ending - in the win on Sunday, Reyes was 4-for-6, scoring three times.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Billy Wagner did to the National League this year what Trevor Hoffman did to the NL (and what I then thought would be the Mets' chances in the World Series) in 2006. He blew the All Star Game, which eventually gave home-field advantage in the World Series to the American League, and in the process continued to show why Mets fans can't have 100% confidence in him come October.

MOST IMPRESSIVE: I don't know how much good it will do, but I like the fact that the Brewers are going for it. The CC Sabathia acquisition was a great one, we'll see what adding Ray Durham brings. (Ned Yost says Rickie Weeks will still be the primary second baseman.) But it certainly sends a message that the Brewers are knocking on the Cubs' door - pounding, actually. And even though the Cubs did all right for themselves with their trades, I'm not totally buying into them yet.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: I'm classifying it as a surprise that after slogging through the worst stretch of their season (2-8 over their last ten games), the Tampa Bay Rays still have a one-and-a-half game lead in the AL East. I know a lot of people think they'll fade, and I'm not a 100% believer in them, but I'm starting to think they'll be sticking around. And the big key is they gave the Red Sox fits when they weren't good...now that they are good, they can beat the Sox..they've already shown that this year. The AL East race might be one of the better races to watch down the stretch.

LEAST IMPRESSIVE: Until they get a team up over the .500 mark, the National League West continues to qualify itself as a disgrace. I'm pretty sure someone will start running away with that division, and be above .500, but when you have the Colorado Rockies 14 games below .500 and only six games out of first, that's a problem.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: You have to be disappointed if you're a fan of the Atlanta Braves. They're basically what the Mets were three weeks ago - underachieving, looking up at the Marlins, realizing they could be right in that mix, but aren't. I thought Atlanta would be very good this year...but they've never really put it together. The problem certainly isn't at home, where Atlanta is 31-20 and Chipper Jones is hitting well above .400. It's the 15-32 road record that's done them in.

ALL STAR GAME RECAP

I'm not the guy you want to be around if you're looking to see history. I'm the guy who watches an entire hockey game, but changes the channel for 25 seconds and misses the only goal of the game. I'm a Mets fan, so I've never seen a no-hitter that I really care about. I'm constantly aware that I may be watching something with historical significance, but it's the moment that I let my guard down that it happens.

Such was the case with the 2008 All Star Game, which was pretty magnificent (so I've heard). I loved the pre-game ceremonies, but I started feeling pretty sick by mid-game, so I turned in early. Justin from NYC wrote a great summary of the game at sportscracklepop.com. Here's the view of a guy who didn't make it past 11pm.

THE PRE-GAME CEREMONY: That was pretty cool. I saw some of the 1999 ceremony, at Fenway Park, but I was working then and didn't really enjoy it like I should have. This one I was able to appreciate. That was really, really great. I loved seeing Ralph Kiner out there, and guys like Bob Feller (when they showed him in the 1939 All Star Game at age 20 in the highlights earlier, I started questioning whether he was still alive - he looks good for 90!).

Justin pointed it out, too - but Willie Mays is a jerk. My dad was giving him the benefit of the doubt, thinking he was just 'out of it', but from all I've heard about Mays, he gave Josh Hamilton the cold shoulder. No wonder Barry Bonds is a mess - Willie Mays was his role model.

Speaking of 'out of it', I was wondering why Whitey Ford was not one of the guys throwing out a first pitch, then I thought back to the parade (which was horrible, but I watched anyway - Fox is such a joke...but that's a story for another day). When they asked him and Yogi Berra about the All Star Game Ford started at Yankee Stadium, he laughed and said he didn't remember - "How'd we do?", he asked. I thought he was kidding. Maybe he wasn't.

I thought conspicuous by his absence was Johnny Bench. Where was he? I can't really think of any other notable Hall of Famers that weren't there...but there probably were a few. And I know Paul Molitor finished his career mostly as a DH, but was that really fair to him to make him be the guy who represented designated hitters at the ceremony?

Finally, I was shocked by the George Steinbrenner appearance. He looked better than I expected...and it was much more touching than I expected as well.

THE GAME ITSELF: Billy Wagner still frightens the heck out of me. I didn't see him blow the save (truth be told, I didn't know until I saw a text from Justin this morning), but the fact that he only had to get one out and didn't in a big spot upsets me.

I only saw David Wright's first at-bat, in the eighth, where he struck out, but it's nice that he ended up getting four at-bats. And it's especially nice that he didn't play the field (he was DH), so he didn't have to beat himself up at all.

15 innings...I feel for the managers, who had to make some tough decisions. My newspaper didn't even have the final (it stopped at 13 innings in its game story), but The Wife forwarded me a quote from today's Boston Globe that said Clint Hurdle would have used David Wright as his pitcher had the game gone 16. I don't know if he was joking, or if he could only use Wright because he was the DH, but that probably would not have been a good thing for the Mets.

Finally, it was just a good All Star Game to watch (what I watched of it, anyway). It was truly the best of the best on display. I love baseball's All Star Game because of the uniforms - I love that the players wear their team's uniforms (just the home or away version, depending on the league), and I love the idea that on one night of the baseball season, all baseball fans are watching the same game. I think moreso than the post-season, where there might be bitterness, or there's competition from other sports, all eyes are on this one game. I think that's pretty cool.

A TURNING POINT?

At the end of the year, will we look back at this weekend in Philadelphia as the point of the season where the Mets turned things around?

I'm starting to think maybe.

If you've read this blog for longer than the past couple of months, you know it's just not my nature to be negative (at least for very long). So maybe it's the summer months, maybe it's Dave in Brighton's optimism, maybe it's just wishful thinking - but I'm starting to believe maybe the best is yet to come for these Mets.

Because all this time I've been lamenting the fact that the Mets haven't been better than average this year, neither has anyone else in their division. The Mets begin play on Sunday just four-and-a-half games behind the Phillies, a game behind the second-place Marlins. And on Saturday night, they pulled a Philadelphia on the Phillies - coming back from behind to not just win, but pile on the Phillies bullpen - that's exactly what Philadelphia has made a habit out of doing to the Mets this past year-and-a-half.

So here's the deal - if the Mets close out this Philadelphia series strong - or at least just win on Sunday, evening their record at 44-44, we'll call it a blank slate. There's always the possibility that the second half will bring new life. The fact that the Mets even have life after such a miserable start to the season should be inspiration alone, but to this point it hasn't been.

Oh, and one other encouraging note - last year's division champs, those same Philadelphia Phillies? Through 88 games, they were 44-44. So the Mets, at 44-44 stand an even better shot at a division title, because the division is much weaker this year...and it wouldn't take a monumental collapse from the team in front of them for the Mets to finish on top.

*****UPDATE*****
Boy, they don't make it easy, do they? A 4-2 win in 12 innings (thank you Fernando Tatis) after "All Star" Billy Wagner blew a 2-0 lead in the 9th inning.

PLEASE MIND MY MESS FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS

I got home late Wednesday night (late for me...like 9:30, I guess), after an end-of-year celebration, before beginning my summer vacation. I turned on the TV, saw the Mets game was 3-3 in the 10th, and I settled in to watch.

As I emptied my pockets, I realized there was a text message on my cell - from Justin in NYC. It said "Seriously. Worst team ever." I was puzzled. The Yankees were a late start out west, so he had to be talking about the Mets. How bad could a 3-3 tie in extra innings be?

I rewound the TiVo, and saw the Diamondbacks tie it with a homer after being down to their last strike. Then Thursday afternoon, I watched as Billy Wagner blew another save. At least the Mets came back to win Wednesday's game.

The Mets are just a mess. What happens now? Does Willie Randolph get fired? (In his defense - your closer has to finish those games. I mean what more can a manager do? I don't care what Wagner's breakdown is entering an inning versus starting an inning - get three friggin' outs.) Do the Mets still have a chance?

Interleague play has been disastrous for the Mets the past few seasons. There is a real chance that the Mets could be long gone by July first. Keep an eye on it this weekend without me - I'm heading up to Dartmouth College for The Wife's college reunion. I'll be back on Monday. It might be a loooooong summer.

TOO....HOT

The title refers to the weather, not the Mets, who are far from "hot".

After a 4-game sweep in San Diego, the Mets are back to two games below .500, and morale-wise, things are back to where they were before the west coast trip, which is to say, low in the morale department.

It didn't have to be this way - the Mets led Sunday's game in the eighth, before Billy Wagner came in and served up a single and then a homer to give San Diego the lead.

And I guess my question is this: Who on the Mets calls out Billy Wagner when he messes up? Seems like Wagner is the first to point fingers at everyone else when they do something wrong...I just hope there's a system of checks and balances that makes sure he gets his when the time comes.

And on Sunday, the time came.

In fairness to Billy, the homer came after a 2-2 pitch that looked an awful lot like strike three. So maybe he doesn't only stink, maybe he's a head case as well, just like Oliver Perez. I hope someone in the clubhouse points that out to the world.

I think the sun made me angry today. I have a headache. Two more days of school...

TICK....TICK....TICK

I'm still crazy busy, but I had to put my two cents in. This is part of the article from espn.com about Willie Randolph's recent comments:

"Is it racial?" Randolph asked in the column, written by The Record's Ian O'Connor. "Huh? It smells a little bit."

"I don't know how to put my finger on it, but I think there's something there," Randolph said in the column. He cited the example of former New York Jets coach Herman Edwards as a coach who was initially successful, but did not last long when the Jets started losing. He also noted the treatment of former New York Knicks coach and GM Isiah Thomas, saying "Isiah didn't do a great job, but they beat up Isiah pretty good. ... There's something weird about it."

There's nothing weird about it, Willie. Win some friggin' games. Herman Edwards was fine until he started losing. Isiah Thomas never won. Where were the racial comments in 2006 when you were winning the division?

Apparently Randolph has backed off these comments, but the fact that he would play the race card at all is so disappointing. And this coming after Billy Wagner last week....this team is a mess right now.

I also formed a radical idea on my way home from work today. I can't even believe I'm going to say this...but the Mets might as well just sign Barry Bonds. They can't get much more unlikeable as a team than they are right now, and it wouldn't mess up the clubhouse chemistry any. These guys clearly hate each other and aren't responding to their manager. Might as well throw Bonds into the mix. I don't know where he'd play, but they need some kind of spark. Bench Delgado, make Bonds play first. Sign him just before interleague, make him DH, and see what happens. Moises Alou will probably be hurt again soon.

The Mets' 2008 season is not going like I'd hoped.

WRONG KIND OF FIRED UP

Here are two ways I know it's nearing the end of the school year and I'm more tired at night than ever:

1) I fall asleep before I set my fantasy baseball lineup, and don't have time to get on the computer in the morning at school, and don't have Shawn Marcum in my rotation for a 7-inning shutout performance (I am so pissed about that).
2) The Wife is more up on the Mets news than I am. She e-mailed me this:

"You should blog about this:

Wagner rips Mets teammate
Posted: Thursday May 01, 2008 05:53AM ET
Amid the rubble of a 13-1 loss to the last-place Pirates that started with Oliver Perez's second-inning meltdown, Billy Wagner said what many of his teammates appeared to be thinking about the left-hander. Wagner blasted Perez for lasting just 12/3 innings, matching his career low, against one of the worst teams in baseball. "Perez has honestly got to step up and know that we've just used every guy in our bullpen the night before," a visibly disgusted Wagner said. "He can't come out there and decide that, gee, he hasn't got it today and so be it." Asked if talking to Perez about his notoriously short attention span was like trying to talk to a wall, Wagner pointed his finger and said: "Pretty much.""

Thanks for that...although I'm not sure the source. I'll just credit The Wife.

I guess Billy Wagner's back - he had been awfully quiet this year. And last year, really. Recently I had asked for more players to get into 2006 form - I meant in baseball performance, but the Mets had a cohesive locker room that year, so maybe Wagner opening his mouth will lend itself to a more cohesive team unit (that seems counter-intuitive...).

I can't really make an argument against Wagner here, though. He's right. And for Oliver Perez to be this up and down throughout his career, he has to be the type of guy who probably gives up on himself, says, 'I just don't have it today, so I'll wait until my next start'. I think Wagner has it right on the nose. Problem is, the question about Perez's attention span was really uncalled for, and Wagner answering it is crossing a line. That's the part that's not going to go over well.

Hopefully Perez comes back with a strong start, and hopefully the players don't start sniping at one another. Since this entry centered on Oliver Perez, I now cue the Southern Bureau.....

ANALYSIS THROUGH FOUR WEEKS

As I hinted at a couple of weeks ago, I'm still re-working this idea - and more changes might be coming - but here are my bi-weekly thoughts - some good and bad from the Mets, and some good and bad from around the Majors. Again, more changes could be on the way...and this week has a decided bullpen theme, as far as the Mets are concerned, based on some of my thoughts last week. (User-friendly instructions - Happy Mr. Met is for the good Mets news, Sad Mr. Met is for the upsetting Mets news, and the happy and sad MLB logos are for the good and bad MLB news, respectively.)

MOST IMPRESSIVE: Believe it or not, the bullpen hasn't been all bad. When the Mets have been able to get him the ball in save situations, Billy Wagner has been lights-out. He's one of the best in the game right now. I fully expect something will go wrong with him at some point - he'll become unreliable, he'll choke when it counts down the stretch, or he'll get hurt - but for now, he's impressive.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Not a total surprise, since we have seen what he is capable of, but I guess the fact that he's come back from his injury to pitch so well makes it a surprise. Duaner Sanchez looks like he did in 2006 before he got hurt- which is high praise. The Mets could use some more players who look like they did in 2006.
LEAST IMPRESSIVE: There may have been some overreaction by blanketing the whole bullpen as bad last week. Therefore, I can't put the entire bullpen in this spot (Joe Smith, Wagner, Sanchez, Pedro Feliciano, and, believe it or not, Scott Schoeneweis, have all been good-to-better-than-good). But I'll single out Jorge Sosa for now, since he's partners in crime with Aaron Heilman in giving up the big hit at the wrong time.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: We've talked about it already, but Aaron Heilman has been in a severe downward spiral the past season and a half or so. He's nowhere near as dominant as he used to be. Perhaps dominant is the wrong word- let's go with "effective". But because he has set the bar high in the past, he qualifies as a disappointment. Last week, Ron Darling said it looks like some hitters in the National League are just sitting on Heilman's change up, and then rocketing it out of the park. I think he's right.

MOST IMPRESSIVE: I haven't commented on him yet, because it hasn't come up, and I usually don't just throw around praise for the Braves, but Chipper Jones is off to an incredible start. I'm noticing it because he's on my fantasy team, but more than that, he's hitting well north of .400 and is on base almost every other inning. He also has been clutch. And it's not just against the Mets.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: The Florida Marlins are still in first place at this point of the season. Is that a surprise? You bet.


LEAST IMPRESSIVE: I mentioned it last week, but the Texas Rangers have been dreadful. They're challenging the Nationals for the "worst team in baseball" title. The Red Sox series did more harm than good, obviously, but they really weren't doing anything this year anyway.



BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: I'm not sure if the Yankees qualify here as a team yet - they're right around .500, and they've been quiet, but not terribly disappointing. I would guess they'll be like that all year - I didn't have them making the playoffs in Girardi's first year anyway. But moreso than the Yankees as a team is second baseman Robinson Cano, who is hitting below the Mendoza line in this first month. This is an observation, unlike Chipper Jones, that I am attributing directly to my fantasy team. I need him to turn it around - and he'll certainly help New York as well when he does. Cano is a career .244 hitter in April (that includes this year), but he has never had a month this bad.

THIS JUST IN: Speaking of disappointments, I just saw on ESPN as breaking news that the Giants are going to move Barry Zito to the bullpen. Ouch.

MEET THE METS - THE BULLPEN

I disagree with those who say the Johan Santana acquisition eases the strain on the bullpen. While they may be needed less with Santana pitching than, say, a 41-year-old Tom Glavine, the same figures will be relied on again and again, and the strain on them will be just as much as it has been, with extra pressure to secure wins for Santana.

If all goes well this year, the Mets will have Duaner Sanchez for the 7th inning, Aaron Heilman (7-7, 3.03 ERA, 1 sv in 2007) for the 8th, and then Billy Wagner (2-2, 2.63, 34) closing games in the 9th. The biggest question mark is Sanchez, who missed all of last year after a car accident that left him with an injured shoulder in 2006. Last year, Sanchez never got back into playing shape, but this year, he is reportedly in great shape in spring training. Even more important about Sanchez's situation is that when a starting pitcher goes 7 innings, he will be able to split an 8th inning load with Heilman.

I've mentioned this before - I think Santana errs on the side of caution when it comes to his arm. That could result in a few starts where he goes just six innings. Last year, 13 of his 33 starts lasted just 5 or 6 innings. Couple that with an aging Pedro Martinez* and Orlando Hernandez in the rotation, and the bullpen could see plenty of work.

So the bullpen will be an important factor all season for the Mets (and every other team in baseball). Wagner will close games - there's no doubt about that. My fear is that he will get hurt, and the Mets will be left vulnerable. I expected more injuries from Wagner the past couple of years, and he's stayed surprisingly healthy. He'll be 37 this season...his body is going to break down sometime...hopefully it's not this year. Wagner's biggest contributions this season could very well be with his mouth - he becomes prime suspect number one for speaking his mind (after Carlos Beltran, though, it seems) now that Paul Lo Duca is gone.

For the first time in a number of years, Aaron Heilman hasn't been complaining about his role...it seems, for now, he has given up all hope of becoming a starting pitcher with the Mets...and by coming back this year, he might realize that by not rocking the boat, 2008 is a very real possibility for a world championship.

Besides Sanchez, the other key members of the bullpen are lefty Pedro Feliciano, who was 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA last year. Lefties hit just .168 against him. Scott Schoeneweis will be back, fresh off his appearance in the Mitchell Report - and he had a very disappointing 2007 season (a 5.03 ERA tells the tale). Sidearmer Joe Smith will be a factor at some point this season, but after a great first half of last season (36 IP, 2.75 ERA), he pitched just 8 innings in the second half of the season, and was not effective (6.48 ERA). Jorge Sosa was a pleasant surprise for much of the season, doing good work filling in as a fifth starter, but you don't know what you're getting from him this year. He might be the 2006 Darren Oliver/2007 Aaron Sele long-relief type in 2008. And the Mets signed Matt Wise, late of the Brewers, who is coming off a decent year, but nothing special.

The Mets have some arms in the bullpen, and I think they'll be OK when they have to use their relievers. The example of Joe Smith illustrates, though, what overwork can do - he was a rookie last year, and was overworked in the first half. The Mets paid the price for that in the second half, and Willie Randolph lost confidence in the reliever.

Someone will certainly surprise out of the bullpen this year, and someone will certainly disappoint. It's the same story every year. What the Mets need is consistency from the trio of Sanchez, Heilman, and Wagner. If the Mets can get leads to those guys, and they pitch like they did two years ago, the bullpen will be a strength, and not such a question mark.

FANTASY? MORE LIKE A NIGHTMARE

I hate to bore you with an update on my fantasy baseball season, but it's the day after the All Star Game, and this is the only game in town.

I am not a good fantasy baseball player. I play with my heart, not with my head. I have mentioned this a few times. I've also mentioned that the past few years, I have been in a different type of league, where there are only 4 players, and the baseball players can only come from the NL and AL Eastern divisions. So that narrows down the player universe a little bit, and allows me to go more with my head than heart. (It does not eliminate the Mets, however, but I try to limit the number of Mets on the team.) We also use some non-traditional stats, like walks allowed by pitchers.

This year I also did another league with the boys, but there was an automatic draft, I quickly fell into the bottom third of the standings, and I've been less invested in it (the goal now is to try to get as many guys to appear on my 'team log' as I can - I might as well shake up the team since it's done so poorly).

Anyway, I'm doing very well in the first league I mentioned, "East Coast Bias". So well, in fact, that my team (General Mills) has been in first place, fairly comfortably, since the opening weeks of the season - say, mid-April. But I'm not happy about it. Usually I'll jump out to a lead, get surpassed quickly, and then try to play catch-up all year. I've held out longer this year...and it's just stretching out the inevitable. This year, I wake up every morning with a sense of dread, ready to check the standings with the understanding that "Today is the day I'm no longer in first place." I fear that day will come soon, especially since the players right behind me, let's call them, I don't know, Justin in NYC and the Southern Bureau, have shaken up their rosters and are gaining ground.


I am not giving up hope. I'm going to fight tooth and nail to win this league. I have an ace in the hole, quite literally, in the person of Pedro Martinez*, who might help propel me to victory in the final month. I just hope I'm still in it by then. There's a lot at stake:


Last year I had a last-chance desperate push on the final day of the season, where I needed about 7 pitchers to have complete game shutout wins in order to catapult into first (instead, I dropped from second to third. Needless to say, I didn't get the shutouts.). I can't wait until the last day of this season. If for no other reason than the fact that I need a good night's sleep.

ALL STAR GAME NOTES: Of all the luck. Yesterday I hoped Tony LaRussa would be able to use Billy Wagner in a save situation...he went with him in the 8th, and Wagner gave up a 2-run homer that proved to be the difference in the game. I just hope that doesn't come back to haunt the Mets.

I went to bed right after the homer Wagner gave up (in fairness to Wagner, I have been watching a good deal of the Indians lately, and Victor Martinez has been 1) clutch, and 2) hot...so that's a tough matchup). The National League, apparently, threatened in the bottom of the 9th, scoring two to make it a one-run game, then loading the bases (all with two out) before the final out was recorded. Too bad.

-To bring this conversation full-circle, I'll go back to fantasy sports, but incorporate the All Star Game. I always thought that it would be neat if you were rewarded somehow for having the most All Stars on your fantasy team in your league. I don't know what would happen - maybe an extra point in the standings - but I always like watching the All Star Game and pointing out which guys were on my fantasy team.

BASEBALL BACK THURSDAY: Each year it seems like more and more teams are off the day following the All Star break. Slowly that break is becoming four days instead of three. There is just one National League game on Thursday, and thankfully, it's the Mets. The Mets host the Reds at Shea for four games coming out of the break...and the Mets need to get on track and just blow away these National League teams in the second half.

-FYI - I haven't mentioned this on the site - Carlos Gomez broke his hand when the Mets were in Colorado...he's out until September. So the revolving door in left field swings once more - and Lastings Milledge might finally be healthy enough to rejoin the team. It'll be interesting to see if he earns himself a job, or showcases his talent just in time for a trade deadline deal.

-Remember you can always get the latest Mets news by going to the feed on the right, which has the 5 latest Mets articles from mets.com.

THIS ONE COUNTS

THE 78TH ALL STAR GAME

It's been a few years, but Major League Baseball is still going with the "This One Counts" tag for their All Star Game, as though this is the only one that has ever counted. It bothers me. I remember writing about this last year...they really should go with "It Still Counts", or something like that.

But like it or not, the All Star Game matters, especially to a team like the Mets. And like last year, the Mets had three players in the starting lineup Tuesday night who could have a major influence on the game in Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran. I'm writing this in advance of the game, so I can only hope, but with the Mets' closer on the roster, if the National League should take a lead into the 9th inning, I hope that Tony LaRussa would allow Billy Wagner to close out a win, and give the Mets the chance at home field advantage in the World Series.

A COUPLE OF WORDS ON BARRY BONDS: I forgot to write about this when the votes for the All Star Game were tabulated, but I think there was something fishy going on when Barry Bonds suddenly surpassed Alfonso Soriano on the last day of voting to get into the starting lineup. I suspect if he wasn't starting, Tony LaRussa might have left Bonds off the roster, and I feel like someone at the MLB offices had an eye towards history, and wondered how it would look if the year he became the all-time leader in home runs, Barry Bonds was not even in the All Star Game. So I think there was some ballot box stuffing going on in those offices.

Meanwhile, he's kind of the "host" player for this game, being the Giants representative for the game in San Francisco and all. That's kind of like the guy no one likes in college, but who's still pretty important, who throws a party, and you still go, because all your friends and colleagues are going, and it's still going to be a great time...but he's still the "host". The other All Stars must feel in the back of their minds bothered by that part of it...although, according to the articles I've read, Jose Reyes was excited by the prospect of batting in front of Bonds, and Carlos Beltran was looking forward to picking Bonds's brain about hitting.

ALL STAR DESIGNING: Kudos to the designers of all things 2007 All Star Game.

I love the batting practice jerseys the players wore during the Home Run Derby...and I love the logo (all seen at left). I guess with these new ballparks, and all of their quirks, it's kind of a playland for the people who design these things.

I love how the Golden Gate Bridge was worked into the jerseys.


Another word about the All Star uniforms...I love how in the baseball All Star Game the players wear their team's uniform. I love that contrast on the field - where it's just whites and grays, but all different.


FORMAT: You've probably noticed some changes to the site. I'm hoping that we can increase traffic a bit, but I've also just upgraded the look a little. Obviously, there have been some major changes, like the colors, but there are also some new features on the right hand side, among them:

-links to some of my favorite sites (updating still in progress)

-a feed from mlb.com that updates the latest Mets news, because, as I wrote about a week or so ago, I'll be writing in more general terms, less specifically about the Mets' day-to-day results

-a link at the top right to the site e-mail and the blogtalkradio show

-I've also changed the name of the blog, since "John's Mets Page" wasn't too exciting. It's a change a long time coming. I'd appreciate your feedback, and if you have a name that might grab people, and you think it's better than "The Official Unofficial New York Mets Site", send it in. I'd love some suggestions. I like what I have right now, but I'm not married to it...I feel like it's a little long. So send along your suggestions...and thanks for reading!

METS SWEEP MARLINS

Mets 6, Marlins 4 (NYM: 32-17, FLA: 23-27)

Is this where the Mets really start running away with things? They are now up by 4-and-a-half games on the Braves...and this isn't like last year...the Braves are actually pretty good this year. And when you consider that the Mets are 3-6 against Atlanta this year...that means they're doing pretty well against everyone else.

It's almost been........I hate to even say this.....boring so far this year with the Mets. They go out, take care of business, and quietly move ahead. It's almost like they learned their lesson from last year, and they want to get back to the post-season with as little fanfare as possible, so they can win it all this year. That's not to say they will - although I hope they do. I just think they're making that march right now.

The Mets beat Scott Olsen on Sunday. Why is this significant? Olsen is a lefty. And one of the biggest problems for the Mets in the second half of last season was their performance against lefties. This year, so far, the Mets are hitting .334 against lefties. Jorge Sosa was Sunday's beneficiary, picking up his 4th win against one loss.

The Mets also improved to 18-7 on the road - they have the best road record in the majors. That means they are 14-10 at Shea...something they can improve on as they return home for 9 games beginning on Tuesday.

There were no standout performers on Sunday...the Mets just went out and completed a very quiet three-game whupping of the Marlins (outscoring Florida 19-8...even more if you don't count the ninth inning runs Florida pushed across). There is still reason to worry about Aaron Heilman, but other than that, things are clicking pretty well right now.

The Mets have Monday off (I've complained plenty the past few years about Memorial Day now being an off-day in the majors for a good number of teams - when I was growing up, everyone would play on Memorial Day, it seemed. There's still going to be baseball to watch on Monday - but not the Mets.). I'll try to come up with something entertaining for the off-day.

Stop and Shop johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: Yes, he gave up a run, and yes, he's had tougher and more important saves, but this game was pretty much a team effort, and Billy Wagner put the finishing touches on the win, so I'll give him the honor. Plus, it was his 12th save of the season, 30th straight dating back to last year, extending his own Mets record. So that's worth something. He's been consistent, and as automatic as the Mets have had in a while at the end of the game.

WHAT A STEAL!: Another stolen base for THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED. Jose Reyes got number 28 (stealing third base) on Sunday.

BEAT THE STREAK: Jason Bay got me to 4 games. Ichiro has a 20-game hitting streak - he has decent career numbers against Bartolo Colon (.273), so I like his chances to get to 21, and mine to get to 5.

EL DUQUE RINGS UP CARDS

Mets 4, Cardinals 1 (NYM: 2-0, STL: 0-2)


(Note: The 8 o'clock starts are late on school nights. Excuse this post if it's a bit disjointed - I'm writing parts before the game is over, so that I can finalize it when the game ends, publish, and go right to bed.)

The Cardinals handed out their championship rings before game 2 of the season, and the Mets soured another celebration in St. Louis with a 4-1 win. Orlando Hernandez pitched an outstanding game, and the Mets turned in some more solid defense, making their 4 runs stand up.

The Mets manufactured a run right out of the gates - after Jose Reyes drew a leadoff walk, he almost got picked off, but on the next pickoff throw, was able to advance to second on a wild throw by Kip Wells. So with Reyes at second, Paul Lo Duca laid down a bunt, and a Carlos Beltran fly ball to center brought Reyes home from third. That's what the Mets did all last year, jumping out to early leads.

In the fifth, Reyes again created another run - with 2 outs he singled, then stole second. Lo Duca lined one to right field, which was badly misplayed by Skip Schumaker (ruled an error), and Reyes scored to make it 2-0.

El Duque was great on the mound (see below), but also at the plate - he was 2-for-3, and picked up 2 RBI with the bases loaded in the sixth after an intentional walk to Jose Valentin (who wouldn't walk Valentin in that situation?). Hernandez grounded one down the third base line, and Valentin was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first, but it gave the Mets a 4-0 lead.

The Mets turned 3 more double plays Tuesday night, giving them 7 in two games. I tried to look up in the media guide if that's some sort of record, but I could only find double plays in a game - 5. Love that book, though.

The bullpen got a wee bit shaky in the eighth inning. Scott Schoeneweis got two straight outs before getting runners on first and third, with Albert Pujols coming up. So Aaron Heilman was brought in, and he got Pujols to fly to center. Billy Wagner pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save.

The Mets go for the season-opening sweep of the Cardinals on Wednesday with John Maine on the mound against none other than Braden Looper. That should be fun.

AUTOTRADER JOHNNYMETS.BLOGSPOT.COM PLAYER OF THE GAME: Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. I hate to see this be the starting pitcher all the time - but the past two outings have deserved it. Hernandez went 7 innings, giving up one run (a solo homer to Scott Rolen), and walking just 2, giving up 5 hits. He didn't strike anyone out, but started two of the Mets' three double plays. He gave the Mets just the kind of start they're going to need from him all year - it's a nice way to get started. His big problem last year was consistency - one good start followed by a bad start, so now his next start looms large - string together a few like this, and the Mets are in great shape.

I've just decided that I'm going to keep a tally of the "Player of the Game" players that I award over the year. The winner will get a watch...or nothing. Most likely nothing.

NOTES: I've been reading some recaps of the Opening Night game between the Mets and Cardinals, and some people are writing that the Mets exacted revenge on the Cardinals for the NLCS by winning Sunday night. Uh....I don't think so. Those two don't quite equate.

The Cardinals gave their fans replica rings. Pretty neat. That's a giveaway I'd like, if it was for my team.

Also, the Cardinals are allowed to wear uniforms with gold trim around their names and numbers, because they are the champs. I actually like the way the unis look. I'm not sure if this is something new baseball is doing, or if it's something the Cardinals requested. I don't remember the Red Sox or White Sox having that option. It's a neat idea.

Finally, I watched this game on FSN Midwest, so I had Joe Buck. He got a World Series ring, because he's the Cardinals announcer. Seems to me that's some sort of conflict of interest.

LOOKING AHEAD: I was checking out the Mets' schedule. July looks particularly tough. There are 10 home games, and 16 road games. It looks more intimidating on the schedule than it sounds...but there are a couple of lengthy road trips.

Also schedule-related...there are only 20 off days all season, counting the days before and after the All Star Game. And that also counts Monday, and this Thursday, and next Tuesday. So 17 off days after a week from today. It seems like a lot more during the course of the season - each off day feels like 2 or 3 to me.

MASN NEWS: The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network airs both Nationals and Orioles games (there's a MASN2 this year - I'm pretty sure there wasn't last year), and there are broadcasting developments that I caught on Tuesday night. It sounds like Gary Thorne is now doing Orioles games, which is fantastic. I'm pretty positive it was Thorne, not seeing the booth at all, just hearing some audio. But you don't mistake Gary Thorne's voice. And the analyst on the Nationals' post-game show was 1986 World Series MVP Ray Knight. Didn't stick around long enough to see how he did...but it's nice to know where to find him.

BOOF: I was watching MASN2 because our old pal Boof Bonser was pitching for the Twins against the O's. He did well. Not sure we'll be following him here this year like we did last year. The secret's out - he's a good pitcher with a funny name. Also, I wasn't even smart enough to pick him up in my fantasy league - someone else grabbed him. Whoops. Some fan I am. (For the record, Bonser went 6 innings, striking out 6, and giving up 2 runs, getting a no decision in the Twins win.)

BEAT THE STREAK: Not sure how this snuck under my radar the past two days, but Vladimir Guerrero is playing against the Texas Rangers - that's an automatic Beat the Streak pick. They're an afternoon game on Wednesday, too, so I won't have to stay up late to see how he did...like tonight with Mike Piazza. So far, as I'm about to turn in, Piazza does not have a hit.

METS, WAGNER BACK ON TRACH

Mets 6, Marlins 5 (NYM: 64-42, FLA: 50-57)

Another game that didn't really seem like the Mets were going to run away with it, despite an early lead. The Marlins just won't go away - all season, even early in the year, every time the Mets play them. But the important difference between this game and the one on Tuesday night - the Mets came out a winner.
Roberto Hernandez, Pedro Feliciano, Chad Bradford, and Aaron Heilman all combined to get the Mets from Steve Trachsel to Billy Wagner (new Met Hernandez gave up 2 runs) - and prevent the Mets from blowing a 6-0 lead.

The Mets built a 4-0 lead after one, and managed to build their lead without an extra-base hit. Typical of the night, probably, was Carlos Delgado, who was 1-for-1, with 3 walks. But this should have been a blowout - the Mets couldn't get a big hit. David Wright left 10 men on base, going 0-for-5. Cliff Floyd was 1-for-5, with an RBI, but he left 6 men on.

All told, the Mets left 28 men on base - not a formula for success.

The Marlins left their share on base, too - including two in the ninth. Wagner was back to his tightrope-walking self, but managed to get three straight outs, after letting the first two men on (including a pinch-hitting pitcher, who Wagner hit with a pitch - the pitcher was up there only to sacrifice bunt). The Marlins left 19 on - I almost feel like these are typos - that seems like way too many people left on base. I wouldn't know if it's correct or not - I had the Marlins broadcast - those guys drive me nuts. You barely know there's a game going on listening to them. It doesn't help, I guess, when the most boring man on earth, Steve Trachsel, starts the game.

It was just another typical Steve Trachsel night. Trachsel is 10-5 now, but his 5.12 ERA really bothers me. That's way too high. The Mets still have a chance to take two out of three from Florida, with a Pedro Martinez*-Dontrelle Willis matchup Thursday night. That should be a good one.


MAGIC NUMBER: The Mets win knocks the magic number down one, to 44, but the Phillies beat the Cardinals Wednesday night, keeping the number from going down one more. I'm tired of waiting for the Phillies game to end, matter of fact, so I'm posting this before it's final. The Phillies blew an 8-2 lead, with Saint Louis making it 8-7, before the Phillies have opened it up again, to 16-8. But I'm done waiting for it to be over. The Cardinals stink. I'm telling you - if they're the Mets' stiffest competition in the playoffs, the National League playoffs will be a breeze.





BOOF: All-Star rookie sensation Francisco Liriano hurt his elbow, and couldn't make his start for the Twins on Wednesday afternoon against the Rangers, so guess who got the call from Rochester to make the emergency start? That's right, Boof. He showed up, unfortunately, the Twins defense didn't.

Bonser pitched 4 innings, giving up 7 runs, of which only 4 were earned, while striking out 5. He should have been out of his bad inning (5 runs allowed) a few different times, but different players kept making errors, forcing him to get extra outs. It really wasn't fair. The loss dropped Bonser's major league record to 2-3, and his ERA is now 5.67. He was sent back to Rochester after the game.

THE KID'S KIDS: St. Lucie moved into a tie for first with Daytona, after beating Daytona, 6-2 Wednesday. There's one more game in this series - both teams are 22-16 in the second half of the season, with about a month left to play.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: A start at second base for Edgardo Alfonzo on Wednesday, and he was 1-for-2, with 3 walks, and a run scored. He's now hitting .224. Things are certainly on the upswing.

CHASE'S CHASE: It took five at-bats, but Utley legged out a nubber past the mound in the 8th inning against the Cardinals, extending the streak to 34 games. He really didn't look like he was going to get it - maybe this will bring the streak a second wind.

BEAT THE STREAK: I managed to not jinx Utley (barely), so maybe Vladimir Guerrero's hitting streak against the Rangers will continue as well. I have him for all 4 games. My streak stands at 1.

BILLY GOAT

Marlins 6, Mets 5 (NYM: 63-42, FLA: 50-56)

So much for Billy Wagner's string of impressive outings. One pitch to Josh Willingham, one 2-run homer later, it's a blown save and a Mets loss.

This was a weird game. It almost felt, from the start, like the Mets didn't deserve to win it. In the first inning, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, led off with a walk. One out later, Carlos Beltran doubled down the left field line, and Reyes fell rounding third, so he went back to third, Beltran was hung up between second and third, and he was tagged out. Reyes would score on a Carlos Delgado single, but that wasted run seemed ominous.

The Marlins tied it, and this made things seem a bit more ominous. Mike Pelfrey should have been out of this inning, but a fly ball to right landed in front of Lastings Milledge. Not sure how. He should have had it - it was a line drive with lots of hangtime, and he let it drop. No Green Monster in Miami. I'm almost starting to wish the Mets had traded Milledge - he'd better start maturing soon. Of course, the next batter drove the run home, making the Mets pay.

In the third, the Mets took a 2-1 lead, then a 4-1 lead, on Beltran's 33rd homer of the year. It was a little more comfortable, but there was still a ho-hum feeling to the way the Mets were playing.

Pelfrey actually pitched very well in what may have been his last major league start for a while - he went 6 innings, giving up 4 runs (the first should not have been earned), and striking out 4, including the last batter he faced. So he looked good, but the rest of the time the Mets seemed lackadaisical. Very tough for me to explain.

Reyes homered in the seventh inning, and suddenly the Mets were on top again, and Wagner came in to close the door, gave up a single, a sac bunt, then the 2-run homer. And just like that it was over. Such a strange game - it just seemed like the Marlins wanted it more than the Mets. And I hope the Mets realize that, and I hope they come out with more of a killer instinct on Tuesday night. Because they didn't have it on Monday.

Steve Trachsel goes against Ricky Nolasco on Wednesday. Yawn. I bet there's a rain delay too. It always rains on Trachsel.

MAGIC NUMBER: First time in a while there's no change here. Still at 45. Not worth a graphic. The Mets lost, and the 2nd-place Phillies beat the Cardinals.

MORE TRADE INFO: Turns out the Mets were in some serious talks to get Roy Oswalt in a 3-way deal involving the Orioles. The Mets would have gotten Oswalt, the Astros would have gotten Miguel Tejada, and the Orioles would have gotten Morgan Ensberg, Adam Everett, Lastings Milledge, and I think Aaron Heilman (or one of those Mets might have gone to the Astros). But those talks fell apart. I'm glad the Mets didn't give up more than just Xavier Nady, to be honest, but Roy Oswalt would have been an awesome addition. The problem would have been he is a free agent (or up for arbitration at the end of this year, I guess), so there's no guarantee the Mets would have had Oswalt for very long.

MORE TRADE REAX: I caught a little of Mike & Mike in the Morning Tuesday morning, and Mike Greenberg was very critical of the Mets for not making a bigger and better deal. He doesn't think they can win the World Series the way they are constituted right now. I actually agree with Mike Golic, who said that the Mets are in no danger of missing the playoffs - and once they get into the playoffs, anything can happen. He says they had the luxury of sitting back a bit at the deadline, because they aren't looking to make a deal to get into the playoffs like a lot of the other teams were. (Keep in mind, the Mets did fill their need in the bullpen - and who knows what Oliver Perez may offer down the line.)

I also agree with Steve Philips, who refused to criticize his former assistant, Omar Minaya, but said that the Mets were reluctant to give up a lot of talent for a rental player. Which I agree with - why give up the future for just a couple of months, when you're already in pretty darn good shape for the next couple of months. My problem with what Philips said: He talked about how he traded Terrence Long for Kenny Rogers, another rental player, who helped the Mets reach the playoffs, in 1999. But then he became my arch-nemesis, by costing the Mets that same playoffs - in the NLCS, walking Andruw Jones with the bases loaded in extra innings, losing the series. Just awful - throw a strike, Kenny! (Have you noticed how poorly Rogers has pitched since the All-Star break? That always makes me happy.)

HERE'S WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN: I've been thinking, and I think Tom Glavine needs a mysterious Pedro Martinez*-type injury to pop up, landing him on the disabled list for a few weeks. Then, Glavine can come back rested, and pitch like he was pitching at the beginning of the year. I'm no longer worried about Pedro*, because he's basically had a month off to rest his arm. And I think Glavine's struggles are because he's old and tired. He has next year to get his 300th win. This year, he should only count on about 5-7 more wins in late August and September, and worry about getting some post-season wins.

SANCHEZ OUT: As expected, Duaner Sanchez had surgery on his separated shoulder on Tuesday, and WILL miss the rest of the season. There was a slight chance he would not need surgery, but he did wake up on Tuesday in excruciating pain, apparently. What an awful problem for the Mets. You hate when off-the-field stuff affects the team. Apparently the cab Sanchez was in was hit by another car going the wrong way.

THE KID'S KIDS: On Monday night, the St. Lucie Mets beat Daytona, 4-0, behind Brian Bannister's 7 shutout innings, as he rehabs his way back to the Majors. The big series between first-place Daytona and 2nd-place St. Lucie (in the second half of the season, remember) continued Tuesday, with the Mets winning, 5-4. They're just a game behind Daytona now.

Also of note, Tuesday afternoon I saw the 2-Minute Drill on ESPN Classic which featured Hall of Famer Gary Carter asking questions. I'd love for ESPN to bring back 2-Minute Drill. If I were on the show, I think I'd pick the 1986 Mets' post-season as my expert category. Depends how specific you can get with your category.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: On Monday, Alfonzo was 1-for-3, with two walks. He upped his average to .205. (I missed the Monday night games due to the early post-surgery posting.)

On Tuesday, another 1-for-3, with one walk, and Alfonzo's average is now .213. Maybe he's finding a groove.

CHASE'S CHASE: Not much drama here - Utley had a hit in his first at-bat, making it 33 games in a row.

BEAT THE STREAK: Lots of drama here, ending with an o-fer for Ichiro. So back to square one. And it being August 2nd, I need this to turn into a 57-game hitting streak, or else it's not worth playing this game the rest of the season. I'll go with Utley to get me started, then it's Vladimir Guerrero Thursday through Sunday, since it's Angels-Rangers, and he's never played the Rangers without getting a hit. (So looks like I'll be ending two streaks before Sunday - Utley's and Guerrero's.)

UGLY SWEEP

Mets 10, Braves 6 (NYM: 63-41, ATL: 48-56)

The Mets completed their first sweep in Atlanta in 21 years, but it wasn't pretty...and it wasn't as easy as it would have seemed to be after an inning-and-a-half.

I'm a little concerned about Tom Glavine - he hasn't won in a while now, and the Mets staked him to a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the second, which he went on to nearly give back. He didn't pitch past the fourth inning, and he just didn't look good at all the entire game. I'm starting to doubt if he's going to be effective come October. I know he's had his troubles pitching against Atlanta since becoming a Met, and I'm hoping that's what the problem was on Sunday. But it hasn't just been the Braves he's struggled against recently.

How did the Mets jump out to the 7-0 lead? Glad you asked. In the first inning, Carlos Delgado hit a 2-run homer, after I thought he wouldn't even play Sunday, because of a hit-by-pitch on Saturday. I guess he was OK. (Delgado was 4-for-5 with 3 RBI - maybe his slump is behind him.) Then Xavier Nady doubled home David Wright, to make it 3-0. In the top of the second, Carlos Beltran continued his assault on the Mets' record books (and baseball's) with another grand slam, giving the Mets the 7-0 lead. It was Beltran's 3rd grand slam this month, putting him in a tie for the major league record for grand slams in a month. It was also the sixth Mets grand slam this month - tying that Major League record. Beltran added another homer, a solo shot, in the fifth. He has 32 now on the year - most ever by a Mets center fielder. Beltran also has 94 RBI - way ahead in the team lead.

So Beltran was pretty much the story for the Mets in Atlanta - the Atlanta series is still a big deal to the Mets, and for Beltran to show up in these big games bodes well for October. What does not bode well for October is 6 ER in 4 IP, with 10 hits - Glavine's line. He needs a really good start his next time out.

Billy Wagner was again effective, pitching the Mets out of an 8th inning jam, then working an easy ninth to record his 22nd save. This game was a lot closer than it should have been - not Wagner's fault.

The Mets have Monday night off, before opening up a three-game series in Florida on Tuesday.

MONTHLY BREAKDOWN: With the day off Monday, the final tallies are in for July. I think I mentioned this, but my earlier estimate of 112 wins was way off. I guess I counted October as a full month of the season, and did 16 wins times 7 months. There are really only 6 months in the season, projecting the Mets to 96 wins, with 16 wins a month. The Mets met their quota in July, going 16-9.

April: 16-8
May: 16-12
June: 15-12
July: 16-9

Hopefully they'll get 17 wins in August, making up for that 15 in June.


MAGIC NUMBER: The Mets decreased the number by one with their win, so it's now at 46. Unfortunately, the Phillies swept their doubleheader with the Marlins, so they prevented the number from going any lower. The Mets play the Marlins next, while the Phillies take on the Cardinals - then it's Mets-Phillies at the end of the week. So maybe by Friday we can start seeing significant decreases in the magic number.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: 1) I have oral surgery to remove my wisdom teeth early Monday morning. So I might be out of commission for a couple of days (they really prepare you for the worst with this surgery - I hope it's only a couple of days, anyway). Luckily Monday's an off-day. Hopefully I'll be back for Tuesday.

2) If you're jonesing for some Mets stuff, and you didn't read over the weekend, I actually wrote a lot on Saturday and Sunday, which would be worth checking out. So enjoy. You could also check out johnnyjets.blogspot.com.

PROGRAMMING NOTE 2: Dave from Brighton brought up an interesting point this weekend that I thought was worth repeating. He watched Friday night's Mets-Braves game on TBS (and I'm assuming Sunday's), and he says even though the TBS guys are his least favorite broadcasters, he really enjoyed the telecast. He says he watched the game(s) with no volume. Dave's a smart guy, but this borders on brilliance, especially with TBS factoring into the national baseball picture more and more in the coming years. Their graphics are great (I really like their "Lead chart", where when a guy is taking his lead off first base, they show you the area he would stand in when he's most likely to steal - most of us could figure this out anyway, but it's a cool graphic.), and they have a very good ticker at the bottom of the screen. If you don't listen to the guys broadcasting, Dave's right, it's a very pleasant experience.

TRADE TALK: The Yankees won the Bobby Abreu sweepstakes (if you could call it that), trading three minor leaguers to the Phillies for Abreu and Cory Lidle. This basically puts the Yankees closer to the same position they were in in April - with a better starter, and now one outfielder short. It's a good deal for the Yankees, and for the Mets, it means the Phillies scare me even less.

INJURY UPDATE: Just thought it would be worth mentioning that after missing his last start on Friday against the Yankees, Scott Kazmir was placed on the disabled list by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Sunday. He has inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Also, Ty Wigginton was put on the Tampa Bay DL as well. But of the two ex-Mets, I'd say he's a little bit less noteworthy.

THE KID'S KIDS: I guess the Class-A advanced schedule-makers knew about Hall of Famer Gary Carter's Hall of Fame obligations today. There was no game for the St. Lucie Mets, so Carter probably managed Saturday night's game, then took off for Cooperstown, coming back Monday. That's my guess. Good for Carter, that he didn't have to miss a game.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: Edgardo Alfonzo flied out in the 8th inning as a pinch-hitter, his only at-bat of Sunday's game. His batting average is now at .195.

CHASE'S CHASE: Utley extended his hitting streak to 30 games in Game 1 of the doubleheader, and then homered and had another hit in Game 2, making it a 31-game hitting streak.

BEAT THE STREAK: Tense moments. Dan Uggla went through Game 1 of the doubleheader without a hit, after I had seen Derek Jeter with a big hit in the Yankees games. Second-guessing all over the place. Then in Game 2, it took him three at-bats to get a hit. But he got a hit. So I'm at 10 games in a row. On Monday, I'm taking Brian Roberts. On Tuesday, in case I don't get a chance to log on Monday, I'm going with Ichiro again. Hopefully I'll be at 12 when next I write.

THIS ONE MAINE-LY ZEROES

Mets 1, Cubs 0, 10 innings (NYM: 60-41 , CHC: 39-61)

It took a while for the Mets to get a hit on Wednesday afternoon at Shea...and it took even longer for them to finally scratch out a run. But when they did, it ended the game, and gave the Mets a big win before heading out on a 6-game road trip, and a longer stretch against divisional opponents.

John Maine matched up with Mark Prior in Wednesday's game, and both were awesome. Prior walked 5 through 5-and-2-thirds, but left in the sixth without allowing a hit (he's been constantly injured, and had thrown 103 pitches, so I'm sure Cubs fans couldn't blame Dusty Baker for that decision). Maine went 7 innings, giving up just 3 walks and 3 hits, while striking out 7. Neither pitcher, obviously, gave up a run, and for Maine, that's now 17 (and two-thirds) straight scoreless innings, following up his complete game, 4-hit shutout of the Astros on Friday. It seems like Maine will be in the rotation for a while now (ERA now 2.45). Mike Pelfrey will get to make one more start, but if he's not effective, he might be sent down to the minors. If the Mets decide to keep Pelfrey around, we might see someone like El Duque go to the bullpen. (Interesting note on Maine - during the Astros' broadcast of the shutout, the Astros' broadcasters said he is the only player in Major League history to have a last name that is spelled exactly the same as one of the states. I think that's interesting - football had Joe Montana...wonder if other sports have other state players?)

So the Mets figured out how to stop the problem of giving up 8 runs a game - but in this game, they didn't get their first hit until the 7th inning, and they couldn't score. The walks helped, and Jose Reyes stole his league-leading 41st base, along with 2 stolen bases by Carlos Beltran - his first in months. But none of those guys could cross the plate. Hopefully the Mets put it all together in Atlanta this weekend.

They certainly finished the game strong. After 3 shutout innings by the bullpen (Duaner Sanchez, Billy Wagner, and Aaron Heilman), the Mets loaded the bases in the 10th. Beltran singled, Carlos Delgado doubled down the left field line (all with two out), and David Wright was walked intentionally, bringing up Jose Valentin. He's had a ton of success with the bases loaded this year, so the Mets must have felt good about him in that position, and he came through with a bullet up the middle to win the game. (I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on the DL, though, after the celebration at first base - the Mets need to work on that...they beat the crap out of Valentin.)

The Mets are off on Thursday (I'll see what I can dig up for a posting - perhaps the Mets will pull off a trade - deadline is just 4 days away), then it's a big series in Atlanta, with Pedro Martinez* pitching game one. Heath Bell will get sent back down to Norfolk before Friday's game to make room on the roster for Martinez*.

**NEW FEATURE** MAGIC NUMBER: I'll tell you my first exposure to the term "Magic Number". It was, of course, 1986. Every day in the Daily News, when it became clear the Mets were running away with the division, the News ran a picture of Davey Johnson pulling a rabbit out of a hat, with the Mets' magic number for clinching the NL East in the hat. I quickly learned the term "Magic Number", and being numerically and statistically inclined, I've been sort of obsessed with it ever since. So I've calculated the Mets' magic number right now to be 51. Every day I will update it, until I am proven to have the wrong magic number, or until the Mets clinch. If you're new to the concept, every time the Mets win, or the second place team loses (right now that's the Braves), the magic number decreases by one. So it's the combined number of Mets' wins or second-place losses before the second place team is mathematically eliminated from the division crown. Steve from Queens, you made a prediction about when the Mets would clinch the last time I saw you - care to have that prediction published? Because it was early-to-mid September, and it seems like it was accurate...but I can't remember the specific date. So if you want me to mention the date on the site, please write me with it, if you remember it.

A WORD ON WAGNER: Overshadowed, I guess by the Mets' recent struggles, has been Billy Wagner's performance. He threw a scoreless ninth inning, on just 11 pitches, and would have come back out for the 10th, but his position in the batting order came up in the bottom of the ninth, and he was pinch-hit for. It was Wagner's fifth straight appearance without allowing a run - and in those appearances he's given up just 2 hits and a walk. Wagner has very good post-All Star break numbers in his career - if that holds true this year, the early-season struggles won't matter. And his performances of late seem to indicate that things are getting better when the Mets have a lead in the ninth inning.

STATS FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY'S GAME: The win was the Mets' 10th in their last at-bat this season - that leads the majors. They're one better than Milwaukee in that situation. Actually, that must be walk-off wins...because the Mets have 15 wins overall in their last at-bat - which probably includes road games. It was also the Mets' 22nd win in one-run games - they're 22-10 in one-run games, best in the majors there too.

ELSEWHERE IN THE MAJORS: Did you notice the Twins just completed a 3-game sweep of the White Sox to move into a tie with Chicago? The Twins have been on fire since the All Star break, and the White Sox have been ice cold. The Yankees won late Wednesday, so both the Sox and the Twins are a half-game behind New York for the AL Wild Card.

The Phillies are awful (and therefore do not scare me), but Chase Utley is pretty good. He's riding a 26-game hitting streak right now.

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets are back on track, outscoring Lakeland, 8-6, on Wednesday night. They're still 3 games out of the second-half-of-the-season division lead.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: Another 0-for-3, this one with 2 strikeouts, on Wednesday night for Edgardo Alfonzo with Norfolk. Alfonzo is now hitting .207. He did reach base with a walk...but he was caught stealing. Also interesting from this game - Jose Lima got the loss, droppping his record to 6-6. Lima actually pitched pretty well...as he bides his time in Triple-A, waiting to get his ring.

BEAT THE STREAK: Bill Hall got me an early-game homer, so I'm at a 6-game hitting streak right now. Thursday I'll stick with afternoon baseball, and I'll go back to that Arizona-Philadelphia series and take Bobby Abreu, because I like his career numbers against D-Backs starter Claudio Vargas.

THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED

Mets 7, Blue Jays 4 (NYM: 47-28, TOR: 41-34)

I was actually looking forward to this Mets-Blue Jays series. I was thinking it would be some great baseball, and I was looking forward to watching some of it. I saw none of it, other than highlights. Friday night, I went out to celebrate the last day of school, so I didn't catch that game...a Mets win, 6-1. Saturday, the game was blacked out here because of the Red Sox' national telecast on FOX, but it's just as well - the Blue Jays won that one 7-4. Rough start for El Duque. Sunday, it was all Mets (apparently)...an early Sunday start - 12:00 - Jose Reyes set the tone a little after noon, and the Mets followed suit.

Reyes led off the game with a home run, his eighth of the year, he went 4-for-5, and stole his 34th base. Reyes is on a 32-for-57 tear, raising his average from .246 all the way to .302. This is the third time in five games Reyes has had a 4-hit game, and the second straight. He's on a 13-game hitting streak, and one of those games - the first of the 4-hit games - Reyes hit for the cycle.

Steve Trachsel had a good (not great) outing, giving up 4 ER in 5 innings, with 6 hits, and 3 walks. He won his fourth straight decision. Billy Wagner did the ol' walk-the-tightrope in the 9th, giving up 2 walks, but he did close it out for the save.

Carlos Beltran* hit his 20th homer of the season, and Jose Valentin added a solo shot. I'm very happy with the Mets taking two out of three against Toronto - they're a very good team. The Mets are one win from 16 in the month of June - hopefully they'll get a few wins this week. Next up is the big Red Sox- Mets series, at Fenway Park. I'll be at the game Tuesday night - should be Alay Soler against Jon Lester.

PEDRO*: I was wrong on one of my early-season predictions - it doesn't look like Pedro Martinez* will back out of a start in Boston. I was surprised how little the Boston media talked about Pedro* coming back...it only really started the past couple of days up here. But Pedro* is really playing it up in the papers that he expects a nice welcome when he takes the mound at Fenway. So I guess that's his angle - if he's going to start here, he'd better make the fans out to be idiots if they boo him. And really, he's right. It should be a good series.

2 PIECES OF MAIL: These have been sitting in the mailbox since Thursday and Friday - about time I got to them:

"Dear JohnnyMets,

While the Red Sox were playing the Nationals this week, I heard the Boston broadcasters talking about how Alfonso Soriano could become trade bait as the July 31 trading deadline approaches. So what do you think -- is there room for a $10 million error machine in the infield of the 2006 World Series Champion New York Mets?

Signed,
Dave"

Dave - The Alfonso Soriano thing is interesting. First of all, I think he'll be traded - and I think he might just be the biggest name that gets traded at the deadline (I don't think John Smoltz will end up going anywhere). I do not, however, think the Mets will be players. While they do have a hole of sorts at second base (Jose Valentin is filling the gap quite nicely, and Chris Woodward will be seeing time there), I think that hole will be filled by Anderson Hernandez or Jeff Keppinger, making a mostly homegrown infield in the coming years. The Mets just got rid of a big-contract block at second base, preventing the infusion of youth at the position - I don't think they'll get involved with Soriano and create that type of situation again (albeit, a productive big-contract guy, instead of Kaz Matsui). The other interesting thing about Soriano is that he's increased his value a little bit because he has played pretty well in the outfield. While he wants to play second base at heart, a team could probably get away with acquiring him and using him in the outfield for the rest of this season. Makes you wonder if a deal back to the Bronx is possible, with the outfield holes the Yankees have right now.

Also, this e-mail:

"Johnnymets -

I cannot be happier with the play of our National League leading NY Mets. However, I am very concerned about Wagner. He is being paid millions to get 3 outs a game, and not even in every game, yet he is not living up to his big pay check. What happens down the stretch, or more importantly, in the World Series? Do we give Sanchez a shot if Wagner continues to get in trouble and can't find the plate? Let me know what you think.

Steve from Queens"

Steve - you bring up Sanchez, which I forgot to mention - he pitched on Friday night, and threw just two pitches before leaving with a pinched nerve in his neck. He's listed as day-to-day - but he's been so effective, it was unsettling to see him get hurt. Hopefully he'll come back feeling fine. That said, as good as Sanchez has been - there's no way the job's going to be taken away from Wagner. I've said this before, I think that finger thing that bothered Wagner during spring training is still bothering him. There's no other reason I could think of, besides the Mets uniform, as to why Wagner is so ineffective. I really thought he was the type of guy who blows a couple of saves early, then is consistent the rest of the year. He has not been consistent at all so far this year. But he's the guy who's going to get the ball at the end of games. Hopefully he'll come through in the clutch for the Mets through the post-season. (P.S. - you know the Mets are doing good when Steve from Queens 'couldn't be happier' with their play...those of you who read often know he's about as negative as Mets fans come.)

BOOF: It's been a while since a Boof Bonser update - but he pitched 6 shutout innings against the Cubs on Saturday, outdueling Mark Prior. Thought that was worth mentioning. Boof's ERA is still up there - about 4.68, but he's contributing to a very hot Twins team right now, and I bet he has a spot in their rotation for a while to come. The win was his second big-league win, so he's now 2-1.

**I'm having some trouble putting pictures on here...might be related to the recent spate of computer troubles we've had here....hope I can get that working again soon. Just wanted to let you know about the lack of pics lately.****

THE KID'S KIDS: What with all the end-of-the-school-year commotion, I stopped paying much attention to the St. Lucie Mets and the entire Florida State League season. It's broken up into two halves, which I'm not sure I realized (I think last year's Gulf Coast League was done the same way), and the Mets needed to win on Wednesday to clinch the first half title. They did, beating Brevard County, 5-2, finishing the first half 40-30. "I told the players before the game that our destiny was in our own hands," said St. Lucie manager Gary Carter, who didn't know the Cardinals' result during his team's game. "I'm not going to take any credit [for the title]. It was the kids, we can only motivate them. We try to pound into their heads good, sound, fundamental baseball."

You'll remember that the Kid's Kids in Rookie League qualified for the post-season last year as well. The Kid is going places. He'll also be managing the U.S. squad in the Futures Game, the All-Star Game for the best of the minor leagues, in a World vs. U.S. format. It takes place the Sunday before the Major League All-Star Game, in Pittsburgh's PNC Park, the site of this year's All-Star Game. So on Wednesday, Hall of Famer Gary Carter was on ESPNEWS' "The Hot List" with Brian Kenney to talk about that, and other things. Carter still loves to hear himself talk. There's no such thing as a short answer with him....and his goal now is to manage a Major League team, and take them to a World Series championship. Of course, I'll root for him...but it depends on the Mets' situation when he ends up taking over a team. Obviously, with Willie Randolph's success, he's not going anywhere for a long time, and with Gary Carter's minor-league success, he's going places fast. So he won't be managing the Mets. I can only hope it's a team whose success doesn't effect the Mets.

On Sunday, the St. Lucie Mets were winning 8-1 in the sixth when I decided to post this, so let's assume they go on to win, shall we? That makes the Mets 3-1 on the young second half of the season.

FANTASY UPDATE: I'm getting my rear end kicked lately, so it's not worth mentioning how the What If Mets are doing in the season's final week. But for the sake of the Southern Bureau, we'll update the What If Nationals (also with a catcher named Gary Carter, so that's a bonus), who are about to wrap up the Wild Card - a 4-game lead with 4 to play....coincidentally, all against me. I was actually considering starting Dwight Gooden every game down the stretch, to see how awesome his numbers would come out to be, but I won't do that now against Washington, lest I win all four. I'm rooting for you, Nationals!

It's a shame this season is just ending when school ends, when I could actually devote a little time to it....but then again, it wouldn't make a lick of difference if I did devote some time to it, anyway.

BEAT THE STREAK: I may have partied a little too hard after the final day of school, so Saturday I forgot to make a Beat the Streak pick, so I had to start all over on Sunday. I took Jose Reyes, and he's got me started on another streak. Monday, I'll go with Bobby Abreu against the knuckleball of Tim Wakefield (if he still starts Monday...I think he will).