NO RELIEF

The verdict is in from one visiting team, and Citi Field drew less than rave reviews. At least, its visitors' bullpen did.

Todd Coffey of the Brewers (I had the Brewers' feed of the game on Sunday) says that from the visitors' bullpen at Citi Field it's a terrible view - you can barely see second base. He says he has no idea what's going on in the game. There's a monitor, he says, but it's on a time delay. Coffey called the bullpen "poorly designed".

And upon further review, he's probably right.
All in all, it doesn't bother me. The visitor's bullpens always get the short shrift in new places - call it part of the home field advantage.

It's a unique design, the bullpens at Citi Field. The benches are right next to one another. The other day the SNY cameras showed Pedro Feliciano just hanging out and talking to one of the Padres' relievers.

What I wonder is when things turn sour out there. The image of bench-clearing brawls is always of the bullpens emptying and relievers trickling in from the outfield to join in the fray on the field.

Citi Field may become the first park in baseball history where the players leave the bench...and head for the bullpen for the brawl that starts out there.

MORE APPRECIATION: Just publicly showing appreciation for what you already know - the Southern Bureau rocks. I love the series-ending recaps. It's also comforting to know that when I'm sick, like I was this weekend, the blog won't go for days without an update. Also, good nuggets of information - no sooner did the Southern Bureau suggest that Luis Castillo would be back to batting second than he was...for a day.

Series Recap - Milwaukee Brewers

April 17: Mets win 5-4
April 18: Mets win 1-0
April 19: Brewers win 4-2

Mets record: 6-6

Oh yeah...he's on the team : Its only been two weeks, but here's hoping Gary Sheffield's 500th HR isn't the highlight of the season. Half the fans probably didn't even know who he was.

Simply the best : But everyone knows who Johan Santana is. He once again shows why he's the best in the game with his dominant performance on Saturday. Citi isn't "The House That Johan Built", but its going to be a place he's going to win a lot of games.

1 HR, 4 rbi : That's not David Wright's line for this series. That's his line for the ENTIRE SEASON. Is Citi Field the wrong stuff for Mr. Wright? (ugh...that pun was awful. I'm so sorry).

I'm going to check out the '86 trophy while getting a burrito : Johnnymets wasn't the only one not happy with the exclusion of the Mets Hall of Fame at Citi. Thanks to all the complaints, the Mets will be adding it soon. And where is the only logical place to put it?? The food court, of course.

Next Up : three games at St. Louis Cardinals

- SB

I HOPE THE METS ARE KICKING THEMSELVES

A pretty poor showing by the NL Central teams in the NL playoffs.

But they got in, leading to the ultimate question: Which is better - a quick first-round exit from the playoffs or not making the playoffs at all?

I still think it's better to make the playoffs - at least you get to put up a banner.

But still - the Mets have to be kicking themselves, right? They have to know that if they had just gotten in, it would have been them knocking off the Cubs in the first round instead of the Dodgers.

At least, I hope they're thinking that.

Maybe they're too busy setting themselves up for more disappointment next year by re-upping two of the people responsible for not preventing a second-consecutive slide out of the playoffs.

MY PLAYOFF PICKS

Since I'm so good at making baseball predictions, I figure I have to pick these series. Here's what I think:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Boston Red Sox versus Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

It's very hard to pick against the Red Sox. They continue to win, year after year, and when they get into the playoffs, they go deep into the playoffs. But I feel like this year is going to catch up to them.

The Sox have had all kinds of injuries this year, which they've survived, but things keep cropping up - like this Josh Beckett injury. And I also feel like Daisuke Matsuzaka is going to run out of luck. He's been the worst "good" pitcher this year that I've ever seen. He pitches incredibly with runners on base - but he's allowed way too many baserunners this season. I think that'll catch up with him in the post-season - you just don't get away with that at this point in the year. This isn't here nor there, but I also worry about Jonathan Papelbon. He's had a history of breaking down at the end of seasons - and he didn't really have an extended time off this year, as he's had the past couple of years. He didn't look as effective late in September, and I wonder if he'll be hittable in the post-season.

The Angels have had a very good season, and although I can see them folding, especially against the Red Sox in round one, I'm picking them to advance. Angels in five

Chicago White Sox versus Tampa Bay Rays

The White Sox are going to enter this series tired. They've had a crazy week - losing their lead in the Central by getting swept by the Twins, then rebounding, winning their must-win makeup game Monday, then the one-game playoff Tuesday. But I would have picked the Rays even without all of that going on.

The Rays have something special going on - I wouldn't be surprised if they make it to the World Series. But we'll start small - their starting pitching is better than the White Sox'. That's about all they're going to need to get through this series.

I'm going Rays in four.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Los Angeles Dodgers versus Chicago Cubs

I'm starting to believe the Cubs hype - at least for them to win the National League. They have a good team, they were able to clinch early enough that they could be all lined up and rested for the playoffs, and they drew the Dodgers in round one.

With the Mets not standing in their way, I might as well root for the Cubs to break their 100-year drought. I'm not committed yet - I'll have to see how I feel watching the games - but they're certainly going to start out on the right track.

Manny Ramirez won't be able to do all of this by himself. Cubs in three.

Milwaukee Brewers versus Philadelphia Phillies

CC Sabathia can't pitch every game of this series, and that will cook the Brewers. The Phillies should have been better than they were this season - they were very inconsistent.

I think they're better than the Brewers, but now that the Brewers are in, I wonder if there's some pressure off of them. They might push the Phillies farther than the Phillies would like to be pushed in this round.

I think the Phillies survive, but it's going to be a lot rougher against Milwaukee than they expect. Phillies in a very tough four games, avoiding Sabathia in Game 5

PLAYOFF BOUND? YEAR 2

11:12am - Well, here we are, one year later. Early returns on the day are not promising - the rain is coming down in buckets, which is interfering with my DirecTV. For some reason, the channel that has the most trouble coming through is SNY...or maybe I just notice that more because I want to watch it.

So it looks like I will not get to see the pre-game Shea ceremonies...but as long as it clears up in time for the game I'll deal with that - my parents are recording it for me. (Incidentally, I just called my mom, and she says if they played yesterday, the weather today should also allow them to play. Funny how the weather hasn't wreaked havoc on the games like I thought - just my ability to watch them.)

Speaking of watching the games - I have to start out with huge, huge thanks to the Southern Bureau. Not only has he been the biggest fan of 200 Miles From the Citi from its inception, but yesterday he did the nicest thing ever.

No sooner had I finished loading up the crappy ol' GameCast to virtually 'watch' the Mets-Marlins game than I got a text message from S.B. asking if I wanted his MLB.TV password to watch the game on-line. I did. (And I might need it again today.) I was able to watch every pitch of Johan Santana's masterpiece thanks to the Southern Bureau. And here we are today.

11:30am - This is so eerily similar to last year. I just read through last year's posting - my Sunday routine hasn't changed much - Sunday is still laundry and garbage day here. I did the laundry yesterday to make sure I had nothing in my way today. And last week, I put out the garbage Sunday night at around 6pm. It had no sooner gotten dark then by 8:30pm there was a raccoon in my driveway feasting on the trash. So there's no chance I'm even setting foot outside after dusk tonight. The garbage will be done tomorrow morning before I go to work. And speaking of work, I did as much as I could last night - something tells me not much will get done today.

I will not be having Riley's Roast Beef this year - that was unlucky last year...plus, I don't think they're open on Sundays anymore. We have some burritos from Whole Foods that I just ran out to get.

Also on the list of things that haven't changed since last year - I suspect The Wife is rooting against the Mets so that she doesn't have to put up with this anymore. Because there's one big difference - instead of neglecting my parental duties with one child this year, now there are two.

And let me tell you this story about our 2-year-old...she woke up about 5am today, and came into bed with us. After tossing and turning a little bit she sat straight up and said, "Watch baseball?" I turned on the TV to watch ESPNEWS and catch some highlights. Little did she know she'll be getting her fill of baseball today.

Weather update from Mom via Instant Message - "a little drizzly" in Queens.

11:45am - If I believed in conspiracy theories, I'd believe the Cubs were manipulating this weekend to avoid the Mets. (Yesterday's Cubs win probably makes this point moot, but I'll continue anyway.) If I were the Cubs, I think I'd rather face the Dodgers...wouldn't you? Maybe that's what Carlos Zambrano was thinking when he said he'd rather throw a side session against the Brewers today instead of pitching in the game (maybe he can pinch-hit and help the Mets that way). His replacement, though, is named Angel - hopefully that signals divine intervention for the Mets, not Milwaukee.

Incidentally, the Cubs were 5-2 versus LA this year - not having matched up since late May and early June (read: before the Manny Ramirez trade). The Mets gave them fits just earlier this week.

It's also a bit of a relief that there won't be a 3-way tie (thanks to Philadelphia clinching the East last night), and the only tiebreaker, if necessary, will be Mets-Brewers Monday at Shea. The 3-way tie would have dragged into Tuesday. It would have been nice, had the Mets won the division and the Phillies gotten the wild card, for the Mets to have L.A. in the first round, but at this point, I'll take a playoff appearance through the path of least resistance.

11:47am - I'm wondering if I should have written this bottom-up, instead of top-down?

11:55am - Still nothing on the satellite. Interesting note via mets.com - Brian Gorman will be an umpire in today's game - the last regular season game at Shea. His father, Tom, was an umpire who called the first game at Shea. Pretty cool symmetry there.

12:10pm - Incidentally, if the Mets were in the position the Brewers are in, facing a September call-up with a 7.04 ERA, they would be shut out on two hits. I have a feeling the Brewers won't be. As it is, the Mets are facing Scott Olsen - they've had his number this year - in 4 starts he's 0-3 against the Mets with a 6.95 ERA.

Oliver Perez, going on short rest, pitches against the Marlins. It's probably the biggest game he's pitched for the Mets since the 2006 NLCS, when he was great. Let's hope he's still a big game pitcher. For the record, he's 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA in 5 starts versus the Marlins this year.

**I haven't mentioned this yet - please feel free to weigh in with your comments by e-mail or in the comments below throughout the day.

12:45pm - Similar to last year - looks like I might have to watch this game on the Marlins feed. I can't stand the announcers on Fox Sports Florida...but it's better than nothing. I don't get DirecTV, though - why do I not get SNY or TBS, but get Fox Sports Florida? Luckily, too, there will probably be a rain delay - so more time for SNY to tune in. (Also, mom says "weather not good - raining a bit heavier now." It definitely won't be a rain out - could be a long day of waiting.)

The delay will also mean closer start times between the Mets and Brewers games - Chicago-Milwaukee's first pitch is 2pm.

1:05pm - Jets punted on their first possession. SNY is in and out - briefly I caught a look at some of the VIP's arriving for today's game. Ralph Kiner, Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez, Buddy Harrelson, Rusty Staub, Darryl Strawberry, Jesse Orosco, and Hall of Famer Gary Carter. I'm thrilled Carter was there - I was afraid there might have been some hard feelings with that whole Willie Randolph thing. Rain delay to start the game, by the way.

1:30pm - End of 1st quarter for the Jets - no score. The Jets have had a huge sack to knock the Cardinals out of scoring position, recovered a fumble, and blocked a field goal. Unfortunately, due to a Brett Favre interception, they haven't scored either. But they're on the doorstep - 2nd and goal from the 2 (or 1) - Thomas Jones has already been stuffed there once.

Still not sure what's going to happen with the Mets - I'll check back after this Jets possession, I guess.

1:35pm - Favre to Laveranues Coles - a double-whammy against me in fantasy football, but I'll take it. This, after FOX came back from commercial after an apparent TD pass, called back due to a holding penalty.

Still no Mets - I only have the Florida channel right now (Sun Sports, by the way, not Fox Sports Florida) - and they're showing fishing. My dad tells me it's sunnier now, though.

1:42pm - Jets just returned an interception for a TD - 14-0. And the Mets are about to start. Oh boy.

I have a wonderful wife, by the way - this is hard to do with two kids...she's changing a diaper right now that I should be changing...and she argues with my earlier point - saying she is actually rooting FOR the Mets so that she doesn't have to put up with me being miserable.

2pm - OK, now the Mets are starting for real. And Favre just threw another TD to Coles. 21-0. Much better than last year so far (when the Jets lost to the 0-3 Bills).

2:03pm - A 1-2-3 inning for Perez. That's how you show up for an important start. Oliver Perez 1, Tom Glavine 0.

2:15pm - 1-2-3 for Sabathia, too. The Mets got nothing in the bottom half of the 1st. I think it's really important for the Mets to take a lead before the Brewers do - both teams are scoreboard-watching, the Mets are tight enough at the plate as it is - they don't need to see Milwaukee up before they're up.

2 minute warning for the Jets - they just forced another Kurt Warner fumble. What a disaster the Cardinals are today.

2:30pm - Don't have to worry about the Jets this week - after another Coles TD and Warner turnover, it's 34-0 at halftime.

Oliver Perez has had two good innings - the Mets need to score some runs.

2:50pm - Sun Sports' roving reporter just interviewed Gary Carter. He was pretty low-key, but not without hyperbole - when asked about Shea Stadium, Carter said, "It's one of the greatest stadiums of all time, because of the fans." Uh, thanks Gary, but come on, really. I love Shea as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to go that far. (For my Shea Memories, click here.)

Also, no mention by the Florida guys of Carter's minor league championship. Guess they don't read the blog.

Jets just gave up a touchdown, so it's 34-7. No score through 3 for the Mets. And the Cubs have a 1-0 lead in Milwaukee - the run scored on a very close almost-double-play by the Brewers (the right call was made, though).

2:55pm - 4 great innings by Perez. You may have heard the Cubs might not go more than two innings with any pitcher today. They're keeping to that - Chad Gaudin started the third, and retired the side without difficulty. Mets need some runs.

3:10pm - The Jets are now ahead 34-15. I don't really think they're going to blow their lead, but I hope the defense stops letting Arizona march right down the field.

Whole Foods has crappy chips - they break the minute they touch the dip.

If the Mets don't get on the board soon I'm going to be really upset. I can't stand that they make everything so difficult.

3:21pm - A double and a bloop single have the Marlins up 1-0. I'm nervous. I also just switched back to SNY - I wonder if that was bad luck. Maybe I'll try out TBS.

3:26pm - Oliver Perez's day is done. He leaves with the bases loaded (an intentional walk to load the bases after runners on first and second tagged up) and one out - Joe Smith is on.

Brewers still trail the Cubs 1-0 through five. The Cubs aren't exactly trotting out a Murderer's Row of relievers...the Mets need to get on the board....but first keep the Marlins from adding more.

3:34pm - A bases-loaded walk by Joe Smith and two outs later, the Mets dodged a pretty big bullet. 2-0 Marlins, going into the bottom of the sixth. 1-0 Cubs, going into the bottom of the sixth. The Mets have a pinch-hitter, then the top of the lineup coming up - they need to get runs NOW.

3:42pm - I love Carlos Beltran. And until Wednesday night (or Thursday) I love each of these relievers the Cubs keep trotting out. 2-2!

And Anquan Boldin just scored against the Jets - good for my fantasy team, matching some of the points Coles has put up.

3:50pm - OK. New life, heading to the 7th tied at 2. But now I echo the Southern Bureau's sentiment - uh-oh on the bullpen being in the game now.

Sabathia looks strong - he's through seven, having just given up that 1 run. His third start in nine days. Jeez.

Beltran's homer came when I was watching TBS. Not two minutes later, I lost reception and had to resort back to Sun Sports....a Marlins conspiracy, no doubt.

4:01pm - The Jets defense looks horrible. I'll worry about that in two weeks though, after the bye week. The Mets defense looks great - Endy Chavez made an awesome running catch to end the seventh inning. The Brewers have the bases loaded...uh-oh.

4:06pm - Wuertz just walked in a run, so the Brewers tied it up 1-1. Is it just me, or does it seem like this year there have been tons of bases loaded walks? Drives me nuts - just throw a friggin' strike.

4:08pm - I don't think the Jets are going to lose...but watching them the past couple of weeks is like playing a game of Madden. Ridiculous scores against them.

The Cubs got out of that inning - it's 1-1 heading to the 8th. At this rate it looks like the Mets will be tied going into the 8th as well.

4:17pm - Scott Schoeneweis - are you kidding me? 3-2 Marlins in the 8th. The top of the lineup will be coming up again...hopefully the Mets bullpen doesn't give up more runs, because the Mets can't score too many the way they're playing.

4:23pm - Dan Uggla just got one off Luis Ayala. And now the Brewers just got a 2-run shot. Not good.

4:26pm - The Mets have made things tremendously difficult for themselves. The Brewers are now taking a 3-1 lead into the ninth - they got clutch hits when they needed them. The Mets need to do the same.

On a much more serious note, Anquan Boldin just suffered a really serious injury in the Jets game. He's taken off in an ambulance - bad news.

4:34pm - Well, it's over in Milwaukee. Nothing the Mets can do about that - just have to win and force a game tomorrow.

Marlins pitching change with runners on first and second - clutch double by Reyes, walk by Beltran. Now, with two outs, it's up to Delgado. Otherwise, those bats are all out of the way in the 9th, and I'm not crazy about that scenario.

4:37pm - Delgado flew out. I feel like I'm going to throw up.

4:52pm - Marlins 4, Mets 2. Here comes either the final three outs of the season or a great beginning to the end of Shea Stadium.

5:09pm - Wow. Brutal. And making it worse for me was having to watch the Marlins broadcast. I strongly dislike Rich Waltz and Tommy Hutton.

5:10pm - I am so pissed off...but in the end the Mets didn't deserve the playoffs. The Brewers won 5 of their last six games - the Mets lost two out of three to the Marlins. The Brewers got a clutch homer from their star, Ryan Braun, the Mets couldn't get a hit from David Wright in their biggest game (Wright hasn't had a clutch hit in his career). The Mets had no bullpen. They couldn't hold a lead, they couldn't keep a game tied. It happened a bunch throughout the season (just think if the Mets had held five leads - a few Johan Santana starts, and last Sunday against the Braves - they would have won the division by three games and not been in this position on Sunday) - it would have happened again in the post-season. I'd like to think things would have been different in the playoffs....but I doubt it - the Mets would probably have bowed out in the first round.

So there will be no playoffs. The last game at Shea Stadium has been played. The Mets will not open Citi Field as defending champions.....they will just be another team opening another new ballpark.

BIG DAY TOMORROW

Whew.

Thank you, Chicago Cubs, for making the Mets' Sunday game mean something. And though this is eerily reminiscent of last season, I have a good feeling about Sunday.

I'll be here all day tomorrow to chronicle it - starting with the Shea ceremonies at 11:30am.

Incidentally, the Jets are on local television here, so I can even go with the dual TV setup that I had last year to keep an eye on them at the same time.

Wow. My second-born, and the Mets back in control of their own destiny in the hunt for a playoff spot - what a momentous ten days.

FINAL FOUR

Remember this? It's time to readjust the expectations, with four games remaining in the regular season.

Here's the story right now (record; standings; then games remaining):

Mets: 87-71 - 1.5 back of PHI in East, tied with MIL for WC (1 vs. CHC, 3 vs. FLA)
Phillies: 89-70 - first place in East (3 vs. WSH)
Brewers: 87-71 - tied with Mets for WC (1 vs. PIT, 3 vs. CHC)

When I called for the Mets to go 46-28 the rest of the way (they were 44-44 at the time) in July, I said 90 wins would win the division. (I'll save you the math - so far it's been 43-27 - not bad, but it might not be enough.) It looks like it will take 91...at least, in my mind, the Mets need to get to 91 wins right now to assure themselves of a playoff spot (or at the very least, a one-game playoff with the Brewers or Phillies).

Last night the Mets created a difficult situation for themselves. Instead of playing tonight with a chance to move into a tie with Philadelphia, the Mets need a win to stay a game back (instead of dropping to two back). Like last year, the Phillies close out the season against Washington, so the Mets can't rely on help - they have to win their four remaining games - and Florida won't make it easy. Milwaukee has Pittsburgh for one more tonight, but then they have to deal with the Cubs, who hopefully will play them as tough as they played the Mets.

I hate to make it sound like I'm writing an obituary with four games left, but I want to get this out there - the Mets have had a good season. It's been tremendously frustrating, and the past few days have been microcosmic of that season-long frustration (the Jason Marquis grand slam, the bullpen blowing the game to the Braves on Sunday, the 4-run lead the Mets gave back last night to lose in extra innings, leaving the bases loaded in the ninth, etc.), but overall the Mets are in a position right now that I didn't think they would be in early on.

This year doesn't qualify as a choke job. The Phillies have played very well, and the Mets have battled. Last September colors this September a little differently, but the Mets aren't good enough this year to be considered chokers. They have pretty much no bullpen, and they have themselves in a position where they still control their fate. All they have to do is win.

It starts tonight with Pedro Martinez*, in the type of big game we've been waiting four years to see him pitch in. Hopefully the 2005 version of Pedro* shows up one more time....and then a few more times in the post-season.

JOHAN: I know I called for Johan Santana to go deeper into games, and to throw more pitches. I remember it well. Both times. I keep thinking about it each time he now goes deep and deeper into games. The one thing, though, is that I didn't want him throwing career-high type numbers of pitches (125 the other night) to get through these games. Bottom line: I hope the Mets don't just have one great season from Johan Santana and then six with a damaged arm. I hope he's not pushing himself beyond his capabilities to get the Mets into the playoffs in 2008 - because if he is, that doesn't bode well for the coming years.

DO OR DIE

The MLB calendar says the playoffs don't start until next week. Except that for the Mets, for the second straight year, they've turned the final week of the season into must-win playoff scenarios.

There's a positive to this, I guess. If they make it in, they've earned it (unless Milwaukee continues to go backwards, allowing the Mets to back their way in). And they'll have played good baseball, so there's no downtime to re-adjust to meaningful games once the playoff games start. The Mets will end up going right from intense baseball to intense baseball, with no lag time in between.

The downsides, though, are more stark. The Mets - already strapped for pitchers - won't be able to set things up the way they want to...Especially considering that with Johan Santana going against Chicago tonight, he'll be pitching the season finale on Sunday with regular rest, with everything on the line. So he then wouldn't be available until the middle of the first round of the playoffs.

Another downside is the incredible pressure the Mets have put on themselves. To play this way with the Phillies breathing down your neck is understandable, I guess. It's a high-pressure situation. But to do it for the second year in a row ramps up that pressure a huge notch, and then to have to face the best team in the National League, followed by a team in the Marlins who would love nothing better to knock you out for the second year in a row....that's a little much.

Though I'm stressing these downsides, I'm not feeling sympathy for the Mets. They deserve what they get. They put themselves in this situation by playing terrible baseball for a month and a half early in the year, and not making the right moves to improve their situation in the bullpen all year long. So if they don't make the playoffs, I won't be surprised.

If they do make it though, it's a playoff spot well-earned. If they win the division, they did so because they won enough games to do it - not because Philadelphia choked (the Phillies have played too well until this point to consider anything from this point out a choke). If the Mets get the wild card spot, they'll probably have beaten the Cubs to get it, and then will have a chance against the Cubs in the first round of the playoffs.

For the Mets, the playoffs have begun. It's a six-game series from this point out. The Mets need to take five of six (five of seven before last night) to win the pre-first round.

(I thought what I was writing sounded awfully familiar.......)

Meanwhile, the Jets looked terrible last night against the Chargers on Monday Night Football. I honestly thought the Jets would take one of these two games (home against New England, at San Diego). Now that they've lost both (both games they could have won, with Cassel at QB and if their defense had stopped one play by San Diego last night), they need to go on a tear.

Arizona is looking like a tough draw this year. The Jets have them at home on Sunday - it's a short week for the Jets, but a long road trip for Arizona (they stayed on the East Coast after playing in Washington last week).

All I know is - if the Mets season comes down to Sunday, and the Mets and Jets both lay an egg like last year in the same situation - I don't know if I can handle that happening two years in a row.

ANALYSIS THROUGH TWENTY-FOUR WEEKS

I hate to look like I'm copping out of something here, but I kind of am. There's nothing left to analyze. There are 14 games left in the season, and the Mets have a magic number of 13.

The bullpen is a disaster, the Mets as a whole are starting to look eerily like last season...but it doesn't matter.

If the Mets make the playoffs, with a good final two weeks, it doesn't matter. I know it won't look good with the way the bullpen has pitched, but if they just make it in, anything can happen.

So there's your bi-weekly Mets analysis. By the next time I do one of these, the Mets had better be a playoff team.

MOST IMPRESSIVE: The Angels have no such worries. Anytime a team clinches this early in the season (I always use the 1986 Mets clinching on September 17 as a benchmark - in recent memory, I can only remember the 1995 Indians, the 1998 Yankees, and the 2001? Seattle Mariners as besting that), you have to give them major props. So major props to the Angels, who just dominated that American League West this year.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Staying out in LA, the fact that the Dodgers didn't just fold up the tents and collapse is a bit of a suprise. And now they're really starting to pull away in the West. They're still just five games over .500, but they're starting to look like a major league baseball team.

LEAST IMPRESSIVE: On the flip side, there's the Milwaukee Brewers, who have just faded fast these past few weeks (since playing the Mets, really). I know from big collapses, and this is a big collapse. They were sitting pretty, having made all of the right moves. Now they're tied for the wild card with the Phillies (and if the Mets fall out of first, they'll be in the wild card chase, at least), and they've fired their manager. What a mess.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The Diamondbacks, I've always thought, were the best of the worst in the West. The fact that they have just fallen apart while the Dodgers have gotten hot is a bit of a disappointment. It doesn't look like the West will even be a race anymore.

One note about the Mets' magic number. I started calculating it on Saturday, right about the time the Mets started to have a bad weekend. I won't mention it again until it's about 1, with more than 1 game to play. And then it's only maybe.

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.

THAT WAS A DISAPPOINTING 23 HOURS

I'll admit it - I'm not exactly living and dying with the Mets this year. If I were, I'd be dead ten times over right now. But I'm still following them closely...and last night was a disaster.

I'm also following the Brewers pretty closely this week - they're my flavor of the week for the New Baseball Pool (patent pending). So last night was only half-bad. The Brewers pulled out a come-from-behind win after the Mets blew their game. It was today where Milwaukee killed me.

Let me give you a run-through of the past 23 hours:

7pm - I settle in to watch my fantasy pitchers do their thing. Scott Kazmir going against the Red Sox - that's an automatic, if recent history is any indication. I'm not worried. An hour until Pedro Martinez* starts against the Cardinals - I'm worried.

8pm - In the first inning, Pedro* gives up 4 runs. Ouch. Tack that onto the 5 Kazmir has already given up. A note on Pedro* - if he wasn't Pedro Martinez*, he'd be pitching out of the bullpen right now - and he'd be very effective in three or four inning bursts. That said, Wednesday night's start was pretty good, relatively speaking (compared to his previous starts). Maybe that's a sign of encouragement.

OK, by 10pm, both my pitchers are long gone, I'm up in bed, and I fall asleep with 2 outs in the ninth of the Red Sox game. I wake up groggy and shut the TV.

7:15am - I have to be out of the house early, but as I'm gathering my scores, I see the Mets lost a tight one. Hm. And the ESPNEWS crawl tells me that Troy Glaus hit a walk-off homer. How did that happen? I wonder. At least the Mets showed some fight, coming back from a couple of deficits, I think. Typical 2008 Mets, though, losing the game in which they might have shown the most heart all year.

11:55am - I finally have a minute to check out the paper and box score and see how the Mets lost. They blew a 2-run lead in the 8th, and then lost it in the ninth. Not good. At least the Brewers beat Arizona.

From noon to 6pm I'm out of the house. I knew there was some afternoon baseball, but I didn't think it was anyone I really cared about. (Truth be told, after picking The Wife up from work, we went to dinner. At 4:15pm. We're like 80-year-olds.)

So anyway, we come back home, and I turn on the TV, and find out the Brewers were playing - it's the bottom of the ninth, and they're up 5-0. Sweet. Hm. Bases are loaded and there's nobody out. Ah. That's OK if they give up a couple of runs. All that counts is the 'W'.

Five minutes later it's 6-5 Arizona. Game over.

Now that is a disappointing 23 hours. I challenge anyone to top it. Except Alex Rodriguez.

WASHINGTON: NATIONALS PARK

Today I'll spend some time giving my opinion of Nationals Park in Washington, DC. It was a nice park, but nothing spectacular. The picture above was the best I could do as an establishing shot - the really nice view of the park I would have had to cross a river to get. But my mom took a picture out of the back of the car of that view...I'll post it if it came out nice. Anyway, the park really wet my whistle thinking about how good Citi Field is going to be. Because as un-spectacular as this park was, it was still pretty great, comparitively speaking. And I know Citi Field will be better. The details:

As much as Jacobs Field reminded me of Petco Park (and I know Jacobs came first, but I went to Petco first, so Jacobs reminded me of Petco), Nationals Park was definitely inspired by Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. I'm even more sure of this after watching the Nationals and remembering the Cincinnati connection of GM Jim Bowden. He must have had some say in the ballpark design. The outfield concourse especially reminded me of Cincy - there was more in Cincinnati, but the way the concession stands were set up, and the attractions (I think I described them as amusement-park like when I wrote about Cincinnati) were similar. (The Baby and I did not wait on line to use the play structure you see to the right.)

Do you notice in that picture the big blank green areas to the upper left? I think those are supposed to hold advertisements. And I think the outfield walls in Nationals Park are supposed to have more ads than they do. But the ballpark looks plain. It's weird for me to remark on the outfield walls of a Major League park as plain, because that's the way they all used to look, but nowadays everyone has advertisements on the walls, like the minor league parks. I think the Nats are having trouble scratching up some advertisers. Didn't seem like they were strapped for cash when we were there (it was the second-largest crowd of the season, and they did seem unprepared - certain vendors ran out of some elementary things like hot dogs), but maybe the fact that this brand-spanking-new ballpark is called Nationals Park instead of "Geico Park" or something is another indication they're having trouble selling the idea of baseball in the nation's capital.
See that middle picture above? That's another similarity to the Cincinnati design - there's not just a center field seating area - it's a strange part of the design. In Cincy, it's a steamship. In Washington, it's this rotunda thing. It's like they're trying to disguise that you have crappy seats.
Anyway, as I show you Tim Redding getting ready to throw the first pitch of the game, I'll tell you that I was psyched when I found out I'd have rooting interest - Redding is on my fantasy team, and he was starting against the Brewers. Redding has also been the best Nats starter by far, and he cruised for about 5+ innings. Then he fell apart. And the more I realized how bad the Nationals pitching is, the more I realized how sad the Mets' state of affairs is, because they make the Nationals' pitching look ridiculously good whenever they play them.

One weird thing about the ballpark is that in the parts where the concourse was open, there were all sorts of TVs. But behind home plate, in the areas where the concourse was closed, there were no TVs - the spot where you couldn't see the game at all. That puzzled me.

And lastly, it seems Milwaukee fans travel well. I'm always surprised when Brewers fans crawl out of the woodwork. We saw the Brewers in Cincinnati, and there were a good number of Brewers fans at that game. The Wife commented that it wasn't such a long ride for them. But there were a bunch at this game, too. And recently, although I spent part of that weekend traveling, when the Brewers were at Fenway, all sorts of Brewers fans were around town. I was surprised. But maybe I shouldn't be as surprised anymore.

Two more things (I'm squeezing all of my Nationals writing into two days, I guess, not the whole week like I said yesterday) - the ballpark is not in the greatest area, and here's another bad thing - just 5,000 parking spaces. Small little lots a block or so from the ballpark. The radio ads try to convince people to take the Metro...but we were able to park in a lot. And finally, there's no Expos history anywhere that I saw (no Gary Carter retired number - I guess all Expos records are gone), but there are Salutes to Hall of Famers throughout the building, and little bits throughout about the history of baseball in Washington.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about my weekend of bad decisions, and how we still survived.

CONSISTENTLY INCONSISTENT

The title of this post describes not just the first two weeks of the Mets season, but Sunday's game in particular. The Mets jumped out to a 6-2 lead, only to see it turn into a 9-7 loss. (Wasting David Wright's 100th career homer, seen at left, and the Mets finally getting to Jeff Suppan, who usually kills them.) The starter in such a game was, fittingly, Oliver Perez. But he wasn't even in the top 2 of most inconsistent figures in the game. I want to focus on those two:

1) Ed Montague: The Brewers tied a record with 5 double plays in this game - 2 of which were aided by first base umpire Montague. He called out Ryan Church at first on a bang-bang play in the fifth inning, when the game was tied 6-6. It happens, I was OK with it. But then in the seventh, with the Mets rallying to try to tie, he called out Brian Schneider on the same play. You think Montague would have felt like he owed the Mets a call in that situation. Replays both times showed the calls were wrong.

2) Brian Schneider was the second frustrating figure. He had a good game offensively, going 3-for-5 with 3 RBI. But he looked awful behind the plate. There were 3 wild pitches by Mets pitchers, a couple of which may have been passed balls. There were another few that Schneider dropped that didn't roll very far away. I don't think any of these really led to anything damaging...it's just worth mentioning that Schneider looked horrendous - not like what we have become used to from him. I like Schneider, I think he's been one of the highlights for the Mets in the early-going...but Sunday was a bad day.

I'll single out Schneider and the first base ump - but all of the Mets failed in the clutch after the third inning. The Mets are 0-4 on Saturday and Sunday so far this season - that's not going to lead to many series wins...and that's not a formula for success.

PREVIEW: NL CENTRAL

For the first time in I don't know how many years, I haven't bought a baseball preview magazine. I peeked through it the last time I was in the supermarket, and the one I picked up didn't even have the Johan Santana deal. So I figure, why bother? And I also figure, why don't I just write my own. So this week I'll quickly preview each of the divisions, culminating in my playoff picks and my award winners. Today we look at the National League Central.

It's the NL Central that really compelled me to do these previews this year. Everyone - or at least a lot of people - loves the Cubs this year. I don't. I can't really put my finger on why. And I actually was surprised when I saw something about the Cubs defending their division title this year - I had to go look up to see that they won the Central last year. I forgot how close that division got at the end of the year.

The Cubs didn't win last year, though, because they were better than everyone else. They won because the rest of the division was worse than them. That won't be the case this year.

The Cubs are OK...but I don't think they're better than that. And there are some interesting storylines in Chicago - how will Kosuke Fukudome do? Will Kerry Wood add anything out of the bullpen? But the storyline that will not be addressed is will the Cubs win on the 100th anniversary of their last championship...because they won't.

Most of the rest of the division is a disaster. The Pirates, Astros, and Cardinals are all going in the wrong direction. The Pirates are a mess, and the Astros and Cardinals will be plagued by distractions all year. The Astros have the Miguel Tejada situation, and St. Louis has similar steroid accusations and implications on their team.

For some reason, I like the Reds. The past few years I think I might have even picked them to win the division. I'm not going to do that this year, but I am going to say this - I think the Reds are the next team to come out and surprise people. Like the Tigers in 2006, like the Rockies last year, I think the Reds are the next candidate to do that - maybe even this year. I'm not going to pick them, but they're a team with decent talent that plays in a weak division. They could end up winning the division.

But I think this year Milwaukee will finish what they started last year, and make it to the post-season. They're no great shakes either - a lot of pitching question marks - but they should hit their way through the season. I don't think they'll run away with the Central, but I think they'll win it. And looking through this division closely, I think I understand why so many people are picking the Cubs - there's not a lot else out there. It might not take more than 82 wins to win this division again - it was 85 last year. Here's how I think they'll finish:

1-1: Sunday was a big day for me, basketball-wise. Well, not for me personally, but two of the institutions from which I graduated. I'll start with the loss - Boston University lost to Hartford in the America East semifinals - always an exciting time of year as the conference tournaments get underway in college basketball. Unfortunately, BU couldn't get one more win and get into the championship game. I was especially disappointed because I thought they could really win this year (they got hot at the right time of the year) and then get smoked in the NCAA Tournament.

The good news, though, is that my high school, Holy Cross High School, in Flushing, New York, beat Christ the King for the New York City championship. That's their first championship since 1968. So congratulations, Knights. And here's where it all ties together: Dennis Wolff, head coach of the Boston University men's basketball team - mentioned just a paragraph ago - is also a graduate of Holy Cross High School.

NO, YOU TAKE IT

No One Wants to Win The National League Central


Any division in which the 2007 St. Louis Cardinals still have a chance to win is a disgrace...and right now, the National League Central is a disgrace. Here's what the division looks like as of Thursday night:

Milwaukee, 62-59 --

Chicago, 61-59 0.5

St. Louis, 58-60 2.5

In 2005, it was the National League West, where the Padres won a subpar division by 5 games with an 82-80 record (winning 5 of their last 6 games to make that even more presentable than it was). Last year, in the same NL Central, the Cardinals were awful all season (83-78, winning the division by a game and a half), did just enough to make the playoffs, and then got hot. Now it's this year's version of the NL Central making the National League look bad.

The Brewers have had a hold on first for much of the season, but they always seemed like too young a team to run away with it. They seemed like last year's Tigers - there was always the possibility of a fade towards the end of the season - but I didn't think it would happen this soon, or this fast.

The Cubs, for a while, looked like they were going to take advantage of the Brewers' slipups and run away with the division - they have a good mix of veterans on their team and it seemed like they were getting hot at the right time. Then they started to tank - I'm thinking the weekend the Mets were in Chicago was one of the turning points for them, especially when Alfonso Soriano got hurt on Sunday night - and the Cubs, after taking over first place for a week or so, are still in second place.

And now the Cardinals have come out of nowhere to get back into the race. They just swept the Brewers, and have a weekend series coming up against the Cubs in Chicago, where they can move into second place. It's August - a team with a record that close to .500 should not be in a division race this late in the season.

But that's what's going to happen in the NL Central for the rest of the year. The teams in competition are going to be playing each other the rest of the way, and this race will remain tight. The records will remain subpar. I will say this - I don't think the team that wins the Central will go on the kind of hot streak the Cardinals went on last year - I foresee a first-round exit in the playoffs. And I hope the Mets draw whoever comes out of the division in the first round. And that part of me hopes it's a below-.500 Cardinals team.

Who knows who it will be, though. At this rate, the 10-games-back, 52-68 Cincinnati Reds aren't even out of it. And who on earth would have picked them to win the division this year!?

CINCINNATI: GREAT AMERICAN BALLPARK

Note: A temporary malfunction with the digital camera forced me to buy an overpriced disposable camera for the Cincinnati game. The flash was brutal, and not a lot of these pictures came out too well. Also, the CVS where I had the film developed does not have the capability to do a photo CD, so I had to scan the pictures. Therefore, there are not many....and the good ones didn't even come out. The above picture is not mine. I took one just like it, where the flash must have failed me. But it was a beautiful picture, of that I'm sure. Johnnymets.blogspot.com apologizes for any inconveniences this situation may have caused.

Whereas Jacobs Field is all business (you go to see a baseball game), Great American Ballpark is an experience (you go, and if you have time, sit in your seat and take in the baseball game). The park itself is beautiful, sitting right on the water. And I didn't realize this, but across the river is Kentucky, and The Wife and I actually stayed in Kentucky for our trip to Cincinnati.

I can't quite put my finger on why I love traveling to these ballparks so much...but there are a couple of conclusions I've drawn, and it could be one of these or a combination of them. 1) I'm crazy. 2) I like the new ballparks and the architecture involved. 3) I like using them as an excuse to see different cities and the rest of the country. So many of these ballparks/stadiums are the centerpieces of their cities, and I think 4) the biggest thrill for me is driving into a new city and seeing the skyline, with the beautiful ballparks in the middle. This wasn't so much the case in Cleveland, at least the direction we drove, with Jacobs Field - we drove straight towards the Browns stadium, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But when we drove into Cincinnati, and there were Great American Ballpark and the Bengals stadium, I loved it. It's a wonder we make it through these trips without me crashing the car.

We got to the ballpark early, and I had the chance to walk all around and explore (unlike Cleveland, the gates were opened an hour and a half before the game...for some reason Jacobs Field only opened at 6 for a 7:05 start). This was Frank Robinson bobblehead night, so we got our bobbleheads...but upon arriving home, discovered one was not a bobblehead at all - it was a severedhead. (As you can see in this poor photograph.) I'm considering writing the Reds a letter.



Part of my problem with PNC Park in Pittsburgh was I felt like the Pirates had a lot of history that wasn't captured in their new park. That was not a problem in Cincinnati. The Reds have a Hall of Fame right outside the ballpark (you can access it from the street or from the ballpark), and I think ticketholders get in free on the night of a game. We checked it out without actually going in - it looks great. They had a feature on Pete Rose (who was actually at the same game as us, I discovered later), and they have all the pennants the Reds have accumulated over the years. In the concourses, there are bigger-than-poster-sized newspaper headlines from Reds history hanging from the ceiling.

The concourses are gigantic. They're closed right behind home plate, open everywhere else. And they're divided. So behind a wall, down in right field, behind where we were sitting, there was a sort of playground and all kinds of activities for kids, like running to first and getting timed, and seeing how fast you can throw a ball. There's also a stage where they have live music leading up to game time.





Out in center field, there is a deck that looks like the deck of a ship. My investigative journalism (I asked the teenager taking tickets) revealed that the deck was exclusive to Cincinnati Bell employees. I don't know if he meant only that night, or if that is always the case - but that would stink if you could only get into that area if you worked for the phone company. Although, I guess our seats were better, not sitting there.

The food, like Jacobs Field, was nothing to shout about - notably, though, the Reds don't have souvenir cups at the drink stands. The seats, to be honest, weren't the most roomy things I've ever sat in either. And one more complaint - from our seats, when the sun was setting, the glare off the scoreboard in left was so bad you couldn't read any statistics at all.

And this is worth saying: One of the neatest things about these ballparks is how nice everyone is who works there. It's like they go through these training sessions where they make the people who work at the stadiums be nice to everyone who walks through the turnstiles (the nicest people by far were the people in San Diego...but why wouldn't they be nice? They live in San Diego.). And don't get me wrong - most of the people in Great American Ballpark were very nice - the souvenir stand girls who directed me to the 4th floor to get a ripoff of a disposable camera saved my night from feeling like it was ruined. But when we got to the fourth floor, and took some pictures from the upper deck, and asked one of the ushers if he would take our picture, we met our first not-nice person of our stadium trips.

He was standing off to the side, watching these tourists (us) take pictures with their crappy disposable camera. If you could read his mind, I'm sure he would be saying, "These people BETTER not ask me to take their picture." But we did. And he said, "I'm not a very good picture-taker." I gave him the camera anyway, and we stood and smiled. He goes, "What am I supposed to do? Press this button here?" Now, keep in mind, this wasn't one of them new-fangled digital cameras. It was a crappy green disposable camera. There's only that one button. "Yes, sir, press that button." Now, truth be told, he didn't take a bad picture - the flash failed him like it failed me (although I took note that his finger was in front of the flash...and made sure the girls behind us at our seats took another safety picture). But I guess the Reds knew what they were doing when they put this guy on the fourth floor...much less populated up there...and he was definitely not a people person.


Finally, the other attraction of the game - I guess occasionally the Reds have a former Red come and sign autographs before the game. This night it was ex-Met George Foster. I walked by him when I was exploring the park, and seriously considered stopping to take a picture. I didn't. I wanted to tell him that he was the guy who set the example from which I learned about people getting fired. But I didn't. Maybe if The Wife and Baby were walking with me I would have stopped...but I was alone, and didn't have the gumption. I felt like he might not like me. I'll say this about George, though - he looked almost exactly as he did in his playing days - which means he was a powerful, compact man. That guy on the left hit 52 homers in a season back in 1977. That's some kind of strong.

Incidentally, in the game, the Reds beat the Brewers. The Baby handled this game much better, and we stayed until the game slowed considerably after six innings.

METS TAKE 2 OUT OF 3 FROM BREWERS

As much as I'd love to write about the Mets-Brewers weekend series, I'm waaaay behind on my school work, so I'm going to have to postpone a posting. I'll try to do a comprehensive write-up on Monday night after the Mets-Cubs...and 'Heroes'.

How about Oliver Perez!?!

METS FINALLY GET TO SUPPAN (TOO LITTLE TOO LATE)

Mets 5, Brewers 4 (NYM: 22-12, MIL: 24-11)


I keep thinking (and I think I said something to this effect in my season preview) that it doesn't matter who comes out of the NL Central, because none of those teams poses much of a threat to the Mets. I still believe it, but just sitting down to write this, the Brewers could be dangerous in a short series. Especially against the Mets...and mostly because they have Jeff Suppan, who started against the Mets on Friday night.

Now, Suppan has pitched well in his career against the Mets - last October wasn't a fluke. So Friday night was a good look to see how the Mets would play against him...and they played well. Suppan shut them down without a hit for the first three innings, and then the Mets busted out.

David Wright started the fourth inning off with a solo homer, his third of the year (number 70 on his career). This might be the hot streak that gets him going. (He's also been hitting well from the number two spot, and might have a new permanent home in the lineup there.) Carlos Delgado hit a 2-run shot two batters later, and Paul Lo Duca (now seemingly permanent in the number 7 slot) had an RBI single. The Mets led, 4-0, and wouldn't look back, though things got a little too close. Damion Easley's solo shot in the 7th looked like pad, but it proved to be the difference.

Jorge Sosa had his second solid start for the Mets, going 6 and two-thirds, giving up just 2 runs. (I had heard El Duque might be back for Friday's game, I guess that was wrong.) Sosa gave way to Pedro Feliciano for a third of an inning, then Aaron Heilman continued his descent by giving up 2 runs before getting an out in the 8th. He eventually got three outs, and Billy Wagner got the save. Continue worrying about Heilman.

The weekend series with the Brewers continues Saturday afternoon - I suspect I won't be able to see it because of the FOX broadcast rights, even though they don't go on until 4, and the other games are at 1. I don't understand that. Oh well, it will allow my report cards to get written, I suppose.


Dunkin' Donuts johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: I feel like I've been sticking a square peg through a round hole trying to get David Wright a Player of the Game honor. I think it's merited Friday night. He got things going for the Mets, and even his first out he gave a ride to right. On the night, Wright was just 1-for-4 with the homer, but it set the tone for a big inning for the Mets against a nemesis, and was the first run of the night, en route to a win.

COMMENT ON THE COMMENT: The Southern Bureau, coming through with inside information about Aaron Sele, NOT shaving his head. Thanks for that. He needed to have his hair for a family photo. As of Friday night, Sele still hadn't shaved his head. Jose Reyes is quoted as saying he may do it Saturday. Willie Randolph is quoted in the Friday AP game recap as saying the Mets are a close team, the head-shaving thing didn't necessarily bring them closer. He says they just had too much time on their hands. Incidentally, not many of the Mets look good with a shaved head.

APPENDICITIS: Just throwing this out there - is appendicitis a side effect of steroids? I'm not accusing anyone, but Roy Halladay now has appendicits, and will be out 4-to-6 weeks. Remember last year (or was it two years ago now), Xavier Nady had appendicitis? And there were a couple of other major leaguers who did. And a few NFL players missed some time, in training camp, and I think during the season, with the same deal. I wonder if there's a connection. Just seems like a lot of these cases have been popping up lately.

BEAT THE STREAK: It's a Vladimir Guerrero weekend, against the Rangers. Unfortunately, I'm back at 0, since he was 0-for-2 with 2 walks Friday night. I'm pretty sure that's just the second time he's ever not gotten a hit against Texas. I've had him in 'Beat the Streak' both times. I have him up to and including Sunday.

9TH INNING BREW

Brewers 6, Mets 4 (MIL: 53-55; NYM: 54-53, 7.5 GB)

Carlos Beltran* and Jose Reyes need to switch salaries this second. At the very least Beltran* should give back this season's salary to the team. They got him to produce like he did last October - maybe not as much as he did last October, with a homer every at-bat, or so it seemed - but at least to be the guy, with the game on the line, who gets the big hit.

Beltran* had that opportunity Wednesday night. And he blew it. Just like he did in Colorado. And in Houston. And on Tuesday night. Jose Reyes, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, came through in the clutch - he always comes through in the clutch. Let's go back and set the scene.

First of all, the Mets wasted a decent start by Pedro Martinez*. He didn't have his greatest game, but he was effective, striking out 8 in 7 innings of work, giving up 3 runs. (Pedro* didn't get his first strikeout until the fourth inning - and he finished with 8. Not bad.) Roberto Hernandez relieved Pedro*, and gave up the game-tying homer in the eighth. This is after the Mets had a chance to blow the game open in the fifth inning, but stranded runners on second and third. So the game was 4-4, and Braden Looper gave up two runs with two outs in the top of the ninth. You can hardly blame him - after getting two out, he gave up a weak infield hit. Actually, you can blame him, because he walked Rickie Weeks, before giving up the RBI single to Lyle Overbay.

So the Mets have their chance in the bottom of the ninth. Doug Mientkiewicz leads off with a single. Then pinch-hitter extraordinaire Marlon Anderson grounds the ball to second. The second baseman goes to tag Mientkiewicz, but Mientkiewicz drops to the ground and takes out the second baseman, so they can't turn two. Anderson safe at first. Jose Reyes, 0-for-4 to this point, lines a shot over the shortstop's head for a base hit - Marlon Anderson to third. Miguel Cairo then takes a stolen base away from Reyes by swinging at a pitch (he should have taken it - it would have been a ball), then hits a weak grounder that gets Reyes to second, and Anderson stays at third, but Cairo is out at first. Tying run at second for Carlos Beltran*. He swings at the first pitch and tops it to first base. Beltran* had a hit earlier in the game. It's news that he had a hit...they've been so few and far between.

The Mets also wasted a great game by Mike Piazza - who hit a bomb of a home run out of the stadium earlier in the game, and Cliff Floyd also hit a bomb to the apple in right-center field. Piazza also caught pinch-runner Ty Durrington stealing in the top of the ninth for the second out before the Brewers rallied. Piazza's throwing is getting better. I think he's enjoying himself more knowing that everyone knows he's playing his final games in New York.

This is as bad a loss for the Mets as Tuesday night's was a good win. The Braves had lost to the Reds, so the Mets stood to pick up some ground. I'm going to New York Thursday - when the Mets play the Brewers at noon. I'll try to write over the weekend. I will be at Sunday night's game - hopefully I'll leave with a Pedro Martinez bobblehead.

WRIGHT WATCH: 1-for-4 with 2 RBI, no doubles. (He didn't double Tuesday night either.)

SECOND HALF: 6 SEASON TOTAL: 28 TEAM RECORD: 44

WRIGHT NEEDS 16 DOUBLES IN THE TEAM'S FINAL 55 GAMES.

ELTRAN*'S: The 1-for-4 Wednesday means for the second half:

19-for-76 (.250 AVG.), 2 HR, 12 RBI, 9 Runs, 3 SB

THE KID'S KIDS: 23-11. Guess what? Must be more rain. Incidentally, in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader, Hall of Famer Gary Carter managed Kaz Matsui on his rehab assignment. Matsui went 2-for-4 and struck out twice. He could be back with the Mets in a couple of weeks. The Major League Mets, that is.

CAM DO

The Mets game is still going on as I write this, but I need to go to bed, and I wanted to weigh in on some things.

First of all, Victor Zambrano was awful Tuesday night. He gave up 4 homers to the first eight batters, and couldn't make it through the second inning. Aaron Heilman, Jose Padilla, Jose Santiago, and Roberto Hernandez were awesome in relief, giving the Mets a chance to get back in the ballgame.

Ramon Castro played great - he got the Mets to within 7-6 in the 7th (following David Wright's 30th career homer) and then Marlon Anderson got his 1,000th pinch hit of the season, tying the game at 7. The Mets just battled and battled in this game - it definitely has the potential to be a turning-point type of game.

Hernandez gave up the go-ahead homer to Geoff Jenkins (his second of the game) in the top of the ninth, and then after Wright struck out against Derrick Turnbow, the least clutch hitter of all-time shed his moniker. Mike Cameron is a brand-new ballplayer. I think he's been bothered by trade rumors for a very long time. He's happy to still be in New York, and it's showing on the field. He needs to stay as hot as he is right now, and play like he played when he came of the DL at the beginning of the year - and he needs to play at that level for the rest of the year. Incidentally, that was the first run Turnbow had given up since June 23.

I may overuse the preface, THE GREATEST PLAYER WHO EVER LIVED in referring to Jose Reyes. But let's revisit why he is THE GREATEST PLAYER WHO EVER LIVED. Reyes causes things to happen. He sparked the Mets when he first came up, and last year when he came back from his injury. This year, he's gotten better as the year has gone on. He's fifth in the National League in hits. Whenever he gets on base, he scores, and he's always in the middle of Mets' rallies. The offense revolves around him. He's also very clutch. His speed causes pitchers to balk. Sure, he doesn't walk a whole lot - but he gets a lot of hits. He's got the greatest arm in the history of the game (OK, that might be an exaggeration, but he's got a great throwing arm). The Mets need to make the playoffs so the entire country can get an extended look at THE GREATEST PLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes.

The game's going to extra innings, so I'm going to go. ELTRAN*'S and WRIGHT WATCH will return tomorrow, but you only need to know Wright homered instead of doubled, and Beltran* blew a bunch of opportunities to drive in runs early in the game...he hit the ball hard, but he's 0-for-4 right now.

THE KID'S KIDS: Mets split a doubleheader with the Marlins, losing 4-1 and winning, 5-2. The Mets are 23-11, 6 games up.