SWEEP AVOIDED

Mets 9, Orioles 4 (NYM: 43-25, BAL: 32-39)

The Mets beat the Orioles on Sunday, 9-4, to avoid a three-game sweep. There's a positive view to the weekend series, and a negative view. Let me give you both:

The negative: The Mets lost all of their momentum from their 9-1 road trip, stumbling against a poor team in their own park. Pedro Martinez* had another bad start, and the Mets bats have gone cold again.

The positive: It's 2 games. The Mets lost 2 games. They're still 9-and-a-half games up on their nearest competition.

There's actually a lot of positives still to focus on - only the most negative of Mets fans can dwell on the bad parts of this weekend. The Orioles actually played really well on Friday and Saturday, and the Mets didn't. That's the bottom line. The Mets were making the mistakes that their opponents had been making, and that the Mets had been taking advantage of. In this case, the Orioles took advantage of them. Also, a couple of ex-Mets took advantage of their first games against their former team, and hit the Mets hard. Melvin Mora had a 3-RBI night on Friday, including a big homer, and Kris Benson shut down the Mets on Saturday (setting down his final 15 straight), and hit a homer off of Pedro*.

But Sunday came, and all is right with the Mets' world again. Tom Glavine pitched well (not great - but definitely better than he had been lately), becoming the first major league pitcher to get to 10 wins. Future Hall of Famer David Wright hit a grand slam (number 15 on the year, 56 career), and drove in five runs, and the Mets got contributions from their role players, as some of the regulars were rested. And they avoided the sweep, which could have really ratcheted up the negativity.

Here's the big picture - at the end of May I mentioned that the Mets had won 16 games in each of their first two months. I said if they won 16 a month, they'd finish with 112 wins, and they'd be in great shape (understatement). It's a torrid pace to keep up, I know, but the Mets are capable of it. Right now they have 11 wins this month (thanks mostly to the huge road trip). That means the Mets could go 5-6 (which wouldn't look that great in the little picture) the rest of the month, and still finish June with 16 wins. And chances are, the Mets are going to do better than 5-6 the rest of the month.

There are some tough games ahead. The Mets will get their first look at Cincinnati, for four games at Shea (taking a break from interleague play - tough schedule for the Mets - the other teams get Tampa Bay, the Mets get the extra National League series against Cincy). Then it's at Toronto for three, and they're playing well. Then at Boston, and at the Yankees. The Mets have proved they are capable of rising to challenges in the schedule like this...but that's a tough road. I wouldn't be surprised if the Mets were 5-6 the rest of the way - but I also wouldn't be surprised to see an 11-0, or a 10-1, or a 9-2. That's how good they are.

Orlando Hernandez gets it all started against Bronson Arroyo Monday night.

DL MOVE: The Mets put Cliff Floyd on the DL Saturday, retroactive to June 7th. He still hasn't recovered from that ankle injury he suffered in LA. He's eligible to come off the DL on Thursday, but that doesn't seem likely - he might have to go to Florida to rehab it. He's very frustrated. The Mets activated Xavier Nady (sidelined since early June with appendicitis) on Sunday to take Floyd's roster spot. Look for Lastings Milledge to man left field now, in place of Floyd, with Nady taking over right again.

COMMENT RESPONSE: This from Dave in Brighton, responding to my comments about umpire warnings, ejections, etc.:

"Re: Pitcher ejections.

1. Are you calling Manny Ramirez (450 HR) a young player?

B. I disagree that umpires are right to issue warnings after the first hit batter or aggressive action. This means the other team doesn't get a chance to respond and even things up. The umpire takes away players' ability to police themselves, and then you get long-simmering feuds, like the Sox and D-Rays.

Soapbox rant over."

I like how Dave couldn't choose between the 1,2 or A, B listing option, so he mixed them together. As for Manny....he was one example. Mentally, he's young.

Dave, my point is that the umpires HAVE to do the warnings, before there's a retaliation, because otherwise it gets out of hand. I don't think the players have the ability anymore to police themselves. I agree with you, though, that the result is long-simmering fueds, like Tampa-Boston, and even like the Mets and the Nationals earlier this year (which we might see again later in the year when they play again). That's the problem - I don't think there is a good solution to this whole thing. There's going to be problems either way, and I think Major League Baseball is doing the best thing they could possibly do right now given their situation.

The other problem, which I failed to mention, is when the umpires handle this responsibility incompetently. Then warnings are issued when they needn't be issued, and the inside part of the plate is taken away from both pitchers, and the game turns into a mockery. That's another problem with it....but I'll save that for another day.

HGH FALLOUT: David Segui spoke out Sunday morning on ESPN, saying he was mentioned in the Jason Grimsley affadavit, and that he took HGH legally, with a doctor's prescription. Segui is a former Met, and that's why I'm mentioning it here. I think most of this stuff, though, happened when Segui was in Baltimore (although I don't doubt it could have happened in New York as well). To me, it sounded like Segui was trying to take a pre-emptive strike, speaking out before he could be accused. I don't think it worked too much, though - because cynics like me look at him as someone who's trying to dig himself out of a hole before he's fully in the hole....if that makes sense. I still think he was wrong - no matter if he admits to taking something or not. Many other names are still to come.

I'm not in the business of witch-hunting, so I'm not going to just throw names out on this site. But if you want to contact me, I'll talk about who I think were the biggest users - I watch all of these baseball games now, and there are certain players who just look so physically different that it's hard not to suspect them.

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets get back at it on Monday against Brevard County, following the All-Star break. The Mets have a one-game lead on Palm Beach, and a 2-game lead on Brevard County.

FANTASY UPDATE: The What If Mets are starting to realize, I think, that time is getting short. They took two out of three against the Astros, and are still 7 back of the wild card. This is the time to make up ground - the Cardinals and Cubs are the next opponents, and they aren't good. It's now or never.

BEAT THE STREAK: I had a 2-gamer going, and Carlos Beltran* ended it on Sunday. So stubbornly I'm sticking with Beltran* again on Monday against the Reds.

PLAYING CATCH UP...

That's what I'm doing after missing a day of big news. The Mets announced on Tuesday that Brian Bannister would indeed be the fifth starter, meaning Aaron Heilman will be pitching out of the bullpen. This means a lot of things.

• First and foremost, Heilman is in the role he didn't want, and Bannister got the job Heilman felt he earned. Heilman, though, says he wants to be a part of the team, because he knows this team could be special, and he's willing to do this for the team. Willie Randolph says the whole point of this decision is that it makes the team better. Another note is that Heilman and Bannister have developed a friendship this spring, which has tempered Bannister's enthusiasm for being named the starter, and probably makes this a slightly easier pill to swallow for Heilman.
• This does make the team better. The Mets are counting on Heilman to be the primary bridge from the starter to Billy Wagner. Think Mariano Rivera to John Wetteland...or, a slight downgrade from that.
• Heilman pitches very well against lefties. That means the Mets, when they break camp, could possibly carry one less lefty in the 'pen. The Mets have a strange situation because they have Chad Bradford, a specialist brought in to face only righthanders. So when there is a lefty that Bradford would have to face, chances are he's coming out...so he's almost a waste of a pitcher's spot. Darren Oliver and Pedro Feliciano are the favorites to make the team from the left side (although I have my doubts about Oliver - he might very well have had some impressive springs in recent years, which might explain some of his sorry Major League seasons the past few years - not counting last year, when he wasn't in the majors).

All in all, I think the Mets are a better team. And I think they really want to appease Heilman...just not this year. I think in 2007, Heilman will graduate to number three starter, or thereabouts. But this year, in the hunt for the World Series, Heilman will be strengthening the bullpen.

SI PICKS: Got the 'Sports Illustrated' baseball preview edition today, and I haven't had much of a chance to go through it yet, but I did see that they pick the Mets to be a wild card, but bow out of the playoffs in the first round (losing to the Cardinals - no way). They pick the White Sox to beat the Cardinals in the World Series. It's fashionable to pick the White Sox this year (see my picks), but I'm having second thoughts. They've had a bad spring, and I'm reading bad things about Bobby Jenks. But they have a deep rotation, and that could take them far. I'm standing by my pick of the White Sox losing to the Mets in the World Series, but consider this paragraph the White Sox disclaimer.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE: The Bensons are breaking up. I've been seeing on some other blogs that Anna Benson has filed for divorce from Kris. I hope I'm not spreading a false rumor here, but it isn't a stretch. I feel kind of bad for Kris Benson in all of this. He seems like a fairly normal guy. He has three kids, and a wife who, let's say, makes life a little difficult. And she's filing for divorce from him. I bet he gets the kids.

BEAT THE STREAK: My pick for Sunday night (in case I don't get to write again this weekend) is Grady Sizemore. All he needs to do is get a hit to get me off on the right foot. I forgot if I've already mentioned this, but keep an eye on the Phillies Opening Day - Jimmy Rollins is taking a 36-game-hitting streak into this season.

With the NCAA tournament going on, the blog really suffers. But it occurred to me recently that one thing I will really miss (besides the 10 wins) about Kris Benson is the cutaways to the Mets dugout of Benson sitting next to his look-alike, Tom Glavine. So here's a picture, to illustrate my point. (Incidentally, something that, thanks to Dave from Brighton, will be happening a lot more around here now...the pictures, that is.)

QUICK TURNAROUND

Giants 4, Mets 1 (SF: 57-72; NYM: 68-62) East: 6 GB, Wild Card: 2 GB (pending PHI result)

That five-game winning streak turned into a two-game losing streak real fast. The Phillies are playing Sunday Night Baseball, so it remains to be seen whether or not the Mets will lose ground in the Wild Card chase.

I didn't see any of Sunday's game - it wasn't on the DirecTV package - so I'm not sure what to make of the loss. The only run scored on a wild pitch third strike with a man on third, so the Mets are still having some offensive troubles, coming off the 14-1 and 18-4 wins in Arizona.

Kris Benson came out of the gate strong, with a 0-0 tie going into the fifth inning. But he gave up three runs, and the Mets couldn't come back. The good news is he didn't give up six runs in 2-thirds of an inning. The bad news is he didn't win...which he usually does coming off a poor outing like last Sunday's.

The Mets need to get the bats working again against Philadelphia this week. They start a series against the Phillies at home on Tuesday, their only home games in the middle of these 17 road games. But first of all, the Phillies don't scare me - so the Mets can make up some ground in the Wild Card. Secondly, the Mets jumped out to a 5-2 start on that road stretch - although the Saturday and Sunday losses weren't pretty, in the big picture, the Mets are off to a 5-2 start on the road stretch. September is right around the corner - the Mets could theoretically start September in a playoff spot.

ELTRAN*'S: Carlos Beltran* was 1-for-4, and scored the Mets' lone run. But he needs to get going for the Mets to make a move. For the second half:

36-for-141 (.255 AVG.) 3 HR, 16 RBI, 26 Runs, 11 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: Not many doubles this weekend. He needs to go back to Arizona. Still on a good pace, though.

SECOND HALF: 13 SEASON TOTAL: 35 TEAM RECORD: 44

WRIGHT NEEDS 10 DOUBLES OVER THE FINAL 36 GAMES TO BREAK THE RECORD!!

THE KID'S KIDS: Here's some more bad news for Mets fans, and Gary Carter fans. The Gulf Coast League doesn't waste any time. The one-game playoff was held on Friday, with the Tampa Yankees beating the Gulf Coast Red Sox for the right to play the Mets. After a 3-2 win on Saturday, the Yankees beat the Mets 10-1 on Sunday to win the Gulf Coast League title (I'm pretty sure it's over, at least. Not a lot of fanfare about it.) The Mets' pitcher gave up six runs in the first inning - actually, in a third of an inning. He's got a future as a Kris Benson! Anyway, the final numbers: a 37-16 regular season record for The Kid, with an 0-2 post-season mark.

More bad minor league news: Danny Graves pitches an inning at Norfolk and gives up 5 earned runs. Maybe he should have retired.

TWO-THIRDS

Nationals 7, Mets 4 (WAS: 65-59; NYM: 63-60) 6.5 GB NL East, 3 GB W.C.

The optimist might look at this weekend against the Nationals and say, two out of three is a good weekend. The pessimist (or me...note that I'm not usually pessimistic) might focus on Kris Benson's two-thirds of an inning and think of what chances the Mets might have wasted on Sunday.

Benson lasted just two-thirds of an inning, giving up six runs before being lifted for Juan Padilla. Padilla kept the Mets in the game, but they only managed four runs, wasting a lot of scoring opportunities where they could have come all the way back, as the Nationals held on for the 7-4 win.

The only highlight came in a pinch-hit appearance by rookie Mike Jacobs, who homered in his first Major League at-bat, the homer drawing the Mets to within 7-3. At the time, it looked like a comeback was in store...but the Mets couldn't find the clutch hit. Jacobs, for his part, received a curtain call, becoming the fourth Met to homer in his first M.L. at-bat. Future Hall of Famer David Wright struck out in the ninth inning against Chad Cordero representing the tying run.

The Mets play 17 of their next 20 on the road. They could have swept the Nationals...they could have swept the Pirates. A 4-2 homestand isn't bad. The Mets picked up some ground these past few days. If they can keep their head above water this next week in Arizona and San Francisco, starting on Monday, they have a real shot. Arizona (at Arizona) has given the Mets some problems in recent years...let's hope the Mets get off on the right foot. The Padres blew a lead on Sunday Night Baseball, so it looks like the Mets lose a game in the division. But there's still a shot at the East on the line here too - not just the Wild Card.

ELTRAN*'S: Beltran was 0-for-4 on Sunday. For the second half, he's 32-for-116 (.276 AVG.), 3 HR, 15 RBI, 23 Runs, 9 SB.

WRIGHT WATCH: 2-for-5 on Sunday, no doubles...as a matter of fact, no doubles all weekend. Uh-oh.

SECOND HALF: 10 SEASON TOTAL: 32 TEAM RECORD: 44

WRIGHT NEEDS 12 DOUBLES IN THE TEAM'S FINAL 39 GAMES.

THE KID'S KIDS: No games, of course, in the Gulf Coast League on Sundays. They lost to the Dodgers on Saturday, 17-5. Yikes. They're now 34-16. Gary Carter got some national attention on espn.com this weekend. There was an ESPN Insider article about his success as a Minor League Manager. Unfortunately, I couldn't read it because I don't have an ESPN Insider subscription. If someone could kindly help me out with the article, I'd appreciate it. It started out talking about George Brett's lack of success as a Minor League manager, and how he hated it because he had to throw batting practice every day. That's all they let me read. Please help. I will also get to the bottom of the Gulf Coast post-season (or lack thereof) this week. I'll call them non-stop.

BUC UP

Mets 6, Pirates 2 (NYM: 60-58; PIT: 51-68) 7.5 GB East, 3.5 GB Wild Card

The Mets need to sweep the Pirates. Personally, I think they need to go 6-0 on this homestand, to put themselves back into some great shape in both the wild card and division chases. Especially considering another West Coast Swing is on the horizon.

But they got off to a good start. Kris Benson put in another great outing, coming off his superb performance last week in San Diego. The Mets put together one big rally, and Cliff Floyd hit a 2-run homer in the ninth inning to ice it, taking away a Braden Looper save opportunity, but making the ninth inning more watchable for Mets fans.

The Mets got help from the Dodgers, who came back with 3 runs in the ninth inning to erase a 4-3 deficit and beat the Braves, 6-4, and the Cubs, who beat Andy Pettitte and the Astros. The Mets have a big hill to climb to make the post-season, but they've got to make the move now.

This series should be important to the Mets. The Pirates beat the Mets in Pittsburgh two out of three just before the All-Star break, and the Mets should still be mad about that. I am. The Nationals come to town next, and they're playing much better ball lately. But the Mets started them on the slide that dropped them out of first, so hopefully they feel they can beat Washington. So this six-game homestand is very, very important. The Mets can't worry about the Astros, Marlins, Phillies, or Braves. If they keep winning, things will fall into place for them.

Carlos Beltran* has opted not to have surgery on his face (I think it's his cheekbone that's slightly fractured). He could be back in the lineup as soon as Wednesday. It was reported during the game that he's working with the Mets' trainers on a possible mask to protect his face. I'm thinking something like what NBA players wear to protect broken noses and the like. I just hope Beltran* isn't affected psychologically, and that he can be somewhat effective down the stretch.

WRIGHT WATCH: An 0-for-3 night for Wright - he did walk and score on Floyd's 9th inning homer. He's hitting .303, by the way - .305 heading into the game, which had him 9th in the NL. Doubly speaking:

SECOND HALF: 10 SEASON TOTAL: 32 TEAM RECORD: 44

WRIGHT NEEDS 12 DOUBLES IN THE TEAM'S FINAL 44 GAMES TO TIE.

THE KID'S KIDS: The Gulf Coast Mets registered a rare loss to the Marlins Tuesday afternoon. They're 31-15. I have a call in to Port St. Lucie to find out about the playoffs - we'll see if they call me back.

In other Minor League Baseball news - a Pacific Coast League player named Rick Short is hitting .400 with 24 games left in the season. That hasn't been done in the PCL in 72 years. He plays for New Orleans (Pacific Coast?!?!), and went 1-for-2 in a call-up earlier this season for the Nationals. He's 32...so we're not talking a hot prospect here.

Mets 9, Padres 1

I'm a little more tired after the West Coast game than I thought I'd be, so I'll make this quick. First of all, I'm back from NYC, so the postings should be more consistent...and Thursday is a day game, so I'll have a full recap.

The Mets bounced back huge from Tuesday night's disappointing loss - Pedro*'s awful start. Kris Benson went eight-and-a-third innings, taking a one-hitter into the ninth inning, and the Mets beat up on San Diego, 9-1.

Future Hall of Famer David Wright had four hits, finishing a triple shy of the cycle, and he tied a career high with 6 RBI. Wright hit career homer number 31 (17 on the season), and added a double (more on that in the Wright Watch).

Carlos Beltran* is slowly showing signs of life - he stole home on a double steal.

This was a good win, coming off a very bad loss. Hopefully the road trip yields more of the former than the latter.

ELTRAN*'S: 27-for-97 (.278 AVG.), 3 HR, 15 RBI, 19 Runs, 5 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: Big double on Wednesday.

SECOND HALF: 8 SEASON TOTAL: 30 TEAM RECORD: 44

WRIGHT NEEDS 14 DOUBLES OVER THE TEAM'S FINAL 49 GAMES TO TIE.

THE KID'S KIDS: The Gulf Coast Mets beat the Nationals 6-5 in 11 innings. They are now 9 games ahead (!) in the division, at 28-13. They have the best record in the Gulf Coast League.

DODGERS BLUE

Mets 6, Dodgers 0 (NYM: 51-47, 3.5 GB; LA: 44-54)

The Mets did exactly what they needed to do coming out of the All-Star break. They had a 10-game homestand, and a chance to make a run, and they did that. After taking two out of three from Los Angeles, the Mets are now three-and-a-half games behind the Braves and Nationals. Of course, it would be a lot better if the Mets had swept the Dodgers, but two out of three is very good - things are moving in the right direction.

The Nationals lost again to the Astros - this time on a three-run homer in the 14th inning. This was the type of game where pitchers were pinch-hitting - the Nationals had used up their bench by the end of the 9th! I love that the feel-good story ended so quickly. I hope it doesn't make me un-American to root against the Nationals, but they're in the Mets' division. The Nationals now play the Braves - so the Mets need to keep winning, and keep pace with one of those teams. (They're both off Monday - that series starts Tuesday.)

As for the Mets, Kris Benson is having one of the best seasons of any pitcher. He's only 7-3 after Sunday's win, but thank goodness the Mets scored him some runs - he's been the hard-luck pitcher of the year. Benson hasn't given up more than 3 runs in his last 6 or so starts, but the Mets haven't been scoring enough runs to get him any wins. He deserved a win on Sunday, and had to shut out the opponent to get it. 8 scoreless for Benson - he's been great.

Mike Piazza was 3-for-3, with 3 RBI. He got the Mets going early with a bomb of a home run in the second inning. He's been moved down in the order, but has taken everything that's happened to him this year very gracefully. He's acknowledged Cliff Floyd is the big bat - and carried the team for much of the first half. He knows David Wright and Jose Reyes are the future, and he's on his way out. But I think he wants one last shot at glory, and realizes this team has the pieces in place...and he might be heating up. That was a great-looking homer he hit on Sunday, and now the Mets are headed to Colorado and Houston, where some hot bats can pad offensive numbers. Piazza always hits well in Colorado - we'll keep an eye on that.

The pitchers probably don't like the upcoming road trip - but the batters have to be salivating. The Mets should handle Colorado. They stink. Then in Houston, the Mets played well last year - beating Roger Clemens in dramatic fashion when I was on my honeymoon - Piazza had a game-winning homer then too, I think. Or a game-tying homer...I think Jason Phillips actually had a big hit too. Anyway, the Astros are a lot better now than when they came to Shea in April- the Mets swept them in their home season-opening series. They just did the Mets a favor, too, by beating the Nationals three out of four. That series will be a test to see how far the Mets have come here - because San Diego isn't great, and the Dodgers aren't even good. The Mets are also not a great road team this year - 32-21 at home, 19-26 on the road. There are some winnable games coming up for the Mets - if they play as well as they have this past week, they'll be OK.

ELTRAN*'S: Beltran* was 2-for-4 on Sunday, so in the 2nd half: 12-38 (.316), 2 HR, 9 RBI, 4 Runs, 1 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright was 1-for-3 on Sunday - no doubles.
Second Half: 4 Season Total: 26 Team Record: 44

THE KID'S KIDS: No game on Sunday, but the Gulf Coast Mets are 18-8 on the year, 4 games up.

The games in Colorado start at 9pm, and I have a busy week, so there might be in-game updates, or late-afternoon previous day recaps. I'm not quite sure how this will be handled. I apologize for any inconveniences my life my cause.

WOODWARD AND UPWARD

Mets 3, Padres 1, 11 innings (NYM: 47-46, 6.5 GB; SD: 50-44)

I really think things are going to start going the Mets' way here. I know I'm usually optimistic anyway, but there's a few reasons I feel this way moreso now than usual.

The first is that things in the division are starting to break their way. The Nationals are not playing like a first place team. They're playing like a team that has been exposed, and is desperately trying to cover up. Evidence - they're panicking. They made a good move getting Preston Wilson, but on Tuesday night, Cristian Guzman and Vinny Castilla were both taken out of the starting lineup (Castilla for injury reasons, Guzman for performance reasons). And now ESPN is reporting that Jim Bowden, the Nationals' GM, is trying to talk Barry Larkin out of retirement and into shortstop for Washington. That just reeks of desperation. The Nationals did win on Tuesday, but things aren't looking great for them right now.

Now the reasons the Mets actually control. Before Tuesday's game, the Mets were talking about how they needed to go on a streak. They've had enough of the .500 stuff, and want to go on a winning streak. The biggest talker was Cliff Floyd, and he put his bat where his mouth is on Tuesday night.

It didn't look good early. Kris Benson again pitched great, and again was left with a no-decision. Benson only surrendered a Khalil Greene solo homer, and five hits, in seven innings. It was 1-0 Padres into the fifth - and the Mets were being no-hit. But Cliff Floyd put an end to that with a bomb off Brian Lawrence to tie it at 1. (It's not like Lawrence was overpowering - the Mets tagged a few balls, but Dave Roberts had an excellent defensive game in center.) The game stayed tied into the 11th - and the Mets left a lot of men on base. They had plenty of chances to win this game.

As ineffective as the offense was, though, the bullpen was great. Dae-Sung Koo, Roberto Hernandez, and Braden Looper shut down San Diego the rest of the way. (I missed this game - I was at work, following it on GameCast, and Looper pitched two great innings. I'm kind of glad I didn't see them, though, because he makes me so nervous.) In the bottom of the 11th, after a David Wright flyout, Mike Piazza singled. Chris Woodward pinch hit for Looper, and homered to left, and the Mets had a 3-1 win.

This is a big win, because San Diego is a first place team. The Mets have to feel good about it, and hopefully it carries over into Tuesday's game...and hopefully Tom Glavine pitches as well on Tuesday as he did in his last start.

Another note from this game - David Wright batted fifth, and Mike Piazza hit sixth. Willie Randolph got angry with reporters who asked him about it - but he's getting closer to putting Wright where he belongs. The numbers support Randolph's decision. It's the first time Piazza has hit sixth since May of 1993.

ELTRAN*'S: After an 0-4 Tuesday night (when he had a couple of chances to win the game for the Mets) Carlos Beltran* is 6-20 (.300) in the second half, with 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 Run, and 0 SB.

WRIGHT WATCH: Continuing the quest for the team doubles record, future Hall of Famer David Wright was 2-5, with a double. So, in the 2ND HALF: 1 SEASON TOTAL: 23 TEAM RECORD: 44

THE KID'S KIDS: The Gulf Coast Mets won again, 6-2, improving to 15-7 on the year, 3 games up in their division.

OFF ON THE WRIGHT FOOT

Mets 6, Braves 3 (NYM: 45-44, 7 GB; ATL: 50-39)

In the past couple of days I've been talking about the Mets recapturing some of that old Mets' magic. Thursday night's game against the Atlanta Braves sure felt like some of the games during the post-season runs of 1999 and 2000, and it was definitely a great way to start the second half of the season.

Kris Benson got the start against Horacio Ramirez - and I have yet to hear exactly why he started instead of the scheduled starter, Tom Glavine. Benson pitched great, and Ramirez pitched well, but more on him in a minute. Benson struck out 7, while giving up 3 runs (2 earned) in 7 innings. I missed how the run was unearned - the run scored on an Adam LaRoche homer - but Benson really pitched well. To be honest, I wasn't sure from the start why Benson wasn't pitching the first game out of the break. I'd much rather him than Glavine, especially given Glavine's past performances against Atlanta.

Future Hall of Famer David Wright was the absolute star of this game. He came in 6-for-8 career against Horacio Ramirez. He added two solo bombs (career home runs number 26 and 27) to that total. A gold star goes to Carlos Beltran* - who got his strong second half off to a strong start with a 4-for-4 performance in a big game. I'm starting to believe the Mets WILL make a playoff run. Here's when you know things are going good. Jose Offerman is not good. He's not. He should not be in the majors. But the Mets trailed 3-2, there was a runner on second base, and Offerman pinch hit for Benson. He singles to left - he always gets a pinch hit lately in clutch situations, and he ties the game.

Then Mike Piazza. All-Star Mike Piazza. He comes up after an unintentional walk to Cliff Floyd and a double by Beltran*. With two on and one out, Piazza flashed back to Mets-Braves 1999/2000/2001 and hit an opposite field homer. He crushed it. Piazza hasn't shown opposite field power like this all year. It's too early to say whether or not Piazza is going to turn it around in the second half, but man did that homer look good.

The Mets did it in the field too. In the fifth inning, Floyd went head over heels into the left-field front row seats in foul territory to snare a pop-up. That was a great catch, drawing MVP chants from the crowd. Then in the eighth inning, after an unsuccessful great play by THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, (trying to get a runner at third where Wright just missed the tag), the Braves tried a squeeze with one out. The ball was popped into the air, Wright made a diving headlong catch, and then was able to walk back to third base to double up the runner.

I know I'm kind of rambling here, but I'm really excited. The Mets pulled off a great win, when they needed to. Maybe this is what it takes to turn things around against the Braves. To top it off, Washington lost to Milwaukee, so the Mets moved to 7 games out of first (they're also now 4-and-a-half out of the wild card). Philadelphia crushed Florida, so Philly stays a half-game in front of the Mets, and the Mets are even with Florida. Things are not good with the Marlins - they designated Al Leiter for assignment. He is probably going to come out of someone's bullpen before the year is out.

Actually, lots of moving and shaking in the NL East. The Nationals traded for Preston Wilson (who promptly hit a homer in his first game with the team) and also got Mike Stanton. I think Washington is going to slide far and fast. The Mets might have to worry about Philadelphia, but, as I've stated before, the Phillies do not scare me. Might as well give the division to the Mets now. I'm excited. Big weekend ahead. Let's Go Mets.

THE KID'S KIDS: In 15 innings, the Nationals beat the Mets, 5-4. Sounds like it was a good one. I wish they'd televise these games - these kids sound like they'd be fun to watch. 13-4 on the season right now.

P.S. - NESN has started showing the Southwest "ding" commercial I wrote about two days ago.

OFF (erman) THEIR GAME

Marlins 7, Mets 3
(FLA: 41-37; NYM: 40-40, 9 GB)

Jose Offerman looks awful at first base. This is what I came away from Saturday's game thinking. Just awful. On a play early in the game, Offerman went to field a throw from across the diamond, and he had the wrong foot on the bag, so he was limiting his stretch. The runner was safe. Then, when the Marlins scored 4 runs in the sixth inning to take the 5-3 lead that would prove to be more than enough for the win, Offerman dropped what should have been an inning-ending double play, instead allowing the inning to continue and the Marlins to score two runs. It should have been 3-3, and Offerman should have scooped the ball, but he dropped it, and the Marlins took a 4-3, then later a 5-3 lead. Jeff Torborg (more on him in a minute) and Kenny Albert talked about how the ball was low and in the dirt, and you can't really blame Offerman, but yes you can. He should have had it.

This was just a very frustrating game to watch, and Offerman by no means deserves all of the blame. Most of it, maybe, but not all of it. Save some for Carlos Beltran******. Unreal. Beltran* pops a ball up to first in the third inning, and is mad at himself, so HE DOESN'T RUN TO FIRST. Carlos Delgado makes a really, really smart play, lets the ball drop, then turns a 3-6-3 double play. I defended Beltran* yesterday. I won't defend him again until he starts putting up some solid numbers. This isn't the first time this year he's dogged it - I remember another time earlier this season. He's making a heck of a lot of money - for him to not run anything out is a disgrace. The announcers (again, more on them later) said Beltran* made up for the mistake by blasting a 2-run double to right in the fifth, giving the Mets a 3-1 lead - but I'm not bought that easily. I hope other Mets fans aren't either.

Kris Benson started this game for the Mets, he was 6-2 coming in. He had never before in his career been 4 games over .500. He has yet to get to 5-over. I always talk about Steve Trachsel never pitching (and possibly never pitching well) in big-game scenarios, and how I worry about that. I don't think it is an issue with Benson. And after Saturday, I still don't think it's a problem. Benson pitched very well in this game, and ran into trouble in the aforementioned sixth inning. He got out of that inning with the score still 3-3, as far as I'm concerned. He got done what he needed to do - his defense let him down. Good outing for Benson.

Royce Ring and Danny Graves let the game get out of hand in the 9th, making it the 7-3 final.

Jeff Torborg should be fired. He is brutal. Every other word out of his mouth is about how he managed the Marlins in 2003, and set the table for them to win the championship. And he's full of excuses about why the Marlins fired him (he had so many guys on the disabled list that year) and why he wasn't successful with the Mets (when Willie Randolph broke his hand in 1993, he was one of 15 surgeries - which is why the Mets didn't play well that year). How about the fact that no one respected you Jeff? And no one still does. He also had the nerve to criticize the ring he got from the Marlins in 2003. Are you kidding?! You don't even deserve a ring - if Jeff Torborg had still been managing the Marlins in 2003, they wouldn't have made the playoffs - let alone win the World Series. I know I'm overly critical of announcers, but Jeff Torborg was brutal Saturday.

The friggin' Nationals won again Sunday, so the Mets, at .500, are now 9 games back. This is getting kind of ridiculous. The Mets are just three and a half games back of the Braves for the wild card, FYI.

The only good thing coming out of Saturday was Cliff Floyd "hosting" 'This Week In Baseball', which means he was involved in a lengthy interview, which was pretty good. But I'm still bothered by the fact that he "really worked hard getting ready for this season", and "it's fun coming to the ballpark, and it makes you want to play your best" - why isn't he working hard getting ready for every season, and why isn't he playing hard all the time. That really upsets me. Also, it was great to hear Dontrelle Willis talk (I'm not going to say Jeanne Zelasko had a great interview with Willis, because she was bad, but he was good) during the pre-game. I like Willis a lot - he's very genuine, and fun to watch talk about baseball - he really enjoys himself when he plays.

I have an e-mail that I'm going to answer before I go:

"Dear JohnnyMets,

A few more All Star game items...

*This time it counts. Don't you think they should change the slogan,
borrowing a page from the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel, and
make it This time it still counts. Or It's counting again this time.
Or Please please watch this time?

*Pedro. I hope Pedro forgoes his annual Dominican holiday and pitches
(starts?) for the NL All Stars later this month. I really want to see
him face Manny or Ortiz or both. In fact, I would be fascinated to see
how he'd fare against the Sox, though I'm not sure when NL East faces
the AL East again in interleague. But here's my question: As a Mets
fan, wouldn't you rather see Pedro get some time off? Dude threw 217
innings last year and 186 in '03, plus the postseason in both those
years, which probably brings the total for the last 2 years to 440 or
something like that. That's a lot of pitches.

*HR Derby: This time it's jingoistic. Which do you find more
entertaining --- the annual HR Derby or the All Star game itself?

Signed,

Dave in Brighton"

I have a big problem with "This time it counts". That implies it never counted before. It did, it counted last year. I agree with you. How about, "This time, LaRussa thinks he has a shot at controlling his fate, but this year he's actually going to lose in the first round of the playoffs."

I'm not sure when the AL East faces the NL East, but can you imagine the Boston media when Pedro* comes back to Boston (or Boston goes to Shea). I won't even watch the news that whole month leading up to it. But the Easts should face each other some time during Pedro*'s contract. MLB screwed it up somehow that the divisions don't rotate fairly from year to year, so even though it's been a while since the Mets faced the Red Sox, I don't think it's happening in either of the next two years. I want to say 2008 for some reason. But I could be wrong. As for Pedro* pitching in the All-Star Game, he's not going to be going all out, I don't think....and one inning couldn't hurt....could it? (Frantically searching for some wood to knock on.)

And lastly, I missed the Home Run Derby in 1999, when it was at Fenway Park, because I was working back in New York. Because everyone I knew was here for that, and it was the "greatest Home Run Derby ever", I feel like watching the rest of them will only be anti-climactic. So I don't really watch the Home Run Derby anymore, but I still do enjoy watching the Game. Don't get me wrong - if the Derby is on, I'll watch it, I just don't get excited about it. The game I get a little bit excited about.

THE KID'S KIDS: The Gulf Coast Dodgers beat the Gulf Coast Mets, 12-1. The Mets could only manage 2 hits. 5-2 on the season now.

To be quite honest, in case you were wondering, I've had enough of this snow. I don't even want a snow day on Wednesday...I just want the snow to stop. I want the temperature to stay above 40 degrees...I'll even take 35 degrees at this point. Even 30. Baseball season can't get here soon enough.

Sorry about the lack of postings the past couple of days. School. So the Mets won their spring training game Tuesday night. Kris Benson pitched 3 innings (41 pitches), gave up one earned run, and 3 hits.

A lot has been going on since I've last written. Cablevision is in a fight with Time Warner Cable (I think, I'm not even really sure how this thing works - I try to pay attention, but it either makes me really mad or bored and I stop reading the articles about it). Basically, it means MSG Network and Fox Sports New York will be dropped from Time Warner Cable. That means most Mets games (and all Knicks games, but who really cares about that...come on) will not be seen on TV for Time Warner subscribers. That means the House, sponsored by DirecTV, in Framingham, Massachusetts, can get Mets games, but Joe Schmo in Queens, right down the street from Shea Stadium, can't watch the Mets on TV. (Of course, I'd tell Joe to get off his fat butt and go to the game, but I'm 200 miles north of him, so I guess he can do whatever he pleases.) Anyway, this happened last year around Opening Day (I think), but the two arguing sides reached a deal before the blackout happened. Now, the blackout has happened, and the channels have been replaced on the cable outlet, so I'm not sure there's any turning back. Now I've written a whole paragraph on something I don't care about...and both of my readers have probably already tuned out.

FYI - the Mets are rumored to be developing their own television network for next season. The Mets network would try to rival YES, the Yankees network...but nothing's decided on that, I don't think. The Mets' contract with MSG/FSNY doesn't go beyond this season.

So, back to the on-the-field stuff. Jason Phillips is lighting it up so far in spring training - he even legged out an infield hit on Monday. However, he had two poor throws from behind the plate in that game. He will probably make the team as the backup catcher...and he doesn't figure to get much time at first base this season...so he'd better work on the behind-the-plate stuff and keep his focus there.

The Mets' bench is shaping up this way: Miguel Cairo and Chris Woodward look like they'll be backup infielders, along with Marlon Anderson, who can also play outfield. Phillips will be the backup catcher (remember, Vance Wilson was traded to the Tigers in the off-season), and he doesn't figure to get much time at first because Andres Galarraga looks like he's going to make the team. Galaragga is one home run shy of 400 career homers, but the Mets think he has more than just one homer still in his bat.

So who does that leave out? Well, for one, Joe McEwing. McEwing is a nice guy to have around a team (he has been the biggest mentor to future Hall of Famer David Wright since Wright joined the major league team last summer), but let's face it - McEwing's production has gone down. The last time I remember him being effective was 2000-2001. Look for McEwing to be traded before the Mets come north - rumor has it the Cardinals (where McEwing is still a fan favorite) and the Astros are interested in McEwing's services.

In other trade rumor news, Aaron Heilman has given up three homers in three appearances so far this spring, and overall has been pretty disappointing as a New York Met. But other teams have interest, namely the Pirates, Cubs, and Diamondbacks. So don't be surprised to see a deal involving Heilman before the year's up.

Well, it's Wednesday, so it's time to check the e-mail-bag:

"Dear JohnnyMets,

After a week (or so) of spring training, here's how they stand in the NL East

Team W-L GB

Atlanta 5-0 --
Washington 4-1 1
New York 3-3 2.5
Philadelphia 1-4 4
Florida 1-6 5

Is that how you pick 'em to finish?

Dave in Brighton"

Well. Dave, I certainly don't expect the Braves to go undefeated, I think the Mets will be better than .500, and I don't think the Marlins will finish in last place. I will probably make predictions right before the season starts, so I'll hold off on that for now...but I will say a couple of things.

First of all, as loyal readers of my site will remember, I think the Phillies are a bunch of chokers, always have been, always will be. And with the improvement of all the teams in the NL East, I think the Phillies have last place written all over them. And I've said it before, I'll say it again, you can't discount the Braves until they actually do NOT win a division title. Hopefully this will be the year that happens, but until it happens, I don't know how you can pick against it (although when I make my picks, I almost certainly will pick it to happen).

Anyway, thanks for the e-mail - again, I will make predictions later in the month.

The rotation. This is going to be one of the Mets' strengths this year. It's really outstanding. Before I comment further on the '05 Mets pitching staff, I turn to an e-mail from Dave in Brighton, which has been sitting in the johnnymetsmailbox for more than a month:

"Dear JohnnyMets,

NESN is replaying the 1986 World Series this week (after broadcasting the '75 Series last week, and before they show the '04 ALCS and WS starting next week).

Seeing Ron Darling on the mound prompted me to wonder:
Which was/is the stronger rotation...'86 Mets or '05 Mets?

Darling ---------- Martinez
Gooden --------- Glavine
Fernandez ----- Anna Benson's husband
Ojeda ------------ Zambrano
Aguilera --------- Trachsel

And a follow-up question. If you think this team is stronger, and since pitching wins championships, do you think the Mets are World Series bound this fall?

Dave in Brighton"

This, I think, is one of my favorite e-mails ever on the site. I never get tired of talking about the 1986 Mets. I'm going to re-match-up the rotations here, for comparison's sake.

Gooden was the '86 ace - he started Game 1 of the NLCS - if the Mets are in the postseason this year (maybe when??), you better believe Pedro Martinez* is out there.
So #1 - Gooden-----------Martinez*

Let's make #2 - Ojeda---------Glavine

Then #3 - Darling------------Benson

And #4 - Fernandez----------Zambrano

Then #5 - Aguilera---------Trachsel

Besides the obvious differences (ages, like the youth of the '86 Mets' staff, and the relative age of the '05 staff [average age = 33]), I think this is a fair matchup.

I think Gooden in 1986 was more dominant than Pedro Martinez* will be in 2005. That said, Gooden never pitched too well in that post-season, and Martinez* has had some of his greatest performances in the playoffs. So with the goal being a World Series championship, this matchup is a tie.

Bobby Ojeda and Tom Glavine are similar in that they don't overpower hitters - but they are both effective lefthanded pitchers. Let's take a look at the career numbers:

Ojeda - 15 yrs., 115-98, 3.65 ERA, 1128 K's
Glavine - 18 yrs., 262-171, 3.44, 2145 K's

Ojeda's season-high in strikeouts was 148, Glavine's was 181. I'm giving Glavine the edge here, because in his 18th season, he showed he still had something left. Also, he's a potential Hall of Famer, Ojeda was just a solid pitcher.

I think Ron Darling has the edge over Kris Benson now, but I'm looking forward to a full season of Benson with a good team. If he still produces a .500 record and an ERA over 4.20, then I'll believe he's an average to below-average pitcher.

Sid Fernandez and Victor Zambrano is a tough one, because there's not much to go on with Zambrano, and El Sid was actually pretty tough to beat in '86 through '89. I think Zambrano will be better this season than he's been in his career to this point (he's supposed to have a lot better control this season), but Zambrano's health issues give the edge to Fernandez here. (Come to think of it, this wasn't a tough one...it was actually pretty easy to call.)

Finally, Rick Aguilera and Steve Trachsel. Aguilera was never the most effective starter (hence the move to the bullpen after he was traded to Minnesota), and Trachsel hasn't had the most impressive career. But if you look at pitching careers with the Mets, you have to give the edge to Trachsel - if the Mets weren't so bad the past couple of years, Trachsel could have had one or two 20-win seasons. I give the edge to Trachsel here. (In the interest of full disclosure, a friend of mine and I have our doubts as to whether Trachsel would have pitched as well as he has the past few years if the Mets were competitive. We think he isn't a pressure pitcher. I guess we'll find out this year).

So if you break down my breakdowns, it's 2-2-1. A tie. Wow that worked out well. I seriously did not try to fix it that way. I do honestly think these pitching staffs match up very well. Whether that leads to a world championship for the '05 Mets or not remains to be seen (although it's all I got to root for this year), but here's the X-factor. Let's look at pitching coach.

Mel Stottlemyre was the Mets' pitching coach in 1986. He's been one of the best in that position in the majors for a couple of decades now. But the '05 Mets have one of the greatest pitching coaches of all time - Rick Peterson. This guy is unbelievable. This is one of the reasons I feel so strongly about the Mets' pitchers this year. He firmly believes he can fix Victor Zambrano's problems on the mound, and I have no reason to doubt him. I also think Peterson, having a full season to work with Benson, will make Benson a much better pitcher. And he sure can't hurt Martinez*. So maybe the presence of Peterson puts the '05 Mets over the top.

I do believe this year's pitching staff can take the Mets far. And if the hitters support the pitchers (the lack of which was the major reason for last year's disaster), getting them to the playoffs, imagine what kind of staff the Mets can throw out there in a short post-season series, and how much stronger the bullpen gets when at least one of the starters turns into a reliever. The bullpen as it stands could be a potential problem....I'll try to give an update on that later in the week.

Wednesday is e-mail day....so Tuesday night is the deadline to get your e-mails in. One more thing - the reference to Anna Benson's husband...and maybe this is a personal note to Dave in Brighton. Since you wrote that more than a month ago, I wonder, since Mike Piazza has gotten married now, if they announce the battery on days Benson pitches as:

"Anna Benson's husband throwing to Alicia Rickter's husband". Or is that just how you announce it?

Oh, another one more thing...bashing Dave has just reminded me that he will be filing a report for Thursday's blog on Wednesday's televised spring training opener. Thanks, Dave, for being a team player! We'll save you a spot at the DirecTV-sponsored bar when the DirecTV kicks in (end of March).

Here's hoping there's no school tomorrow...........

Scott Kazmir knows I'm watching. He knows this is the first time I've been able to watch him since the Mets traded him to the Devil Rays for Victor Zambrano. He's been saving his best effort for tonight, because he knew I'd be watching very carefully, ready to write about what a crappy trade this was if he pitched well.

It was a crappy trade. What a crappy trade. Scott Kazmir is shutting out the Red Sox through six innings right now...pitching the best game of his short, short career. He's got 9 strikeouts, no runs, and he's given up just three hits. I really thought the Red Sox would knock him around - a lot. It remains to be seen at this writing if Tampa Bay holds on to win the game, and get Kazmir his second major league win...but Kazmir was very impressive on Tuesday night.

Other impressive nights - Kris Benson (so far) and David Wright. As I write this, Wright is 3-for-3, with his 12th homer of the year, and Benson has shut out the Braves through five innings. Back-to-back good starts for Benson - he knows free agency is right around the corner.

One e-mail to get to, which I'll print now since I don't know when I will get to a computer again (if you've been checking out johnnyjets.blogspot.com, which I know you have, you know my computer was stolen):

"Dear johnnymetsmail,
That cheesesteak story was disgusting. I just feel sorry for your wife having to sit next to you for that whole game. I loved the pictures from Philly, but I wish there were some of your beautiful wife.
The website is a great resource for Mets fans and extremely well done and up to date. However, seeing as how you live in the Boston area, I think that you should address the needs of Red Sox Nation also. Some Red Sox related features would be much appreciated.
What is you take on the Sox this year? Do they have what it takes to finally win it all. What did you think of the Nomar trade? Did it make the Red Sox better or worse? Wouldn't they have been better off to get some pitching in return? Additionally who do you see the Sox resigning in the offseason and who will leave? Who do you see those players signing with? Furthermore, what offseason moves could the Sox make to become a better team? Is Roger Clemens coming back next year?

Sox Fan From Shrewsbury"

Thanks, Sox Fan. First of all, get over the cheesesteak. Everyone needs to get over the cheesesteak. Sometimes, you just make a bad food choice when you visit a new city...and you have to deal with the consequences. But it's time to move on. As for the Red Sox questions, I think you have johnnymets.blogspot.com confused with "somecrappyredsoxwebsite.blogspot.com". This is a quality Mets site, and you should really respect that. However, considering that 100% of my readers are Red Sox fans, I will indulge you:

I think the Red Sox are quite good this year, however, I think they will fold at some point, whether it's over the final weeks of the regular season or in the post-season. I have no evidence to support this theory, because the Sox are a very good team, but they didn't do it last year, so they never will do it. That's how I feel. That team is cursed bad. The Nomar trade was great, because Nomar is a @#!$&!? #(!@##?>!. They're a better team without that jerk. Pitching in return would have been good, but the defense is improved, which sort of helps out the pitching anyway. Is it coincidence that since the trade Derek Lowe has been pitching a lot better (probably, since I think Mientkiewicz has been hurt, and Cabrera can't be making that much of a difference when Lowe's on the mound). As for the off-season, I don't know who the Sox will sign - I forgot to ask Theo the last time we spoke. But I'm 99% sure Carl Pavano is signing with the Yankees. I do think Varitek and Lowe are gone. I think Varitek will sign with Milwaukee, and Lowe will sign with the Tigers (random guesses - I have no friggin' clue). For the Sox to become a better team, there's really nothing they can do. They had a great team this year and last year, but they are just fated to never ever win. It's sad, really. And Roger Clemens is a jerk. I don't care whether or not he comes back next year. I hope someone throws a shattered bat at him.

Thanks for reading, Sox Fan in Shrewsbury, and everyone else. We'll see when I can access a computer again, but I'll try to do something again before the end of the week. I'm posting early, but the Devil Rays are on their way to a win, and the Mets are up 7-0. David Wright is now 3-for-4.

METS 4, MARLINS 0

HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HA-LEEI-LU-JAH!!!

THE METS WIN! THE METS WIN! THEY WINNNNNN!!!!

Our lead story today - the New York Mets have won a baseball game, beating the Florida Marlins, 4-0, in Miami. The win put an end to the Mets' 11-game losing streak, and also ended a 10-game losing streak to the Marlins. Kris Benson combined with Bartolome Fortunato and Braden Looper to get the shutout.

Benson pitched well after skipping a start because of a sore shoulder. That'll just drive up his asking price as he enters free agency. But I'm still hearing that Benson wants to re-sign with the Mets, and that the talks should be picking up again soon. So that's contrary to what "Dave from Brighton" had written in his letter (you can still see that below this posting) in yesterday's mailbag...referring to Peter Gammons saying that Benson was going to test the free agency waters during the off-season. First of all, I don't know who this Peter Gammons is, and I don't know why Dave would go reading this Gammons fellow, who for all I know doesn't know a baseball from a foosball, instead of me. Trust me, Dave...trust me. Benson will re-sign with the Mets by November.

So back to Thursday afternoon's game (sorry this is in such a huge font - I haven't figured out how to fix it). David Wright - a big 2-for-4, and a stolen base. He tripled off of David Weathers (back with the Marlins - didn't even know about that one), and scored a run. Eric Valent hit his eleventh homer. I love Eric Valent. Valent's hitting .273, Wright's hitting .291. Just FYI.

I need to go write the Jets site, and get back to some kind of normal font. Enjoy the opening weekend of football - and check out johnnyjets.blogspot.com!!

Marlins 6, Mets 4 (60-70)

This game was typical Mets. Mike Piazza comes back from injury and homers. Al Leiter pitches well, but leaves down 3-1. The Mets battle back to take the lead. And then the bullpen gives the game right back. It's the kind of loss that makes you wish the season would just end already.

Piazza looked good. I know I'm way too optimistic usually, but he was swinging the bat with the authority he used to swing with. It resulted in an opposite-field home run in his second at-bat. He looked refreshed. Seriously. Please believe me. The Mets have to figure out a way to get Piazza appropriate rest throughout the year, and I think he'll have a few more good years still in him. OK, well, at least one more good year.

After Leiter gave up a 2-run home run to Miguel Cabrera to make it a 3-1 game in favor of the Marlins in the top of the sixth, the Mets came back to take a 4-3 lead. David Wright hit one of his best home runs of the year, shooting one straight out towards center field, with the ball just clearing the ball in right-center. So that tied the game at 3, then the next batter, Jason Phillips, homered into the left-field bullpen, putting the Mets up 4-3, and giving Leiter the chance to get a win.

That was too good to be true, though, as the Mets promptly handed the lead back, and then some. Heath Bell was the culprit out of the bullpen. Not much to say about this. As far as I'm concerned, the bottom of the sixth was the last thing worth remembering from this game. To add insult to injury, Armando Benitez came in to get the save in the 9th.

Oh wait - more good news. Kris Benson will miss his next start. Soreness in his arm/shoulder...I forget. Those deadline deals sure are looking good! I meant to write this yesterday, but I forgot. Benson gave up 8 runs (5 ER) against the Dodgers Sunday. He's only had 1 and a half (out of 5 or so total) acceptable starts for the Mets since the trade. And those other starts haven't just been bad - he's been getting rocked! And he's playing for a contract. Imagine if he wasn't a free agent at the end of the year. At least he's not driving his price up. I'll leave it on that positive note.

Check out Preview Week at johnnyjets.blogspot.com as we get ready for the Jets season!!

Game 1: Mets 10, Rockies 3; Game 2: Mets 4, Rockies 2 (58-61, 7 GB of wild card)

An interesting thing happened on Thursday night. After the softball game, we went to get pizza and beer at the local bar (more on the softball game later), and the Giants-Panthers NFL Preseason game is on the TV. They do a score update at the bottom of the screen, and underneath the score of game one of the doubleheader, Mets 10, Rockies 3, it says "NYM: 7.5 games back of the wild card." It could be that they just needed a stat to put there, but I think of it as an omen. Especially after the big win in game 2.

Al Leiter pitched very well, but again threw way too many pitches, so he left the game in the sixth inning trailing 2-1. It was 2-1 into the eighth, when Eric Valent, our boy here at johnnymets.blogspot.com, hits a pinch-hit solo homer to tie it. Then, with a 3-2 count and one out, one man on, in the top of the ninth, who else but future Hall of Famer David Wright with the first of what will be many dramatic game-winning homers to give the Mets the 4-2 lead. Mike Stanton pitched an excellent inning and a third to get the win.

The Mets won game one big. 10-3, a typical game in Colorado. The Mets' offense clicked, and Kris Benson pitched very well. And the Mets beat Shawn Estes, who I hold a grudge against. I don't know if the Mets do, but I sure do. Here's why. (I might have written this back when the Mets played the Rockies earlier in the year...if I did, sorry, but it bothers me so much I'm writing it again.) Estes, as you all remember, wussed out of throwing at Roger Clemens in his first at-bat against the Mets at Shea Stadium after he threw the bat at Mike Piazza (it was also the first at-bat after he had thrown at Piazza's head). Estes threw behind Clemens, because he wasn't on the team when Clemens did all this stuff to the Mets, and he didn't want to nail him. (Estes did homer off Clemens, which was good, but I wanted blood.) Anyway, that wasn't so bad.......until, last season, Estes is playing for the Chicago Cubs, it's early in the year, very early in the year, and there's a benches-clearing brawl. Who's out there, swinging away at the opponent, but one Shawn Estes?! He's been with these Cubs for a month and a half, and he's out there fighting for them, but he wouldn't throw one stinking baseball at Roger Clemens to back up his batterymate while he was here in New York??! That makes me so friggin' mad. So thank goodness the Mets beat him up yesterday.

A related situation happened in game two of the doubleheader Thursday night. Joe McEwing took a beating in the game. He had at least three Colorado runners take him out hard at second base, and after the third runner, J.D. Closser, slid into him, McEwing didn't get up. He had to be helped off the field. I don't know if he'll be back at all this season. We'll see. But anyway, Braden Looper faces Closser in the eighth inning, and he drills him good. It was a tie game at the time, and Looper put the potential winning run on first base, and got ejected at the same time, but that's good teammating. Way to go Braden! Especially considering Stanton pitched awesome in relief of Looper, and the Mets won the game. If they had lost, I might have been a little pissed.

As for Future Hall of Famer David Wright, he was 5-for-10 in the doubleheader, 2-for-6 in the first game, 3-for-4 in the nightcap. The homer was Wright's 5th (en route to at least 755), and the RBI's brought his total to 15. Piazza, Jose Reyes, and Matsui might be on the DL, but maybe Wright could be the spark to lead this team to the playoffs, or at least keep things rolling until those guys get healthy. (And now that McEwing is hurt, we need one of those middle infielders back soon.) Also on the injury front, Victor Zambrano was placed on the DL Thursday with the elbow problem. I think Matt Ginter will pitch in his place on Sunday.

Would you believe the Mets are now tied with the Phillies in the standings? The Astros trailed 7-2 late in the game on Thursday, and came back to beat Philly 12-10. So the Mets picked up a game and a half on the Phillies. The Mets can pick up some more ground in the wild card race this weekend. They trail the Giants by seven games, and they have three games in San Francisco this weekend. Steve Trachsel goes Friday night, and Tom Glavine returns from his car accident on Saturday afternoon.

As promised, the softball game. So we won big, behind the pitching of my wife! That's right. She played in her first game of the season, and took the mound no less. (She usually keeps score, but we need two women on each team, and she had to be an emergency fill-in). So she pitches two innings, giving up just two runs, catching a pop-up, and recording a strikeout. She got the win. As for the third baseman, he played better. I think just one error in Thursday night's game. So I think there are just 2 games left in the season (don't expect another appearance by the wife). We're 8-2, and I would say we are definitely in the top 3 of the league. Too bad we'll never know, since there is no playoff system.

Let's go Mets!

Mets 7, Astros 3 (53-58, 10 GB)

OK, new plan. If the Mets win every game from here on out, and everyone else in the NL East loses every game the rest of the way, playoffs, here we come! The Mets beat the Astros Tuesday night at Shea Stadium, and the Braves, Marlins, and Phillies all lost. (The Expos won, but they're so irrelevant, unless they're beating the Mets 19-13.) Anyway, that's what we'll cling to now. I know the season's over, but they're not called the Miracle Mets for nothing. Let's see what they can pull from their rears this year, these Miracle Mets. FYI, the Mets are just 7 and a half games out of the Wild Card, trailing just the Cubs, Padres, Giants, Phillies, Marlins, Astros, Reds, and Brewers. That's like the entire National League.

So, lots of highlights Tuesday night. It was actually a pretty good game to watch, or at least the first hour and 45 minutes was, which was all I got to see. I left the house after the Mets took a 4-3 lead in the 4th. David Wright had a huge game, 2-for-4, with a homer, and 2 RBI. (That's now 4 homers, en route to 755+, and 12 major league RBI for the future Hall of Famer.) Wright drove in the go-ahead run with a sharply hit single up the middle, following up the exact same thing by Mike Cameron one batter before.

Let's just briefly talk about Tom Glavine. As poorly as he pitched last year, 2004 has to be the worst year of this guy's life. First of all, he's pitching great, but can't catch a break because the Mets don't score runs when he's on the mound. He's 8-10, with a 2.92 ERA. That's just wrong. Then, there's what happened to him yesterday. His cab gets into an accident right outside LaGuardia airport, and he goes to the hospital with stitches in his cut lower lip and no more two front teeth. He's out of the hospital right now, but will miss Wednesday night's start. Just a bad year for Glavine. And now the johnnymets connection: For those of you who attended the big johnnymets wedding, you may remember my sister had a cast on her wrist. She broke that wrist in a car accident right outside LaGuardia airport. From what I hear about the Glavine accident, the accidents happened in pretty much the same spot. So I'm basically like Tom Glavine's brother at this point. (FYI, my sister is recovering. The cast is gone now. And she still has her two front teeth.)

Well, it's Wednesday, which means it's time to check the mailbag.

This e-mail comes from someone calling himself Scott, who would be my former roommate who tried to steal $600 from myself and Kevin from Wilmington. But being that I hate the man, I don't believe it's really him. But let's see the e-mail, shall we:
"John...
Does it bother you that the future "ace" of the Mets pitching staff has a girl's first name?? Check it out....Kris is short for Kristin!!! I have a girls last name...and I can tell you, its never been a problem for me. I mean...look at my life. I was a success in college, success as a roommate, and now...well, if you only knew what I was up to!! Anyways...girls first name on the ace....bother you?? Scott Salley - parts unknown"

Well, "Scott", it does bother me actually, that Kris is short for Kristin. This is an unbelievable development, folks, which I'm very grateful to "Scott" for pointing out. He refers to the ESPN player page for Kris Benson, and sure enough, that page shows his name as Kristin James Benson. There's no doubt, though, that Benson is all man. He is, after all, married to a former Penthouse model. So I guess Kristin can slide.

Well, speak of the devil - if it isn't Kevin from Wilmington. Here's what Kevin writes:

"Johnny.... Big time fan of your site. Keep up the great work. Anyways....I don't want to say "its over"....but "it don't look good" after this weekend's sweep. So....Let's look ahead to next season. With Hidalgo and Benson both free agents...will the Mets keep both or either or neither?? Will they make a run at Carlos Beltran?? What do you see the Mets lineup and rotation as for next season?? I'll hang up and listen. kevin - Wilmington, NC "

Wow. A legitimate e-mail. Well, Kevin, to be honest, I've been so focused on this season that I haven't been looking ahead too much. But next year is promising....and a little unsure. I think the Mets definitely keep Benson. Hidalgo, I'm not so sure about. As Steve from Manhattan points out every time I speak to him, the Mets wouldn't pay for Vlad Guerrero, why would they pay that much money for Hidalgo? It's a good point, but the way Hidalgo is playing for the Mets right now, they would probably hate to let him go. As for Beltran, I don't see that happening. I think everyone's happy with Mike Cameron in center field, especially lately. So here's what I'm seeing for next year:

2B Kaz Matsui
SS Jose Reyes
3B David Wright
1B Mike Piazza
RF Richard Hidalgo
LF Cliff Floyd
CF Mike Cameron
C Jason Phillips
Pitching Rotation: Tom Glavine, Kris Benson, Al Leiter, Steve Trachsel, Victor Zambrano

It's a pretty good-looking rotation, my only worry is that Leiter and Glavine might be having their last good years in 2004. But we'll have more on this in the season preview here on johnnymets.blogspot.com in March. And, yes, I do believe David Wright will be batting third in 2005. Speaking of the future Hall of Famer, Dave from Brighton writes in again:

"With David Wright on track to spend a half season with the MajorLeague club, will he be in the running for Rookie of the Year honors. If not, would he still be eligible next year, even though he'll have a half season of experience under his belt?
While we're on the topic, what would you project for him next year, stats-wise. If he can have a 6 RBI game every day, that would put him on pace for approximately 1,000 RBI. Is this impossible, or just unlikely?"

Dave, Dave, Dave. That's just stupid. Everyone knows 1,000 RBI in a season is just unlikely, especially when we're talking about Wright. As for Rookie of the Year, David Wright is going to have to go gangbusters for the rest of this season in order to add that award to his Hall of Fame resume. The rules, I believe, are a player can't have 130 major league at-bats or 45 games on a major league roster and still be considered a rookie. So Wright's a rookie right now...and won't be in 2005. As for a projection of stats, I would say he's going to be a consistent .300 hitter, 30 homers, and 130 RBI. What else would you expect?

One final note: The Mets are wearing patches on their left sleeves for the rest of the season simply saying "Bob Murphy", written around the outside of the Mets emblem. Very classy. And before Tuesday night's game, the Mets honored Murphy with a video montage - it was very good. Well done by the Mets. And on Wednesday at 2PM at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, there is a public memorial for Murphy. Just FYI.

Braves 3, Mets 1 (49-53, 7 GB)

OK, so the Mets lose to the Braves and fall seven games back. They should be out of it. But the Mets just might have pulled themselves back into the thick of things with two trades on Friday.

First of all, a note about Friday's game. Steve Trachsel had one bad inning, and that killed him. The sad thing is, for Trachsel, the bad inning resulted in just 2 Atlanta runs, and that proved insurmountable for the Mets. The big problem right now is that the Mets are playing without THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes. They need him to set the table. And they need Mike Piazza to break out of his slump. Now.

OK. The Mets made two great trades on Friday. How, you ask, could these trades have been so great, when the Mets can't score runs, and all they did was pick up two pitchers? Well, I'll tell you. The Mets no longer have a "back end of the rotation". You never knew which Jae Seo was going to pitch...whether or not he was going to be effective. And Scott Erickson had one good start, but as I've said - he wasn't the answer. (And neither was Matt Ginter.) Kris Benson and Victor Zambrano are the answers. The Mets no longer have question marks in the number 4 and 5 spots in the rotation.

Let's break down the deals first. Benson comes from the Pirates, along with second base prospect Jeff Keppinger (I know nothing about him) in exchange for Ty Wigginton, and Matt Peterson. The Mets also ended up sending catching prospect Justin Huber to Kansas City in this deal. To get Zambrano (and Bartolome Fortunato - a minor league pitcher, again, about whom I know nothing), the Mets sent the Devil Rays Scott Kazmir and minor league pitcher Jose Diaz.

I wasn't crazy about the Mets trading Kazmir at all. But that was when I thought he'd be involved in a deal for A pitcher, in a rental-type deal. But this makes a ton of sense. Both Benson and Zambrano are 29 years old. Both are proven to be at least solid pitchers, who can at times be very, very good, and who are going to be in the majors for a while. And best of all, they might now be with the Mets for a while. Benson has said he'd work out a long-term deal with the Mets if he was traded to New York (he's going to be a free agent at the end of the season), and Zambrano is under contract for a few more years. Peterson and Kazmir, for all their potential, are still a year or so away, and who knows where they'll be in a year. They both might turn out great (I have a feeling Kazmir will be better than Peterson), but for all we know, they could be busts. We know that Benson and Zambrano will be able to contribute for a good amount of time - and don't underestimate the wonders Rick Peterson could work with these guys. As for Wigginton, it's going to be weird seeing him in a Pittsburgh uniform, but in reality, the Mets won't miss his offense too much. He was hot and cold, and is not really much better than a .280 hitter. He increased his trade value, and had to go. He will be missed, though.

There still might be more deals on the way Saturday, GM Jim Duquette said in a conference call Friday. The Mets could still be looking for a veteran offensive presence to take Wigginton's roster spot.

So let's look at the rest of the season this way. The Mets roll out Tom Glavine, Al Leiter, Steve Trachsel, Kris Benson, and Victor Zambrano. As long as they can muster about 5 runs a game, they should be able to win about 3 out of every 5 games, if not more. That would put the Mets at 85-77 to finish the year, which would be good enough to win the division. They need to start winning now, though. And it begins Saturday night, with Kris Benson on the mound in Atlanta. Benson pitched his last two games against the Braves. He won the first, giving up 2 runs in 8 innings, and in the second, gave up four runs in 6 IP. I think facing a pitcher three times in a row would tend to favor the hitters...but maybe Benson will be pitching on adrenaline for his new team.

DON'T FORGET: My new feature, e-mail the site at johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com. Yahoo Mail seems to suck for me so far - I sent myself some test e-mails this afternoon that have yet to arrive...but I'll try this out for now. Wednesday will be the regular mail day, where I'll post comments, questions, etc., but if we have some good responses to the trades, I'll try to post them on Saturday night.

OTHER TRADE NOTES: The Marlins got better in their trade with the Dodgers, acquiring catcher Paul LoDuca, and reliever Guillermo Mota, and re-acquiring outfielder Juan Encarnacion. Encarnacion was great for Florida last year, LoDuca is a huge upgrade for the Marlins, and Mota is a very good reliever. (Sparks may fly between the Mets and Marlins now - remember Mota and Piazza have a history...Mota threw at Piazza in spring training, and Piazza shook some sense into him.) The Marlins, though, did give up pitcher Brad Penny - a pretty high price, and Hee Seop Choi, not so high a price. I think they improved overall, though, with this deal.

The Phillies acquired reliever Felix Rodriguez from the Giants for Ricky Ledee and a minor leaguer. A good deal for them, but I'm not worried about them. I think the Phillies are just about done.

Mets 10, Expos 1 (49-52, 6 GB)

OK, don't laugh. But this win over the Expos is just what the Mets needed. I'm back on the bandwagon (if I ever actually was off it). For the first time all year, I really enjoyed watching a Mets game. (OK, again, not really true - I enjoy watching them all...but I'm never really rewarded like I was on Thursday.) Everything fell into place, everything came together, it was a great all-around game. To wit:

Eric Valent (don't forget I wrote 3 months ago in this space how much I like him) goes 4-for-4, hitting for the cycle.
David Wright blasted two doubles, and is on his way to stardom.
Mike Piazza busted out of his slump with a 2-RBI single - when the game was still close, he broke it open.
Mike Cameron hit two home runs.
Al Leiter continued to pitch great - and he was more efficient, throwing 105 pitches in 6 innings.

The only thing that went wrong on Thursday was the Braves' win. The Braves scored two runs in the 9th against Pittsburgh to come back and win, and maintain their 6 game lead over the Mets. Let's take a quick look at the NL East for a second. The Braves are on top, 55-46. Then the Phillies and the Marlins are tied at 52-50, 3.5 games back. The Mets are 6 back. The Marlins crushed the Phillies again Thursday, 10-1, to move into the second-place tie. The Marlins absolutely own Philadelphia. They're 11-1 against them this season, and are 23-3 against them over their past 26 meetings. That's why I said it before, and I'll say it again - the Mets don't have to worry about the Phillies. They have to worry about the Braves and the Marlins...and this weekend brings three huge games against the Braves. Ideal situation, the Mets sweep the Braves, get back to .500, and move to within three of Atlanta. They really can't afford to move further back in the division.

I'm telling you, Thursday's game was fun. The Mets were having fun, and they went out, and killed the Expos. I have a feeling we'll be looking back at this game as the turning point. The broadcasters actually made some very good points about the team's chemistry and why Mike Cameron is such a valuable member of the team. Hopefully they do build off this game, and they start a winning streak. The bad seeds of this team are gone (Karim Garcia, Shane Spencer, and Scott Erickson...OK, maybe not bad seeds, but the guys who didn't belong), and depending on who comes aboard before the deadline, these guys really enjoy playing together. I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to be fun to watch.

The latest report out of Peter Gammons is the Mets are going to trade Matt Peterson and a player to be named later to the Pirates for Kris Benson. Not a bad deal - as long as the Mets don't give up more than one of their minor league pitchers before the deadline, I can handle any trades. The Mets have a real chance to make a move this weekend...or see their season come to a crashing end. I'll recap it Sunday night. Let's go Mets!!!!

And a quick Get Well soon to THE GREATEST (AND MOST FRAGILE) BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes. We need you!