ONE YEAR LATER

A year ago at this time the Mets were sitting pretty atop the NL East, and the Jets were coming off a playoff appearance...things were looking good.

Which is why it's hard to get too excited as a Mets and Jets fan with the Jets 1-0 heading into a showdown with New England, and the Mets 3 games up with 17 to play.

But there's a little excitement.

And I haven't been this excited about watching football in general (not just the Jets) in a few years. I couldn't get enough of it this past week - two Monday night games was the perfect topper for me. So I'm looking forward to Week 2...and the OSU-USC game on Saturday night should be a good appetizer.

But what I really wanted to mention here is the baby situation. Still nothing - for about three weeks now they've been telling us this could be the week....and nothing. So, clearly, I am not going to the Jets game on Sunday - Brett Favre's first home game.

And at this rate, the one game I have solid plans to attend - versus the Bengals on Columbus Day weekend - is approaching being in jeopardy. I'll keep you posted on that.

With everything going on - baby, school stuff, preparing school stuff for the days I have to miss when the baby comes - postings will be sporadic. Thanks for checking back.

AN UNLIKELY SCENARIO

If you would have told me in April that this 3-game Mets-Marlins series in the last week of July could end with the Marlins in first place, I would have thought you were crazy.

If you would have told me in June that this 3-game Mets-Marlins series in the last week of July could end with the Mets in first place, I would have thought you were crazy.

But here we are.

And it's a credit to the Marlins that they're in this situation. They've been hanging on all season, and went through a stretch about a month ago where it looked like they were tanking and it would become a two-horse race in the NL East. They righted the ship, and here we are.

They're a game behind the Phillies right now, but have been playing much better baseball lately than Philadelphia.

They were in first place as recently as May 31, with a starting rotation you probably couldn't name (I can't) and are led by Fredi Gonzalez, who has to be the manager of the year.

Like the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East, they've proven to be more than a fluke, and a team that will factor into the conversation for years to come.

But for now, it's time the Mets put them away.

Because if you'd have asked me in April if the Mets would be comfortably ahead in the division by the beginning of August, I would have definitively said yes. And now, with everything that has happened this season, the Mets have that chance. They need to take advantage.

PREVIEW: NL EAST

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 East.

I would be shocked if the Florida Marlins or Washington Nationals are relevant at all this year. So I'm just going to skirt past them (but check with me again at the end of September, when the Mets close their season against the Marlins - that was a disaster last year).

This will be a three-team race all year....I don't know that there will be a time all year when the Braves, Phillies, and Mets aren't within 5 games of each other.

A disclaimer, a la my American League East preview - this assumes the Mets are healthy come April. I'm still not panicked about their injuries - although everyone in their starting lineup is basically missing time -1) Some are getting healthy, and 2) I'd rather a lot of this happens now than in September. Get it out of the way. Who knows, maybe Moises Alou stays healthy the rest of the year after he comes back from this hernia surgery. (It should be called "hergery". Get rid of a couple of syllables.)

Now, I also need to say this: For the first time in my life, I was prepared to pick against the Mets. I really liked the Braves this year - they just look really good on paper, they didn't go away much of last year, when you didn't think they had it in them, and the Mets had some serious flaws. Then they got Johan Santana, and that was the deciding factor for me - the Mets are going to win the division. It just makes the whole team better - I've gone through that a bunch of times. So if the Mets keep a semblance of health, they are the team to beat. But it won't be in a runaway.

The Braves have a very good rotation. They have a full year of Mark Teixeira. They have the best offensive catcher in the division. Jeff Francoeur is coming off a great year. Chipper Jones is back to being effective (not that it matters, since he's always effective against the Mets). I think the Braves will be back to giving the Mets fits, but unlike the last time Tom Glavine was in Atlanta, the Braves will be looking up at the Mets in the standings for most of the year. (Boy, would I love to be wrong and see the Braves at the bottom of the division...but that's doubtful.)

And then there are the Phillies, who are starting to scare me just a touch. The way they played against the Mets last year should have sent the Mets a message, and hopefully the Mets answer back by dominating Philadelphia this year. The roles are reversed. I think the Phillies will be a little too confident, though, based on what happened last year. They're a good team, don't get me wrong - I think they'll get back to their underachieving selves, as they get into a situation where they are almost the favorites because of what happened last year.

My playoff picks and award winners will come up tomorrow - I need to get it out of the way before the NCAA Tournament gets underway, or else it won't happen. Then it's just sit and wait for the season to start......

WHEN YOU'RE HURT, YOU'RE HURT: Boy, the Mets can't catch a break. Not sure how long of an effect this will have, and all I know about this right now is what I read on the ESPNEWS crawl - but apparently Carlos Delgado was hit by a broken bat shard when he was leading off third base. It required four stitches. That just doesn't happen!

MEET THE METS - MOISES ALOU

A preview of the 2008 Mets, presented in the expected batting order, followed by pitching rotation, followed by impact bullpen/bench players. Today we focus on left fielder Moises Alou.

2007: .341 avg, 13 HR, 49 RBI, 51 runs, .392 OBP in 87 games

I'm not a huge Moises Alou fan. A year ago, before the season began, all of my comments about Moises Alou had to do with what was pretty much an invisible spring. He was quiet all season (not a surprise, really, considering he played a total of 11 games in May, June, and July). But when he played, Alou was consistent - consistently one of the best players on the team. I still don't love him, but I'll take him as a left fielder on a potential World Series team.

The biggest drawback to Alou is his age, and the injuries that go along with that. He'll turn 42 in July, and that's part of the reason he only played a little more than half a season last year. But boy, can he hit. Alou burst out of the gate in his first month as a Met, hitting .349 in April. He had his only slump of the year right before he got hurt, in May, but finished the year with a .330 average in August, and a .402 average in September, playing full-time both months. More importantly, he was hitting for power - Alou's slugging percentage in September was .607.

Bottom line - Alou can hit, and not just hit, but hit in key situations. Alou thrived against the other teams in the National League East - combining for a .344 average, 8 (of his 13 total) HR, and 33 (of his 49) RBI in 55 games against the Braves, Phillies, Marlins, and Nationals. Part of that is because the Mets played so many divisional games when Alou was healthy, but that only works in the Mets' favor.

I still don't love Moises Alou. He'll still come up with a big injury this year. But as long as he hits when he's in there, and the Mets give him the appropriate rest, with the likes of Endy Chavez and Ryan Church doing lots of platooning with Alou, I'll deal with him as a role-playing veteran making an impact on a team that has the potential to go far....for this last year of his contract.

PLAYOFF BOUND?

10:35am - I've always wanted to try a live blog, and I think today's the day to do it. It's the final day of the regular season, with everything on the line. Also, the Jets are playing the Bills, and with the Patriots playing the Bengals on Monday night, I have the Jets on free TV. So I've set up the regular TV next to the DirecTV, on which I can watch the Mets live, and have the Phillies on the second tuner (meaning I can always rewind to see anything I might miss). That'll cover three pretty big games. Might as well mix in some live-blogging to that.

If you're new to live blogs, first of all, keep checking back throughout the day - I'll try to keep doing this until at least 4 o'clock...I imagine there will be a lot to say today. And also, you're going to have to read from the bottom up...only the newest posts will appear towards the top.

Enjoy the day - I hope I will.

10:40 am - This is a test. Actually, I think I will just keep adding to the same post, so that you don't have to read bottom-to-top. My service to you. This way also won't screw up my total number of blog entries. I would hate to mess with statistics.

11:25am - Bad news - the Mets are not on SNY today. They are on Sun Sports in Florida, so I will be able to watch the game, but I hate the Marlins announcers. They're awful. I guess I could keep the sound down on the baseball, and have sound up on the football.

Sundays are a busy day here at the House sponsored by DirecTV. I have to do the laundry, watch football and baseball, finish up any schoolwork for Monday that I left off until the last minute, and then do the final tallies for the New Baseball Pool. Today, with such important games, only adds to the workload.

Thanks to the Southern Bureau for the comment. Obviously, I welcome your comments all day long to go along with mine.

11:35 am - Almost forgot - Sunday is also garbage day. I might put that off, though, until the games are over. The tricky part with that is making sure I do it after the games, but before it gets dark...you never know what animals might be lurking outside, waiting to attack the garbage. Yep...always have to make sure there's still sunlight when I put together the garbage.

12 noon - One hour away. I'm not taking any chances - I'm wearing what I wore yesterday. If it works today, I'll be wearing this Mets t-shirt and beige pants for the next month. At least it's very comfortable.

I think the last time the Mets faced a last-day scenario like this was in 1999, when they beat the Pirates on the last day of the season, in their final at-bat, on a wild pitch on which Mike Piazza scored from third, and in so doing, forced a playoff with the Cincinnati Reds the next day, in Cincinnati, where the Mets won the wild card. I did a quick search, and I don't think I've ever told this story before - so here goes (if you can't tell, this is the part of Sunday where I have schoolwork to do...and this is the procrastination part):

I came home from Boston on October 2nd for a friend's wedding. I had my suit, and one change of clothes - a gray t-shirt and jeans. At the wedding, a friend and I decided to go to Shea the next day to watch the Mets game - especially after it became clear that the game would decide the playoff appearance. So we showed up at Shea the next day, and waited in line, and got good seats (seats good enough that I was in the background of a couple of TV crowd shots in the bottom of the ninth - I still have the tape). While in line, also, then-Pirates third base coach (and former Met) Richie Hebner's wife was behind us, and if I'm not mistaken, although I've been known to misinterpret these things - she was hitting on me. But I digress.

The Mets won the game, and I became convinced it was my lucky outfit. I had no real demands bringing me back to Boston (I lived with the Southern Bureau at the time - he was then the next-room-over Bureau, and I was....in between jobs. There was an unsuccessful stint at Houlihan's, a possible job interview at True Value Hardware, and only interning at a TV station - I was a month away from working...November 15th, to be exact....until this very day.), so I stayed for the Monday playoff to watch the game with my dad. The Mets won, a great game by Al Leiter - a one-hitter, if I remember correctly, without looking it up. Then my dad had some Rangers tickets for Thursday - so I stayed through Thursday, with the same clothes, and the Mets did well against Arizona. That was a lucky outfit. I wore it until Kenny Rogers threw ball four against Andruw Jones. When I came back to Boston, I watched Todd Pratt hit the game-winning homer against the Diamondbacks at the apartment, while Southern Bureau and our other roommate went to the Red Sox-Indians playoff game...then I ran down to Fenway Park, and met them by like the third inning. What a week, in retrospect. I think I probably watched the Red Sox in my lucky outfit, too. I can't remember how often I laundered it. Probably not often enough.

12:35 pm - Lunch break. I had to run down to Riley's Roast Beef (The Wife and I decided earlier we would do that today - I forgot I had to be the one to go)...It's beautiful outside. The shame of all of these sports going on today is that I don't get to go out and enjoy the nice weather. Maybe The Baby (almost 'The 1-Year-Old) and I will go for a walk later...or I'll rake the leaves or something. It will be good therapy, win or lose.

12:57 pm - Sun Sports has much better video of Miguel Olivo going after Jose Reyes (and throwing a punch at him) than SNY, which is what ESPN has been showing. I just saw it on their pre-game.

Final note on what I have going on in my head today - fantasy baseball. I have one starter going - Jason Hammel of the Devil Rays, along with a host of relievers - Aaron Heilman, Jon Lester, Chad Cordero, Jeremy Accardo, Joba Chamberlain, and possibly Kei Igawa, who I thought was getting the start for the Yankees. I have an outside shot at passing the Southern Bureau in wins, but I need to maintain my strikeout lead, and I pretty much wrap up the season. I'm nervous about this, too, though. I have frittered away as much as the Mets have...though, like you have to give the Phillies credit, I have to give the Southern Bureau (and Justin from NYC, too, who is in the hunt but may come up just short) credit for keeping it close. I'm rooting against A.J. Burnett, Jamie Moyer (for two reasons), Jason Bergmann (getting K's, at least), and Brian Burres.

Phillies-Nationals, by the way, are a 1:35 start. I would love it if the Nats jumped all over Moyer in the first inning...and if the Mets did the same to Dontrelle Willis.

There's also fantasy football and NASCAR to worry about - but today they'll take a back seat to baseball.

1:07 pm - Jets have already had a defensive stand before the Mets have thrown the first pitch. Jets looked good against the Bills' backup quarterback.

1:15 pm - Both games are underway. I have better reception on the Jets than it looks like here:

1:30 pm - Wow. Not even through the top of the first yet, and it's 5-0. Tom Glavine's out, and now our hopes rest on Jorge Sosa. Not exactly the way I drew it up.

I let The Wife use the computer for 10 minutes, and this is what happens.

Jets are looking good - recovering a Bills fumble, and driving...

Unless Glavine gets a chance to pitch in the playoffs, and get the bad taste out of Mets fans' mouths, he is not going to be remembered well. There is a huge difference - Hall of Fame versus wine conneisseuir, but I'm thinking Steve Trachsel.

The Marlins announcers are already driving me nuts. The color guy actually said, after the 4th run scored, "How about some 'Let's Go Mets' cheers now?!' There's no place for that in a broadcast booth.

1:39 pm - Finally, the top of the first inning is over. 7-0 Marlins. How ugly was it? Glavine couldn't get two outs. He hit the opposing pitcher (albeit a good hitter, but still) with a pitch with the bases loaded. Tom Glavine, this is, not Oliver Perez. He made the error that scored another run, throwing the ball into left field like a little leaguer.

The Mets are still capable of scoring enough runs to win this game, unless they play like they've been playing the past couple of weeks.

And I'm going to say it again...if the Mets are lucky enough to win, and make the post-season, or lose and have the Phillies lose, and play their way in tomorrow - there better not be a drop of champagne. And I don't want to hear, 'this is sweeter than last year because of all the adversity'. You caused this. And you haven't accomplished a thing until you either win the NLCS or World Series. Making the playoffs was expected...and you produced a disastrous end of September.

1:52 pm - Carlos Delgado was just hit by a pitch, looks serious - he may have to leave the game. It loads the bases, though, with 2 outs - and the Mets already have one back, it's 7-1. No score in the first in Philadelphia.

No score on the Jets yet either. Brett Favre has thrown a touchdown pass, though, so he's knocked Marino off the top spot on TD passes. Love that.

1:54 pm - Argh. Ramon Castro just missed hitting a grand slam. It looked like he had it. 7-1 Marlins after one.

2:02 pm - Things are looking up a bit. Sosa strikes out the side, and the Jets got an interception inside of 2 minutes to go in the half. Phillies, though, lead 1-0.

2:11 pm - Jets are going to the half scoreless after a great drive ended in a missed field goal - off the upright. Speaking of Dan Marino, Chad Pennington executed a great fake spike.

My fantasy stuff is not going well - Southern Bureau is racking up a bunch of strikeouts. I haven't been following my NFL picks too closely with everything else going on, but I love the fact that Cleveland is up on Baltimore 28-3 right now...I know I didn't pick that, though.

Dontrelle Willis has 2 outs in the second, but he looks very beatable today. Anything less than 7 runs would have been wonderful today, Glavine.

2:35 pm - Willis walked the bases loaded in the third, with 2 outs, and he's been lifted. I'm not sure that's a great thing - the Mets would have gotten to him. So it's the bullpen now - the Mets need to capitalize with the bases loaded.

The Phillies did - Ryan Howard came through with a 2-run single with the bases loaded, and it's 3-0 Phillies.

2:40 pm - Paul LoDuca, pinch-hitting, on a 3-2 count, rolled a check-swinger to the pitcher. No runs. It's still early, but it's not looking good.

Marshawn Lynch ran 10 yards right through the Jets for a touchdown to make it 7-0, Bills. The Jets can not lose that game.

2:50 pm - Pennington has responded - a touchdown pass to Coles. The Mets have not. The Jets are tied, the Mets are down 7-1 through 4. Phillies are still up 3-1 through 3-and-2-thirds.

The fantasy stuff isn't looking too good either - my relievers better rack up the K's.

3:10 pm - Through 4-and-a-half: Phillies 3, Nationals 1. Marlins 8, Mets 1...after an RBI double by De Aza. About halfway through the 4th, and after a Bills field goal, it's 10-7 Buffalo.

3:20 pm - Through 5 - no changes.

The Jets, though, came up with a big 3rd down stop, and appeared to force a field goal. After a time out, the Bills went for it, and scored. Ugh. What a day.

The good news: Jon Lester is in for the Red Sox, as scheduled. Hope he gets a handful of K's.

3:30 pm - Jets got a quick strike - down 17-14. Southern Bureau - I'm well aware of the irony between the Moyer-Glavine starts. Moyer's day is done, so are the Soutern Bureau's fantasy pitchers. I need to tally and figure out how many K's I need from hopefully a few bullpen appearances.

3:45 pm - The Jets game ended with a bad interception thrown by Pennington. Bills 17, Jets 14. Now I'm not only going to have to live with the Mets choke (down 8-1 through 6), but tons of undeserved crap being dumped on Pennington as the fans call for Kellen Clemens. Oh, right, Phillies are also up 4-1 now.

4:07 pm - The Mets played a pretty crisp top of the 8th. A little ironic that the Mets bullpen has pitched so well today after putting them in this hole to begin with...also ironic that the Mets had to rely so heavily on their bullpen in their most important game of the year - getting only a third of an inning from their starter. 5-1 in Philly, 8-1 in New York- neither score is good for the Mets. They need 8 runs in the 8th.

4:20 pm - 3 more outs. At least Aaron Heilman is pitching the 9th - I need two K's from him...or Chad Cordero - hopefully he comes in against the Phillies. This day has been a disaster.

4:31 pm - The Mets are done - losers, 8-1, to Florida.

4:35 pm - The Mets are now officially done, as the Phillies beat the Nationals, 6-1. Unreal. I'm more pissed off than I thought I'd be...perhaps because it seems like I care more than the Mets. Or perhaps it's because my NFL picks were awful, and my fantasy players are going to come up one strikeout short...unless Kei Igawa makes a ninth inning appearance. I think all of those failures stem from the concentration I've been giving to the Mets...undeservedly so.

THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN TONIGHT...

Call it the National League East Series. Call it the pre-post-season. It's a best two-out-of-three series, with two opponents not even playing one another. Which means the Mets had better win all three of their games with the Florida Marlins - because they can't count on the Nationals doing to the Phillies what they did to the Mets.

It's a shame it's come down to this...but this is where we are. After blowing a 7-game lead over the course of 2 weeks, it's do or die. Today is the last day you can make an argument that the Mets have any control over their own fate. Win, and they can't drop out of first place. Lose, and they have to rely on other teams. Win 3, and hope the Phillies don't.

For the first time in the 3+ year history of johnnymets.blogspot.com, the Phillies scare me. A little. I'll be more scared when the Mets are officially in second place.

The slim silver lining here is that the Phillies' dominance of the Mets does not factor into the Mets' playoff hopes. If they finish tied for the division lead, with the chance that neither team would be in the wild card spot, there would be a one-game playoff, and the Phillies' season-series win wouldn't matter. It would matter that the Mets would probably have zero confidence going into that game.

Bottom line - you want loser-goes-home, elimination baseball? You got it. Unfortunately for Mets fans, it comes about a week earlier than it was supposed to.

A NEW FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

Why sprint when you can stumble? To wit:

Team A: Losers of 10 out of 14 to close out a division-winning season.
Team B: Losers of 8 out of 14 to finish in the wild card, but blowing a late-season division lead.
Team C: Winners of 4 straight to end a season in which they finished in first place in their league.
Team D: Holds a slim division lead with a record that is worse than the wild card team.

You can probably guess who these teams are. Team C is the 2006 Mets, who blew everyone in the National League out of the water, just to lose to Team A, the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, in the NLCS. And those Cardinals went on to win the World Series over the American League Champion, Team B, the Detroit Tigers, who struggled in September in their own right.

The point is, if last year constitutes a trend, it's not how you play in September, but in October, that matters. And Team D, the 2007 Mets, look like they might have righted the ship just enough to make it to October to play some playoff baseball.

They actually haven't done too poorly in September. They are 12-8 through Saturday in the month, which isn't awful. The sweep by the Phillies dominates the landscape, but the Mets did take 4 out of 5 from Atlanta in the month, and sweep the Astros. The danger, of course, is that the Phillies have played so well, and gave the Mets a scare...and then the teams in the National League West have played well enough to box the East loser out of the wild card.

What are the shining spots for the Mets this month? They've had a tremendous shot in the arm from Pedro Martinez*, and David Wright has done his best to carry the team on his shoulders. Wright is the first 30-30 man on the Mets in 20 years.

(Someone else playing out of his mind is Moises Alou. With a 1-for-4 on Saturday, Alou is now riding a 26-game hitting streak, tying Wright's team mark set earlier this year, and extending his own record of a single-season Mets' hitting streak.)

The slate gets wiped clean in about a week. We can only hope that the Mets will still have a slate...and that once they advance, they continue with their ability to beat teams not in the NL East.

WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright has 40 doubles. With 8 games left, he needs 5 doubles to break Bernard Gilkey's single-season record of 44.

COMMENTS/E-MAIL: Thanks to Dave in Brighton for clarifying the controversy over the Red Sox celebration. My point remains, though, that they still deserved to celebrate, since they were one of just 8 teams to advance to the playoffs. I'm OK with that. And my point still remains that the Mets had better not touch champagne until they win the NLCS.

An e-mail from a concerned Steve in Queens:

"Johnnymets -

As I am sure you can imagine, the last 6 days have been absolutely killing me. If I were Minaya; Mota, Heilman, Delgado, Sele, Schoenweiss would all be taken out back and tortured. The Mets bullpen is the worst thing I have seen in a few years. I just can't believe what is happening. Either they don't score for their starting pitcher, or they do and their starter sucks. I am extremely concerned that the Mets will not be making the playoffs this year because the way I see it, it is Division or bust. And if the Mets do make the playoffs and get past the first round, and have to face the Phillies in the NLCS, they will be completely screwed. Anyway, I can't blame you for not writing for the past few weeks. I wouldn't have either. Talk soon.

Steve (disgruntled Mets fan from Queens)"

Well, Steve, the good news is that only one team is coming out of the East. The wild card race has gotten away from the Mets and Phillies since you wrote. The bad news is, the Phillies have almost as good a shot as the Mets at winning the division.

For the Mets, it's all up to them - they control their fate. With Saturday's win, the magic number is down to 7, and the Phillies are playing as I write this. So I don't think all hope is lost once the Mets make the playoffs. They've had success against San Diego and Arizona, and goodness knows they kill the National League Central.

Let's also not lose sight of just how hard it is to win a division. Some teams (Yankees, Braves) have done it so much that it appears to be easy to accomplish. The Mets are on the verge of winning back-to-back division titles for the first time in their history. It doesn't matter that it wasn't the prettiest season - they can be division champs again. And that goes a long way towards building some confidence heading into the post-season.

EVERYTHING COMING UP METS

When is an Atlanta Braves celebration cause for celebration for Mets fans? Wednesday afternoon.
Let me take you through my afternoon. It was the day that I meet the students - not a full day of school - Thursday is the first full day - but a full afternoon, because the students come in, check out the classroom, meet the teachers, and hang out with one another.

Because it was such a busy afternoon, it wasn't until things settled down at 4:30 that I remembered the Mets had played a 12:30 game. 7-0, Reds. Bummer. I check the Phillies score - 8-6, Phillies, in the 9th. Bummer. Maybe the Braves will come back, I think....because I always think that way.

7pm - I get home, make sure to set my fantasy lineups, before I forget, and lo and behold, the Braves had their biggest win of the year. They apparently celebrated like they won some kind of championship...and it's the closest they'll get to some kind of championship all year.

The end result - the Mets' magic number is down from 20 to 19. Things are certainly breaking the Mets' way when, on a day they get 3-hit, and one of their aces gets rocked pretty good (John Maine, another disappointing start...but he'll turn it back on for the playoffs, I'm sure), they end up gaining ground.

The Phillies can beat the Mets...but they sure do have a lot of trouble with everyone else. And as a result, let's say it together now, 'The Phillies Don't Scare Me.'

THE RETURN OF PEDRO MARTINEZ*

Things are starting to feel familiar with the Mets. Paul LoDuca - healthy. Moises Alou - healthy. Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado - healthy...and possibly breaking their slumps.

And now...Pedro Martinez*. Pedro* made his season debut Monday in Cincinnati, and got the win for the Mets. He went 5 innings, sticking to his 75-pitch limit, giving up 3 runs (2 earned), 3 walks, and striking out 4.

Pedro* got support from homers by Moises Alou and David Wright, and he pitched a good game. It was a far cry from his last outing, last year against Pittsburgh. And while it was also a far cry from his heydey with the Expos and Red Sox, it showed he still knows how to win. (Also, the Mets owe him 5 inning wins - heaven knows there have been plenty of games in a Mets uniform where Pedro* has gone 7 or 8 stellar innings and had to leave with a loss or no decision.)

Pedro* also picked up his 3,000th career strikeout in the second inning. That was one of the milestones that was highlighted at the beginning of the season - which seems so far away. Pedro Martinez*, 2 strikeouts away from 3,000 career. He finally got that milestone. And I find this hard to believe - but Pedro* is now one of three pitchers who has more strikeouts than innings pitched. There's a certain minimum requirement to make that stat work - I forget what it is - I saw it during the Reds' broadcast of this game.

As for the Mets overall, it's pretty amazing that they are in such a comfortable position. The school year is getting back into full swing, so I wasn't able to write about the 4-game sweep by the Phillies last week. The Mets looked like they were undisciplined (Marlon Anderson throwing an elbow at Chase Utley trying to break up a double play was unnecessary and stupid, costing the Mets one of those Philly games), and they looked like they were in serious trouble. Then they went to Atlanta, where they have so much trouble, and they swept the Braves. Now, I think, there's no looking back. Until they play the Phillies and Braves again - they're the only teams that give the Mets any trouble.

The Mets are sitting pretty. Magic Number = 21. The Mets are 5 up on Philadelphia (that's back from 2 at the end of the sweep), and 7 and a half on the Braves. The Braves are playing the Phillies the next couple of days - we'll just keep rooting for Atlanta, and watch the lead increase even more as the Mets take on the struggling Reds.

MEANWHILE, AT JOHNNYJETS.BLOGSPOT.COM: I have posted my season picks for the Jets. I'll keep you updated on my postings over there through this site. Just click on the link at the right so you don't have to type in the whole address.

BIG WEEK OFF TO A BAD START

The Mets control their fate this week. They can put away the Phillies and the Braves with a good stretch of road games (their strength this year), and use the month of September to set up their pitching rotation for the post-season. Or, they can play like they did Monday night and make sure that September is filled with competitive baseball right up until the last day of the season.

The Phillies took it to the Mets in the first game of the big 7-game road trip through Philadelphia and Atlanta. The Phillies pounded out 9 runs on 18 hits en route to a 9-2 win. But they still don't scare me.

The Mets now have Tom Glavine, Oliver Perez, and Orlando Hernandez in their next three games against the Phillies. And while the Phillies have done well against the Mets this year, none of their wins have come as lopsided as Monday's - and that was against Brian Lawrence. He's got a grand total of about one start left with the Mets this year, if everyone stays healthy.

A split in Philly for the Mets is good - it means the Phillies pick up zero ground. The Mets just have to win one game to see their magic number decrease by two (it's at 28 right now - with 32 games to go). Then it would be nice to see the Mets take a series from Atlanta this year - but to be honest - if the Braves keep beating them two out of three, all they're picking up is one game at a time.

Bottom line - this is a big week for the Mets. But it's a crucial week for the Phillies and Braves.

PEDRO* REHAB UPDATE: I mentioned above that this might be the second-to-last start for Brian Lawrence, and that's because there should just be one more rehab start for Pedro Martinez* before he rejoins the Mets. Pedro* pitched for St. Lucie again on Monday night, and had his best outing yet - he went 6 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, and one unearned run. Expect him back for the Astros series around September 7th.

OTHER INJURY NEWS: The Mets are near completely healthy. Paul LoDuca was back in the lineup Monday night, and Endy Chavez will be back most likely Tuesday, although the Mets could wait for September 1st to make their roster move. Also worth noting - the Phillies are healthy, too, as they got Shane Victorino back over the weekend, and Chase Utley was back on the field Monday night against the Mets. Utley picked up where he left off with his bat, too, getting three hits, including a homer.

THIS WEEK: Coming this week on johnnymets.blogspot.com:

-I saw my first Mets game of the season Friday night against the Dodgers, and sat where I never sat before. I'll have that, plus a look at the CitiField construction.

-Sunday I attended a sporting event I never attended before. I'll tell you what it was, who won, and why I'll be going back.

LEFTOVERS FROM THE OHIO TRIP

Things I forgot to mention/didn't realize:

• I was reading through the Indians yearbook (the Indians don't sell programs - they sell their yearbook for about 5 bucks, and then throw in a scorecard...the Reds sell "Reds Magazine"), and I guess new this year is an area called "Heritage Park", celebrating the Indians' history. It looks very nice, and I'm sorry I missed it. It's out beyond centerfield, and it opens at 4:30 for 7:05 games. Maybe that's why they keep the other gates closed for so long (remember, we didn't get in until 6pm). But they do not do a very good job of advertising it - there were a lot of people just waiting outside the gate we were at, and no one seemed to have any inclination to check out Heritage Park.
• The Reds have cheerleaders - I only saw them make one appearance - they did a dance about a half-hour before the game started, and we didn't see them again.
• Thom Brennaman is riding the coattails of his dad, Marty...because he seems to be very popular in Cincinnati. They have all these ad campaigns, with people with signs that say, "We love Marty and Thom!" I'm sure people just really love Marty, and they don't want to offend Marty by saying, "We love Marty, and we're quite indifferent to Thom, but we don't want to upset Marty, so we'll just say 'We love Marty and Thom!'". Luckily we went on Frank Robinson bobblehead night. Sometime this month the Reds are having Marty and Thom bobblehead night.

SWEET ENDING: Thursday night's Astros-Braves game was pretty awesome. I turned it on in the seventh inning, and the Braves were up 9-5. With a man on first, there was a grounder to short, and Edgar Renteria turned his ankle bending down to field it (this part wasn't satisfying - Renteria was placed on the DL on Friday). What was satisfying was that when Renteria left the game, Chipper Jones was moved from third base to short, and Willie Harris moved from the outfield to third base. Naturally, the next player hits it to third, and Harris boots the grounder, so the bases are loaded. Pinch-hitter Mike Lamb then hits a grand slam. 9-9. Turned out the Astros took an 11-9 lead in extras, but the Braves tied it, then the Astros finally won in 14.

NL EAST/NL CENTRAL CHALLENGE: The Mets did some damage to the Brewers by taking two out of three, and now have a chance to help Milwaukee against Chicago. The Mets beat the Cubs in a good win on Friday afternoon, scoring 4 in the ninth to break a 2-2 tie...too late to support El Duque's great start - he got a no decision - but a good win nonetheless. Meanwhile, the Phillies, after playing the Cubs, swap with the Mets and now take on the Brewers. The Cubs and Brewers are tight in the Central race - the Mets are still keeping their distance from the Phillies and Braves.

INJURY UPDATE: Pedro Martinez* has thrown a simulated game, but the Mets are apparently being very cautious about his return: if and when it will be. It's sounding a little too cautious to me...it seems like the date for his return is getting pushed back further and further, and now the information is vague. Hopefully he comes back and is effective...

METS SWEEP MARLINS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ROCKY OUTING

Rockies 11, Mets 5 (NYM: 13-7, COL: 9-13)

So much for a sweep. The Rockies outhit the Mets 20-12 in an afternoon game at Shea Stadium Wednesday, preventing the Mets from picking up their third win in a row.

This was the second straight bad outing for Mike Pelfrey...and this one was much worse than his last. Pelfrey followed up his 4 runs in five innings against Atlanta with 6 runs in three innings. Both were at home, for whatever that's worth. Pelfrey was quoted after the game as saying something like, "I kept throwing fastballs and they kept hitting them. I guess I'm just stubborn." That doesn't sound like the smartest approach to me.

Overshadowed by the Rockies' 20 hits were the Mets' 12 - a third of which belonged to THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes - he was 4-for-5. Endy Chavez started in left field, and he was 2-for-5. Shawn Green also continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-4 with 3 RBI. David Wright continued his not-hot hitting (and I didn't even pick him for Beat the Streak), going 0-for-3.

The Mets have Thursday off, before opening a three-game weekend series in Washington. I'll try to produce something creative for the blog on Thursday.

Coors Light johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: Can't ignore Willy Taveras's 5-for-6 effort. He only scored twice and had just one RBI, but he had a couple of bunt singles that apparently sparked the team. I couldn't watch this game, by the way - it was an afternoon game, and I was at school. But a 5-hit day most of the time will merit Player of the Game honors.

TURNING TWO...HUNDRED: Still not sure what the Mets are chasing here, but it's worth noting that the Mets turned 2 more double plays on Wednesday, giving them 28 in 20 games.

WEDNESDAY: 2 SEASON TOTAL: 28

NL EAST NEWS: The Braves-Marlins game had an exciting ending Wednesday night. The Braves, and Tim Hudson, took a 3-0 lead into the ninth inning. The Marlins got three straight hits off Hudson (and his 0.60 or thereabouts ERA), and Bob Wickman came in. He gave up 3 runs, and then a passed ball brought home the winning run for the Marlins. All three runs were charged to Hudson, so his ERA went up to 1.22. It was Bob Wickman's first blown save of the year - and his ERA is still just 0.90. I'm glad Tim Hudson got three earned runs - I hold a grudge for him stinking it up last year, and single-handedly destroying my fantasy pitching staff before I finally cut him.

BEAT THE STREAK: Jimmy Rollins hit his (league-leading!) 8th homer of the season, so I have tied my season-best hitting streak at 2 games. I'm going with Lance Berkman on Thursday - he has good career numbers against Tony Armas of the Pirates.

AGE APPROPRIATE

El Duque has arthritis. Let the age jokes begin.

Tom Glavine forgets things.

Moises Alou hates when he misses the early-bird special.

Julio Franco is incontinent.

I guess El Duque's injury isn't a threat to him during the regular season, but it is a reminder of how fragile the Mets' pitching situation is. These guys are old (relatively speaking), and the injuries can pile up fast in that case.

This was actually the subject of one of the ESPN blogs today (thanks, Southern Bureau), and how difficult it would be for the Mets to get a front-line starter should Tom Glavine get injured, or even El Duque.

There is bound to be an injury to the Mets' pitching staff this year, but I don't think it will cripple the team. I think we need to remember that the Mets were in a similar situation last year, and it didn't affect them at all. (13 starters over the course of the season, and they still ran away with the division.) And let's remember that things got even worse in the post-season, and Steve Trachsel notwithstanding, pitching was the Mets' strength in the playoffs.

The other thing to remember is that as poor in pitching as the Mets are this year, other teams are worse off. Pitching is tough to come by these days, and the Mets have a good stockpile of arms. The problem, for you pessimists out there, is that the teams that are better off in the pitching department reside in the National League East...the Marlins and the Phillies. We'll just have to see if the Mets can outhit all of their opponents if the pitching proves to be a worst-case scenario.

Sadly, my February vacation is coming to a close. I still have many things to write about, but less time to do so. I want to touch on: the Mets coaches, the off-season deals, and my pre-season picks, among other things. Please keep checking back, although my postings will be inconsistent. Thanks.

ROLLINS WITH THE PUNCHES

The big news out of spring training on Wednesday and Thursday was Jimmy Rollins' proclamation that the Phillies are the team to beat in the National League East, and the Mets' reaction to that claim. The Mets did just what a Mets fan would hope they would do - they laughed off the comment, and said the matter would be decided on the field, implying that the Mets are the defending division champs, and the Phillies would have to prove it to them.

I do think the Phillies are better this year, but I don't necessarily think they are better than the Mets. (In past years I felt very strongly that the Phillies don't scare me - but this year I may change that tune....but, again, they'd have to show me something on the field, which is what their problem has been in past years. Good on paper, not good in actuality.) As I wrote a couple of days ago - the difference this year is that the Mets won't be running away with the division - there will be some competition.

So Jimmy Rollins spoke out, David Wright put him in his place - just for kicks, here's a breakdown of the two players involved in this war of words (please click on the picture so you can actually read the darn thing):

THE BEGINNING OF A CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON?

Here we go, the 2007 baseball season - one that would be a disappointment if the Mets are not the World Series champions at the end. I have to start with something that may surprise you - I am not as confident in the Mets this year as I have been in past seasons.

It's not that I expect the Mets to do poorly...it's just that I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Part of the reason for this is the fact that the Mets are considered favorites to do well this year - I'm not at a point where I handle that role very well - it's better when they are underdogs. So there's that mentality.

Then there's the fact that the Mets' pitching is a mess. The lineup is great (although I have my reservations about Moises Alou - more on that later). But the pitching is a question mark, at the very least. The optimistic view is that no one has great pitching, so the Mets' hitters should again be able to bash the opponents, getting the Mets into the playoffs. The pessimistic view is that the team with the best pitching is a team the Mets will face all year long - the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies need to earn my respect (they don't scare me, remember), but I do feel this is their best chance to win anything - I think they have a better team this year than they have in years past. But the Mets are also pretty darn good. I do think the two teams from the NL East make the playoffs....but that's getting way ahead of myself. Just know that I think the Mets will face some tougher competition this year (remember, the Marlins give them trouble, too), and it won't be a runaway division title like in 2006.

I'd love to be wrong about Moises Alou - he's not getting an asterisk at this early stage of spring training, but he'll probably have one by the regular season. He needs to prove to me that he's capable. A lot of experts are saying the Mets added the right-handed bat they've needed...I'm not so sure. Better players, in my opinion, have failed under the bright lights of NYC - Alou will need to show me he can succeed at Shea.

**This has been in my head all off-season. I don't know why I didn't write this last year. I thought about it every game of the NLCS - Yadier Molina scared the crap out of me every time he came to bat. He was the only St. Louis hitter who was consistently getting to the Mets' pitchers. And he was the guy who beat them in Game 7. When he hit the homer off Aaron Heilman, it didn't surprise me. Just had to say that. I still think, with his .348 average in the series, and the way he handled the St. Louis pitchers, that he should have been the NLCS MVP. But I guess Jeff Suppan did his part.

EXCITING STADIUM NEWS: Took a quick overnight trip to Queens last weekend with The Wife and The Baby, and saw the construction going on beyond Shea Stadium. Citi Field is really taking shape. The columns that will form the entranceway (I think) are already up. It looks neat. My dad has said that they showed aerials of it, and it's taking shape that way too. I meant to take a picture on the way back to Massachusetts, but forgot. I always overestimate the amount of space needed to build a baseball field. I always think it will take more space than it does. But these ballparks fit into small spots.

FANTASY SPORTS: So in order to bridge the gap from football to baseball, my friends and I are playing fantasy NASCAR. As a result, I sat through my first NASCAR race today, the Daytona 500. And here's the shocker - I actually enjoyed it. It helped that I had certain people to root for during the race, but it was fun to watch. This will do nicely to help me get to baseball - and as I told my friends, there's a chance it may compete with some early-season baseball games on Sunday afternoons. Or at least merit switching over. As for the fantasy team, I anticipate being in the middle of the pack after comparing my drivers with the rest of the league.

NOT WHAT WE HAD IN MIND

Cardinals 6, Mets 3 (NYM: 24-16, STL: 26-15)

The Mets turned in a 3-6 road trip, making 1-2 stops in Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and St. Louis. Now they have to face the Yankees, and then the Phillies again....the difference being, they'll be at Shea Stadium. They need to take advantage of that and find their winning ways again.

The bad news is, we might yet have to suffer with Jose Lima some more. (Lima gave up 5 runs in 4 and two-thirds on Thursday afternoon.) Brian Bannister hurt his leg again during his rehab stint with Norfolk on Thursday. Sounds like he pulled something trying to cover first base - but they're not sure if he aggravated his injury or if it's just that the muscle isn't used to the work, after the time off. More information should come out Friday.

Some of the Mets' bats are waking up - Jose Valentin homered on Thursday, after getting very hot last weekend, and I feel like Cliff Floyd is ready to break out (he doubled off Jason Isringhausen in the ninth inning Thursday). And the Mets got the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, after threatening but failing to come through in the ninth Wednesday night. There have been encouraging signs...but the Mets need to put up some W's, fast.

AROUND THE NL EAST: The Mets again got help from the Brewers, who beat the Phillies Thursday, so the Mets still lead the NL East by 2 games. The bad news is that Atlanta beat the Marlins again, so they're now just 3 and a half games back of the Mets.

THE KID'S KIDS: The game I mentioned last night turned into a 7-inning final somehow. The Mets lost to Dunedin, 3-2. Oh - it was the second game of a doubleheader, from the rainout the previous night. The Mets won the earlier game, 1-0. Must have 7 inning games for doubleheaders. The Mets are 23-15...with Thursday night's game too late for this edition. (I'm taking advantage of the early Major League game, and going to bed at a normal time.)

LAST-PLACE LASTINGS: Lastings Milledge again led off for Norfolk, and went 1-for-3, with a double and an RBI, lifting his average to .281. The Tides lost to Toledo, 8-2. (Anderson Hernandez is playing shortstop for Norfolk, by the way.) For the season, in 40 games, Milledge has 9 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, and 11 RBI.

FANTASY UPDATE: Not a good day for the What If Mets. Not only did I lose 2 out of three, but the second loss was 20-0. What a disappointment. And I don't know what I could have done differently to make it any closer. Not even 19-0. I just don't know. I'm only a game over .500 again, 5 games out of first, and 2 games ahead of 4th place in the division. And I have to face Randy Johnson, then Curt Schilling, then Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks in the next three on Friday. This weekend will feature some great symmetry, though, when my What If Mets play the What If Yankees, while the real-life Mets play the real-life Yankees. It's like back in 1994, when the Rangers and Knicks were both playing in Washington, one day after another and they were staying at the same hotel, and there were shots of the players as one was checking in and the other checking out. Sort of.

BEAT THE STREAK: A 2-for-4 for Miguel Cabrera, and I have a 2-gamer. I'll go with Ryan Howard against Matt Clement on Friday.

METS ARE THE ONLY GOOD TEAM IN THE NL EAST

Mets 1, Braves 0 (NYM: 16-7, ATL: 9-14)

I didn't really get to see much of this game. I was out for much of the night, but heard a little bit on the radio, then saw the end on TV. Paul LoDuca provided the only offense worth mentioning in the entire game with a solo homer in the sixth, backing up Tom Glavine. Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner combined to finish off the shutout. I chose to go with this headline because it's becoming clear that the NL East is weaker than originally suspected. But who cares. For too long the Mets languished in the toughest division in baseball, top to bottom. (They could have won the West last year.) They deserve this. But here are the nasty numbers:

W L GB
NY Mets 16 7 --
Philly 9 13 6.5
Atlanta 9 14 7
Wash. 8 16 8.5
Florida 6 15 9

There were plenty of positives out of the Mets win...but I'll start with a negative. The Mets left 8 men on base, and obviously scored only the one run. But they always (for some strange reason) struggle against John Thomson. So the fact that they beat him is a good thing.

The first big positive is that the Mets are going to win their first series in Atlanta in years - it would be sweeter if it came via a sweep on Sunday. The Mets came into this series 21-50 all time at Turner Field. So they're inching that all-time record up a bit. Another one is Tom Glavine's second consecutive strong start against the Braves. Glavine in this one: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. He's up to 3-2 on the season, with a 2.29 ERA. Billy Wagner pitched a very good ninth, by the way, for his 7th save.

Another positive was that Carlos Beltran* came back and started in the game. He played the entire game, and was 1-for-3.

WE'VE GOT COMPANY: I was partly distressed, partly impressed, to see that David Wright (left) is writing a blog for the Mets official website (you're not getting a link on my blog until he links to mine from his - go find it yourself). It's actually pretty good, but from what I can tell, he's only updating it on homestands. So I've got him there. I guess there's nothing else to say but welcome to the blogging world, David. But try to avoid having the blog distract you from your real job....that can be a challenge sometimes.

FROM THE, "WELL, THAT SEEMS TO BE THE NATURAL PROGRESSION OF THINGS" DEPARTMENT: Internet reports have former Met Tsuyoshi Shinjo, a fan favorite on the 2001 team, retiring from baseball in Japan to, what else?, release a collection of nude photos. Of himself. Just thought that would be worth mentioning.

BANNISTER'S REPLACEMENT: Willie Randolph says the pitcher who will fill in for Brian Bannister in the two starts he will miss will come from Norfolk, not the bullpen. So the Mets will have to make a move (perhaps sending Victor Diaz back down) and bring up either Jose Lima or John Maine, the guy they got along with Jorge Julio in exchange for Kris Benson. I'm looking forward to seeing Maine...not sure if this year is too soon, though.

MEDIA NOTE: I heard part of Saturday's Mets game on WFAN, getting my first regular season listen to Tom McCarthy - Gary Cohen's replacement. He's good. Not great, but not bad by any stretch. He's just a good radio guy. Good choice by the Mets. I just looked up his bio, and he's a New Jersey guy, who worked the past five years with the Phillies. Seems like the Mets' gain there. I didn't hear Howie Rose much, but he's still good to listen to. Looks like I can still look forward to catching some Mets games on the radio on the drives to New York.

THE KID'S KIDS: I have no information on Saturday night's game - the Mets against Bravard County - the team that's a half-game ahead of them in the standings, in second place. This series comes on the heels of the Mets dropping 2 out of three to the last place team in their division. The Mets are still 13-8.

BEAT THE STREAK: Occasionally, I like to play a game, which I guess you could call "Baseball Detective". Usually it happens when I'm trying to find out how one of my 'Beat the Streak' picks did. Like today. I picked Carlos Lee of the Brewers, and I missed the top of the first inning, but I saw the Brewers were up 3-0 after a half-inning. So automatically I assume Lee hit a 3-run homer. But then I get the clues, and go to work. The number 7 hitter led off the top of the 2nd for the Brewers, so there was no one left on base (3 runs in, 3 outs). So there could have been a double play - but that wouldn't have been Lee, because he hits 3 or 4, not 6. So there's now a 50-50 chance or better that Lee got a hit. I watch the game, and piece together more clues, until my player comes up or it becomes obvious how the runs scored. In this case, Rickie Weekes came up and it was said he hit his first homer of the season to lead off the game. So there's one run, one hit. Geoff Jenkins had a double, and scored on Prince Fielder's homer. So no hit in the first for Carlos Lee. He also got out his second at-bat. Thankfully, he homered in his third, and had a 1-for-5, extending my streak to a season-high 8 games.

Sunday I go with Derek Jeter, against Gustavo Chacin.

Things are happening on the hot stove!

Pending approval (for monetary reasons), the Mets acquired Carlos Delgado from the Florida Marlins today in exchange for Mike Jacobs and Yusmeiro Petit. This is a great deal for the Mets. For so long, third base was the black hole in the Mets organization. Since 1962, something like 130 different people have played third base for the Mets.

That position has been locked up now, with David Wright expected to play third base for the next 20 years at Shea. Since that lock-up, though, first base had become the big question mark. John Olerud helped the Mets win some playoff games in the late 90's, but besides him, first base has been tough for the Mets to fill since the Keith Hernandez days. (Including the failed Doug Mientkiewicz signing last year, and the Mo Vaughn debacle a few years back.) That should no longer be a problem, at least for the next few years, now with Delgado. It's not a question, at least who will play first base, as it has been for a while.

Mike Jacobs showed a lot of promise, and it would have been neat to see him blossom at the major-league level next year. But the Mets really got themselves a shot in the arm with Delgado - there's no need to wait to see him blossom - he's a proven major leaguer. The problem might be that Delgado is 33 years old, and has already blossomed, but he produced last year, and hopefully has a couple of more good years in him. It's tough to get too excited about something like this with the Mets, because there's always the reminders of the failed moves (see Vaughn, Mo; and Carlos Beltran* hasn't lit anything up yet), but this seems like a good move right now.

One thing about Yusmeiro Petit - he could be a really good pitcher, and has received tons of minor league acclaim - but you just don't know how that will translate in the majors. As a matter of fact, you just don't know how his first name translates. It's worth the risk to make the Mets real, real contenders for the next three years.

Here's the way I look at the Mets next year:
Catcher - maybe Paul LoDuca, maybe Ramon Hernandez, with Ramon Castro as a backup - still most likely more production than last year, with Piazza/Castro.
1st Base - Carlos Delgado - huge upgrade
2nd Base - Not sure yet, but there's a possibility it will be Mark Grudzielanek - can't be worse than last year.
Shortstop - Still THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes - improving every year.
3rd Base - Future Hall of Famer David Wright. Enough said.
Left Field - Cliff Floyd - tough to say he will repeat last year, and how he will respond to the trade of his best friend, Mike Cameron.
Center Field - A lot is going to be expected of Carlos Beltran* next year - hopefully it only takes him a year to adjust to New York, but you have to think it'll be better next year.
Right Field - Who knows? Hopefully it won't be Manny Ramirez out there, but I think the Mets could do better than Xavier Nady, too. We'll see who fills right field - it could be a Nady-Victor Diaz-type platoon.
Bench - just wanted to throw this out there - the bench will be weaker because the Nationals signed Marlon Anderson.

I think the Mets are out of the running for Ramirez, because rumor has it he wants to go west, and Petit was a big cog in the rumored trade...I really don't think he'll bring a good personality to the Mets' mix. (Not that I know what Carlos Delgado brings, but I think he's a good teammate.) Maybe the Mets hold on to Lastings Milledge, and he answers some of the questions in right field.

You know what I would love for the Mets to do? Sign Nomar Garciaparra to a one-year deal, and see what he's got out in right field. I think he is at a point where he's got a lot to prove, and he's willing to switch positions, and he has the arm to play right. I would love for him to come here and play right field for the Mets (well, not here - he'd be worthless in Framingham...but you know what I mean). That's my two cents.

The other impact of the Delgado deal, coupled with the Josh Beckett trade, is that the Marlins are taking themselves out of the running for next year, which is big for the Mets. That leaves the Nationals and Braves, and the Phillies, who, as you know, don't scare me. So that bodes well for the Mets, too, because the Marlins are a big thorn in their side.

Lastly, the Mets offered Billy Wagner a 3-year-deal worth $30 million. There's room for a fourth year as well. I think he's coming to Shea. Another huge upgrade. Next year is going to be exciting! Stay tuned for more hot stove news!

EVEN STEVEN

Mets 8, Braves 1 (NYM: 46-46, 7 GB; ATL: 52-41)

For the 23rd different time this season, the Mets are at .500. They split the second-half-opening series with the Braves, 2-2. I'm trying to decide whether or not this is disappointing. The Mets struggle against the Braves. So I'm thinking a split is pretty good - it sure is better than losing 3 out of 4, which past Mets teams might have done this series against Atlanta. However, after the way the Mets won the first game of the series, with Mike Piazza's dramatic homer, I think I expected more. Especially considering two of the Braves pitchers, Tim Hudson and Mike Hampton, were making their first starts off the DL.

I didn't have a chance to say anything on Saturday night about Saturday's game. This was Hudson's first start back, and he shut the Mets out for six innings. The worst thing about the game was that he only threw 62 pitches over those six innings. I think he had something absurd like 16 pitches in 4 innings. The Mets had to make Hudson work more in his first start back. He cruised.

The good news is, the Mets didn't let Hampton (public enemy number two in my book, following Kenny Rogers) cruise. They got to him early....and often. THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, led off the game with a single, went to third on a Mike Cameron single, then scored on a Carlos Beltran* groundout. Reyes was then involved in the run scoring in the second as well, when the Mets got 4 runs, knocking Hampton out of the game. The big blow was an opposite field home run by Cameron which looked like a line drive, but just carried and carried.

The five runs were more than enough for Pedro Martinez* (whose asterisk remains only for superstitious reasons...he no longer deserves the mark....Beltran*, on the other hand, does). Martinez* went six innings, giving up just two hits - no runs - and striking out five. Pedro* threw just 61 pitches over his six innings. His record is now 11-3 and his ERA is 2.60. I was hoping he'd pitch like this, but, man, even me, the most optimistic of fans, didn't expect this.

A couple of interesting events over the weekend. If you missed Saturday's posting, Doug Mientkiewicz is back. He played in Friday night's game. The Mets, when they activated Mientkiewicz, also brought up Juan Padilla. In turn, they demoted Brian Daubach and Royce Ring. Daubach I don't care about (hopefully Jose Offerman follows suit soon - although he had another RBI pinch hit on Sunday), but Ring I find curious. He was one of the Mets' better relievers, especially being lefty. My thought here is that Ring is going back to Norfolk to close out games, and the Mets might shop Braden Looper, to see what they can get for him. If they end up trading Looper, I wouldn't be surprised to see Ring brought back as the closer. Just a thought. If it happens, I think that would be good. If it doesn't happen, I have no idea why they sent Ring down.

More good news, Milwaukee kicked Washington's butt this weekend, so the Mets are just 7 games out. The slide begins....

Florida is now tied with the Mets at the bottom of the NL East, Philly is a game and a half ahead. The Mets are five and a half back of Atlanta (wild card leaders).

I knew Al Leiter would be picked up by someone - but I didn't think it would be so soon...or by the Yankees. There was part of me hoping he'd come back to the Mets and pitch like he did on Sunday night, but I didn't think Leiter would come back to New York, considering his comments about the city (WFAN, Mike and the Mad Dog in particular) in the off-season. I wonder how that will play out now that he's with the Yanks.

A couple of new features for the rest of the season. ELTRAN*'S 2ND HALF will track Carlos Beltran*'s second half (it's the second half of his name), and the WRIGHT WATCH is back...this time tracking David Wright's quest for the team record in doubles. It's a longshot, but it's worth watching.

ELTRAN*'S 2ND HALF: 6-16 (.375 BA) 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 RUN, 0 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: 2nd Half: 0 doubles Season Total: 22 Team Record: 44

THE KID'S KIDS: This is where Hall of Famer Gary Carter is going to have to come through as a manager. The Gulf Coast Mets are suffering a four-game losing streak, dropping their record to 13-7. They're still in first place, but from 13-3 to 13-7 is a big drop. Sunday's are off days, so there was a (probably) much-needed day off. They'll try to find their winning ways again Monday, which, incidentally, is an off-day for the Major Legaue Mets.