ALONE IN FIRST

For the first time since mid-April, the Mets are atop the National League East by themselves.

How they got there on Thursday, considering the way they've played this season, could surprise you.

Carlos Delgado had the game-winning hit, snapping a 1-1 tie in the 8th inning with a 2-run double, capping a series where he smoked the ball nearly every at-bat, and continuing to be hot at the plate.

Oliver Perez came up big in another big game, striking out 12 over seven-and-two-thirds innings, while walking just one.

And the Mets took two out of three from the Phillies, after Tuesday's potentially devastating loss, to improve to 9-4 against Philadelphia this season.

Just like last year never happened.

NOT NEWS: Fred Wilpon admitted he "screwed up" with the firing of Willie Randolph. Apparently he had a chance to convince Omar Minaya to wait until the morning, but didn't do it. In other news, the sky is blue, dogs chase cats, and the Phillies don't scare me (anymore).

WEEKEND IN REVIEW

I should have written more this weekend, but I guess since it was the start of vacation, I took advantage of it. But I can't not comment on the great week the Mets had last week, so I'll start with that:

Sure, it would have been nice had the Mets swept the Phillies and won on Sunday night. But even in losing, they sent the Phillies a message, I think. The way the Mets and Phillies were playing each other at the end of last year, had the Phillies gone up 4-0 like they did Sunday night, the game would have been over. The fact that the Mets came back to tie Sunday night's game at 4, before losing 5-4, was a good sign, I think. And the Mets had created some pad for themselves, so a loss wasn't the worst thing, by winning five games in a row leading up to Sunday night.

Again, a sweep would have been great...but the positive thing to come out of that weekend series in Philadelphia is that the Phillies don't scare me (again - after scaring me for a couple of months last year).

MEANWHILE: When the Texas Rangers look back on the disappointment that will turn out to be the 2008 season, all they need to look back at is this four-game series in Boston as to where everything fell apart. It didn't fall apart for them so much as it came together for the Red Sox - but it certainly was at the Rangers' expense.

Boston bookended the four-game series with two whoopings - an 11-3 win on Friday, and an 8-3 win on Monday. It was the two middle games that did the most damage, though:

In innings 1-7 of both games, the Rangers trailed for only a half-inning. Then in both games, in the 8th, the Red Sox torched the Rangers bullpen and ended up winning.

Yes, the Red Sox are the better team, and should have won the games...but the way they won them will kill the Rangers' season.

One more thing about the Sox - I didn't see the Kyle Farnsworth incident last week, where he threw behind Manny Ramirez's head, but allow me this comment...not even on the pitch, really. But kind of related. Of all the years to throw behind Ramirez, this seems like an odd choice - sure, he's been beating teams with his bat, but he hasn't been showboating. I haven't ever seen Ramirez run as fast as he's run around the bases this year (instead of home run trots, started off by watching every second of the ball's flight). Then there was a pure hustle triple a couple of weeks ago. He's playing hard. And to top it off - when asked about the Farnsworth suspension, he was quite coherent, actually saying something to the effect of, "He's just doing his job." What have the Red Sox done with Ramirez?

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!

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.

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.'

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.

GETTING HOT IN FLORIDA

Mets 9, Marlins 2 (NYM: 9-4, FLA: 6-8)

(I'm having trouble with pictures tonight, so imagine a Mets-Marlins image here). The Mets pounded out 17 hits on Wednesday night in Florida, beating the man they had such a hard time beating for so long, Dontrelle Willis. Besides starting pitcher John Maine, the only starter to not get a hit on Wednesday was Paul LoDuca (and I forgot to mention this Tuesday, so it's worth mentioning now, that LoDuca took a foul tip off the throwing hand in Tuesday's game, and was hurt so much that he had to leave the game. Throw in an 0-for-5 on a night where everyone was hitting, and I wonder how much pain LoDuca is in.).

The Mets struck early - scoring 4 runs in the first inning, before an out was even recorded. It was pretty much over there. The Marlins apparently had a late flight out of Houston on Tuesday, and an early arrival home on Wednesday, but boy were they awful. A couple of errors in the first aided the Mets. The only thing that made this game worth watching after the first few innings was the fact that - again - John Maine carried a no-hitter into the 7th inning (although the first batter in the seventh put a stop to the thoughts that the Mets might finally get one). Maine keeps teasing us...perhaps he'll be the first pitcher to toss a no-no for the Mets. In all, Mets pitchers (Aarons Sele and Heilman finished the game) combined to give up just three hits, with Maine giving up a 2-run homer in the seventh for the Marlins only scoring. (It should also be noted that the Marlins entered the game leading the Majors with a .288 batting average.)

Offensive highlights for the Mets, on a night with 17 team hits, included a 4-for-6 night for Jose Reyes (with 2 doubles), 2-for-5, including a 2-run homer for Carlos Beltran, 3-for-5 for Jose Valentin, and a 2-for-5 night for David Wright.

The Mets wrap up the quick 2-game series with the Marlins on Thursday night before coming home for a weekend series with Atlanta. Orlando Hernandez pitches against Rick Vanden Hurk.

Programming note: Not sure if I'll be writing over the next few nights. I'll try to keep track of Players of the Game, and update over the weekend. I might be able to do Thursday night's recap...no way I can do Friday...maybe Saturday I'll be back.

(Imagine a picture of John Maine here) RED LOBSTER JOHNNYMETS.BLOGSPOT.COM PLAYER OF THE GAME: A tough night to select one performer out of so many highlights, but I'm going with John Maine - he improved to 2-0, and took a no-hitter deep into the game, and didn't implode once the no-hitter was gone. Final line - 7 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 7 strikeouts. Maine was also aided (because he walked 4) by 2 more double plays behind him. Also, another game with no errors by the Mets. They're off to a very good start to the season defensively.

WRIGHT WATCH (IT'S BACK!): David Wright was 2-for-5, so he has a 13-game hitting streak for the season, 25 overall dating back to last year. Over two seasons, he's still not quite halfway to DiMaggio's 56-game total.

DONTRELLE: Entering Wednesday night's game, Dontrelle Willis was 11-2 in his career against the Mets, with a 2.02 ERA in 16 games. I think the Mets started to figure him out a little last year, too....nope, I just checked, and he dominated them pretty good last year. So this was a good win for the Mets, to get to Willis like that.

ON THE SUBJECT OF NO-HITTERS: I'm aggravated. I spent so much time away from the TV this evening, and then I only had on the Mets, then the Phillies-Nationals game. No one mentioned that there was another no-hitter going on, and I never did my customary channel-switching to see if there were any possible history-making scenarios in any of the other games. Of course, that means there was. I switched on ESPNEWS, and saw that Mark Buehrle had thrown a no-hitter against Texas. I like watching the last few innings of no-hitters...I'm really mad I missed it. Then, to make matters worse, the woman who did the ESPNEWS highlights was AWFUL. So friggin' awful. She debuted on ESPNEWS a couple of weekends ago, and I haven't seen her very much...but she's SOOOOO bad. It's a disgrace that she's on ESPN. While I'm ranting, I switched to ESPNEWS in the first place so I could see Rangers (hockey) highlights - they swept the Thrashers, and not one game was on national television. Not one. Versus showed about three Penguins-Sentaors games, and a couple of Islanders-Sabres. No Rangers. I feel like writing a letter to the NHL, and saying, THIS IS WHY YOU HAVE NO FANS....Versus?!?! Come on, really.

TROUBLE IN PHILLY: Apparently things are unraveling in everyone's favorite NL East city. First of all, after Tuesday night's loss to the Mets, manager Charlie Manuel got into it with a Philadelphia radio host, who wanted Manuel to fire up the team more. Manuel challenged the guy to a fight. Never good. Then, Wednesday night, the Phillies responded by going out and needing extra innings against the Nationals (I was hoping I could write that they lost to the Nats, but I need to go to bed, and it's the 12th inning.) All the more reason why the Phillies don't scare me.

BALTIMORE CLOWN: Kevin Millar is a clown. He's an absolute clown. (And I don't think I'm saying this in a negative way...I actually kind of like his attitude.) We saw it a lot when he was up here in Boston. Now in Baltimore, he's still goofing around. On Opening Day in Baltimore, a couple of weeks ago, when they introduced the Orioles to the crowd, Millar came out and did the dance Ray Lewis always does when he's introduced with the Ravens. Funny stuff. Wednesday, he was "wired" in the dugout on MASN's "Wired Wednesdays". He was DH, so he was on the bench the whole game. They showed a montage of stuff he was doing, one of which was staring down a teammate. He was sitting next to the guy, staring at the back of his head, until the guy turned around. The guy said something like, "You been staring at me this whole time? It was weird, I could almost feel it. Isn't that weird?" It was pretty funny. Keep it up, Millar.

BEAT THE STREAK: Since I'll be away, and unsure if I can pick a new guy each day, I'm going to ride Wright's streak. I have him through Sunday's game. David DeJesus had an 0-fer against the Tigers, so I'm back to 0.

ROLLINS KEYS METS WIN

Mets 11, Phillies 5 (NYM: 5-2, PHI: 1-6; Mets 0.5 GB)


Jimmy Rollins is right - the Phillies are the team to beat in the National League East - and the Braves, Marlins, and now the Mets have taken them up on the offer. The Phillies are now tied with Washington as the "team to beat" up on.

It's big talk now that the game is over, but the Phillies led this game into the 8th. The Mets had cut it to 5-4 before rallying against Geoff Geary. Moises Alou led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, followed by a Shawn Green single. Jose Valentin's bunt attempt resulted in an out at third, and then pinch hitter Julio Franco walked.

It was then, with the bases loaded and one out, that Jose Reyes grounded to shortstop. Jimmy Rollins drifted to his right, and couldn't field the grounder, allowing a run to score, and the bases to stay loaded. It was 5-5, and then there was a wild pitch, and the Mets led, 6-5. Paul Lo Duca walked. Carlos Beltran hit a sacrifice fly, 7-5 Mets. Carlos Delgado walked. David Wright extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a long double to left, making it 9-5, Mets. (Wright's third double, en route to a record, on a 1-for-5 day.) Alou singled home the final two runs, and the Mets went on to the 11-5 win.

I didn't see any of this game, in fact, I just saw the highlights on ESPN. I tuned into ESPN GameCast for the first time this year after dismissal at school, when the Mets were down 5-3, so it was exciting to see the rally. I like to think the Mets broke the Phillies for the year, but I doubt it. I will say, however, that after one game, the Phillies still don't scare me.

John Maine wasn't great in this game. He pitched 4-and-2-thirds innings, giving up just 2 earned runs, but walked six, and gave up 5 hits. He threw 104 pitches in that short amount of time. I'd say he struggled. Ambiorix Burgos also struggled, giving up a homer to Ryan Howard, and three runs in an inning and a third. Joe Smith, Pedro Feliciano (who got the win), and Billy Wagner combined for three scoreless innings.

On the Phillies' side, Cole Hamels was good - striking out 7 in six innings, giving up 3 runs, only 2 of which were earned. He's a good young pitcher.

The Mets and Phillies have Tuesday off before resuming on Wednesday at Shea. Oliver Perez tries to replicate his first start against Adam Eaton.


naturalbl0g.blogspot.com JOHNNYMETS.BLOGSPOT.COM PLAYER OF THE GAME: Carlos Delgado was 3-for-3, with a walk, and 2 runs and 2 RBI. I wasn't watching the whole game, so I don't know for sure, but it seemed to me he was in the middle of all of the Mets' action. He scored the Mets' second run in the 4th inning, with a headfirst slide around the tag of Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz. He hit a sacrifice fly to put the Mets ahead 3-2, and then had an RBI single to bring the Mets to within 5-4 in the 7th. And he scored after a walk in the 8th. Seems like a good day to me.

WEATHER-RELATED STUFF: Forgot to mention this Sunday - I know it was cold in Atlanta, but every wide shot I saw of the stands when the Mets were down there this past weekend showed empty seats. I'm pretty sure this was even the case at Friday's home opener. The Atlanta fans are horrid.

Also, the Cleveland-Seattle series never got off the ground because of snow. The Indians moved their homestand now to Milwaukee, where they'll play the Angels.

ASTROS: Brad Lidge's nightmare continues. He was officially taken out of the closer's role on Monday, replaced by Dan Wheeler (Former Met).

BEAT THE STREAK: After saying I was going to pick Ichiro, I actually forgot to log on and do it. Good thing they were snowed out. So I'm still at 0...I'm going with Andruw Jones to try to get me started against a Washington Nationals pitcher named Matt Chico.

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.

BROKEN RECORD

Phillies 4, Mets 3 (NYM: 78-49, PHI: 65-63)

5 times the New York Mets had won 11 straight home games. 5 times they had failed to win a twelfth. Add the current streak, just ended Friday night, to that list.

The Phillies snapped the Mets' franchise record-tying 11 game winning streak at Shea, and the Mets' 7-game winning streak overall, with a 4-3 win. The Mets hadn't lost since losing three out of four to the Phillies in Philadelphia last week. But the Phillies don't scare me. They're just playing some good baseball right now, and are playing some desperate baseball as well. They'll fade soon.

They also had Randy Wolf on the mound, and he has owned the Mets. He pitched very well again on Friday, holding the Mets after being staked to a 3-0 lead.

Brian Bannister was the Mets' starter, and he gave up those 4 runs - 2 coming in the first, and 2 coming in the third on a Ryan Howard homer. The Mets blew a couple of chances to get back into the game, with David Wright stranding some runners, and now showing some extreme frustration at this slump. He's 0-for-his-last-24 or so against lefties - he used to own lefties, so I'm not sure I understand what's going on there.

All told, Bannister pitched pretty well for his first game back, going 6 innings, giving up those 4 runs. Carlos Beltran was responsible for most of the Mets' offense, hitting a 2-run homer (his 37th) off Wolf in the 5th inning.

A scary moment came when Jose Reyes stole second base - sliding headfirst, and jamming his hand agianst Jimmy Rollins' foot. Reyes shook the hand through the rest of the inning, but played the rest of the game - we'll have to keep an eye on whether or not that acts up on him again.

The Mets look set to have their 13th starting pitcher of the year on Saturday night, and it looks like Oliver Perez will be called up to pitch against the Phillies. Bannister might be sent down to make room for Perez. At least the Mets have the opportunity, with their big lead, to take a long look at these other pitchers.

MAGIC NUMBER: The number is stalled at 22.

THE KID'S KIDS: A doubleheader for the St. Lucie Mets and Daytona. The Mets won game 1, 4-2, ensuring that they could not finish the night out of first place (entering the night with a half-game lead). The Mets scored 4 runs in the final two innings to come from behind and win.

In game 2, Daytona returned the favor, with a 4-2 win, so it's like nothing happened. St. Lucie still holds a half-game lead in the second half.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: Starting at third base, Edgardo Alfonzo was 2-for-4 for the Tides, with a double. He's now hitting .258. September 1st is in a week- we'll see if this is enough for Alfonzo to make the team when the rosters expand.

STREAKING PHILLIES BEAT METS

Phillies 5, Mets 3 (NYM: 64-44, PHI: 53-55)

I never considered the possibility that Chase Utley's hitting streak would end, and the Mets would lose. I only considered two options:

1) Utley's hitting streak would continue, and the Mets would win.

2) Utley's hitting streak would end, and the Mets would win.

Maybe 3), Utley wouldn't play, and the Mets would win.

This kind of blows my mind - Chase's Chase is over at 35 (time to shift attention to Manny Ramirez and his 20-game hitting streak), and the Phillies kept the magic number from decreasing any more with a win at Shea.

I realize the Phillies are playing much better baseball since the trading deadline. I realize they're on a bit of a streak. I realize they've cut into the Mets' lead in the division. But they still don't scare me. They're a better team than they were - but they're still not a good team. I'm not worried about them challenging for the division, and I'm not worried about them winning the wild card. I'm not worried about the Mets facing anyone in the National League playoffs, to be honest. (The Cardinals are a joke right now - they've had more 5+ -game losing streaks this year than any other first-place team in history, says me. It's got to be a record. They're awful.) So I'm not upset that the Mets lost this game to the Phillies.

It was a pretty good game. Orlando Hernandez pitched very well, so that's encouraging. He battled all night, and had thrown 115 pitches by the time he was done in after 6 innings. Along the way he gave up 3 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, had 7 strikeouts, 2 balks, and a triple. That's right, a triple. Again, the Mets left some runners in scoring position, missing out on a few timely hits.

But it was a 3-3 game into the 7th, when Darren Oliver surrendered a homer to David Dellucci. Oliver's been very reliable all year - chalk this loss up to bad timing on the part of the Mets' hitters, and Oliver throwing a bad pitch at a bad time. I'm really not concerned.

The Mets play the Phillies 9 more times this month (10 total in August). The worst they will do is 5-5 through those 10 games. And by going 5-5, the Mets will trim 10 games off the magic number. Good enough for me. I bet they do even better than 5 wins. Starting Saturday at Shea. And hopefully Tom Glavine gets back in the "W" column as the Mets rock Jon Lieber.

(I will not see Saturday's game due to childbirthing class - Saturday and Sunday, all day. I will be able to watch Sunday's game, I'm not sure I'll be able to write afterwards. The Mets are the Sunday night national telecast, but with a workshop I need to attend next week, I'm not sure I'll be up late. I'll post daily starting Monday, but I'm not sure if it will be after games.)

MAGIC NUMBER: Stalled on 44.

ALL PEDRO*, ALL THE TIME: Red Sox fans will be happy to know that Pedro Martinez* is still up to his old off-day antics in the dugout. He has a "magic bat", a plastic, wiffle ball-type bat, in Mets colors, the kind with a bigger barrel than a normal wiffle ball bat. Anyway, during home games, he waves the bat around, jokes around with players in the Mets dugout, and in the visitor's dugout. He got a lot of air time during the Mets telecast Friday night, and I figured I'd mention it tonight, because I had forgotten for a while. It's fun to watch, as Red Sox fans are well aware.

CONTEST: I think I need your help. I need to name my fantasy football team, and I can't think of anything too clever. I need it to be clean - good, family fun. But I think it needs to have something to do with the fact that I'm going to become a father. I've got a couple of ideas, but I'm open to suggestions. E-mail me (I'd prefer e-mails to posted comments) suggestions at johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com and I'll post the good ones, and if I don't come up with anything myself, I'll use the best one as my team name. And maybe the winner will get a cool t-shirt.

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets lost to Clearwater, 6-2 Friday, and fell to one full game behind Daytona, which beat Lakeland. Interestingly, the Alfonzo nephew took the loss for the Mets.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: Apparently Edgardo Alfonzo reads the blog. One night after I bemoaned the fact that Alfonzo was only hitting singles, as he attempted to get back to the Majors with the Mets, he goes 2-for-3, mixing in a double. This continues his modest hitting streak, and lifts his average to .250. He also had a walk and a run scored.

BEAT THE STREAK: At two right now - Vladimir Guerrero had a hit in his first game against Texas. Friday night, he's 0-for-his-first-at-bat, striking out on some very high heat. Guerrero is on a tear against Texas. Let's examine what he's doing - it has to be the best string against one opponent ever:

• He's hit in all 43 career games he's played against Texas.
• In those 43 games, Guerrero is hitting .441, with 15 homers and 35 RBI.
• He's a .348 career hitter against Texas' starter Friday night, Vicente Padilla (I needed a 3rd bullet)...he'll end up with a hit on Friday.

THIS ONE MAINE-LY ZEROES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CRAZY EIGHTS

Cubs 8, Mets 6 (NYM: 59-41, CHI: 39-60)

The Mets have lost three games in a row, and the common denominator in those games is 8 - as in runs scored by the opponents. That's a bad stretch of pitching. I hadn't watched much of Sunday's game, or Tuesday's game, but I saw most of Monday's (Trachsel). Tom Glavine, on Tuesday, gave up 5 earned runs (8 total) in 6-and-a-third innings - and gave up 3 homers - to Aramis Ramirez, Phil Nevin, and the pitcher, Carlos Zambrano. Glavine needs to pitch better if the other Mets' pitchers are going to struggle like they are now. (On Sunday it was Mike Pelfrey with a poor pitching performance, suffering his first Major League loss.)

Still, the Mets had a chance in the bottom of the ninth (stressing the importance of those last couple of runs that put this one out of reach). They loaded the bases, and if it wasn't for a good defensive play at second base by Neifi Perez, would have tied the game, and possibly went on to win it. The Mets scored just once in the ninth, and their rally ended when Paul LoDuca popped out to second to end it (not the good defensive play - just another out recorded by Perez in the inning).

Carlos Beltran hit his 28th homer of the year in the first inning, and Endy Chavez homered in the second, staking Glavine to a 4-2 lead - which he promptly lost, giving up 4 runs to the Cubs in the third.

Some observations about the team right now:

-Paul LoDuca is really banged up. It's reminiscent of Mike Piazza behind the plate in late July - he has a thumb problem that's bothering him, and every night is taking a bad foul tip somewhere off the body.

-Pedro Martinez* NEEDS to come out on Friday and shut down the Braves. He needs to inject some life into the ballclub right now - the Mets seem mired down a bit, and they need a little spark. It would be awesome if it came against the Braves, from Pedro*.

That brings us to a mail note (thanks for e-mailing, Dave - the comments section has decreased the number of e-mails we receive...as well as increase SPAM - I had to delete that comment, so maybe the Southern Bureau's note seems slightly out of place):

"Dear JohnnyMets,

I know that the Phillies don't scare you, and based on their performance so far this season I could see why.

But what about the Braves? They're 12-4 this month (as of this writing), 12.5 back of New York in the division (but 5 GB for the wild card) with about 64 games to play, including this weekend's three-game set against the Mets at Turner Field. Thoughts?

Dave in Brighton"

I have to tell you, I don't think the Braves are a major threat. I'm not going so far as to say they don't scare me, because I've lived through the past 8 seasons or so (I've also seen them play for the past 15 years), but I think they're making this run too late in the season. I think they'll run out of steam real soon and drop out of the wild card hunt. That would be an added bonus of the Mets catching fire again this weekend - it could really hurt Atlanta.

Wednesday has the potential to be one of my greatest days of summer vacation. The baseball games are laid out in ideal fashion - the Mets have a 12:00 noon start (as well as 2 other games). There are a couple of 2 o'clock games, then 3 in the 3 o'clock hour. There's 3 in the 7 o'clock slot, and 3 in the 8 o'clock slot, and for good measure, a 10 o'clocker. Maybe I'll go pick up some beer.

THE KID'S KIDS: Another loss for St. Lucie on Tuesday night. After a win on Monday night ended the Mets' 3-game slide, they've now lost 4 out of 5 after losing to Sarasota, 6-3. The big showdown with first-place Daytona is coming up at the end of the week.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: 0-for-3 for Edgardo Alfonzo on Tuesday, dropping his average to .231.

MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE: I forgot to mention in my last post that another Mets' affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones, was involved in a 26-inning game last week. Just FYI. The game was an early afternoon start for campers, and it went on for 6 hours, 40 minutes. (Relatively quick - it was tied at 1 for a long time.) The Oneonta Tigers beat the Cyclones, 6-1, in the longest game in NY-Penn League history.

BEAT THE STREAK: This is getting exciting now - Jimmy Rollins gave me a 5-game streak, I'm going with Bill Hall Wednesday afternoon for a 6-gamer.

ALAY-ING SOME FEARS

Mets 5, Phillies 4 (NYM: 28-17, PHI: 23-22)

It's getting to the point where we might not have to worry about the Mets rotation anymore. It didn't look like that would be the case early on in Wednesday night's game....but by the end of the game - it's like the Mets are a whole new team.

Alay Soler, Cuban Defector, started for the Mets, and walked the first three batters. (I forgot to mention this in my posting Tuesday - but 5 of 7 batters the Mets walked through the first nine innings on Tuesday scored. The three Soler walked in the first inning Wednesday, scored.) They all scored (helped by a bad error by second baseman Chris Woodward), and it looked very, very bad for Soler. But he settled in VERY nicely, and gave the Mets six innings, walking only one more batter, giving up 5 hits, 2 ER, and striking out 5. I can't wait for his next start, when he won't be nervous from the get-go, to see what he can do.

(Speaking of Cuban Defectors, the Mets acquired Orlando Hernandez on Wednesday, trading Jorge Julio to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hernandez is not having the greatest season, statistically, but this is going to be a great trade for the Mets. Historically, it takes Hernandez a little while to get comfortable in a new place...and he's already comfortable in New York. That's one thing. Secondly, the true value in this trade will come in September and October, when Hernandez really shines. Thirdly, although I liked the direction Julio was heading, I feel a little better thinking about the Kris Benson trade, and seeing the Mets net a starter out of that trade. John Maine, the other man acquired in that trade, is due back soon from his injury - I wonder if he now heads to the bullpen to replace Julio. Either way - looks like Jeremi Gonzalez heads back to Norfolk.)

Unfortunately, Soler did not get the win, because Pedro Feliciano served up a late homer to Met-Killer Pat Burrell, which tied the game. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The Mets started cutting into that 3-0 lead very early. In the first inning, Carlos Beltran* homered, making it 3-1. Later, Future Hall of Famer David Wright hit career homer number 49 (8 on the season), making it 3-2. A bloop single tied the game, and a sacrifice fly later gave the Mets the lead.

After Feliciano blew the lead, David Wright came through in the clutch again, lining a single to left with men on the corners to give the Mets the 5-4 lead. And "The Closer" looked good in the ninth, closing the door for the save. (Full Disclosure: I actually went upstairs to watch the final minutes of American Idol to see who won in the bottom of the eighth, and missed a little of the top of the ninth. Oops. But it was worth it to see the cutaway to David Hasselhoff, who looked like he was wiping a tear from his eye after they announced the winner. HA!)

The thing about the Phillies, which we all know, is that they don't scare me. And I don't think they scare the Mets. It doesn't look like the Mets ever feel like the Phillies can slam the door in a game they play - no matter what the score is. So even if Philly takes a 3-0 lead in the first inning....it's worth watching to see how quickly the Mets even things up.

Jeremi Gonzalez starts Thursday afternoon for the Mets. This will most likely be his last Mets outing. The Mets now lead the Phillies by 5 games...a sweep would really do some psychological damage to the Phillies, I think, especially with the bad news they got Wednesday. Their phenom, Cole Hamels, who was supposed to start Wednesday, was placed on the DL after hearing a 'pop' while playing catch. That's not good. I know I say a lot of bad stuff about the Phillies, but I hope the kid is OK. I would hate for a young star like that to be seriously hurt. He has real potential - the veterans on the staff were pointing to this kid they just called up and saying he was their new number one starter. That's high praise. They're a team on the ropes right now - the Mets can really hurt them on Thursday.

TUESDAY NIGHT LATE EDITION: Just to wrap up the 16-inning game from Tuesday, which ended at 12:22am, and would have ended at 11pm had Steve Trachsel not been the starting pitcher, that was a great win. For the Mets to come from behind so often, and then not win would have been a shame - so to go on to the 16-inning win was huge. And for Carlos Beltran* to finally hit a game-ending homer as a Met (if he's done it before, I don't remember it)...he's really starting to put last year behind him...and most Mets fans.

There was never a point Tuesday night, when the Phillies led, where I didn't feel like the Mets were NOT going to come back. That's a really good sign.

LINE OF THE NIGHT: This was really good - I had to repeat it. Ramon Castro started at catcher Wednesday night, spelling Paul LoDuca after the 16-inning game. In the early-going, Soler shook off a few of Castro's calls, and Gary Cohen says, "That seems about right, the Cuban defector is shaking off Castro." (I hope that translated OK from aural to written form.)

MEDIA: I forgot about this, until they showed the radio booth during Wednesday night's game on SNY, and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo was there, and Gary Cohen said, "There's tomorrow's broadcaster with Howie Rose!" I think tomorrow Mike & The Mad Dog broadcast the Mets game on SNY. I wasn't going to TiVo the game, but now I think I have to, just to see what that's like.

MINOR LEAGUE NEWS: Before I get to the Mets-related stuff, I noticed something that involves a player I love watching, but who's been cursed the past couple of seasons. Rocco Baldelli began a 20-game rehab stint with the Durham Bulls Tuesday - and hit a game-winning single. So good news - hopefully Baldelli makes it the whole way back without getting hurt. I like him a lot.

THE KID'S KIDS: St. Lucie's lead in their division is down to a half-game, after a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Yankees. This is where Hall of Famer Gary Carter really needs to show off his managing skills, and get that team to believe in itself again!!

LAST-PLACE LASTINGS (AND MAIL): This, from Dave in Brighton:

"Johnnymets,

Will you rename your Last-Place Lastings feature if the Tides overtake Richmond to get out of the basement of the International League's South division?

Signed,
Dave in Brighton"

I guess I would probably have to, Dave, but I don't know if that will happen. I will acknowledge....it's getting very close.

The Tides were also working extra innings on Tuesday, beating Syracuse 3-2 in 11, winning the game on a Lastings Milledge double. I gave Milledge's numbers Tuesday night, but didn't have the details of the game.
The Tides are on their way to another win (and taking another step towards getting out of the basement - they're leading the Sky Chiefs 10-3 in the ninth. Milledge is 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored - his average is now .289.

A couple of things of interest - I'm starting to wonder if there will be suspensions from the brawl the other day, and hopeful that Milledge won't be suspended for Monday's game. Also - Monday is five days from today, meaning tonight's Tides starter should start Monday's game, meaning we should get a look at Evan MacLane, someone who I don't know anything about. Former Met Matt Ginter should be pitching for Pawtucket that day.

FANTASY UPDATE: The What If Mets have won three in a row - I wonder if I've done that before, where I've won all my games in one day....it doesn't seem familiar. Anyway, I won one against the Braves, and two against the Nationals/Expos. I'm now alone in second place, but I'm still 3 games out of first. It's the Blue Jays and Dodgers tomorrow.

BEAT THE STREAK: Vladimir Guerrero continued his massive hitting streak versus Texas with a weak 1-for-5 on Wednesday, upping my hitting streak to 4. I'll take Ichiro to keep it going on Thursday against Rodrigo Lopez and Baltimore.

Busy week at the ol' House sponsored by DirecTV (which still doesn't have a deal with SNY, and which is also using one of its own broadcasters to blog for it, so I think I'm out...and I never even sent a letter), so this will be a couple of bulleted updates.

WYLIE RELEASED: The Mets got rid of Rule 5 project Mitch Wylie. This hasn't gotten a lot of play yet, I happened to catch it on the transaction wire. Wylie needed to make the 25-man roster for the entire season, or else be returned to the team from which he came - the Giants. Though he impressed the Mets, I guess he wasn't going to be a valuable roster addition, so he is gone. Now I think he has to pass through waivers, and the Giants can take him back...I'm not sure how that works exactly. But with the press Wylie got early on, he'll probably latch on with someone. I'll try to keep track and give periodic updates on his season.

BONDS: The latest from Barry Bonds is that his life has been shattered by these latest allegations. Big whoop. What I really wanted to write about Bonds, though, is that he treats the media like a cancer that he wants to avoid his entire career (moreso in recent seasons, it seems), and then when he has a reality show to promote, or wants to appear like a victim, he uses the media to his advantage. And they let him. I don't like it.

KC - "WE DON'T NEED TO BUY A VOWEL": The Kansas City Royals continued to bolster their roster with really long last names. After an off-season in which they acquired Doug Mientkiewicz and Mark Grudzielanek (on the same day, no less!), the Royals claimed Tony Graffanino off waivers from the Red Sox. The good news, per my request, the Mets didn't get Graffanino, thereby further muddying the second base chase.

A WARNING: I am noticing some nasty postings on my comments sections. I'll give it one more day, and if these appear again, I'll get rid of the comments. And people can just e-mail me, like we always have, and we'll be fine.

FUN & GAMES: MLB.com finally has 'Beat The Streak' up and running, but there doesn't seem to be an option to create a "league". If that appears later on, I'll surely create one and invite you all to join, but if it doesn't, I still encourage you to play, and keep me up to date on your progress. I'll update you daily on my picks - starting Sunday night!! We'll use the honor system.

FINALLY...: Because the Phillies don't scare me, I have no problem putting their promotional ploys on this site. Leading up to Opening Day, they are pushing Phillies PR around the city of Philadelphia. It's called "Paint The Town Red", because red is a team color. So as part of the promotion, the team painted the Philly Phanatic red. I don't know if this is a permanent change. But here it is:

IN DEFENSE OF MY PICKS (see bracket below)

A very quiet day in Mets camp, so it's a perfect day to tell you why I picked the teams to finish the way I did.

I'm not going to talk about the Mets, because their season preview is still to come. But I do believe they will win the NL East, finally surpassing the Braves, and advance to (and win) the World Series. Because that's the type of year I want.

The Braves aren't going to totally fall out of it, though. They're going to get the Wild Card - and I really don't think there will be much drama in the Wild Card chase. I'm not buying many teams out West, and in the Central, I don't see Houston doing as well as last year, and no one else will be very close to the Braves. And...say it with me now....the Phillies don't scare me. Another disappointing year in Philadelphia.

I like the Cardinals to come out of the Central, mostly because every year I kind of overlook them, but they're always solid. Also, they have a beautiful new ballpark this year, and that'll work to their advantage, so they'll win the division.

I'm big on the Dodgers this year. First of all, that division is awful. They will beat up on the rest of the teams in the West. I think Nomar Garciaparra is Comeback Player of the Year. I think Derek Lowe pitches a lot better this year (his head wasn't in the game last year, he admits - and he is the biggest headcase in the league). And I am a big believer that Grady Little got screwed in Boston, and now with another chance to manage, does very well. I think the Dodgers might just quietly finish with the best record in the National League.

In the AL, I'll start out West. I had a hard time picking between the A's and Angels, because the A's are close to having built another young, winning team. I went with the Angels because they are a veteran team who have been there before. Next year for Oakland.

It's this year for Cleveland. After coming so close last year, they pick up this year's Wild Card, finishing second to the Chicago White Sox. The Sox came out of nowhere (in my mind) last year, and won everything - they haven't changed much. If anything, they've improved their clubhouse demeanor without Frank Thomas, and have a chance to get to the World Series again this year.

With the Indians taking the wild card, it's down to the Red Sox and Yankees in the East. I don't think the Blue Jays are there quite yet, fighting for the division title, but I think they'll do enough damage to cost one of the big teams a shot at the playoffs - and this year, I think that will be the Yankees. I like Shawn Chacon, and I think Randy Johnson will have a good year, but I think there will be injuries on the Yankees this year, and I expect the Red Sox to be good this year - good enough to make the playoffs, anyway. They'll bow out in the first round, as will the Angels.

It'll be the Dodgers and Mets advancing in the NL, and the Mets will beat the White Sox in 5 games in the World Series. Oh, how I hope this comes true.

NATS ARE DOOMED: I didn't mention the Washington Nationals above - that's because they're not worth mentioning. On Wednesday, Alfonso Soriano played the outfield, after refusing to do so the day before. I think with that kind of attitude, and with the likes of Jose Guillen and Livan Hernandez in the clubhouse, the Nationals are going to have a summer full of disharmony.

*BOOF*: There's someone in the Twins' minor league system we're going to have to keep an eye on. I was looking through the transactions the other day, and saw the Twins had reassigned pitcher Boof Bonser. What a name. We'll watch him and keep you posted - and definitely let you know if he gets called up.

THE OTHER SHOE: Some of the steroids fallout is starting to happen. More releases from "Game of Shadows", the book that "outed" Barry Bonds, now point the finger at Gary Sheffield as having knowingly obtained steroids from Bonds' trainer, Greg Anderson. I'm not going to like some of the other names that I feel are going to be coming out....

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!

METS MAGIC

Mets 6, Phillies 4 (NYM: 69-62; PHI: 70-62) East: 5 GB Wild Card: 0.5 GB

Those of you who know me well, or read my blog, know how I feel about the Philadelphia Phillies. If the final playoff spot came down to a Mets-Phillies one-game playoff (not that it would ever come to that, because Philly would have choked long ago), I'd book the Mets a flight to Playoffville. No questions asked. (Where is Playoffville?, you ask...and don't the Mets have a traveling secretary to take care of booking their flights? All good questions - for another night.) So when the Phillies jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Jae Seo in the first inning, and then led 4-1 mid-way through, you'd better believe I was not switching off my television set. Nope. I was pretty sure the Mets would either make a game of it, or they'd come back and beat the Phillies outright. Both happened.

It looked like the Mets blew their chance in the seventh. The bases were loaded for Cliff Floyd - and the Mets got to within 4-3 on a wild pitch by Ryan Madson. Then Floyd flailed at a pitch, he looked just awful swinging at it (he was 0-for-4 - bad night for Floyd), striking out and stranding the two runners, with the Phillies up 4-3.

In the eighth, though, the Mets made the move I'd been waiting for all game. Future Hall of Famer David Wright led the inning off with a walk. He stole second during Mike Jacobs' at-bat (he struck out), and barely....I mean, BARELY, made it. Victor Diaz then worked a walk from Ugueth Urbina, before Ramon Castro hit a three-run homer to left. So clutch. Amazin'. It's the type of thing that happens to the Mets in championship seasons. Braden Looper was very good getting the save - 1-2-3.

Actually, the Mets bullpen in its entirety was good on Tuesday night. Aaron Heilman relieved Seo, and was his usual effective self. Then Juan Padilla pitched a good inning of relief. As bad as his first inning was (almost 30 pitches), Seo was able to gut out five innings for Willie Randolph, giving up just the four runs. He gave up homers to Kenny Lofton and Pat Burrell in the first, by the way. But the bullpen has been good in recent days - they keep the Mets in games that they're behind in, allowing the Mets to come back, or else they've been holding leads. It'll be interesting to see what the Mets do if they trade Trachsel, and what they get in return.

Also interesting is the fact that the Mets have no lefties in the bullpen right now. They survived without one Tuesday, and they just have to get to Thursday when the rosters can expand. We'll probably see Dae-Sung Koo again and Royce Ring, probably, too.

The Mets got some help, but not enough, on Tuesday night. They drew a game closer to the Braves in the NL East, but unfortunately that means the Nationals, who were playing the Braves, also won. The Marlins came back after blowing a lead, to beat the Cardinals by a run. And the Astros beat the Reds. But the Mets are still tied with Houston, and the Marlins and Phillies are now tied atop the Wild Card standings, a half-game in front of New York.

ELTRAN*'S: This could be a turning point game for Beltran*. We'll have to watch and see, as September nears. He went 3-for-3, homering in his first at-bat, and looking very good in all at-bats - a rare thing this year. He also walked.

39-for-144 (.271 AVG.) 4 HR, 18 RBI, 27 Runs, 11 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: Wright was 1-for-3 Tuesday night, upping his average to .315, but no doubles.

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

NEEDS 10 DOUBLES IN TEAM'S FINAL 31 GAMES TO BREAK RECORD!!

TRACH-SELL

No Mets game tonight. The Marlins lost, so the Mets will pick up a half-game on them.

But the big news is the stuff I heard Buster Olney talking about on ESPNRadio this evening. The Mets are probably going to deal Steve Trachsel by Wednesday, the deadline for making waiver-wire deals.

Olney says the Mets made a very smart move (and I agree), which is that they started the process of putting Steve Trachsel through waivers before he made his start last week. So Trachsel cleared waivers (no one tried to pick him up), and then he goes out and pitches 8 shutout innings. So now he's valuable, and he's trade-able. So the Mets are (probably - Olney wouldn't say this for sure, but it's speculation) looking to trade Trachsel for a first baseman or a reliever.

Here's my take on the Trachsel situation. He probably ticked off Willie Randolph when he wouldn't go to the bullpen, and acted like the Mets were jerking him around. Randolph is big on "TEAM", and there's no "TEAM" in Trachsel. He's all about me, or at least that's what he's made it sound like while he was waiting for a slot to fit in. So Randolph is probably endorsing using Trachsel as bait for a reliever, because the Mets could use some bullpen help (although this hasn't been a big problem lately - mostly because the starters have been so good).

The other interesting note about the Wild Card chase is the fact that this is the time of year that teams play within their divisions. Unfortunately, this gives the Astros a huge advantage in the hunt for the playoffs. The Astros have just 12 games against contending teams the rest of the way - I assume they play the Cardinals about 6 times, then a couple of East teams. The Mets, Phillies, Marlins, and Nationals play about 28 of their remaining 32 games against contending teams - for the Marlins - their whole remaining schedule is against contenders. The Mets, I know have the Nationals, Marlins, Phillies, and Braves all 6 times, then the Cardinals for four, and then play the Rockies. Now, just because they're playing "contending" teams doesn't mean they're not going to win the games (and non-contenders doesn't mean they'll win - we all know the Rockies will cause them problems that final weekend), and the Phillies don't scare me, and really, the Nationals don't either. So the Braves, Marlins, and Cardinals series are the tough ones. The problem. though, is that the Astros are playing teams like Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. They do have games against the Cubs - hopefully the Cubs are in a spoiling mood - but the Astros can go on a tear here.

One last point before I go to bed: In the two losses to the Giants over the weekend, Armando Benitez got two saves. This is getting ridiculous. I forgot, but last year, the Marlins gave the Mets fits, and Benitez was their closer. Benitez got 11 saves against the Mets last year, when he was with Florida. 11! That's the most saves anyone has ever had against one team in a season. That's ridiculous. And now he's back from the DL, and boom! two saves. What a joke. He's killed us as a Met, and now against the Mets. And the worst part about it is, as much as I cursed him as a Met, he's a really nice guy - and he's very gracious, and although he struggles with English, he grants interviews to the New York media...who have been very tough on him. It's hard to hate him. But he's doing a good job of making me feel that way towards him.