CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE CHAMPION ST. LUCIE METS!!

The Mets beat Dunedin on Sunday night, 6-2, to sweep the Florida State League Finals, 3 games to none, and win a championship in Gary Carter's first year at the helm. Something just struck me. I was about to write "...first (and only) year at the helm". But then I was thinking, "Where would he go? Would someone in the majors actually hire him so soon?" And it all came together in my head.

Dusty Baker is getting fired. Joe Girardi will be allowed to leave Florida and go to Chicago. What better situation is there for Florida resident Gary Carter than the Florida Marlins - a young team - he has proven he can manage young guys, and he has ties to the organization from its infancy when he was a broadcaster. So, ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here first - Gary Carter will be the manager of the Florida Marlins, beginning in 2007. (Also, one time this summer the Florida TV announcers mentioned Gary Carter's Florida State League success - meaning someone in the organization is keeping tabs...and he really wasn't that far away anyway, in St. Lucie.)

So for now, this picture is from Sunday night's championship - but I can easily see it being repeated at the Major League level with the exciting Marlins in the near future:

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE METS DON'T GIVE TRACHSEL A TON OF RUN SUPPORT

Dodgers 9, Mets 1 (NYM: 88-54, LA: 76-67)

I admit, the Mets took a backseat on Sunday to the first Sunday of the NFL season (please see the Jets blog for more on that). And it was a lot easier to ignore the baseball game when the Dodgers jumped out to early 4-0, 5-0, and 9-0 leads.

The Mets' only run came on a Jose Reyes homer, his 19th of the year. Steve Trachsel gave up 4 runs in 2-and-2-thirds - against a possible playoff opponent. I am telling you - I do NOT want to see him in a tight spot in the playoffs...and I'd prefer not seeing him in any spot in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, Brian Bannister pitched in relief in the game, giving up 5 runs in 3 innings of work - 3 of those runs coming on a Nomar Garciaparra homer. Eric Stults started for the Dodgers, and pitched very well, getting his first major league win.

The Mets open up a series in Florida on Monday, with a magic number of......

MAGIC NUMBER: It's 4, because the Phillies lost to the Marlins. The Marlins are now tied with the Phillies for second place, so the Mets will have to beat the Marlins and need the Phillies to lose over the next few days in order to decrease the number by more than one. I still suspect the clincher will come Friday in Pittsburgh.

Dave Williams goes for the Mets on Monday against Anibel Sanchez, who is making his first start since his no-hitter last week.

PEDRO* UPDATE: There's a chance we'll see Pedro Martinez* back on the mound for the Mets this week - actually, a very good chance. He hopes to be back no later than Friday. My bet is he's the one to pitch the night the Mets have a chance to clinch (and, like I said, there's a great chance that will be Friday night against the Pirates).

THE KID'S KIDS: Holy smokes! On Saturday night, for the second night in a row, the St. Lucie Mets scored multiple times in the 9th inning to come from behind and win in the FSL Finals. This time, trailing 3-1 in the 9th, the Mets got a 3-run homer as part of a 4-run ninth to come back and beat Dunedin, 5-3. Game 3, which could be the clinching game for the Mets, was Sunday night at 7pm, finishing after I posted (St. Lucie leads 2-0 in the 5th), so I'll update that on Monday.

The Dodgers beat the Mets on Friday night, 5-0 (you know your team is having a great season when losses really take you by surprise - it was weird seeing the Mets lose this game), and the Phillies beat the Marlins, so the Magic Number remains at :

Just wanted to let you know what my rooting strategy is for the rest of the weekend: The Mets need to win the next two against the Dodgers, and we need to root for the Marlins to beat the Phillies in their next two games. That will put the Magic Number to about 3....but it will also put the Marlins closer to second place - meaning the Mets could clinch in Miami by beating the Marlins early next week, and knocking the Magic Number down multiple numbers. Chances are, though, since the Marlins lost to the Phillies on Friday night, that the clinching will come in Pittsburgh at the end of next week. That's what I'm thinking, at least - the Mets may split the next two with the Dodgers, they'll probably lose one to the Marlins, and the clincher will probably come the first game against Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh.

THE KID'S KIDS: Wow! I glanced at the score, and saw Dunedin leading St. Lucie 5-4 in the 9th inning, so I was all set to write quickly about St. Lucie having a back-to-the-wall scenario in the Florida State League Finals. But the Mets came through with 3 in the 9th, pulling out a 7-5 win, and taking a 1-0 series lead!

This series is a best-of-5, and minorleaguebaseball.com predicts the Mets in 4. Here are the Mets celebrating their first round win (Gary Carter is the guy on the right - not the guy on the left):

RAIN OUT

Tuesday's game was rained out, rescheduled as a doubleheader on Wednesday. In place of the game, SNY played a Mets-Phillies game from September, 1988 - the last time the Mets clinched the National League East title. That was neat - because usually the Mets Classics on SNY are 1986 games - it was nice to see something different.

MAGIC NUMBER: The Phillies were also rained out, so the Magic Number is stuck at 11.

THE KID'S KIDS: So here's the way the Class A-Advanced playoffs work. The Mets have only won a half-season title so far (the first half - they finished a game behind Palm Beach in the second half). To be considered Eastern Division champs, they must beat Palm Beach in a 2-out-of-3 series. The Mets must have finished with a better overall record, because they have home field - Game 1 is in Palm Beach, and 2 and 3 (if necessary) are at St. Lucie. The winner then faces the West Division winner.

Game 1 was, in fact, Tuesday night. St. Lucie led, 4-1, in the 7th, when I decided to go to bed. I'll update the final on Wednesday.

ONE AND DONE

Braves 5, Mets 0 (NYM: 84-52, ATL: 66-71)

The Mets could only muster one hit against Braves pitchers Chuck James and Macay McBride, as the Braves beat the Mets, 5-0.

David Wright had the only Mets hit, a single in the second inning, where he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

The Braves scored 4 runs off Steve Trachsel (3 earned) - he only went 4-and-a-third, leaving with the bases loaded. The Mets got great relief from Heath Bell, who got two outs with those bases loaded without giving up a run, then went another scoreless inning, and Royce Ring, who threw 2 perfect innings.

The past two games have been very disappointing. 1 run on 5 hits, total. The Mets need to break through, but it will be tough Tuesday night. Dave Williams goes against John Smoltz.

MAGIC NUMBER: I was really hoping this would be 10 right now, but the Mets loss and a Phillies extra-inning win on Monday means it stays at 11. I'm not even going through with the effort of putting up the graphic, that's how badly I wanted it to be 10. Chase Utley hit a walk-off homer for the Phillies, who beat the Astros, 3-2.

****IMPORTANT: I'm sorry, I didn't realize you needed a league ID#, not a league name, to join the football pick 'em league on Yahoo!. The League Number is: 44177. All other instructions should work. You can get them in Saturday's posting, or on the Jets site.

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets finished the regular season (2nd half) 37-32, a game behind Palm Beach, who they will now play in the Florida State League playoffs. The series goes best-two-out-of-three, and it starts Wednesday, I think...although it could be Tuesday. minorleaguebaseball.com breaks down the series and picks St. Lucie to win in three games, saying the deciding factor in the series is:

Gary Carter. The Mets skipper, a Hall of Famer, is a great motivator and his players love him. He's trying to work his way to the Major Leagues as a manager, and the moves he makes over the next few games will give a better idea of what he's learned in two years on the bench.

I like the way they do things at minorleaguebaseball.com.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: Looks like it's over. Edgardo Alfonzo was 0-for-3 in the final game of the season for the Norfolk Tides, finishing the season at .241. Too bad. We'll see if the Mets make any moves involving Alfonzo in the next couple of days.

LUCKY SEVEN

Mets 6, Cardinals 2 (NYM: 78-48, STL: 66-60)

There's an annoying interesting new trend out on the internet these days. I've seen it happening more and more often the past few months, and thought I'd trash it comment on it.

It's called a scratch-out, I think, where you write something stupid funny, then cross it out to write what you think would be "appropriate". When used sparingly, it can be tolerable effective. When overused, it can be downright awful slightly annoying. So I thought I'd use this tool in this posting, and then never again. Because most of the time I see this feature, I think to myself, 'Just save us all the trouble and hit delete.'

The Mets beat the mediocre unimpressive NL Central-leading Cardinals, 6-2, on Thursday at Shea, extending their winning streak to 7, tying a club record with their 11th straight home win, and improving to a season-best 30 games over .500. Remember when the Mets lost 3 out of 4 to the Phillies? They responded pretty well, no? The Phillies are up next. I'd watch out if I were them.

I owe a huge apology to Dave Williams. Maybe he needs to be on a good team to pitch well. Because that's all he's done in his past two starts as a Met - pitching very well. Williams gave up just 2 runs in 6-and-a-third innings, improving to 3-3 on the season with the win. Roberto Hernandez put in 1-and-2-thirds of scoreless relief - by far his best outing since re-joining the Mets. Billy Wagner was ready to go in the ninth with the Mets up 5-2, but the Mets scored in the bottom of the eighth, negating the save situation, so Guillermo Mota pitched the ninth - and he looked very good.

The Mets got another homer from Carlos Delgado, his 32nd of the year, a 2-run shot in the 5th inning to break the game open (right after the Cardinals had cut the Mets' lead to 3-2). David Wright is swinging the bat better - he was 1-for-3 with an RBI, flying out to the warning track in right field with the bases loaded, barely missing another Mets' grand slam (it was a sac fly).

The Mets' defense looked good, too. In the 4th, the Mets made back-to-back defensive gems. Endy Chavez ran down a fly ball, making a very tough catch look routine in left field (he did this in the 5th inning, too), and David Wright ended the inning diving to his left to snag a grounder, and getting the force at second (he also made a nice stab later in the game). Everything is clicking again for the Mets right now.

New Met Shawn Green even got in on the act in his first game, going 1-for-3, with an RBI single.
Here's a mundane neat fact that I made up about this year's Mets. It must be due to the talent on the left side of their infield, but I've never seen so many near-collisions in shallow left field. What I mean is, there are all these bloop shots down the left field line, in very shallow left, that Jose Reyes always goes back on, the left fielder (mostly Cliff Floyd or Endy Chavez) comes in hard on, and David Wright goes back on, and the three of them nearly collide. It happens, I'd say without exaggeration, at LEAST once every other game. Sometimes more than that. It happened twice in Thursday's game alone. And I think it's because of how good competitive Wright and Reyes are - they're always going to try to make the play, at risk of life and limb. You don't always get that out of the Mets. And it sure makes me happy nervous.

Friday night the Mets begin another series with the Phillies. Orlando Hernandez was scheduled to make the start, but the Mets decided to take advantage of their big lead and give him some rest. I guess that's the luxury of the situation they are in...but it's still a little sudden. Willie Randolph insists it's a precaution. Brian Bannister will get the start instead, which is exciting.

MAGIC NUMBER: For the first time, I heard a broadcaster (Gary Cohen) mention the magic number - after the Mets' win on Thursday night. I also saw it posted on another blogger's site. But I'm pretty sure I was the first. Just saying. The number is down to 22! The Mets win, coupled with the Cubs pummeling the Phillies Thursday afternoon, results in a 2-game swing. Just saying again...If the Mets sweep the Phillies this weekend, it could go down to 16.

INJURY UPDATE: I've been forgetting to mention this, and it's about a week old now, but there's an update. Last week, Ramon Castro was set to begin his rehab with the Brooklyn Cyclones, but twisted his knee while stretching, and was on crutches at the end of the game. It was thought to be serious, turns out it was. Castro has now been placed on the 60-day DL, so his season is probably over. The Mets made a move Thursday, signing Kelly Stinnett to a minor league contract. Stinnett started his career with the Mets, and found success with Arizona. If he can breathe hit, I would think he would replace Mike DeFelice on the major league roster.

BOSTON MEDIA: There's much going on right now regarding the Red Sox. First of all, their season is tanking, which hasn't happened in about 5 years this early, so the Boston media is loving it. (This city thrives more on failure than success. Really.) And Manny is being Manny Manny Ramirez is acting up. Put those elements together, and things are quite combustible. So here's the latest situation - Manny supposedly sat out a game because he was mad that an official scorer in Boston scored what should have been a hit for him as an error on Derek Jeter last Friday. The Red Sox say Manny is injured. I tend to believe he is really injured, because even with all of Manny's antics, this is a bit stupid.

So after Wednesday night's game, David Ortiz rips into the media, saying they're reporting rumor about Manny, and they're not doing their jobs responsibly, in so many words. I say, good for Ortiz, calling out the Boston media, because this is what they do - overblow stories, especially when Manny is involved. There are a couple of problems, though. First of all, this happened after a west coast game, so there's not a lot of write-up in the papers. There probably will be on Friday, but there's the chance this will die down by then (doubtful). The other problem is that Ortiz has the chance of being KILLED in the Boston media (I don't listen to local talk radio, because they're a bunch of morons, but I'm sure he's taking some abuse there today). He has the chance of being KILLED 1) because the media types have the power of the pen, and they don't like being insulted, even if a guy like Ortiz is speaking the truth, and 2) there's a chance Ortiz is siding with the wrong horse. He's friends with Manny, I know that. And I believe that Manny is hurt. BUT....I wouldn't put it past Manny that he would sit out a game because of an official scorer's decision. What I'm saying is, it could have happened. And that's enough to drain all the credibility out of Ortiz's statements.

I just wanted to address that, because the Boston media drives me nuts. So this story struck a nerve. I'll follow up if it merits a follow-up in the coming days.

THE KID'S KIDS: The doubleheaders are scheduled, after the past three games for the St. Lucie Mets were rained out. The Mets will play doubleheaders against Palm Beach next Monday and Wednesday. That's right at the end of the season, so my guess is Hall of Famer Gary Carter won't mess too much with his pitching for that doubleheader, making sure guys are in shape for the playoffs. Remember, the Mets have already clinched the first-half division title, so they probably won't worry too much about winning the second half, if it came down to that or being in good shape for the playoffs.

As for Thursday night, the Mets began a 4-game series with second-place Daytona. Daytona edged the Mets, 2-1, to move to within a half-game of the second-half division lead.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: A start at second base for Edgardo Alfonzo, and he didn't fare as well as he's been doing. His average is back down to .250, after an 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Dear JohnnyMets,

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

Signed,
Dave"

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

Also, this e-mail:

"Johnnymets -

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

Steve from Queens"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mets 9, Marlins 3

(NYM: 3-1, FLA: 1-3)

A night of milestones Friday night as the Mets beat the Marlins, 9-3. It was the 7,000th game in Mets history. And Steve Trachsel hit a double which was the 10,000th in team history. Just wanted to let you all know that. Also, a homer for David Wright. That would be number 43 on the career.

I couldn't watch the game - I had to go out with the wife. Here was the most disappointing thing - the Red Sox were on, but NESN never showed out-of-town scores after the 7th or 8th inning, (whenever we were watching) - and those innings were definitely more than a half-hour long - you would think they would show them every half-hour or something. Then, to make things worse, in their post-game show, they don't have any scores crawling on the screen. Get with it guys. So I didn't find out until on the way home how the Mets did. Pretty torturous.

BEAT THE STREAK: Planning ahead, and knowing I would be stuck having to watch a Red Sox game, I made CoCo Crisp my beat the streak player, and was rewarded. I have a 4-gamer going right now. It's Jason Bay on Saturday, at the Great American Ballpark. He'd better hit five homers. Or just one. All I need is one.

APRIL 8: I've been telling people today is Hall of Famer Gary Carter's 50th birthday. Oops. It's actually his 52nd. I do know for a fact that it is Dave in Brighton's 28th. Happy Birthday to you both.

And with that birthday note, the return of:
THE KID'S KIDS: Hall of Famer Carter's managerial career continues with the St. Lucie Mets this year, after guiding the Gulf Coast Mets to a 37-16 record last year, losing in the championship. St. Lucie is Class-A advanced, and the Mets are off to a 2-0 start under Carter's guidance. They won their opener, 1-0, then Friday night blew an 8-0 lead in the 8th, but won in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch. I'm sure their manager put them in a position to win! Alay Soler, the Cuban defector, pitched five scoreless innings for the Mets.

BOOF!: Boof Bonser made his first start for the Rochester Red Wings, the Twins' AAA affiliate, and pitched six scoreless innings, giving up just two hits, and striking out 8! The Twins could probably use him at the Major League level, if things keep going the way they've been going for their starters. Bonser is 1-0. We'll keep a close watch on him, simply because of his name.