METS FINALLY SEO UP WIN NUMBER 70

Mets 7, Marlins 1 (NYM: 70-66; FLA: 72-64) NL East: 7.5 GB, Wild Card: 2.5 GB

It occurred to me during the Mets' run in Arizona that the Diamondbacks were (are) not a very good team. It occurred to me after the Mets' 1-0 win in San Francisco (their fifth straight) that the offensive explosion a week and a half ago could have been some very bad pitching, as opposed to really good hitting by the Mets. But that all went away with the onset of the important divisional games, and the Mets' dramatic win over the Phillies on Tuesday night. I haven't written since then (and with school starting Tuesday and the football season being right around the corner, I need to take this opportunity to say the postings have the potential to be fewer and farther between...depending on my workload), and since then the Mets have dropped four straight - including an ugly one on Saturday night in Florida.

But all that said, after a big win on Sunday (they're all big wins from here on out), and with all the right teams losing, the Mets are still just two-and-a-half games out of the Wild Card. There are three teams in between the Mets and the Phillies (as well as the division-leading Braves - which is now a seven-and-a-half game deficit), but it's still just two-and-a-half games.

The Mets have to go through Atlanta now, and then they have to go to Saint Louis. Saint Louis is not playing the best ball right now, but they're still a good measuring stick - and Atlanta has been hot. So it's make-or-break time. If the Mets come away with a winning record, we're talking some exciting September baseball. If not, then it's a good thing the Jets start up on Sunday.

Let's talk about Sunday's game. Jae Seo again pitched brilliantly - 1 run, 6 K's in seven innings - and he continues to make me wonder "what if...." about the time Kaz Ishii spent in the majors while Seo was in Norfolk. Cliff Floyd homered - and it was a rifle. He's been hitting the ball hard lately - this homer (his 29th of the season) was a line drive that carried all the way over the center field wall. It makes you wonder what he has in store for the stretch run. David Wright and Carlos Beltran* also contributed - and I just wonder if Beltran* can take this team on his back the way he did the Astros a year ago, to make up for the struggles all season.

It's pretender or contender time. The Mets spend Labor Day in Atlanta to open up their series against the Braves. And the number one contender or pretender, Steve Trachsel, is on the mound for the opener. He wants to start the big games? There's nothing bigger right now. I want to see how he does when there's something on the line - he can show all Mets fans if he can handle it on Monday afternoon.

I never had the chance to give an August roundup - remember, the Mets had lost 13 games a month until August - 11-13 in April, 15-13 in May (to be .500), then 13-13 in June (staying at .500), then 14-13 in July (a game over), then they got hot, going 16-11 in August - the second best record in the National League in the month. They are off to a 1-3 start in September - not good, but they need the hot finish to be able to play more than their two scheduled games in October.

One other note - I mentioned an ugly game on Saturday. I only heard bits of the last inning and post-game show on the radio late Saturday, but it seems Willie Randolph opened himself up to second-guessing by putting in Shingo Takatsu (released by the White Sox, picked up by the Mets) with the bases loaded instead of sticking with Juan Padilla. The Mets also stunk it up in the field though - Ramon Castro apparently made a bad decision, and Victor Diaz lost a fly ball in the lights, leading to a 2-run homer. It seems like it was a disheartening loss...but the fact that the Mets came back with a 7-1 win should be encouraging.

ELTRAN*'S: Beltran* contributed on Sunday with a 2-for-5 day, with 2 RBI. Hopefully a sign of better things to come. For the second half:

44-for-164 (.268 AVG.), 4 HR, 20 RBI, 31 Runs, 12 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright was also 2-for-5, with 2 RBI - and a double.

SECOND HALF: 14 SEASON TOTAL: 36 TEAM RECORD: 44

WRIGHT NEEDS 9 IN THE TEAM'S FINAL 26 GAMES TO BREAK THE RECORD!!

Minor League Note: The Norfolk Tides won their division - the regular season ends Sunday....but there will be some post-season. I don't know how this affects end-of-season call-ups. I know, for example, that Royce Ring is still playing with the Tides.

QUICK TURNAROUND

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I don't think I'm ever going to stay up past the second inning for a Mets game ever again. They score just enough runs in the first couple to send you to sleep happy, then they add roughly 10-14 more runs while you're sleeping to make an unbelievable final score when you wake up.

Talk about putting it all together. Not only are the Mets getting decent pitching (I guess it's easy to pitch with a 17-0 lead), but their bats are on fire. Mike Jacobs homered 3 times in his first 13 major league at-bats. David Wright and Jose Reyes are just lighting it up. Wright is hitting .314 right now - fifth in the National League. He also doubled last night!! He's tied for third in the NL right now in doubles.

Steve Trachsel looks like he's going to start Friday night in San Francisco. He might take Victor Zambrano's rotation spot. What does Zambrano say to that? He says he'll do whatever the team asks of him, he'll be happy to contribute. Hear that Steve? Victor's a team player!

The Mets sent down Danny Graves when they activated Steve Trachsel the other day. I didn't realize this, but Graves said he would rather retire at the time. (I guess that's like a tree falling in the forest when there's no one around - when Danny Graves threatens to retire, does anyone care?) He's singing a different tune after a couple of days to think about it...he says it might be in his best interests to accept the Minor League assignment. Yes, Danny, it is. You're lucky you're still pitching professionally - and the Mets might be able to fix you and turn you into an effective pitcher again.

One thing in Arizona I want to mention - I've been watching FSN Arizona, so they showed on their telecast that it was a D-Bingo night at Wednesday night's game. It looks cool. Everyone gets a Bingo card, I guess, and as things in the game happen, you can cover them on the bingo card. For example, one had a "4 unassisted" on it, and a 6-4-3 DP. That looks like fun...I bet it starts catching on at other ballparks.

The Mets are 66-60, two games back of the Wild Card. They're still tied with the Nationals (who lost Thursday afternoon) and the Marlins (who won Thursday afternoon) for third in the NL East (also known as last in the NL East....which would still be good enough for a five-game lead in the NL West).

Pedro Martinez* is going for the Mets tonight in Arizona - it should be the culmination of a four-game sweep. I might not be writing again until Sunday - hopefully the Mets get at least two out of three in San Francisco (of course, I don't want to be greedy- but a 7-game winning streak would sure be good). Holy crap, Victor Diaz just hit another homer. 3-0 Mets. Good lead for Pedro* in the second inning.

ELTRAN*'S: A bad night for Beltran* in the 18-4 win. He had just one RBI, without a hit. With the bases loaded and 1 out, he grounded to second base...Kaz Matsui stopped before the second baseman tagged him, so the throw went to first, then the first baseman chased Matsui, creating a rundown which allowed THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, to score from second, before Matsui was tagged out. It was an awful play by the D-Backs, but a great play by Matsui, and I only mention it here because I forgot to put it above, and because Beltran* hit the grounder.

Anyway, the numbers: 33-125 (.264 AVG.) 3 HR, 16 RBI, 25 Runs, 10 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: Another double last night for Wright, and as I mentioned, he's now tied for third in the NL in doubles. The doubles tear I mentioned a couple of nights ago has come to fruition - the record is as good as his. No one's talking about it, though, raising doubts as to whether the Mets are still reading the blog.

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

WRIGHT NEEDS 9 DOUBLES IN THE TEAM'S FINAL 36 GAMES!!

THE KID'S KIDS: It looks like another rainout in Florida. Still 37-16. This was supposed to be the last game on the schedule, so stay tuned for whatever playoff scenarios there are.

The Mets are about to get underway in Arizona against the Diamondbacks as I write this, but I have some school stuff in the morning, and if I couldn't write after last night's game, there's no chance I'm going to be able to write after tonight's game.

Tom Glavine pitched a great game on Monday night, beating the Diamondbacks, 4-1. And Braden Looper showed no signs of being a shaky closer, pitching a very clean ninth inning, relieving Glavine with a runner on first in the ninth, getting a double play, then retiring the side. Mike Jacobs, the rookie, started at first base. First base has been a disaster for the Mets this year. It's funny - third base, historically, has been the problem for the Mets, but now that they've solved third, with Future Hall of Famer David Wright, first seems to have become a problem.

Also, coming on the heels of Dave from Brighton's e-mail on Monday, ESPNRadio led one of their 20/20 SportsCenter updates by saying the Mets are coming on strong for the Wild Card....I think the people at ESPNRadio must be reading the blog now. Glad, though, that at least the Mets are starting to get some national recognition.

The Braves are playing the Cubs right now, and they're losing, so the Mets could draw closer in the NL East. Don't write the Braves in as division champs just yet - something tells me this isn't going to be their year. Also, the Cardinals will not be representing the National League in the World Series this year. Mark my words. They're a battered team right now, and they will get upended by someone in the playoffs. Last year was an aberration, where they actually survived the playoffs. It's not going to happen again.

Many thanks to Kevin from Wilmington, Southern Beaureau Chief of johnnymets.blogspot.com. He came through with the ESPN.com article on Gary Carter, Manager. (I mistakenly said the article started out talking about George Brett's failure as a manager - it was actually Mike Schmidt.) It's a good article, and it basically says Carter won't sit around toiling in the Gulf Coast League much after this year. He wants a full (or at least longer) season job, and he wants a higher level. And the article says with the success he's had at the Gulf Coast League, he's shown he deserves the shot. I called Port St. Lucie again, and got no answer. The article also didn't answer my question about a Gulf Coast League post-season.

Anyway, thanks to Kevin for sending me the article. He wins the johnnymets.blogspot.com hat. If it existed.

I'm going to bed, but I think tomorrow I need to comment on the Steve Trachsel situation, and the September 1st call-ups. Hopefully I remember to do that.

ELTRAN*'S: (Through games of Monday) 32-118 (.271 AVG.) 2 HR, 15 RBI, 24 Runs, 10 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: No doubles in a while - he's going to need to go on a doubles tear.

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

WRIGHT NEEDS 12 DOUBLES IN THE TEAM'S FINAL 38 GAMES TO TIE.

THE KID'S KIDS: The Gulf Coast Mets pulled out a 4-3, 10-inning win on Tuesday. Must have been some good managing by The Kid. The Mets are 36-16, 12 games up in their division. I just wish I knew what implications that had.

The Mets are in Arizona as I write this, in the middle of a game which started at 9:40pm. Another odd start time on the East Coast (a la Colorado), so I can't write something after the game. But I'll write something now. (I don't want to jinx the game, either, but right now it's looking good - the Mets have a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning, and THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, has a solo homer. No doubles for David Wright yet.)

There are a couple of e-mails, so I'll get to those while we wait to see if the Mets game goes final while I write. The first:

"Hi JohnnyMets-

I have another baseball question for you that's been plaguing me all day.

Let's just suppose that down the stretch, end of season, the Mets, Marlins and Phillies all tie for the Wild Card. How does it play out? You can't have a one-game playoff between three teams. Someone would end up getting screwed having to play two games.

Thanks for your insight.

-Your Wife"

OK. Good question. But first of all, this is impossible, because we all know the Phillies will choke. So let's substitute the Astros for the Phillies just so I can make this question feasible. This is a situation that almost happened in 1998, I think. Then, the Mets were eliminated late in the year in a race that involved the Cubs, Giants, Mets, and Expos for the final Wild Card spot. (In a game that year against the Expos, the Mets lost 1-0, and Jay Payton, then a rookie, making his first Major League contributions after battling injuries his whole Minor League career, made a very bad baserunning blunder that pretty much ruined the Mets' season. I've harbored a slight grudge against him ever since...made worse this year by his selfish antics in Boston.) This year is shaping up much like the 1998 race. Here's what would happen:

Let's say, for argument's sake, the three teams tied for the Wild Card are the Mets, Marlins, and Astros. The teams would be seeded, and a playoff would be held. I think the seedings would be based on the teams' results in games against each other during the regular season. So let's say the Mets and Marlins both split against Houston, but the Mets took the season series against the Marlins, 12-7. The records would be:

Mets: 15-10
Astros: 6-6
Marlins: 10-15

So the Mets would be seeded first, Astros second, and Marlins third. So then the Marlins would visit Houston for a playoff game, and the winner of that one game would visit the Mets for the right to advance in a one-game playoff. I think that's how it works. It's going to happen one day, the way these races are so tight these days, so eventually we'll see it play out and get a better understanding. But good question. And hopefully it doesn't happen this year, because I don't know if I can take a race that close - I'd love for the Mets to close it out late in September.

Another e-mail focusing on the Wild Card (partly):

"Dear JohnnyMets,

It's taken nearly 2 baseball seasons, but I must now reluctantly admit that I'm starting to enjoy John Kruk on Baseball Tonight.

If I can come around on Kruk, do you think there's hope for reconciliation between you and Ted Robinson?

Unrelated, when SportsCenter or Baseball Tonight talks about the NLwild card race, they put the Mets in the graphic, but they rarely mention them in the copy. Does this irk you, or do you prefer for the Mets to fly below the radar before gunning into the playoffs with a 22-7 September?

Signed, Dave in Brighton"

Well, first of all, No. There's no hope for me and Teddy. In comparing the two situations, though, I'd need to know the extent of your disdain for Kruk. The only reconciliation between myself and Robinson will come in a week or two when he's away for a couple of weeks doing U.S. Open Tennis. Then I won't think about him at all for a while.

As for the Wild Card standings, it goes without saying that ESPNEWS and ESPNRadio are also guilty of this. (Of course, on the radio, they mention the Mets are however many games back, but they don't count the Mets in a discussion about which teams have a real shot at winning.) The problem here is that the Mets have to leapfrog not only the Astros, but also the rest of their division in order to move to the second or third spot in the Wild Card standings. The thing I think the ESPN people forget, though, is that they are only one or two games away from doing that. But give it a week or so, and the Mets will start entering into these conversations. To answer your question, Dave, it does irk me a little bit, because it happens all the time - the Mets need to play this way deep into September in order to make the media believe they can do it. It's like the media is making them show they can play in order for them to be mentioned. I think they've already earned the right to be talked about.

I've come to the realization that Arizona and San Francisco are not very good, and the Mets should be able to do well on this seven-game trip out West. I think I mentioned on Sunday that 17 of the Mets' next 20 games are on the road - that's a tough grind. We'll revisit this, if I remember, after the 20-game stretch, but they really need to go 9-8 or better in those games. And the three-game homes series is against Philly - so the Mets need to win that too.

Incidentally, the Braves beat the Cubs on Monday night, and the Phillies and Astros are also out West, with the Mets, so the Mets need help while they try to take care of the D-backs. Here's a disturbing number I saw during the Mets game - Tom Glavine (who's pitching well right now), as we know, is a lefty. Righties are hitting .304 against him....Lefties are hitting .341 against him!!! That's outrageous.

I think that's all I have to say for tonight. No doubles for Wright, I'll update Beltran*'s numbers tomorrow on a one-day delay.

THE KID'S KIDS: A 5-4 win for the Mets. They're now 35-16. I'll try to call Port St. Lucie on Tuesday. There are only 4 games left on the schedule.

NO WHEELIN', NO DEALIN', JUST REELIN'

Mets 9, Astros 4 (NYM: 53-52, 8 GB; HOU: 57-48 - Wild Card Leader)

From June 30, 2005, johnnymets.blogspot.com:

"Despite the ups and downs so far this season (and there really have been a bunch), the Mets are at .500 through June. They went 11-13 in April, 15-13 in May, and finished June 13-13. The Mets have 27 games in July, so a 13-loss month would leave them at 53-52 heading into August. I'd take it. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I just find it interesting that the Mets have lost 13 games in each month so far...if they're going to catch the Nationals, they're going to have to have a better-than-one-game-over-.500 July. I'm not starting to believe in Washington, they've just jumped out to a big enough lead that if they start struggling right now, the Mets still need to play very good ball to catch them."

Well, here we are. Another month, another 13 losses. In July, that means 14 wins, but a wasted, wasted opportunity at the end of the month. The Mets lose two out of three in Colorado and then three out of four in Houston. They are now 3 games behind Washington, which is better than where they were at the end of June....but Washington is now in second place, 5 games behind the Braves! That leaves the Mets in last place in the NL East, 8 games out. And the Braves aren't going to collapse like the Nationals did.

So a month ago I said I'd take the Mets 53-52 at this point. I'd even say I would have taken it at the All-Star break, when the Mets headed into the break losers of two out of three in Pittsburgh. But not now. I think they should have been 55-50 right now, at least, after the way they ended their last homestand. Now it's an uphill battle. The Mets host Milwaukee, and the Brewers are playing very well right now. Then the Cubs come to town, and first of all, the Mets struggle against Chicago, and second of all, the Cubs are a desperate team, which makes them dangerous. After that it's a West Coast trip, which is baaad news. The Mets couldn't even handle a middle-of-the-country trip...and they're not a very good road team, apparently. So a West Coast trip doesn't bode well.

Here's a positive. The Mets won on Sunday, 9-4. They pounded out 17 hits, one a home run by Cliff Floyd. Maybe the offense will get going now, although if it didn't get going in Colorado and Houston, it's unlikely.

Now, more negative. The Mets did nothing to improve themselves at the trade deadline. Yes, having Manny Ramirez would have been a big headache, and I would have hated to see Aaron Heilman go. But, man, would I have loved to see Mike Cameron go. And I'd be willing to put up with the Ramirez headaches to have his bat in the lineup instead of Cameron. It would have been an awful trade for the Red Sox, smart move by them not making it. I almost think Red Sox management let out wind of the Manny trade to see how Red Sox Nation really felt about trading him. I think after the boos Friday night, they wanted to see how the fans really felt, so they got the deal going, leaked the deal, got the response they wanted which was, that's an awful deal, showed fans they couldn't really get the value for Ramirez that would make people happy, and then pulled back out of the deal. I think that's how it went down, but enough about the Sox. I guess there wasn't much out there for the Mets to do - they needed to improve first base, and nothing was available at a reasonable price.

I think if the Mets get off to a strong start in August, a deal will be made within a week. If they start losing against Milwaukee and Chicago, see ya next year. Unless they start trading away guys (I'm talking waiver deals here, by the way), not important guys, but guys like Cameron, to build up the farm system some more. I'm also glad they haven't gotten rid of Lastings Milledge. He's good, and he has a great name.

Monday's an off-day, then it's Mets-Brewers Tuesday night. Hopefully the wins start coming again.

ELTRAN*'S: HOLD THE PHONE!! A multi-hit game for Carlos Beltran*!! Talk about an awful road trip - he was booed every time he moved in Houston, and he stunk it up in Colorado (maybe anticipating a rough reception in Houston). He'd better not expect a warm welcome in New York either.
18-66 (.273 AVG.), 2 HR, 11 RBI, 7 Runs, 3 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: The one positive through this past week has been David Wright's assault on the Mets record books. Another double on Sunday...watch out Bernard Gilkey.

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

DAVID WRIGHT NEEDS 16 DOUBLES IN THE TEAM'S FINAL 57 GAMES.

THE KID'S KIDS: No games on Sunday. I didn't see the Hall of Fame Inductions in their entirety, but I'm sure Hall of Famer Gary Carter was in Cooperstown. His Gulf Coast Mets are now 22-10, good for a 6-game lead. We're entering the final month of the season - that six-game lead is looking pretty good. I'll let you know what the playoff picture is when I find out if there even are playoffs at that level.

The Mets had Monday night off. They are 56-60, 10 games behind the Braves in the NL East.

I knew Randy Johnson was going to kick the Mets' butts on Sunday. The Mets usually play well against Johnson, but I just had a feeling that he would want to show New Yorkers (and the Yankees in particular) what he had left, and what could have been on their team. Oh well. 2 out of 3 in consecutive series for the Mets isn't bad. Now they go to Colorado, definitely a beatable team.

Here's the deal folks. As bad as things have seemed recently, the Mets are six and a half games back of the wild card. They trail the Cubs, Padres, and Giants, who are in a three-way tie for first, the Phillies and Marlins, tied for second, and Houston. The Mets own the season tiebreaker against Houston, and face each team ahead of them in the wild card standings over the next month and a half. So if you're looking for a rooting interest, there it is. The season't not over yet.

Of course, they'll have to get things going without Mike Piazza, Jose Reyes, and Kaz Matsui, who are all on the disabled list. It especially hurts not being able to see Piazza hit in Colorado - that might just cure his slump. But the Mets might have one last run in them - so don't tune out yet. My summer classes are now over...so for the next couple of weeks I'll be detailing the "Final Mets Run of the Season" for you - I'll even try to include weekends.

I'll also be starting to pick up johnnyjets.blogspot.com soon. I'll keep you posted on that. Here's a hint at what to expect - I'm even more confident in the Jets' chances this year than I was with the Mets.

Also - Wednesday's the day where we post your e-mails. So drop johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com a line today!!

Let's Go Mets!