Before I continue with "Preview Week", I must note this: I'm watching the Cowboys-Titans right now on Monday Night Football, and Vinny Testaverde is making Bill Parcells look like a genius. He's throwing like crazy, and he looks good. Either that, or the Titans defense has been horrible. One or the other, I haven't been watching that long. But it seems like Testaverde and Keyshawn Johnson have the same chemistry they had with the Jets. I do, though, expect Testaverde to throw an interception any second. OK - on with Preview Week.

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS

The Jets defense was one of the biggest reasons for last year's 6-10 record. Because of that, there have been a lot of changes, and I think that most of them, if not all, make this Jets defense better than last year's.

Most notable gone are LB's Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones. Most notably added are LB Eric Barton, CB David Barrett, and S Reggie Tongue, along with first round draft pick LB Jonathan Vilma. Also likely to make an impact this season are rookie S Erik Coleman, and rookie CB Derrick Strait.

Everyone is stressing the fact that the defense is faster and younger this year. That's a big factor, but when you combine it with the fact that new defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson employs a very aggressive strategy, it becomes even more of a factor. He threw all kinds of looks at the Giants last Friday, and that was in a preseason game. So I have a feeling he has a bunch more tricks up his sleeve that he's waiting for the regular season to unveil. The past few years, the Jets would give up huge chunks of yardage under Ted Cottrell, before tightening up closer to their goal line. I think the days of opponents marching up and down the field on the Jets 'D' are over.

The D-line is a huge factor this year. Shaun Ellis, Dewayne Robertson, Jason Ferguson, and John Abraham should be the starters. Ellis had the huge year last year, Robertson had a bad rookie season, Ferguson's a solid veteran, and Abraham is coming off a disappointing season, but is going to be a big factor this year (it should also be noted Ellis and Abraham are playing for contracts this year). The Jets plan to use Abraham as a sometime-lineman, sometime-linebacker, as he'll sometimes drop back into coverage. That should be fun to watch, and I think it is a good fit for Abraham. Robertson needs to bounce back with a good year - if not, he'll be labeled a bust, and that'll be tough for him to shake the rest of his career. I have a feeling Ellis is going to have another good year, and I think the Jets are more interested at this point in re-signing Ellis than they are Abraham.

The starting linebackers will most likely be Barton, Sam Cowart in the middle, and Victor Hobson. Vilma is the next in line, and could steal a lot of playing time from Cowart, but I'm pretty sure the Jets will be starting Cowart come September 12th. This is a very improved unit - I think Hobson's going to have a great career, for whatever that's worth. He and Vilma should be playing side-by-side for a long time, and Barton's only 26 years old. I'm looking forward to seeing him play, because I don't know too much about him.

Another player I don't know much about is Barrett. He is a part of the revamped secondary, which is another area the Jets have gone to great lengths to improve. Barrett is slated at one corner, and Donnie Abraham is the other. I think Abraham is hurt, though, and won't be ready by opening day...so Ray Mickens will be the starter in his place. Right behind Mickens is Strait, who will see a lot of work in dime action, and I don't think the coaches need to much of an excuse to put Strait into the starting lineup. I think they've been impressed, and like him a lot. Another rookie they like a lot is Coleman, and I think at this point, Coleman is the starter at strong safety over new acquisition Reggie Tongue. Tongue has been disappointing, and has been hurt on and off during training camp, and Coleman has been very impressive so far. The other safety is Jon McGraw, who was never really the same last year after he got hurt in the season opener in Washington. I think McGraw is going to be very good, if he can stay healthy. I look forward to seeing him get a full year of playing time.

As I segue from defense into special teams, I will also note that on Monday the Jets cut LB Quincy Stewart, and punter Brian Simjanovski. Stewart had 15 tackles for the Jets on special teams last season, and I have a feeling he was cut now so he can try to hook on with another team before the pre-season is over. The Jets just don't have room for him on the roster. Simjanovski was signed because starting punter Toby Gowin hasn't been 100-percent healthy during training camp. With the cutdown deadlines approaching, the Jets didn't need him. They can probably always re-sign him if they need another kicker - Simjanovski had already been cut once by the Jets during training camp. Anyway, the revolving door at punter continues for the Jets with Gowin this year. He's been with the Cowboys, and replaces Dan Stryszinski. As long as he can boot the ball I'm fine with Gowin. Doug Brien returns as the placekicker, and he's solid. He had one bad situation last year, in the regular season against the Giants, when he didn't get on the field in time to kick a field goal. Brien's a solid kicker, and I think the Jets have solved their mental lapses, so I don't see those types of situations repeating themselves this year.

As for kick returns, Jonathan Carter will handle kickoffs, and Santana Moss handles punts. This should be exciting. Carter showed what he could do last year, and Moss is one of the best punt returners in the NFL. Field position should not be a problem for the Jets in 2004.

Tomorrow we'll preview the offense.

Welcome to preview week here at johnnyjets.blogspot.com.

We begin preview week with a review of Friday night's Jets-Giants preseason game. Chad Pennington was OK - but he made it through the game healthy, which is all anyone should care about. He might not even play in the preseason finale on Friday - which is a good thing. Curtis Martin had a heavy workload, I think 12 carries for 50 yards. He says he's ready for the regular season, and feels better than he did last year.

But I think the most important development from Friday's preseason game was the way the defense came out feeling about itself. After a couple of questionable outings in which they didn't prove they were a much better defensive unit than they were last year, the D broke out on Friday. They killed Eli Manning, forcing turnovers and pressuring him into mistakes. (That bodes well for the first game of the season, when they play Carson Palmer, who'll be making his first NFL start...but I digress.) But the biggest thing was new defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson's game plan. He blitzed everyone, from every angle. That's something the Jets haven't been doing much of in recent years, and it would be fun to watch in the regular season.

So the Jets won 2 out of their first 3 preseason games, and finish the preseason on Friday against Philadelphia. Don't expect to see many of the starters play, and if they do play, don't expect to see much of them. After that, the Patriots and Colts start the season on Thursday, September 9th, and the rest of the NFL gets started on Sunday the 12th - the Jets host the Bengals.

If you feel like the 12th's never going to come, I'll help you through it. First, a breakdown of the Jets - we'll do that all this week. Then next week, we'll get into our regular routine for the season. I'll break out that schedule next week. For this week, here's what you can expect:

Tuesday: Focus on Jets' defense/special teams
Wednesday: Focus on Jets' offense
Thursday: Jets season preview/thoughts on season/mail
Friday: Rest of the NFL preview

Don't forget the mail aspect on Thursday - that's when I'll respond to your e-mailed thoughts, questions, and comments. Send your e-mails by Wednesday to johnnyjetsmail@yahoo.com. We've already gotten some mail - keep it coming!

Dodgers 10, Mets 2 (60-69)

If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with me. There's not much left for the Mets this season but to play the role of spoilers. That starts with a series against the Marlins beginning Monday. The Marlins are about five games back of the wild card. The Mets can pretty much knock them out of the race in the next couple of weeks.

It seems unlikely these days that the Mets would beat anyone...but Mike Piazza should be back soon during this series with the Marlins, and Kaz Matsui should be back by the end of the week. So, if nothing else, we'll get a look at whether or not Piazza is washed up in the final weeks of the season, and we'll also get a look at whether or not the Mets have been lying to us and Matsui finishes the season at second base. (I have a feeling they mean it when they say he won't play second this year, because of what happened with Joe McEwing on a take-out slide at the second base bag. But Kaz Matsui will be at second base next year, and Jose Reyes, if he is ever healthy, will be the shortstop.)

It was a busy weekend for the Mets. First, they dealt with the Astros again. The Mets traded Dan Wheeler to Houston for a minor league outfielder named Adam Seuss (insert your Dr. Seuss Who joke here). The Mets probably made the deal to bolster the minor leagues, but I like Wheeler. The most frustrating part about Wheeler's game was that everytime he came in with men on base, he let them score. But I think he was valuable as a long reliever/spot starter. Hopefully Seuss makes it to the majors, or can be used in another trade at some point. (An ironic addition to this story - when the Astros added Wheeler, they sent David Weathers, who they acquired from the Mets for Richard Hidalgo, to the minors.)

Also this weekend, the Mets signed Cuban pitcher Alay Soler. This is a deal that's been talked about since spring training. Soler is said to be 24 years old, but who the heck knows if that's true. If it is, that's a nice young pitcher the Mets got. On the other hand...we've been mis-led by the Mets international scouting staff before....(some shortstop named Kazuo).

Finally, maybe this will settle down Mets fans for a bit...or at least me. Scott Kazmir pitched again on Sunday, and pitched much more reasonably for a person making his second major league start. Kazmir gave up five earned runs in 3 innings in getting a no-decision against Oakland. His major league ERA is now somewhere around 5.62. But he's still 1-0. And Victor Zambrano is still on the DL.

(Don't forget about johnnyjets.blogspot.com. We're up and running - check it out!!)

I spent Tuesday afternoon at Jets training camp. I have to admit, the team didn't look extremely sharp. They almost seemed to be going through the motions, anxious to get practice overwith. The big news of the day was that the Jets had signed Quincy Carter to a one-year deal. He was there, working with the coaches, and stayed after practice to throw a few extra passes. I'm sure this was not the most intense Jets practice of training camp...but I haven't seen any others, so I have nothing to compare it to. Let's just say if the Jets are practicing like this everyday, it's going to be a long season. I have a feeling, though, this was just a tired team (who had the morning off), anxious to get to their third preseason game, and looking forward to the end of training camp. I'm anxious for the regular season - I'm sure these guys are too.

Here's a little of what we saw on Tuesday (Click on the picture to make it bigger, then click "back" on the browser to get back to this page):

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Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

Former Jet Mark Gastineau made an appearance at camp Tuesday, checking out practice from the sideline. He was allowed inside the fence. I was not.

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Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

A good sight: After practice, Jets rookie linebackers Jonathan Vima (l.) and Darrell McClover (r.) put in extra time running wind sprints. The two were teammates at the University of Miami.

Vilma's going to be awesome. McClover - I don't know, but he's got a good work ethic.

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Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

A good sight: After practice, Jets rookie linebackers Jonathan Vima (l.) and Darrell McClover (r.) put in extra time running wind sprints. The two were teammates at the University of Miami.

Vilma's going to be awesome. McClover - I don't know, but he's got a good work ethic.

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Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

Here's a sight that'll get you ready for the season: The Jets first team offense on the field.

The Jets have until next Wednesday to sign Chad Pennington to a long-term deal, or else negotiations have to wait until the end of the season. The Jets NEED to take care of that by next week.

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Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

Herman Edwards (standing) going over to talk to brand-new Jets backup Quarterback, Quincy Carter(sitting and stretching on the right).

Edwards is all about Carter getting a second chance. I really think this is a good move for the Jets, if Carter has his head on straight. More on that in the season preview, coming next week.

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Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

That's Ken-Yon Rambo in the foreground, stretching with the rest of the team. This picture was only put in so you can check out his hair.

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Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

Jets receivers working on a drill. From left, Justin McCareins, Jonathan Carter, Santana Moss, Ken-Yon Rambo, Jerricho Cotchery, and Terrence Stubbs. (I think #9, Matt Dominguez, is hidden behind Cotchery, but he's not making the team anyway.)
I think Moss has been missing a lot of practices thus far, but he practiced at full speed Tuesday and wasn't holding back. I'm sure he'll be ready to go by the regular season.
Noticeably absent - Wayne Chrebet. He's been bothered by injuries all pre-season.

Padres 10, Mets 3 (59-67)

Well, if you're gonna get swept, you might as well get SWEPT. Boy, did things go downhill in a hurry. Sunday afternoon, the Mets had a chance to get right back in the thick of the wild card race. Here it is Thursday, and the Mets haven't had a sniff of a win since.

10-3. What an embarrassment. There was one good thing that came out of the past two games, at least. The Mets put David Wright into the three hole. So he's getting the experience hitting third. That'll help for next year. Wright went 0-for-2 Thursday afternoon, but he did walk twice. He is a great 2-strike hitter, just FYI.

Danny Garcia is a good little player. I don't think he should be a starter in the majors, but he is an excellent utility guy - he should definitely start next season at the Major League level.

I heard an excellent point on WFAN the other afternoon. Someone (I think it was Mike Francesa) made the point, what is the Mets training staff doing?!!? Why is it that everytime a Mets player gets hurt, he's out forever? It's a good point. And just the fact that Jose Reyes can't stay healthy is exhibit A. Cliff Floyd doesn't count because he couldn't stay healthy before he came to the Mets. Mike Piazza gets more fragile every year, but he's also getting old fast. But the point is well taken by me...do these people know what they're doing when it comes to treating injuries? Perhaps the Mets trainers are the same guys that scout Japanese shortstops. Just a thought.

OK...here it is...the big debut!! I urge you all to switch over to johnnyjets.blogspot.com for the first day of the Jets page (for real today). And keep coming back to the Mets site - we have lots more to come - post-season predictions, awards predictions, and more on the Mets!! Thanks for reading!

Padres something, Mets something less (insert crappy record here)

Blah blah blah blah blah blah Mets. Blah blah blah blah blah blah future Hall of Famer David Wright. No one blah blah blah blah for the mailbag. So blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Blah blah blah blah season blah blah blah blah over. Blah blah injuries, blah blah blah blah unbelievable.

Blah blah signed outfielder Brian Buchanan. That should really blah blah blah blah blah blah like a hole in the head.

In other news, the softball team played potentially its last game of the season. It was very likely the last game for me on the team. We came into the game 8-2, and were playing a team that had beaten us earlier in the season (I missed that game due to school - but had heard that the opposing team was very unsportsmanlike - they really crushed us, apparently). Anyway, we jumped out to a 12-2 lead, then held on for a 12-10 win. Did I mention this team was also undefeated before this game? I forgot. And they didn't take the loss easily. What a bunch of sore losers. My goodness. I don't know that I'm going to play in this league next year - I just didn't enjoy it the way I should have. But it felt good to beat this team, even though they were sore about it.

Well, it's time for the big johnnyjets.blogspot.com debut (it actually existed for about six months...but now's when it gets updated regularly). Switch over there, but also tune back in for the mets blah-g. We'll start to address the down-the-road issues here. And we'll still take your mail........if there is any.

Padres 3, Mets 1 (59-65)

Due to my being on assignment for the Jets site, I did not see Tuesday night's Mets game. I didn't miss much.

I wonder if anyone even still reads this space, since NO ONE HAS E-MAILED ME YET FOR THIS WEEK'S MAILBAG!!! That's OK. I'll postpone it one more day if you have something urgent to say. Otherwise, we'll bag it for the week.

After my "on assignment" for the Jets (which will probably get posted for Thursday, so stay tuned for that), I took in a Huey Lewis and the News concert in Westbury, New York. It was awesome! The first time I saw him, and it was great - I'm going to try to go again. Just outstanding. He played all the songs you'd hope he'd play, and they were all great. So that's why I didn't watch the Mets. And also because they are frustrating, and not very good. Scott Kazmir is 1-0. With a 0.00 ERA. Victor Zambrano is hurt. But football season's a-comin', and I have now attended a Huey Lewis and the News concert.

Padres 9, Mets 4 (59-64)

Aaron Heilman: 3-and-2-thirds IP, 4 earned runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 1 K, gets the loss for the Mets.

Scott Kazmir: 5 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4K, and stands to get the win right now for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays against the Seattle Mariners.

Talk about rubbing salt in a wound. Not only did the Mets look horrible in a game that might have just finished off any chance at a wild card run, but Kazmir makes an impressive major league debut. Kind of gives you a pain in your chest.

The Mets were horrible Monday night. They couldn't touch Jake Peavy. And Heilman is awful. It's bad. Very bad. The only bright spot was from, of course, Future Hall of Famer David Wright, who hit his 6th (of 756 career) home run. Mike Cameron also homered. That was his 27th of the season. He now holds the record for most homers in a season by a Mets centerfielder. Well, bully for him. Why don't you catch a few fly balls? (I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I'm a bit angry right now.)

Cliff Floyd left Monday's game after he got hit in the elbow with a pitch. Well, he didn't leave immediately. He came back out to left field, threw a runner out at the plate, then left the game. He's more fragile than Jose Reyes (no longer the greatest ballplayer who ever lived....unless he proves he can stay healthy. It's a sad day, folks).

So I'm officially writing off the Mets. But I'm not done writing about the Mets. So keep reading. And send some e-mail - Wednesday we'll be looking at some of what you have to say in our weekly mailbag. Make sure you get yours in! We have so many that we might not be able to print them all!! (OK, that's a lie. No one's sent anything. Please, someone e-mail me. Please.)

I'm on assignment for the Jets blog, which will get underway in a big way by the end of this week. So at the very least, the Mets bridged the gap to football season. I'll let you know when to check out the Jets site.

Giants 3, Mets 1 (59-63, 8 GB of Wild Card)

I feel like it's the early part of the season again. The Mets had a chance to pick up some ground in the race, they got a solid pitching outing from an unexpected source, and again their offense came up short.

In case you missed it, Future Hall of Famer David Wright was huge in Saturday's 11-9, 12 inning win. He was 4-for-6, with three doubles. His first of many 4-hit games in the Hall of Fame career. Unfortunately, he experienced a first of not-so-many on Sunday. He came up empty in a huge spot. With runners on first and second in the bottom of the eighth, down 3-1, with two outs, Wright batted against Giants' closer Dustin Hermanson, and struck out swinging. That was it for the Mets. It's a shame, because they could have taken two out of three from the Giants and kept their wild card hopes VERY alive. Now they're just barely alive.

It's also a shame because they wasted a great game by Matt Ginter. Well, a very good game, maybe not great. He gave up a solo homer to Ray Durham leading off the game, then a 2-run shot to Barry Bonds later in the first, and it was looking bad. But he gave up just those three rus in six innings, filling in for the injured Victor Zambrano. A very solid start for Ginter - looking like he did back in May. Mike DeJean pitched in two scoreless relief innings.

Now, I'm giving the Mets this one last shot here. They have four games - at home - against the San Diego Padres. The Mets are 8 games back of the Giants in the wild card race. The Padres are 2-and-a-half games behind the Giants. So they're right there at the top. If the Mets can pick up ground on San Diego, they'll keep themselves in it into September. If not, I'll officially write them off, and turn my attention to the Jets. Monday night, Aaron Heilman should be called up to make a start, so Kris Benson can be kept on his normal rest. (He was moved back a day because of Wednesday's rainout, and Thursday's doubleheader.) If the Mets can win Monday with Heilman, I like their chances with Benson, Al Leiter, Steve Trachsel, and Tom Glavine the rest of the series.

Let's go Mets.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let's go Mets!

The Mets and Rockies got rained out on Wednesday night. They'll play a doubleheader on Thursday, and the Mets need to win both games, to take 2 out of 3. Then it's the HUGE weekend series against the Giants, with HUGE wild card implications.

So with the lack of a Mets game to write about, it's time to revisit the softball team, which I haven't written about for a long time. So we won again last night. The record is now 7-2. It must be noted that the third baseman flubbed a grounder, dropped a pop-up, and threw a ball away in the 19-5 win. He used to be flawless, making great plays, no errors at all. But now he's making all these errors, and doesn't know what to do. So he thinks maybe writing about it on his website and exposing his soul to the world might inspire him to play better defense in Thursday night's game. He'll keep you posted.

So, as promised, time to check the e-mail bag. Kevin, from Wilmington, again checks in with this:

"An off topic question...but it looks like the Mets best chances for a World Series might only happen in Cyber-World. So with the release of Madden Football....the question should be asked, why hasn't a great baseball video game been made?? MVP Baseball is ok...but its not something I stay up all night playing. The additional question....best baseball video game ever?? Tony LaRussa baseball?? MVP Baseball?? RBI Baseball?? Triple Play?? Do you have a hidden gem?? I'll hang up and listen. "

Well, Kevin, first of all, let's not write off the non-video game Mets yet. If they sweep Thursday's doubleheader.....anyway, this is something I've wondered quite often in my loser existence. Finally, EA Sports has come up with a passable baseball video game, which took entirely too long. MVP Baseball is a huge improvement over its predecessor, Triple Play Baseball. At least in MVP, you can make a double switch without the game freezing up. I'm big on stats, and you can't do much better stats-wise than what MVP offers. I actually like MVP a lot. But you're right. It's not Madden. And Madden just keeps getting better, year after year. It makes you wonder why baseball can't keep up with the advances football has made. I wonder if the baseball game is harder to make because there are many more stats and such. Anyway, as for the best all-time...I liked RBI because it was the first one to differentiate stadiums. I remember it being the first video game to have the fountains at Kauffman Stadium. And Bases Loaded was a great game, for Nintendo. And I could always be Gary Carter, or just 8 on the New York (N) in Major League Baseball, for Nintendo, which, looking back, was probably the first MLB licensed game. But MVP is the best, just because of the evolution of the game. (For the record, the new Madden is great.)

We're a little light on the e-mails today. But one final word on the Mets. Victor Zambrano was in New York today, I think, for tests on his elbow. He left Tuesday night's game in the second inning after throwing a pitch. This is a problem. Apparently his elbow never felt 100 percent even after the trade from the Devil Rays. The Mets training staff really should have checked that situation out more before giving up a big-time prospect for damaged goods. They did run tests, but obviously, it wasn't definitive enough. Not good.

Kris Benson and Al Leiter go for the Mets in Thursday's doubleheader.

Sorry folks. I'm not feeling so good - I think I need to go to bed. We'll do mail Thursday. That gives you an extra day to send your mail: johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com.

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!

Astros 5, Mets 4 (53-59, 11 GB)

Well, so much for the new plan. The Marlins lost, but the Mets also lost, and the Braves, Phillies, and Expos all won. So the big experiment lasts just one day. We'll have to figure out a new scheme for the Mets to make the playoffs on Thursday.

The Mets really didn't deserve to win Wednesday night. But they almost stole one, which would have been good for a team that hasn't caught many breaks this year. According to form, though, after a wild pitch allowed the Mets to score two runs to tie the game at 4, they went on to lose the game in 10 innings. This, despite the best efforts of future Hall of Famer David Wright, who led off the 10th inning with a single, and advanced to third base before Jason Phillips ended the game by flying out to center field. He can't do it by himself folks...although if anyone was capable of that, it would be David Wright.

Matt Ginter pitched very well against the Astros for the second time this year, filling in for the injured Tom Glavine. He had to leave the game, though, after the long rain delay in the sixth inning.

It should also be noted, The Greatest Ballplayer Who Ever Lived, Jose Reyes, pinch-hit in this game and doubled, before leaving for a pinch runner. Reyes limped off the field. He's gotta stop getting these leg injuries.

Speaking of injuries, Mike Piazza is on the DL with inflammation in his knee. Of course, the knee injury wasn't suffered as a catcher, it was suffered with Piazza at first base. I swear, the Mets have won two World Series in their 42 years of existence, but you want to talk cursed? It's all or nothing with this team. At least the Red Sox contend, the White Sox contend, the Cubs, well, they've contended the past two years. But the Mets...they have a young player (Reyes) who has the biggest upside of anyone in the league (some would argue more than anyone who's ever played the game), and he can't walk without tweaking a hamstring. Then you have the greatest-hitting catcher in the history of the game, who can't even switch positions right to help save his career. Then they go out and grab allegedly one of the best Japanese players out there (Kaz Matsui), and he doesn't know how to field or throw a baseball....not to mention two Hall of Famers (legitimate Hall of Famers - Roberto Alomar and Mo Vaughn) who fall off the face of the Earth when they come to the Mets. I'll keep it at that...but there are plenty more examples. I don't want to throw around any words like "Curse"...but something ain't right.

The Mets and Astros turn right back around and play Thursday afternoon at 12.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sorry for the lack of postings. Lots of final projects. In a week, though, summer classes will be over. Which means summer classes lasted longer than the Mets, who are done. But do not worry - the end of the Mets' season in early August does not mean the end of johnnymets.blogspot.com.

I will be working extra hard to bring you the entertainment you deserve through the World Series, which, hard as it may be to accept, will probably not include the Mets. I can't believe it either. Anyway, the fun gets started tomorrow with the Mets mailblog. I won't let you down this week.

Oh, by the way, the Mets open up a three-game series at Shea against the Astros. Let's Go Mets.

Cardinals 6, Mets 4 (52-56, 9 GB)

Need to win these last two games in Saint Louis...

Mets 11, Brewers 6 (52-55, 8 GB)

Let me begin with a couple of stat lines.

First, this pitcher's line: 5 1/3 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 7K, 6 R, 4 ER. Pretty crappy, but good enough for a win by Victor Zambrano. He got a nice little welcome to the Mets gift. Usually the Mets hang new pitchers out to dry by not scoring any runs. But Zambrano is now 1-0 in the National League (despite a 6.75 ERA), mostly because........

......of this stat line: 3-for-5, 2 2B, HR, 2 R, 6 RBI!!!! You know who put those numbers up Thursday afternoon. None other than future Hall of Famer David Wright. If you didn't see Wright's first inning home run, turn on ESPN now, and wait for them to show it. It was a BOMB. This guy's good. His line yesterday looked like something from when he was tearing up Double-A. He's really starting to find his stroke. Watch out Pete Rose and Hank Aaron. Not to mention Tris Speaker. He's the all-time doubles leader. Or should I say, WAS, the all-time doubles leader. After hitting 2 doubles yesterday, 6 of Wright's 15 hits have been doubles. In 13 games, Wright has 6 doubles. Let's just say he plays about 150 games a year (assuming he doesn't break Cal Ripken's consecutive games streak), for 10 years. That averages out to 750 doubles in his career. And we all know Wright will play at least 20 years, if not 30. That means he'll shatter Speaker's record of 792 career doubles. We're watching history here folks.

OK. So the Mets swept the Brewers. I'm very happy about it. But if they could just hit like this against other teams, namely the Braves, it would probably feel a little better. Believe it or not, statistically, the Brewers are not a bad pitching team. They rank tenth in the majors in ERA. So you figure if the Mets could hit their pitching, they could hit others. Maybe the bats are coming around. Hope it isn't too late.

Mike Cameron sure is smoking the ball. And the Mets seem to have figured out how to hit with the bases loaded. Mike Piazza is still slumping pretty bad, so that's very worrisome. Sadly, I almost prefer to see the Mets 1,2, 6, 7, 8 hitters to the 3, 4, 5 hitters lately. Hmm..no offense, Kaz, but has anyone missed Matsui these last few games? I still feel he's one of the best clutch hitters on the team - if not THE best - but THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED Jose Reyes just looks so much better at shortstop.

So neither Zambrano or Kris Benson have been too impressive in their Mets debuts. I hope that means they'll only get better for the rest of the season. But who knows, this is the Mets we're talking about. But I think Zambrano was very, very nervous before this start. So maybe it's the best possible thing that he was given a 6-0 lead, almost blew it, and then held on to get a win. Maybe now he thinks he'll only get better, and he'll be more relaxed when he pitches at Shea. I'm reaching folks, but we need these guys to perform lights out, or else it's lights out on the season.

This weekend will be yet another test for the Mets. It's the Mets at Saint Louis. Here's a refresher on how the Mets did in their last series with the Cardinals. A 5-4 win, come-from-behind, when the Mets scored 2 in the bottom of the ninth to beat Jason Isringhausen. The Mets followed that up with a 1-0 loss, and then had one of their worst games of the season on a Thursday afternoon, getting pummeled 11-4. Just an ugly game. So the Mets lost 2 out of 3, but they held their own against a very good team. Now we'll see if they can beat a very good team 2 out of three. Because the Mets can't afford to lose another series the rest of the season. The pitching matchups for this series look phenomenal:

Friday: Tom Glavine vs. Matt Morris
Saturday: Kris Benson vs. Woody Williams
Sunday: Al Leiter vs. Jason Marquis

Let's Go Mets.

Mets 6, Brewers 5 (51-55, 8 GB)

First of all, a big apology. This is no way to start a new feature on this site, by promising your e-mails on Wednesday and not delivering. On the other hand, it still is Wednesday as I write this, so it's not really like I lied. Next week, though, I will have the mailblog ready by Wednesday morning, to keep consistent with your regular reading schedules.

I hope everyone remembered to watch my brother's show Wednesday night. If you watched it, you missed the Mets tying the game at 3, but you could have switched over immediately afterwards and seen the Mets take the lead. I hope you watched it, that show is more funny every time I watch it.

Damn the Mets. Everytime I want to write them off, they come back and look fairly impressive. Now they're scoring runs...if they keep this up, with the great pitching we expect from the staff, they might have one more run in them. Damn the Mets. Damn me for thinking so damn positively.

Let's check out the mail, because the first e-mail illustrates my above point about the Mets' "one more run" this season:

Kathryn in Watertown writes, "I've been looking at the Braves' record and the Mets' record. Let's say that the Braves win half of their games for the rest of the year. They'll finish out at 87-75. That means the Mets will have to win nearly 2/3 of their remaining games to finish ahead of the Braves. (If they win 2 out of 3 they'll end up at 89-73). So my question is, do you think this is possible or did the Mets screw themselves out of another year this past weekend?"

Well, Kathryn, the Mets sure didn't help themselves any by being swept by the Braves this past weekend. And I think it's asking an awful lot for the Braves to win only half their games the rest of the way. But that's what we, as Mets fans, have to hope for. And to be honest, 2 out of every three is not a stretch for the Mets, depending on how Victor Zambrano pitches on Thursday afternoon. I believe we've already seen Kris Benson's worst start (on Saturday against Atlanta), and Tom Glavine is not likely to pitch as poorly as he did on Sunday. Al Leiter has been awesome, and Steve Trachsel has strung together a few pretty good outings in a row. So if the pitching keeps them in games, starting with Zambrano's first start in a Mets uniform on Thursday, who knows what the Mets are capable of.

Here's another e-mail, this one from Dave, in Brighton, "Longtime reader firsttime writer.
10 GB. At what point do you fire up johnnyjets.blogspot.com?"

Well, Dave, johnnyjets.blogspot.com will be frequently updated during training camp, and I will direct your attention there through this site as I write about the Jets. But the deficit's 8 games. So we can't give up hope on the Mets just yet. Thanks for the plug on johnnyjets.blogspot.com.

Here's another e-mail I received, which I believe to be a ruse: "Nice blog, man. Thanks for the kind words. Keep it up!
-TGBWEL"

TGBWEL, of course, stands for THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, and the name on the e-mail was Jose Reyes. But I think someone, namely Kathryn from Watertown, is playing a cruel, cruel joke on me.

OK. This is a regular weekly event, so if you want to share your thoughts, drop me a line, johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com

Just a note on Bob Murphy, who died Tuesday of lung cancer. Murphy could also be known as TGBWEL - THE GREATEST BROADCASTER WHO EVER LIVED. There was nothing like sitting by a radio on a summer day/night, listening to Murphy broadcast the Mets. He may have lost a bit over the years, but just hearing his voice was reassuring, even when the Mets sucked. I don't really know how to express how good he was. If you're a Mets fan, you know. If you didn't grow up listening to Bob Murphy call the Mets, I don't know how to express what you missed. But I'll try. Imagine listening to a baseball game, and having the perfect picture of the game painted for you. And imagine not even thinking about who was describing the game to you. I hope that begins to give you an idea of what made Bob Murphy so great.

I need the night off from writing about the Mets. The season's just about over. These trades are looking pretty crappy right now, considering the sweep by the Braves. I was psyched going into the weekend, assuming the Mets would have won 2, maybe 3, games...at least ONE. Now I'm disappointed. More on that for the rest of the season.

Just some reminders, though. First of all, Wednesday night at 10pm, on AMC, my brother's show airs again. "Into Character" is the name of the show...enjoy it - it's great.

And don't forget to weigh in on the Mets - johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com. Share the misery - Wednesday we'll put some e-mails on the site.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEW FEATURE:

Send me your thoughts!! Every Wednesday, we'll print your e-mails, questions, and responses. Send your e-mail today to johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mets 4, Expos 2 (48-51, 5 GB)

So this is what the Mets are. A team that can barely get above the .500 mark, a team that doesn't score a lot of runs, a team whose best pitcher has a record of 8-8 (Tom Glavine). But you know what, as bad as all of this is, and as bad as things looked after the 19-10 loss to the Expos, the fact remains the Mets are just 5 games out of first place, and to this point, remain buyers, rather than sellers, as Friday's trade deadline approaches.

I received an e-mail from an angry Mets fan who identified herself as "Lauren", saying that Kaz Matsui should be sent to Triple-A because of his 21 errors, and the Mets should trade Mike Piazza while they can get some value for him. Well, "Lauren", I understand you're frustrated, but keep in mind Matsui's bat has probably kept the Mets in more games lately (and I stress - lately) than his errors have cost them. And Piazza's being hurt this past week might be a blessing in disguise, because he now has a week of rest under his belt. That's tough to come by for him at this stage of the season. I bet he comes back hitting the ball like crazy (not counting Tuesday night's pinch-hit groundout), and when he spurs the Mets to a 10-game winning streak, you'll regret wanting to trade him. That said, if the Mets lose the next few games before the deadline, trade 'em all. I can't take many more worthless seasons.

In the mess of Monday's 19-10 embarrassment, I neglected to mention David Wright's first career home run. It was a pretty good shot. As another loyal reader points out, only 754 more 'til he catches Aaron. Unfortunately, now the Mets are 0-1 in games in which Wright homers. And doubly unfortunate, it was just his fourth hit of the season. He needs to pick up the pace if he's going to pass Rose. So much pressure.

Speaking of pressure, Wright's fellow future-Hall-of-Famer, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, is on fire. He's up to about .262 right now, and is running like crazy. He stole another 2 bases Tuesday night - including third base. He's done that a bunch lately.

OH! How about this?! During Tuesday night's game, Fran Healy, talking about David Wright's batting stance, says, "You know who he reminds me of, holding his hands out like that? A man whose number is retired here in Montreal....and a former Met....." Thaaaaat's riiiiiiight.....None other than HALL OF FAMER GARY CARTER. And then, as an added treat, they do a split screen, showing Wright's batting stance compared with Carter's. If I hadn't gotten married in May, that might have been the greatest moment of 2004 for me. Oh well, I guess it'll have to settle for second-best.

By the way, I'm ashamed to admit I didn't make it home from my damn math class in time for Wright's home run Monday night. I had to see it on replay. I feel like I betrayed my boy. (I strongly dislike this Math class as it is, now it is definitely on my sh** list.) Oh well. At least I saw Wright's first hit. He'll be more of a hits guy than a homers guy in his career anyway.

So Glavine pitches well, the Mets score enough runs to win...that's about as well-rounded a game as you can expect from the Mediocre Mets. (But don't forget - Mediocre is enough to get them into the post-season. I'm done pretending this is a great team, and a good division. I'll take the back door into the post-season and championship.) So they need to put the package together again on Wednesday night for Jae Seo. A nice winning streak here to get the Mets back to .500, then into second place, would be great.

NEWS: Another distraction the Mets don't need. Shane Spencer was arrested for DUI in Florida early Tuesday morning. I've about had it with Shane Spencer. This guy has a serious drinking problem. The funny thing is, the Mets were all about putting together a quality team with upstanding citizens this year. Then they go out and sign Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia. I didn't even know Spencer was this wild. He really kept a low profile with the Yankees, I guess, even though it's the same city. But first there was the pizzaman incident in Florida during spring training, then landing on the DL with a cut foot, which he says he got by stepping on glass while wearing sandals, but in my mind is starting to look like he kicked himself in the tooth because he's a drunken fool, and now this DUI thing. I'm sick of it. Shane should shape up or ship out.

Expos 19. Mets 10 (47-51, 6 GB)

That game reminds me of the old saying, "When you give up 19 runs to the Expos, you might as well shoot yourself in the face".

Braves 4, Mets 3 (47-50, 5 GB)

Things are falling apart fast. 5 games back now. These were some very important games against the Braves, and the Mets just didn't come through. It's a good thing Friday's game got rained out - they probably would have lost that one too.

If the Mets don't win these next couple of games against Montreal, they might end up trading players by Friday, instead of trading for players. They absolutely HAVE to win Monday. And after that, they absolutely HAVE to win Tuesday. Then we'll go from there....but I have a feeling they're going to HAVE to sweep the Expos.

Mike DeJean has been outstanding so far. At least that's working. Not only did they get rid of Karim Garcia, but they got someone decent for him. Way to go. (By the way, I think last week I may have written that DeJean was a lefty...he is, in fact, a righty.)

And THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED Jose Reyes is starting to show why he's THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED. Reyes went 4-for-5 Sunday, basically comprising the entire Mets offense. Unfortunately, he struck out with the tying run in scoring position to end the game...but a good weekend for Reyes. On Saturday he laid down a couple of outstanding bunts - beating one out for a base hit. (Except he has been getting picked off lately - I think one was against the Expos, but also against the Braves. That has to stop.) I feel I have been ignoring THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED ever since David Wright was brought up, kind of like you tend to ignore a dog when there's a new baby around. And then the dog gets mad when you pay all this attention to the new baby, and he starts doing tricks with more fervor to get the attention back. So Reyes is like that dog, except he's playing baseball with more fervor, in order to win back my affection. Well, Jose, you never lost my affection...both you and Wright are equally my favorites. But keep it up. Or else you will lose my affection.

Kaz Matsui also continues to be hot. He only went 1-for-4 Sunday, but he's now hitting .276. That's great, considering where he was for a good portion of the first half. But here's the deal with the Mets. It seems like they've never had everything working at once. They started off the season hitting the ball like crazy, but their pitching didn't have it together (Al Leiter was hurt, Steve Trachsel couldn't find his groove, Tyler Yates was getting roughed up - basically early on Tom Glavine was the only one pitching well). Ever since the first two weeks, the pitching has been friggin' outstanding, and the hitting hasn't been there. Then on the off night when the hitting is great, a decent pitching performance is tough to get (Glavine). And when they get enough runs to win, and the starting pitching is good, the bullpen blows it. They need to start pulling everything together....FAST.

Tyler Yates, by the way, is back with the team. His ERA in Triple-A was somewhere in the low-3's, I think, as they try to convert him into a set-up/closer type guy. I feel good about the recall. I think he'll be successful. Hopefully I'm right, because the bullpen needs a lot of help. Orber Moreno was placed on the DL, which is why Yates is back.

Scott Erickson gets first crack at the Expos Monday night. Big start. Hopefully he pitches as well as he did in his first Mets start. (The one where he actually made it to the pitcher's mound, not the one where he hurt himself warming up and was gone for three months.)

Expos 4, Mets 1 (47-48, 3 GB)

I'm starting to think the Mets may be no better than a .500 team. Luckily, that still leaves them just 3 games out of a playoff spot. But when you can't do better than a split against Montreal, let alone score more than a run in a game, you have to look at your team and think something's wrong.

I have a bunch of problems with Thursday's game. Here's a couple. Tom Glavine pitched great again, and again he gets nothing in return. At least he didn't get the loss. That went to John Franco, who served up a 2-run homer to Tony Batista in the 8th inning, breaking a 1-1 tie. That followed a dribbler of a base hit with two outs. I'm telling you, the Mets can't catch a break. Still, Franco can't keep giving up homers.

OK, another problem...HUGE problem. Why don't these major league baseball players run like they mean it? Good God, you just have to run hard a few times a game, will you do it once in a while?!?! Some instances, and they definitely cost the Mets yesterday:

Bottom 4: Kaz Matsui lines one to center field leading off the inning, Endy Chavez dives for it, misses it, the ball rolls all the way to the wall. Should absolutely be an inside-the-park home run, but Kaz is taking his time getting out of the box, and only ends up with a triple. The Mets go down 1-2-3 after that, so it stays scoreless instead of 1-0, Mets. I have a couple of problems with Matsui's baserunning. I've not once seen him slide into second base to break up a double play - he bails out as soon as the bag is touched. It wouldn't kill him to show a little more hustle.

Top 6: The only run off Glavine, a solo home run. The ball just cleared the wall by a little bit. Why does Mike Cameron give up on it so quick? He just stood and watched it, when I think he might have been able to catch up to it...I'm not positive that he would have robbed the homer, but he sure has done it enough in his career that I wouldn't be surprised if he did. But, oh, I forgot, he's wearing a Mets uniform now, so mediocre fielding is good enough right now.

Bottom 6: With Richard Hidalgo on first, Mike Cameron rips a double into the left field corner, with the score tied at 1. Hidalgo is being sent home, but after a few steps around third, he stops for some reason. The Expos catch Hidalgo in a rundown. They chase Hidalgo back to third. For some reason, as he's being chased back to third, Hidalgo stops, and runs back towards home. WHEN THIRD BASE IS LEFT UNCOVERED!!!! He could have easily dove (dived?) back into third base safely. But I don't know. Maybe I'm the only one who saw this. Ted Robinson and Fran Healy were too busy talking about everything else under the sun to bother to point it out. So maybe I'm wrong. But man, the Mets are killing me.

Good news: David Wright was 2-for-4, picking up his first two major league hits. His first hit was a double. He's just 2,998 hits from the 3,000 hit plateau, en route to the Hall of Fame. By the way, Wright also scored the only run of the game for the Mets. He was driven in by his co-first-ballot-inductee into the Hall, Jose Reyes. On his plaque, it will read, "THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED". Unfortunately, David Wright's Major League Baseball winning streak is over at 1. And the Mets are now 0-1 in games in which Wright gets a hit.

This weekend the Mets host the Braves. The two teams play for the first time since early April. If the Mets don't take the series, it might be time to spark up johnnyjets.blogspot.com.

Mets 5, Expos 4 (47-47, 3 GB)

David Wright is the New York Mets third baseman. A few thoughts occurred to me as I was watching last night. It's weird to see a career begin like we're seeing with Wright. Provided he's the star everyone's making him out to be, it could be possible that 25 years from now, we'll see Wright's number 5 go up with all the other Mets' retired numbers. Ideally, 5 would go up with 7, as The Greatest Ballplayer Who Ever Lived Jose Reyes and Wright retire together. And their numbers would hang with all the Mets championship banners from 2004-2029. (OK, that's a stretch, the Mets would probably get beaten out twice in that span of years.) But in this day and age, it's pretty much near impossible for those two guys to stay with the Mets their entire careers, and for those careers to be productive too. But it sure is fun to think about right now.

Last night's game is just what the Mets needed. Finally, a break went their way. That hasn't been happening much lately.

Bottom of the 8th, Ty Wigginton on second, Todd Zeile pinch-hitting, he grounds it to third, it looks like the game's going to stay tied into the 9th....but Nick Johnson drops the ball at first!!! I remember that happening to the Mets early in the year. Maybe their luck is changing. Braden Looper got a big double play in the ninth to finish off his 20th save of the year.

Mike Stanton, again, was not effective. He relieved Jae Seo (who pitched very well, but tired) with two men on, and promptly surrendered a 3-run home run to the first batter he faced. Way to go Mike. Luckily, the Mets survived.

The Mets need these games against Montreal. MSG showed an interesting graphic during last night's game - everyone in the NL East has been beating up on the Expos. The Mets need to follow suit, because they haven't shown that they can dominate against other teams in the division. So far, so good. I wouldn't mind a couple of blowouts, though.

David Wright was 0-for-4 in his big Mets debut, but he looked pretty good in the field. He ended the first inning with a nice play moving to his left, snaring a grounder, then throwing a strike to first base. I'd like for him to get a hit one of the next couple of nights just so he's not pressing very long for his first major league hit.

The addition of Wright forced a couple of changes for the Mets. First, Dan Wheeler was sent to the minors so they could bring him up. That was (obviously) not based on performance, because Wheeler has been one of the more reliable pitchers the Mets have coming out of the bullpen. But everyone else who would have been a candidate to go to the minors has some kind of stipulation (out of options, in contract, etc.) in which it couldn't happen. So expect a trade soon so the Mets can clear a roster spot and bring Wheeler back up.

Secondly, expect that trade to include Ty Wigginton. All he's done now is shown he's valuable at another position, after playing so well at first base last night. And before the game, when asked about moving to first for Wright, Wigginton flat out said he wasn't happy about it. Wigginton is not the type to cause trouble around the clubhouse, but he's not happy, and as my friend Steve said recently, let's face it - this is about as good as he's ever going to play. So the Mets might as well deal him and get something good for him while his value is so high. The question now is, what are they going to get in return, with the deadline less than 10 days away??

!!!!!!!BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. With the Mets at 46-47, and reeling from an injury to Mike Piazza (although he's not expected to be put on the DL), the Mets have called up David Wright from Triple-A Norfolk.

The final Wright Watch: after a 1-for-5 performance last night, Wright finishes up his time at Triple-A with a .298 average, 8 homers, and 17 RBI. He spent 30 games with the Norfolk Tides. Now, he has to save the Mets.

Marlins 6, Mets 5 (46-46, 3 GB)

Absolutely horrible. This is an absolutely horrible loss for the Mets. Scott Erickson pitched great. He definitely pitched well enough to win. Ugly defense combined with some poor relief cost the Mets. What a way to ruin July 19th, aka "Mike DeJean Day".

So I guess I'll start with DeJean. The Mets finally traded Karim Garcia, to the Orioles, for the reliever. (I should be so happy right now, but instead, I'm so sad.) DeJean's numbers, to put it bluntly, suck. I'd like to think Rick Peterson can work with him to improve those numbers, but I just don't know. Peterson has done wonders with the Mets' starting pitching, but it seems like it comes at the cost of the relief corps. So the other hope with DeJean is that he performs better in the National League than he fared in the American League.

Now to the game. A 4-0 lead!! The Mets blew a 4-0 lead! Here were the encouraging aspects of the game. Mike Piazza seems to have found his stroke. He hit the ball on the nose a couple of times. "The Greatest Ballplayer Who Ever Lived" Jose Reyes had one of his best games since he's been healthy. He also is playing very well in the field. And Erickson, again, looked great. Maybe he'll feed off the fact that he's playing important games and continue to pitch well.

Unfortunately, there won't be many more important games at this rate. The bullpen inherited a 4-2 lead, and blew it. Vance Wilson looked like crap behind the plate. I don't know what was going on with the catchers last night, but there were more balls going to the backstop than you see on the pee-wee fields at I.C.Y.P. (My little league.)

I don't want people pointing fingers at Art Howe for this one either. The man takes enough crap from enough people (including my mom). He couldn't leave Erickson in much longer - the man hasn't pitched a major league game in years. He pushed all the necessary buttons - the players just didn't come through for him. The one move which probably raised the most eyebrows - when he brought in John Franco - turned out to be one of the best moves all night. The bullpen has had its share of shining moments this year...but it needs to be perfect if the Mets are going anywhere.

If I were a betting man...wait, I am a betting man.... If I could legally bet on a baseball game in the next 24 hours, I would bet a lot of money on the Mets winning Tuesday night's game. They won't lose two in a row at home to the Marlins. The big problem, though, is that the Mets should have won two in a row at home against the Marlins.

The Braves are playing the Phillies, and beat them on Tuesday night, so for now, the Mets are chasing Atlanta, and they're tied for third with the Marlins, 3 games back.

WRIGHT WATCH: Sorry, forgot about the Wright Watch yesterday. The Tides were off on Monday, and maybe that's a good thing for everyone's phavorite phenom, David Wright. Wright's been slumping. He went 2-for-4 in his last game, Sunday, and is hitting .308. But he's just 4 for his last 17...2 for his last 12.

Mets 6, Phillies 1 (46-45, 2 GB)

A couple of good wins bookend a couple of pretty bad losses this weekend. No ground gained, no ground lost. It wasn't a bad split, but it wasn't good. All of this points to a very average team.

I keep saying beginning tonight...beginning with this game....beginning now...but I think I (we) have to stop thinking that way. Starting with these next two games with the Marlins, the Mets have to put together a bunch of wins. It's just two games, but the Mets can help bury Florida by winning both. If Scott Erickson can actually make it through his pre-game warmups, he'd better pitch well. I have nothing against Erickson (except his wife is the worst sideline reporter of all time), I just don't think he's bringing any value to the team. Monday night he gets to prove me wrong.

Actually, Scott Erickson might be bringing a very good thing to the team - the trade of Karim Garcia. I can't believe this is actually going to happen. I just kind of threw it out there last week, that the Mets would make a trade to create the roster spot for Erickson. The fact that it's Karim Garcia makes one of two dreams I've had for this season come true (the other being the World Series win). The deal is, the Mets had a trade worked out to send Garcia to Los Angeles, but the Dodgers backed out. But there are still teams interested, so a trade could happen by Monday, when Erickson gets activated.

So, anyway, I digress. I missed Saturday's game, but apparently it was one of the worst performances of the season by the team. Friday night's loss wasn't pretty either. Hopefully the momentum from Sunday's win carries into these two games with the Marlins, because the Mets can't keep hovering at .500. They need to go on a run, and it needs to begin now.

Mets 3, Phillies 2 (45-43, 1 GB)

Here's my wishlist for the second half of the season:

That the Mets leave .500 in the rear-view mirror, rattling off a bunch of wins right now, never even falling close to the .500 mark again.
That in the process of leaving the .500 mark in the dust, the rest of the NL East also gets left behind, as the Mets run away with the division.
That my school workload lets up enough that I can get back to writing about the Mets more often than I've been writing.
That after not writing in so long, there are still people left to read this.

The Mets are now 1-0 post All-Star break. This is good, because this next month is just brutal for them. So starting with a win goes a very long way towards a strong showing in those games. Here's what we're looking at in that span:
The Mets just began a 4-game series at Shea against Philadelphia.
Then it's 2 games vs. Florida, and 2 vs. Montreal (and the Mets always struggle against Montreal when they're competing and the Expos are not).
Then it's 3 games against Atlanta, wrapping up the 11-game homestand. That series against the Braves looks a lot bigger now than it did a few weeks ago.
Then the Mets go on the road:
4 at Montreal.
3 at Atlanta. Then that road trip goes through Milwaukee and St. Louis before the Mets come home again. That takes us through August 10th. Not an easy go.

This homestand the Mets are on right now is tied for their longest of the season (they have another 11-game homestand at the end of August, into September, against the Padres, Dodgers, and Marlins). They have to take advantage of it, and tonight's win gets them off on the right foot.

A couple of things about tonight's game. Steve Trachsel looked great through the first five innings - maybe the best I've ever seen him look as a Met. That stretch in the first and second innings, where he struck out five in a row, was dominating. He just got tired late, which is a problem. Tom Glavine is about the only Mets starting pitcher who can go deep into games. (Al Leiter can throw 120 pitches, but lately he's reaching that total in the fifth inning.)

The Mets need Trachsel to keep giving them quality starts, because as of Friday night, the Mets' number four starter is going to be Scott Erickson. I really hope he pitches lights out, and makes me eat my words, but I really don't see Erickson being very effective. About the only positive I can see coming out of this Erickson thing is he pitches well for a couple of starts, and a) gets traded, or b) bridges the gap until the Mets get a good pitcher in a trade. If he sticks around and the Mets manage to get a good starter in a trade, I'd love to see Erickson coming out of the bullpen. I think that would be a valuable spot for him, a la Orel Hershiser in 1999.

WRIGHT WATCH: After a couple of games off for the All-Star and Futures Games festivities, David Wright returned to the Norfolk lineup with a bang tonight. Wright was 2-for-5, with 2 homers and 3 RBI. He did strike out twice, but he's hitting .326 now at the Triple-A level.

Notes: What a weird year. Why the heck do the Pirates, Marlins, Padres, Astros, Rangers, and Blue Jays have the day after the All-Star break off?...Scott Erickson is starting Friday night in place of Jae Seo. Seo has been moved to Monday night, so he can face the Marlins, who he has had the most success against in his career, according to the Mets' radio guys...Matt Ginter was sent to Triple-A when Karim Garcia was activated from the disabled list before the All-Star break, so in order to activate Erickson, another roster move has to be made. I don't know who the Mets will move. Unless some pitcher comes up with a mystery ailment, the most likely candidate would be Joe McEwing, and I think he has to be exposed to waivers before being sent down. Maybe a trade is in the works for early in the day tomorrow?...I'm watching Randy Johnson pitch right now against the Dodgers. He's got 9 strikeouts in 7 innings. I think he's showing teams what he's got - he's definitely going to be traded. The Mets are way, way, way on the outside in a deal to get him, but man, that would be unbelievable, wouldn't it? When Tom Glavine and Mike Piazza were selling the Mets to him at the All-Star game, they should have told him he could come to New York and be the third part of the best top 3 left-handed pitching combination in the history of the game...One last note - the Mariners released John Olerud. I would think he has some value to some team somewhere, and as much as I love Olerud, I don't think the Mets are that team. I don't think Olerud is a very good pinch-hitter in his career, and that would be the only capacity he could serve in if he came back here. Not that that's been rumored anywhere, I'm just saying.

Mets 10, Phillies 0 - 6th inning

Happy Birthday to me! A nice blowout win for my birthday - reason #1,367 why I love the Mets. Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. Who knew that going back to school would result in so much homework?! Don't worry, it hasn't kept me from watching the games - just commenting on them. I also feel that I don't need to play up the Mets so much on this website anymore because their actions on the field are finally backing up what I've been saying all year - this team is friggin' good.

OK. So right now the Mets are up 10-0 in the sixth. I think it's safe to say that heading into Thursday night's game, the Mets will be 43-40, one game out of first. With a win on Thursday the Mets can move into a tie for first place!!! I love it.

The best part of this, and I can't stress this enough, people, is that the latest stretch has come with Mike Piazza doing nothing. He's been pretty bad at the plate the past few games...but the Mets have still been playing awesome. The worst thing is that Tom Glavine had his worst game of the year at the worst possible time - the Mets could be sitting on a 7-game winning streak right now. I guess I shouldn't say the worst possible time - it's probably good that he got the clunker out of the way. Let's hope he doesn't revert now. He should know, though, that he's never going to get that much run support again all year.

Al Leiter, on the other hand, is in one of the best stretches I've ever seen him in. It's almost automatic that he'll get a win if the Mets can just get him a couple of runs.

So is Mike Cameron going to continue to hit the ball now, or is he just teasing us again? He goes through these power surges, and it looks like he's breaking out...and then he dips back into a slump. Tonight he hit two home runs...we'll see which Cameron shows up the next few games.

This is the second straight solid start by Steve Trachsel since I called him disappointing. I would like to also say at this time that my financial situation right now is disappointing me. (Let's see if the same turnaround applies.)

WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright has been slumping lately. He's in a 2-19 slump over the last six games. He did hit a 3-run homer Tuesday night (and Wednesday night's game was still being played at my personally-set press time). The Mets still seem to want to call Wright up sometime next week (after the All-Star Game). Ty Wigginton's recent hot streak makes for an interesting situation when Wright is brought up.

Mets 6, Yankees 5 (41-39, 2 GB)

SWEEP!! Wow, even I didn't think that would happen. But that's huge. That was number 3, 4, and 5 in the rotation...and now Tom Glavine and Al Leiter start off the four-game series against the Phillies. There's a very good chance the Mets could be in first place by the All-Star Break. Consider - the Mets have been blasting the ball the past couple of games - and Mike Piazza hasn't been part of the home run barrage. He's well overdue for a homer. And now the team heads to the launching pad that is Citizens Bank Park. If they keep hitting the ball this way, everyone will homer in this series.

Steve Trachsel did exactly what I hoped he would do on Friday night. Hopefully his bad starts are behind him, and he'll pitch consistently the rest of the season like he did in the first game of the Yankees series. Matt Ginter is in trouble - he might have lost his rotation spot with Saturday's performance. But the Mets were still able to pull out a win, which was big too. Then Jae Seo - I'm telling you - somehow he comes up big in big games. He's kind of like the Masato Yoshii of this Mets team - he has some real klunkers out there, but when it comes down to it, he gets the wins when it really counts (or in Sunday's case, he puts the Mets in position to win).

I saw Sunday's game, but didn't really see much post-game. (Although I was subjected to Yankees/YES coverage at my Yankees-fan aunt's and uncle's house.) Anyway, I never got a rule interpretation, but I don't understand what all the fuss was about when Jorge Posada got hit with the ground ball. I understand if the Yankees thought Piazza deflected the ball and then it hit Posada. Then he shouldn't have been out. But if the argument was that Posada got hit with the ball after it was past Piazza, I don't get it. I was always under the impression that if a grounder hit a runner, no matter where the fielder was, that was a dead ball, and the runner was out. Because what's the rule? Is it still a playable ball? I wouldn't think that's the case...but who knows. That could be why the Yankees put the game under protest. But I think I heard that the umpires ruled the second baseman (Ty Wigginton) could have had a play on the ball. So that would make the whole argument (and the Yankees' protest) moot.

So, what's next? The Mets play the first of four at Philadelphia on Monday night. The Marlins are home against the Pirates, also at night. In the NL East, the Mets are now tied with Florida, 2 games back of the Phillies. Florida's won just 2 of their last 10. The Mets are very capable of beating Philly here in these next four games. And then if Florida is still reeling after that, the Mets have a very good chance of taking that series. I really feel that the Mets will build off the momentum of this Yankees series and run off a bunch of wins here leading up to the break. They're playing great baseball right now. This should be a fun week.

ALL-STAR NEWS: Mike Piazza will be the starting catcher for the National League, voted to the All-Star team by the fans. Tom Glavine was named to the squad by Marlins manager Jack McKeon. Braden Looper also probably deserved to go, but I think the team is pretty fair, because a lot of other closers are having big years. Armando Benitez, Eric Gagne, Danny Kolb, and Danny Graves are all very deserving. So it'll be Glavine and Piazza representing the Mets in Houston next Tuesday. Not bad. Next year will be interesting to see whether Piazza makes the team as a first baseman...and it'll probably be the first All-Star appearance for THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes.

WRIGHT WATCH: Bad weekend for David Wright. He went 1-for-10 for the weekend, with 2 walks, and three strikeouts. His average dropped from .355 on Thursday to .319 on Sunday. He'll still be called up after the All-Star break, though.

Mets 7, Reds 6 (38-39, 3 GB)

Thursday, July 1, 2004

Al Leiter's reactions on the mound are usually priceless. For example, one of the best I've ever seen out of him came yesterday in the bottom of the seventh inning. Cliff Floyd made a bobbling catch after the ball ticked off his glove, bounced back in the air, then Floyd gathered it in with his bare hand. Fox Sports showed a replay isolated on Leiter, where after Floyd makes the catch, Leiter throws his hands up in the air, and gives a little celebratory jump, then shoots Floyd a look, kind of like, "I can't believe you almost dropped that". Something he could only get away with, because he's so likable.

Anyway, I bet there were some less likable reactions coming out of the clubhouse after Leiter left the game. He pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up just 2 hits, and left with a 6-0 lead. Ricky Bottalico gave most of that lead back in the 8th, and Braden Looper saved it.

It was almost a horrible loss, in which the Mets would have wasted homers by Eric Valent, Shane Spencer, Richard Hidalgo, and THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes. It would have also sucked a lot of wind out of the Mets before they played the Yankees. But it wasn't a horrible loss...it was a plain ol' win. And that's important.

Last week I wrote how I've been disappointed lately with Steve Trachsel. That can change 100% tonight if he comes through against Mike Mussina and the Yankees. This is the biggest game he'll pitch yet this year. Until his next start, which will come in Philadelphia.

It's so weird watching Leiter pitch. He just keeps letting guys get on base...but you just know he's not going to let them score. It's awesome...By the way, Leiter's ERA is 2.12, 0.04 ahead of Tom Glavine's, but he is 2/3 of an inning short of qualifying for the league lead...It's much easier listening to the Mets games when Matt Loughlin teams up with Fran Healy. Or Keith Hernandez teams up with Fran Healy. Notice the common denominator. No Ted Robinson. We need him to go cover tennis more often. Or at least I do. I think I actually enjoy Fran Healy a little bit. He's just so strange. It also makes me wonder if Healy and Robinson don't get along - there's an element in the booth that makes me uncomfortable when the two of them work together. Or maybe it's just that Robinson talks too much.

Just a final observation - there's nothing quite like experiencing a baseball season in Boston. Up until yesterday, I didn't enjoy it. I find most Red Sox fans annoying (I said MOST - not the faithful readers of this website who also happen to be Red Sox fans), because they almost enjoy it when their team's season falls apart, like it did these past three games in New York. It's tough to root for a team whose followers are so friggin' negative ALL THE TIME. I mean, this is a team that's 2 games out of the wild card, and the fans are done with the team. If you want to see some good turmoil, check out the Boston papers online every once in a while this summer, because this team is falling apart fast, and there are a lot of big name players who are going to be free agents at the end of the season. Those players are also not known for keeping their mouths shut. On the plus side, and to tie this in to the Mets site I run here, two Red Sox fans I know (you know who they are) have pledged their allegiance to the Mets because of the Red Sox struggles (although one of them is contingent on free agent Pedro Martinez signing with the Yankees next year). Welcome aboard, friends!

WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright was 0-for-3 last night, with a walk and an RBI. He was also caught stealing. The average is at .355.

Reds 2, Mets 0 (37-39, 3 GB)

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Again, due to the overlapping week of work and class, I only saw the last couple of innings of last night's loss. I can't really comment on the game, because I didn't see much of what happened. But again, Tom Glavine gets a tough loss. He's 7-5 on the year. That's just awful...and not fair. The good news, though, is that both the Marlins and Phillies lost, so the Mets stay 3 games out.

The Mets went 13-13 in the month of June. That means the johnnymets guarantee from last month is wrong. After saying the Mets went 15-12 in May, and should have an easier time against weaker opposition in June, I wrote:

"Of course, the Mets being the Mets, they're not going to dominate these teams like they should. But it's safe to say the Mets should win more games in June than they did in May. That's a johnnymets guarantee."

Oops. But I'm owning up to it, because I want to brag about being the one who predicted the Mets will win the World Series when they do that in October. Gotta take the bad with the good.

The problem with the 13-13 in June, though, is that the Mets need to do better than that to compete (they went 9-12 in April, 15-12 in May). And the schedule only gets tougher from now on. July is made up mostly of NL East opponents (plus this weekend's series against the Yankees). It's contender or pretender time for the Mets.

WRIGHT WATCH: Wright went 2-for-4 with a strikeout, and he stole his second Triple-A base. He's hitting .373. There's a big write-up on Wright (wright-up?) in today's Daily News. It talks about his relationship with Ty Wigginton, and talks about where Wigginton might be traded to. It also says that Mets officials say Wright won't be up with the Mets until after the All-Star break. (Yesterday WFAN rumored he might be up on Monday.)

Also in yesterday's Norfolk game, Scott Erickson went seven and two-thirds scoreless innings - his first good start for the Tides in some time. I hope that doesn't encourage the Mets to bring up Erickson anytime soon - he's not the answer.

Finally, I forgot to write this yesterday...but maybe some of you remembered. Last night on AMC (American Movie Classics) was the new show "Into Character", in which my brother and his friend were made into the Blues Brothers. It was really great, and funny. If you get the chance to catch a rerun of it on AMC, watch it - it's worth it. The only rerun I can find right now is 5:25am next Wednesday. Hopefully there'll be another one, at a more normal time. Otherwise, we have many tapes of it.