LOW POINT FOR HEILMAN

Phillies 5, Mets 4 (NYM: 21-11, PHI: 18-14)

The Mets have lost their first big game of the year. The Phillies came into Tuesday night's game with an 8-game winning streak, just 4 games behind the Mets in the division. They left with a 9-game winning streak, and are now 3 games back of the Mets.

The game came down to two bad half-innings. Pedro Martinez*, the starter, had one - giving up 3 runs in the second. He came back nicely from that early struggle, striking out 10 over 7 innings, giving up only those 3 runs. He was spared a blemish on his record (staying 5-0...maybe he'll go 27-0 now) by the bats of Xavier Nady and Carlos Delgado.

Nady made it 3-2 with a 2-run homer in the top of the 8th inning off Brett Myers, who pitched very well starting for the Phillies. In the bottom half, Duaner Sanchez gave up his first run of the year, and the Phillies handed Tom Gordon a 4-2 lead. Paul LoDuca led off the ninth against Gordon with a single, though, and Delgado faced Gordon having just 2 hits against him in 30 career at-bats. He proceeded to homer, making it 3-for-31, and tying the game at 4, getting Pedro* and Sanchez off the hook.

Aaron Heilman was the man behind the second bad half-inning. He got two quick outs in the bottom of the ninth, but then gave up a triple to David Dellucci, hit Jimmy Rollins, and walked Chase Utley. (Doug Eddings, the home plate umpire, started calling pitches that were strikes all night balls against Heilman. He also called out Kaz Matsui on a very, very high third strike to end the top of the ninth with runners on second and third, and in between innings, tossed Julio Franco, who was letting him hear it from the on-deck circle. I wonder if that had anything to do with his shrinking strike zone in the last of the ninth....in fairness to Heilman.) Anyway, bases were loaded for Bobby Abreu, and he hit a nubber in front of the plate. Heilman tried to play it instead of letting LoDuca get it, and Heilman threw it away. An awful play. And the Mets lost, 5-4.

This was not a great start to a 9-game road trip...the ace on the mound, problems in the pitching rotation - the Mets needed a win. But they can still get 2 out of 3 in Philadelphia - it's not time to hit the panic button yet. Tom Glavine goes Wednesday, and Steve Trachsel on Thursday. It's time for Trachsel to step up and be a good starter for the Mets. They need him to come through.

The good news - the end of the week, when the back end of the rotation is scheduled to pitch, the Mets will be in Milwaukee. And there's something about that park - the Mets' bats really seem to come alive there.

SNY: Everyone's favorite network had a 3-man booth Tuesday night, with Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez together. They did very nice together. I'm not sure whether or not this is the first time they did that, because I missed a lot of SNY games at the beginning of the year - but the three worked very, very well together.

Also...'Simply Amazing' is coming soon on SNY - not sure if it's a one-time show about the '86 Mets, or a series about them...but it's definitely about the 1986 Mets, so that'll make it worth watching.

PEDRO* OFF THE FIELD: For those of you who ignored the link left in the comments section by Dave from Brighton....Pedro* likes to garden. And there's nothing wrong with that. I don't have anything close to a green thumb. Matter of fact, I am a plant murderer. So I have no problem with Pedro*'s ability to keep such a beautiful garden. (You might say I'm green with envy.) It's true what Jeff Wilpon says - the abstract thinking Pedro* shows in his garden is what helps make him such a good baseball player. I might have a small problem with Pedro* talking to his flowers though - he's quoted in that article as asking one of his flowers, "What about you, beauty? Aren't you going to grow up to be so pretty?" That's going to get back to him on the baseball field.

MAIL TIME: Steve from Queens is back, talking about the Victor Zambrano injury:

"Johnnymets -

I have heard rumors of a possible Zito for Lastings Milledge trade. I have also heard that the Mets brass have said they are not trading their prospects for anyone. Now, given the Zambrano fiasco (I think his injury is a blessing in disguise), I understand why the Mets would never want to trade a prospect for anyone out of fear of another flop. But, wouldn't it make sense to make a trade for a guaranteed #2 starter for the next few years for someone unproven in the Bigs? how about Willis for Milledge? The Mets are a team that is trying to win the Series this season. Milledge will not be in a Mets uniform this season unless catastrophe strikes the outfield. What do you think?

Steve from Queens"

Steve - I heard someone call into the pre-game show on Sunday asking if the Mets would get Zito now. I think as the trading deadline approaches, rumors like this are really going to pick up (look for the rumor regarding Washington's Zach Day to pick up steam, as well as all kinds of Dontrelle Willis scenarios), especially if the Mets are struggling because of their lack of pitching depth. For now, I think we're going to see Jose Lima and Jeremi Gonzalez get some long looks. (Gonzalez is at Norfolk right now - he's pitched for the Cubs, Devil Rays, and Red Sox. His numbers at Norfolk - 35.2 innings, 31 hits, 9 walks, 30 K's, 3.03 ERA.) The problem is, neither one is going to be the solution for the rest of the year.

I think by mid-to-late June the Mets will make some sort of deal to get a pitcher. Nothing major, but an upgrade over what they have now in the back end of the rotation. (This might happen sooner if Brian Bannister doesn't come back as scheduled.) I don't think the Mets are going to raid the farm to try to get a number 5 starter for this year, because I think they'll be able to survive with what they have this year. I'd expect in the off-season that there will be another push for Zito. But I don't think Lastings Milledge is going anywhere....and I don't think Dontrelle Willis will end up with the Mets.

A SMALL REMARK ABOUT DEATH: I don't know what I'll be remembered for when I go (although awesome baseball writer will probably figure prominently in the obituary somewhere), but when I die, I hope nowhere in my obituary does it say "Pinch-runner for midget". That's what it says on ESPN.com about Jim Delsing, who passed away at age 80. Delsing played for the St. Louis Browns when Bill Veeck sent Eddie Gaedel up to the plate. Gaedel, a midget, walked on 4 straight pitches. I guess Delsing was the guy sent in to run for Gaedel when he reached first base. Now Delsing has died, and that's what he's remembered for. That's too bad. I'm sure Mr. Delsing did much more in his life than pinch-run for a midget. I'll send him off with a baseball tribute, anyway.




Jim Delsing, a major league outfielder for 10 seasons with 6 different teams, died of cancer last Thursday. Mr. Delsing was a career .255 hitter, playing for the White Sox, Yankees, Browns, Tigers, Senators, and Athletics. He hit a career-best .288 with Detroit in 1953, striking out just 39 times in 479 at-bats. Once, he pinch-ran for a midget. Mr. Delsing is also the grandfather of soccer player Taylor Twellman. James Henry Delsing was 80 years old.



THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets are still playing as I write this - but I'm going to pencil them in for a win. They broke a 6-6 tie with a 7-run 8th inning, and lead, 13-6. More tomorrow.

FANTASY UPDATE: The Mets are 10-8, having won 4 out of 5, and 7 out of 10. They also took 2 straight against the division rival Braves. The most exciting game of the day was the first of the series against the Braves, when the Mets scored 4 times in the ninth off none other than John Rocker to notch a come-from-behind victory. Robin Ventura again had two home runs. We're 3 games behind the Nationals, tied with the Phillies, a game ahead of the Braves (only 4 teams per division).

BEAT THE STREAK: Edgar Renteria extended his own hitting streak, and mine, with a first-inning double. Then the game survived an early rain delay, so my hitting streak is up to 5. On Wednesday, I'm taking a flyer on Conor Jackson of the Diamondbacks - he's 2-for-2 in his career against Paul Maholm of the Pirates...he's actually the only player on Arizona who's had a hit off Maholm. All it takes for me is one.

OFF DAY

An off day means there's a full day to stir up controversy, and there's an article on the internet today (from yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer...so I guess I should say off days allow an extra day for controversy to swirl) that says the Philadelphia Phillies hate Billy Wagner*.

Wagner* is persona non grata in Philly because he said last July that the Phillies didn't have a chance to make the playoffs (they finished only a game out of the wild card), and said his teammates quit when they got behind in games. (So far I don't see anything there that could be called untruthful.) Anyway, those comments allegedly resulted in Wagner* being called a "rat" in the clubhouse. Then, Wagner* said that he didn't feel his teammates supported him down the stretch...implying that they wanted him to fail.

Hmm. Interesting stuff about Wagner*. He's looking more and more like the type of closer that will blow his share of saves (obviously), spend some time on the DL, and stir up more controversy. I'm starting to change my mind about him as the guy who will win the Mets the World Series...now, to me, he's looking like a guy who won't blow the Mets' chances at winning a World Series, like Armando Benitez did.

The Mets are in Philadelphia for 3 games starting Tuesday. Phillies manager (THE MANAGER!) Charlie Manuel says, "Bring on Billy boy."

ANOTHER THING THE OFF DAY FORCES ME TO DO IS THIS: Have you seen the picture of Pedro Martinez* (he deserves to have the asterisk dropped - but it's a superstition thing now) on the Mets website whenever he is pitching? It looks like he's in 10th grade.



Cute.

METS MAKE PITCH FOR GLAVINE: The Mets restructured Tom Glavine's contract on Monday night, adding a player option for 2007. I'm not exactly sure what this means, but I think it means they'll take him back next year, if he chooses to stay. But he has the option to go elsewhere. I think.

MEET THE METS: I heard on New York sports talk radio this weekend that there's a song about this year's Mets that's stirring up a little controversy in New York. Fans don't like it or something. I'm not sure what that's all about - I haven't heard it, I didn't know such a song existed. But I heard it mentioned once during Friday night's game, and once on a Sunday morning show. It came up during the game because in between one of the innings the Mets played "Meet The Mets" over the PA speakers, and the fans went crazy. Mets fans love that song...and I've been saying for years (since I've started this blog) that the Mets need to bring it back. (It was a staple at Shea during the Mets' glory years in the '80's, and well before that - back to the inaugural season.) Anyway, it must have been the first time the Mets did that all year, because of the way Howie Rose was talking about it...and he said the Mets should do it again because of how well-received it was. That's when he mentioned this other song.

I say - who cares about another song. The Mets have a song. It's called "Meet The Mets". It's great. Bring it back to Shea immediately - for the rest of this year, and every year for the rest of our lives.

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets fell to the Fort Myers Miracle, 4-1, on Monday night. Apparently, the Twins have pitching prospects throughout their system. We all know about Boof Bonser - but the Mets were shut down by Matt Garza, who may be moving up in the minors pretty soon. Garza is 5-0, with a 0.92 ERA - he pitched 8 innings, giving up just one run, and striking out 9. You just don't get this type of stuff on these other Mets blogs. Speaking of which......

OTHER METS BLOGS: I was watching the weekly Mets show on SNY this weekend. I believe it's aptly called "Mets Weekly". They actually have bloggers contributing - commenting on the Mets. I don't know if they consider it a "voice of the fan" type thing or what - but they just have these schmoes (is that a bad word? I hope not. I try to keep it clean here.) talking about the team. Why haven't they asked me to contribute?? They're probably mad because they missed the boat on the whole "official blogging partner" thing.

FANTASY UPDATE: The What if Mets are now 8-7, tied with two other teams for second in the division, 4 games behind the Nationals/Expos (who have finally lost a couple - now 12-3). The Mets have won 7 out of 10, and Gary Carter has his average up over .300. Joe McEwing is having a great start to the year, and Robin Ventura continues to be awesome. Tuesday there will be a morning game wrapping up the series with the Phillies, then the first two of four against Atlanta, one of the teams in the division I'm tied with.

BEAT THE STREAK: Vernon Wells had a hit against the Angels, so the streak is at 4. Tuesday night it's Edgar Renteria. He's 0-for-11 in his career against Brian Moehler, but I have a feeling he keeps his 23-game hitting streak going for at least one more game.

WEEKEND RECAP

Sunday: Braves 13, Mets 3 (NYM: 21-10, ATL: 13-18)

Another weekend sweep of the Braves in sight, another hardy beating by Atlanta. But it's OK, because the Mets still have an 8-game lead in the division.

The problem is, the problems are starting. Victor Zambrano tore a ligament in his elbow on Saturday, and will miss the rest of the season. Here's the problem with Zambrano's elbow. This has been bothering him for a while now. A couple of the other players knew about it, but no one in management knew. And two pitches before Zambrano came running off the mound, mid-inning, in pain, he looked Willie Randolph in the eye and told him he was OK. Even though, on Sunday, he told the media he was not OK at that point. There are going to be major consequences because of Zambrano's stupidity.

• The most important consequence is that the Mets are in a hole with their rotation. In the past few weeks Brian Bannister, his replacement, John Maine, and Zambrano have all gone down with injuries. Bannister is almost eligible to come off the DL, but the Mets don't want to rush him back from his hamstring injury. Maine went on the DL just before Zambrano, with a finger injury, and Zambrano is out for the year. Jose Lima was just OK replacing Zambrano (5 runs in 5 innings...but this was not an ordinary outing - more on that later), and he'll probably get another start. The Mets are also big on Jeremi Gonzalez, who has been back and forth between majors and minors the past couple of years. It does not look like the Mets are going to mess around with their bullpen - they like the roles everyone is in there, and they won't be pulling guys out of the pen (like Darren Oliver or Aaron Heilman) to fill in for the injured starters.
• I call Zambrano stupid because while the Mets were concerned about his hamstring all this time, he was having elbow problems, and he kept his mouth shut. The Mets would never have let Zambrano go out there if he had said something, because they don't want to jeopardize his health. The problem here is that Zambrano was already on the verge of losing his job, just because of the whole fact that he was underperforming, and he was the guy they traded Kazmir for....but he still should have said something.
• Zambrano is supposed to be ready to come back by the beginning of next season. But the wild card is that this is an elbow Zambrano has had trouble with before - so it's not automatic that he will respond well to a second surgery. Also - do the Mets even want him back? Everytime he pitches, he carries with him the label "disappointing Mets trade". And now, does Randolph trust him? Zambrano lied to Randolph's face about his health, so why should Randolph believe anything Zambrano says in the future? He's opened up quite the can of worms.

The rest of the weekend wasn't so bleak. Both Friday night (Happy Birthday to my sister!) and Saturday afternoon the Mets came from behind to hand the Braves disappointing losses. And Saturday, with Randolph wanting to rest both Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner* (I can't believe he's gone this long without an asterisk...he clearly deserves one), Jorge Julio got the save. It wasn't the easiest save, but he got the save, and that's progress. It's also progress that Randolph would trust Julio in that type of situation, and get a positive result.

Also, Carlos Beltran* has homered in 3 consecutive games. It's not 2004's post-season Carlos Beltran yet....but he's certainly better than the 2005* edition.

The Mets have an off-day Monday, then they head to Philadelphia for 3.

FROM THE MOUTH OF THE WIFE: I forgot to mention this - but remember earlier in the week when Willie Randolph got thrown out of a game for arguing a called strike three call against David Wright? Well, the cameras kept cutting back to Wright in the dugout, steaming. Keith Hernandez (or Gary Cohen, I forget who) says, "And David Wright is hot. He's HOT in the dugout." The Wife, without missing a beat, says, "Yeah, he's hot." But I'm OK with it.

ALSO KEEP FORGETTING TO MENTION: When we were in San Diego, the Padres batters, like most other teams, come to the plate with their own music playing. Adrian Gonzalez, playing 1B that night, has by far the best music in the Majors when he comes to the plate. Not sure what it was that was playing, but it was catchy. And, since it was a 14-inning game, we heard it 6 times! He's only 23, so hopefully he keeps that music throughout his career. If the Padres are on TV, and they're home, and you have a chance to watch, and Gonzalez is starting - try to catch one of his at-bats. That's my public service announcement for the day.

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets are expanding their lead in the division. They beat Fort Myers on Sunday, 9-6, to improve to 19-10 on the year. They're now up by 2 games over Palm Beach.

Elsewhere in the minors, Boof Bonser took the loss as Rochester lost to Pawtucket, 5-2. Bonser gave up 3 earned runs in 6.2 IP, striking out 6, walking 3, and giving up 8 hits. His overall season stats are still impressive - he is just 2-2, but he has a 1.87 ERA. Still better than a lot of the Twins' major league pitchers.

FANTASY UPDATE: The What if Mets are back to .500...but it was a battle. They're 6-6- Dwight Gooden is 2-0, and leads the league in strikeouts. Robin Ventura is amazing, at the plate, and I think I may have figured out a way to tell if my guys are going to beat the opponent. I feel pretty good about the way my lineup is right now. I'm playing the Phillies for the next 4 games - my first division opponent. 6-6 is relatively good in the league - but I'm in the toughest division - including the Nationals/Expos, run by Kevin from Wilmington, who started 0-1, and rattled off 11 straight wins. So I'm wondering if he's really good, or if the teams he played are really bad. I'll find out when I play them, I guess. That can't happen soon enough - I'd love an 11-game winning streak.

BEAT THE STREAK: This will be controversial - David Wright was my Sunday pick, and he was hitless until his last at-bat, when he hit a fly ball that the center fielder dropped. It was ruled a double. So my hit streak is at 3. But I don't know what will happen when, in the coming days, that is turned into an error, which it has to be, and Wright's hit is taken away. I wonder how that affects beat the streak. Anyway, Monday, I like Vernon Wells' career numbers against Jeff Weaver, so he's the pick.

MINI-SWEEP

Mets 6, Pirates 0 (NYM: 19-9, PIT: 8-22)

The Mets completed their sweep of the short two-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates with a shutout, winning 6-0. Tom Glavine went 7 shutout innings, giving up 3 hits and a walk, and striking out 10! He's now 4-2 on the year, picking up career win number 279. Glavine's defense failed him at times (David Wright committed his sixth error), but he pitched out of a couple of bases loaded situations to maintain the 1-0 lead he pitched with all night.

The Mets were stifled by Paul Maholm (pronounced Ma-hall-um, weirdly enough), who held them to one run in six innings. But they broke through in a big way against the Pittsburgh bullpen, getting 5 runs in the 7th inning to break the game open. Xavier Nady delivered the big blow with a 3-run homer - he had a 4-RBI night. Also, David Wright's slump can officially be declared over. He went 4-for-5, and ends the night with a .302 batting average, up from as low as .275 early in the night.

Willie Randolph keeps pushing the right buttons - he decided last night to rest Nady, and started Endy Chavez, and he had a great night. Thursday night, Nady's back, and he has 4 RBI. It's looking like one of those seasons where things go right....Except for those 3 blown saves by Billy Wagner. Oh well, I guess Pedro* will have to settle for 28-0.

Friday night begins a weekend series with the Braves at Shea. By the end of the weekend, the Mets and Braves will have met 9 times already.

THE KID'S KIDS: Look who's alone in first place again. The St. Lucie Mets beat Palm Beach on Thursday night, 3-1, to take over sole possession of first place in the division. They're 17-9, a game ahead of Palm Beach, two up on Brevard County.

BEAT THE STREAK: It's always a gamble taking those power hitters. The walks are what kill me. Nothing doing for David Oritiz, so I'll try to get something rolling with A-Rod Friday night in Texas.

FANTASY UPDATE: The What If Sports Mets are 1-2 after a day of baseball. The game seems a bit random, though. I played the Reds in Cincinnati for three games. In the first game, Tom Seaver '78 beat Tom Seaver '72, and I lost 12-4. In the second game, Dwight Gooden went the full game (throwing 173 pitches - oops - I fixed my pitch counts for the future), striking out 15, in a 14-4 win. (Robin Ventura had a grand slam - pretty accurate game! Gary Carter also homered.) But I lost the last game 14-1, with Pedro Martinez (*) on the mound. I need to figure out how to get the pitching to be good. The Giants are the next opponent, on Friday.

DELGADO, METS WEATHER WAGNER, PIRATES

Mets 4, Pirates 3, 12 innings (NYM: 18-9, PIT: 8-21)

It's nights like this that I hate the idea of a closer. (And that's just me saying that. Imagine how Pedro Martinez* must feel - story of his career, in microcosmic form, Wednesday night at Shea.) Billy Wagner didn't have it - you could see it from his first pitch, which went on to become a walk to his first batter, then 2 runs, blowing the save. Part of this could be the bad weather, but it's also the way he's been pitching lately - allowing too many baserunners (it brings back bad Looper/Benitez/bad Franco memories).

The sad thing about this is that early on, it looked like Pedro* was going to get robbed of 6-0 because the game was going to be over too soon. The rain was awful, and it seemed like the game was on the verge of being called early. But the game lasted into the sixth, when the Mets broke a 1-1 tie, and took a 3-1 lead. Pedro* was the pitcher of record...and the game lasted all the way until the ninth, when Wagner blew it. And then it continued.....into the 12th, when Carlos Delgado won it with a walk-off homer leading off the inning.

The pessimist looks at this game and says the Mets blew a lead in the 9th to one of the worst teams in baseball. The optimist says this is the type of game the Mets lost last year, after blowing a save and a sure win (and also notes that the Pirates have been a tough out this year). The optimist also looks at Endy Chavez's contributions, again starting in right field - going 4-for-5, and coming up with a game-saving headfirst diving catch in the 10th (or maybe 11th) inning, with a runner on.

The best news I can offer about this game, before I go to bed, is that in awful, wet conditions at Shea, nobody got hurt, and better weather is on the way. And the Mets won.

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets had an off-day Wednesday (seems like their first one all year), but won Tuesday night, beating Palm Beach, 4-3. That's three wins in a row for the Hall of Famer's team. It also moves the Mets into a first place tie with Palm Beach, at 16-9, a full game ahead of Brevard County.

FANTASY SPORTS: The What If Sports season gets underway Thursday morning. (There are three games a day - morning, afternoon, and night). The season starts at Cincinnati, including a game one matchup featuring Tom Seaver versus Tom Seaver. I should know how the 3-game series turns out by tomorrow night's posting.

BEAT THE STREAK: I had a sinking feeling when I logged onto the MLB website that I wasn't on that website yesterday. Alas, I had forgotten to make the Beat the Streak after I declared my David Wright pick here. Wright had a hit, snapping his 0-for-17 slump, but he might as well not have. Oops. At least I didn't lose a streak because of it. Still on 0, I pick David Ortiz to rock one off of Josh Towers to get me started.

The Mets pulled out the win last night, thanks to a bad play by Nationals pitcher Gary Majewski. But it looks like they're headed for a split with the Nationals, with the Nats leading 6-1 in the 7th. I didn't see much of Tuesday night's game either...here's the deal. Tuesdays in the spring are tough, because the wife watches "American Idol". So we TiVo it, but she has to watch it eventually. Tonight, I'm cutting my losses, and she's watching it now, while the Mets are down by 5 late.

Tomorrow night she'll probably watch the results on another TV, so that works out well....although I suppose I could always use that other TV....

Anyway, I would've counted the Mets winning tonight as a bonus. This was Brian Bannister's next scheduled start, and since he's on the DL, the Mets called up John Maine to make the start. As far as I can tell, Maine did OK. (Ooh - I was just looking for some numbers from the game, and I saw on espn.com that Willie Randolph was ejected.)

OK - now some play-by-play on the ejection. (God bless TiVo.) So David Wright got called out on strikes on a low strike three (but not an awful pitch...and the announcers said the low strike was being called a strike all game). So Wright goes back to the bench, and there may have been some jawing going on from the bench. And the home plate umpire (Jeff Nelson) keeps looking back at the dugout. You could hear the Mets bench calling out "Watch the game, watch the game", telling Nelson to stop looking back at them, and Nelson ran Randolph. Ron Darling, analyst on SNY tonight, said that's what irks managers - when umpires pick fights by not letting something go, and following a player to a dugout, or looking for a fight. Nelson didn't physically follow Wright to the dugout, but a pitch had been thrown to Cliff Floyd in the next at-bat when he turned his attention back to the dugout.

Anyway, a little fire out of the Mets in what appears to be a losing cause. Maine gave up 4 ER in 5 and a third, but he struck out 6. That's notable because he's not a strikeout guy, from what I've heard. Mike O'Connor of the Nationals held the Mets to 2 hits (one a homer by Paul LoDuca) - apparently their offense was frustrated.

Here's a good note from the game - Carlos Beltran* stole third base. It appears it might have been as part of a double steal...but he had said we'll know his hamstring was feeling better when he starts running. I'm taking the steal as a good sign.

I have a feeling the Mets offense gets going again tomorrow night, when Pittsburgh comes to town for 2. That's why David Wright will be my Beat the Streak person....Jose Reyes doesn't have a hit yet tonight, I don't know if he'll be up again.

THE KID'S KIDS: No word on Tuesday night's game against Palm Beach, but the Mets beat Brevard County Monday night, 1-0, behind Cuban Alay Soler. He's now 2-0, with a 1.64 ERA. (He'll probably be put up in AA soon.) St. Lucie is now 15-9, one game back of first, one-half game ahead of third. OK - I swear I just read this after I wrote about Monday night's game...there's no way I can prove it, you'll have to believe me. I read just now on the Mets official website that the Mets promoted Soler to Double A.

MINOR LEAGUES: Also of note Tuesday night: Boof Bonser started against Norfolk, the Mets' Triple A affiliate, in Norfolk. (It must be noted here that Norfolk has been just awful so far this year.) Bonser didn't get a decision but went 7 innings, giving up just 2 hits and walking one, with one ER. He also struck out 7. The Twins have to be noticing Bonser and his 1.47 ERA. They have some awful pitching right now, and I would have to think he'd make his Major League debut soon. He's not some minor league retread - he's only 24 - we might be onto something here.

FANTASY NOTES: The much-anticipated "What if Sports" season starts on Thursday, May 4th. You better believe I'll keep you updated on how those Mets do.

UP NEXT: Pedro Martinez* looks to improve to 6-0 (en route to a potential 29-0) when he starts Wednesday night at home against Pittsburgh.

I stayed up way too late Sunday night, and I'm paying the price right now. So I can't stay up and write once the Mets end (they're headed to the bottom of the ninth tied at 1 with Washington right now). I'll have a write-up tomorrow night.

Victor Zambrano pitched really well, and the bullpen has been great so far. Hopefully the Mets end it here.

I'm also mad because Seth McClung pitched awesome tonight, somehow, and Michael Young didn't get a hit, so it's back to the Beat the Streak drawing board. I'll start with Jose Reyes tomorrow night.

Other news of note: Tim Hudson pitched a one-hitter for the Braves against Colorado, in Atlanta. The only hit he gave up was to the opposing pitcher.

I'll have more on Tuesday night.

ONE MONTH CLOSER

Braves 8, Mets 5 (NYM: 16-8, ATL: 10-14)

A sweep would have been nice, but...2 out of 3 isn't bad. The Mets have to feel good about going 2-1 in a place where they haven't had any success, and more importantly, finishing a very difficult road trip (San Diego, San Francisco, and Atlanta - more difficult in terms of travel than in ability, but nevertheless) at 6-4.

The positives from Sunday (I barely saw any of this game): Carlos Beltran* homered, and Endy Chavez, moving to right to give Xavier Nady a rest (Chavez had played center in Beltran*'s stead) was 2-for-4 with a homer. Chavez's defense is awesome, but his offense is less than average.

The bad news is that this is what worries me about Steve Trachsel. According to the numbers (because I didn't see Trachsel at all - I really haven't seen him pitch much this year) Trachsel got rocked: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 5 BB (!), 1K. I've been saying this for about three, maybe even four years now - I'm not sure I have confidence in Trachsel in a big spot. We'll see what happens when October rolls around, but Trachsel is the first to complain when he doesn't feel he's being treated fairly (and I think that's a big part of why he was kept on schedule to pitch Sunday in Atlanta, and Victor Zambrano was moved to Monday instead), and I'm not 100% sure Trachsel deserves the kind of treatment he thinks he deserves. I like Trachsel, I think he's been good for the Mets the past few years - I just want to see him deliver when it matters. And Sunday was one of those days - the Mets could have buried the Braves (they hadn't won all week - they lost 5 in a row) and swept them at home...but Trachsel didn't pitch well.

Oh yeah - the headline refers to the end of April. The Mets went 16-8 in the month. That's pretty good - I don't have the numbers in front of me - but I remember the past couple of years it was a struggle for the Mets to have a month where they were just a couple of games better then .500. So they've definitely turned a corner. We'll see what May brings - it starts with a two-game series beginning Monday night at Shea against the Nationals.

THE KID'S KIDS: What managing by Hall of Famer Gary Carter! The St. Lucie Mets trailed 3-0 going into the 8th - but the Mets scored twice in the eighth, and twice more in the ninth to pull out a 4-3 win over Brevard County on Sunday. The Mets had lost to Brevard County on Saturday, so they're back to a half-game back of B.C., and 1.5 back of first place Palm Beach. 14-9 is the record right now.

OTHER MINOR LEAGUE NEWS: I'll be honest, I went away on vacation, and I forgot about Boof Bonser. But I still love the name. So let's play catch-up, and I'll try to figure out when his turn in the rotation falls, so I can keep updating. No surprise, though, that Bonser is still the Twins' top pitcher at AAA - he's 2-1 right now, with a 1.52 ERA. He's pitched a team-high 29.2 innings, with 26 K's. He's also just given up 20 hits....but he's walked 12. He's had a total of 5 starts, most on the team, so he must have just pitched....Nope, baseball detective failed there. He pitched a few days ago - and it was his worst outing, versus Richmond. He gave up 3 ER in 5.2 innings, on 8 hits, with 4 walks. He'll be pitching again soon - maybe even Monday. We'll be watching for it.

BEAT THE STREAK: Jeter got me a hit, so I'm up to a season-high 9 gamer. Monday I go with Michael Young, because he's the best hitter on Texas, and they're playing Tampa Bay's Seth McClung. I always find myself picking a hitter who is hitting against McClung.

METS ARE THE ONLY GOOD TEAM IN THE NL EAST

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday I go with Derek Jeter, against Gustavo Chacin.

HIGH FIVE, UP SIX

Mets 5, Braves 2 (NYM: 15-7, ATL: 9-13)

It might be a little early to be watching the standings, but the Mets opened up a six-game lead over the Braves Friday night by beating Atlanta 5-2. It was Pedro Martinez*'s 5th straight win to open the season. (He deserves a 5-0 start, with all the wins he's lost to blown saves the past couple of years. He actually deserves a 20-0 start. I love unblemished starts - this'll be fun to see how far it goes.)

Pedro* pitched very well - his only problem was a 2-run homer to Chipper Jones, on an 0-2 count, in the sixth inning. But the Mets never trailed, and future Hall of Famer David Wright blasted two home runs (career homers number 45 and 46), to go with 3 RBI. THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, had a triple. And I'm going to make an argument that he's actually grown up, and is durable now. He slid awkwardly into second base after stealing the bag in the ninth, and kind of jammed his body as he hit the base. The Reyes of two years ago would have been out the rest of the season. This year's version ended up scoring a run.

Billy Wagner is making me a little nervous lately. He let the Braves load the bases in the bottom of the ninth before striking out Todd Pratt to end the game (he did strike out the side, which is exciting). Lately Wagner has been allowing too many baserunners. Hopefully he gets stronger and more dominant as the year goes on.

I saw this game on FSN South, and they had an interesting shot in the 9th inning - after Carlos Delgado lifted a fly ball to deep right to score Reyes off Chris Reitsma, he was shown in the dugout with a notebook writing something. I'd love to see an interview to see what kind of notes he's taking.

METS NOTES: I may have been wrong about Carlos Beltran* going on the DL. Apparently, he's going to be a game-time decision all weekend - if his hamstring feels OK by gametime, he'll play. If not, Endy Chavez will be out there.

On the topic of hamstrings, Brian Bannister was placed on the disabled list with the hamstring he injured in San Francisco. He was apparently in so much discomfort that he couldn't sit down on the plane - he stood the entire 4-hour trip to Atlanta. The good news is that the hamstring strain is the lowest level, so Bannister should hopefully be back in a couple of weeks. Victor Diaz took Bannister's roster spot, so I would guess Darren Oliver will be filling in for Bannister in the rotation. (Jose Lima is in AAA, and the only way I could see him being called up for the start would be if Beltran* went on the DL.)

The other big news is that Yusaka Iriki was suspended by Major League Baseball for a steroids violation. He got a 50-game suspension. That's bad news. Iriki was impressive for a while in spring training, and was contending for that final bullpen spot pretty much until the end of the spring. I get the impression the Mets aren't going to want much to do with him once the suspension is over.

MAILBAG: I'm pretty sure this is the first regular season appearance of 2006 for Dave in Brighton:

"Dear Johnnymets,

With the Braves series coming up this weekend, I was wondering what you thought of Pedro*'s performance against Atlanta so far in his Mets career. One of the reasons I was so conflicted about whether he should return to the Red Sox after the 2004 season was his declining effectiveness in facing the Yankees. It seemed like every time they played, he'd get up to 100 pitches by the 6th, Jeter would come to the plate, and send a double down the line. Every time.

Pedro vs Yankees by year

Yr ERA W-L
98 4.50 1-2
99 1.69 2-0
00 2.10 1-2
01 2.37 1-2
02 3.46 2-1
03 3.80 1-1
04 5.47 1-2

Signed,
Dave in Brighton"

Dave, thanks for making me do some research. Seriously. I'm happy to do it. With the Mets, Pedro* has pitched against the Braves 7 times now in 1+ years (counting Friday night). He's had a decision every time, and is now 5-2. Here are the totals:

7 starts, 50.2 IP, 13 ER, 32 H, 10 walks, 47 K's
5-2, 2.31 ERA

Those two losses were games that felt a little bit like how he used to pitch against the Yankees - he just reached a point where the Braves got to him. But he's pitched as well against the Braves as he's pitched against most everyone else since he's come to the Mets. There haven't been many teams that have given him trouble lately.

To take your question one step further - David Wright doesn't seem to be intimidated at all by Atlanta. This weekend I hope to check out Wright's career numbers against the Braves - I can remember other 2-homer games he's had versus the Braves, particularly Horacio Ramirez (he owns Ramirez). I'll try to look into that this weekend.

THE KID'S KIDS: So much for first place. The St. Lucie Mets lost both Thursday and Friday nights. They're now 13-8, a game behind Palm Beach. But they're in third place, a half-game behind Brevard County.

BEAT THE STREAK: I forgot to update this on Thursday - Mike Lowell got his hit, so it was a 6-gamer, and on Friday, I took Vernon Wells, who had good career numbers against Yankees starter Jaret Wright. Wells was 1-for-3, so I've tied my season-long streak, with 7. I'm staying with good career numbers for Saturday - Carlos Lee, who's 4-for-5 against Cubs starter Glendon Rusch.

SANS FRANCISCO AND DIEGO, WITH L.A. IN BETWEEN

I've been wondering when I could finally write about the West Coast Ballparks. Today's a day off for the Mets (they'll be in Atlanta this weekend), so this is as good a time as any to give a 3-park review (plus a bonus fourth park where we didn't see a game).

But first - I'm delighted Steve from New York (Queens, to be more specific) took my "write more often" advice, so here he is again:

"Johnnymets -

It appears I have let out my frustration on the Mets braintrust a bit too quickly. According to the Mets website this morning, Randolph has decided to push Zambrano back to Monday at Shea against Washington and pitch the much better and much more productive Steve Trachsel against the Braves in Atlanta on Sunday. The Mets pitching appears to give them an excellent shot at winnning the series. Hopefully, our $120 million pre-madonna will make a start and begin to earn his pay check.

- The "more optimistic than usual" fan in Queens"

First, all readers must realize that Steve is very cynical, and not usually optimistic. He's like the Yin to my Yang. Or something. So by "more optimistic than usual", I'm sure Steve means he doesn't think the Mets will be out of it by the All Star break this year, like he usually does.

Anyway, I'm hearing the same thing about Victor Zambrano - that his start won't be skipped completely, but he also won't upset Steve Trachsel's pitching schedule. So Trachsel will go Sunday, against Atlanta (an important game), on his regular rest, and Zambrano will go Monday, against Washington (a game the Mets could afford to lose...but an opponent he can beat), 8 days after his last start. So I guess Steve has calmed down a bit over that issue.

Also, by $120 million prima donna, I think Steve is referring to Carlos Beltran*. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll be earning that paycheck for another week or so. I haven't heard anything about Beltran*'s health today (nor Brian Bannister's, for that matter), but last thing I heard was that Beltran* would be placed on the DL Friday to rest his hamstring, retroactive to his last action in San Diego last Friday, and Victor Diaz would be called up to replace him. A sour note here on johnnymets.blogspot.com.

Now, onto the trip:

SAN FRANCISCO/OAKLAND
AT&T is the bonus park I was talking about. I showed you the pics the other day - we didn't go in, but we walked the perimeter of the park, and looked in the gates. There was also a big gate open because the grounds crew was working on the sod after about a month straight of rain in the Bay area. The park looks great...but I'll be going back.

I should explain how these trips work for me...because I'm a little obsessive sometimes. We have to go visit a park (we is the wife and I - she's in for the long haul now, because she's made all the trips with me so far. Other people who accompany us are interchangeable - but it's always nice to have company.) during a game that counts. An exhibition game, for example, is no good. I want to be there for an official game. Any post-season games are OK, too. But exhibition games don't count - unless we're talking about Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. I've also decided if I could visit a park during the World Baseball Classic, that might count - but I'd miss some of the home crowd atmosphere, which I think is important. So a real game is criteria number one. Then, we have to get there early, so I can check out what's around the park. Then, we have to take pictures for the scrapbook - hopefully I get most of these out of the way before the game (although I do take a couple during), so that I'm not worrying about them throughout the game. Then it's the souvenir stand - a drinking glass for the bar (tough to find out West - just got one at San Diego), a program, and maybe a shot glass. Maybe a shirt or hat for the wife. Then the food stand, with a souvenir cup. Then enjoy the game.

So the trip to AT&T Park didn't count. But it was a nice scouting trip. Nice-looking inside, and it definitely looked like there was a lot to do around the outside of the park. I'm sure it's a fun place to be, with McCovey Cove and everything, before and during a ballgame. We'll be going back.

McAFEE STADIUM
The small ball fiscal mentality you see on the field with the Oakland A's extends to their off-field business as well. There is cost-cutting even at the food stands. I got the worst souvenir cup at Oakland from any stadium ever (I hate to see what Kansas City offers - it's probably paper). They also didn't have lids for the drinks. Sticking with food, the hot dogs were very good - they also had sesame seed buns, which was different...and good.

I also figured out why Raiders fans are so ornery - they pee into a trough. The stadium's men's rooms have troughs instead of urinals. Now, I never saw this before - but the wife says this is the way it used to be in Fenway Park too. I don't know how the wife knows about the men's rooms at Fenway, but I vaguely remember hearing about this. It occurs to me that I've never been in a bathroom at Fenway. I have a very strong bladder. But I digress.

The atmosphere is OK - the fans wear a lot of green, which is neat - but their biggest reaction came from the dot races on the scoreboard rather than game action. There were only 21, 256 there - and the whole upper deck is closed off this year to prevent it from looking empty - capacity is about 34,000. Big kudos, though, to the fact that the ushers hold back all fans walking around until an at-bat is through.

The concourses are dank, the stadium looks awful from the outside, but when you're sitting in your seat watching the game, it's not a bad place to watch a game from. Here's another good picture from that game - Cameron Loe delivering to Eric Chavez:

I told you Huston Street blew this game for the A's - the Rangers won it.

DODGER STADIUM

*yawn* Bland team, bland stadium. Old stadium. *yawn* I really disliked our trip to LA.It's kind of an intimidating city, and I'm a proud New Yorker, who loves Manhattan. It's just such a big city, and everything is spread out, and you can't get anywhere except by driving. So I got off on the wrong foot with this whole trip. And I guess I was predisposed to not like Dodger Stadium. But, first of all, I'm glad we got it out of the way. And second of all, it wasn't all bad.


Everything about Dodger Stadium seems old. The bathrooms (interestingly enough - troughs again), all the concrete....it really looks like it does on TV. Which is to say, there's not a lot to it. It was comfortable to watch the game there, with good sightlines - in part due to the fact that the Dodgers installed new seats (every seat in the ballpark is new) in the offseason - the first team to do a full seat replacement in the offseason. The fans were into the game - but there were a surprising number of Cubs fans at the game - almost seemeed like more Chicago fans than L.A. fans.

The Dodger Dogs were good (apparently, you HAVE to have a Dodger Dog at Dodger Stadium), but weren't anything to scream about. They're grilled, so I guess that's why they're different. And they come out of the package HOT. One of mine was covered in ketchup because I burned my hand holding it under the ketchup dispenser because it was so hot. Also, an added bonus was the organ music - not only the fact that there was organ music, but it was pretty good.

The scoreboards stopped updating out-of-town scores, which was frustrating for someone trying to run a pool. (But the most awesome thing about the West Coast is that the 7pm games are finished by the time these games get underway. I like the time change.)

And here was the number one good thing about Dodger Stadium - open concourses. I didn't even realize it at first. But for an old ballpark (outside of Wrigley, this is the oldest ballpark in the NL, and fourth oldest in the majors), the open concourses really add to the park feel. It's something I really appreciate, since Shea's concourses are closed, and you can't watch the game from behind the stands. It was a really nice part of Dodger Stadium.

As for the game, this was the game where Derrek Lee got hurt. We left right after that happened, in the bottom of the 7th. I had had it with LA. I was not in a "THINK BLUE" frame of mind.
The Cubs came back to beat the Dodgers in this game.

PETCO PARK
I've saved the best for last.
The first thing you need to know about PETCO Park is how strange it looks from the outside. It looks like a shell. Or a secret compound. It's strange. I can't really describe it. But from the highway, it doesn't really look like a stadium. The light towers are the only thing that give it away - otherwise, we wouldn't have seen it from the road. But that's the only negative thing I'll say. PETCO is up there with my favorites. Actually, it probably is my favorite, edging the former Enron Field in Houston. There's more to do at PETCO - so much more to do that I'm pretty sure we didn't see everything there is to see, and we have to go back. We barely even made it around to the right field side.

I'm kind of obsessed with this park. Especially the Warehouse in left field.I just love it. And what I didn't know is that the warehouse houses the Padres' team store on the ground floor. We went there, but apparently, you can step out of the team store onto the field behind the left field fence. I will definitely be doing that the next time we go...I found out about that too late last week.
This ballpark is beautiful (on the inside, anyway). It's like a resort. A huge resort. There's about a zillion employees, one stationed at each entry ramp, and they're all very, very friendly. It was awesome. They, too, held back crowds until at-bats were over. (Another complaint - we were sitting in a section where they had waitresses/waiters bring food orders to you. It defeated the purpose of holding back the crowds, because the woman taking orders was always standing in the way. Also, PETCO is not in a very nice area. That's another complaint. And it's expensive. Food and drink and souvenirs. That's all. I still loved it.)

Interestingly, one of the ballpark's flaws was the closed concourse. I think it's so big that they just couldn't have open concourses. They make up for this, though, by having monitors EVERYWHERE on the concourse, so you don't miss a thing. This was the game that went 14 innings, when the Mets lost 2-1, and after the last out, as we walked out, we could watch the replay of the winning run scoring, and what I insist was a bad call by the ump, all the way through the concourse to the exit.


The food was good, the atmosphere was good. Even though the Mets lost, I loved it. That probably says it all.

We have an uncanny knack of rooting for the losing team on these trips. We saw the Mets in Houston and Philly. They lost both times. (Also in San Diego.) We were rooting for the Dodgers and the A's, and they both lost. We went to Yankee Stadium, and the wife wanted to root for the Red Sox, and they lost. The Mets also lost in Arizona. It's awful. I'm seeing the Mets in Boston in June - they'd better break the streak. At least someone will win that day - the wife's Sox or my Mets.

The rest of the trip was quite relaxing.
We even went to the San Diego Zoo. An added bonus in San Diego. This gorilla must have seen a game at Dodger Stadium, too.

THE KID'S KIDS/MINOR LEAGUE REPORT:

The St. Lucie Mets have another game Thursday night against Jupiter, who they had that big comeback against last night. The standings are still the way they were after last night's game: the Mets are 13-6, a half-game up on Brevard County, and 1 up on Palm Beach.

The big news in the minors, though, is Delmon Young. If you haven't seen the video of him throwing his bat at the ump, which I mentioned last night, check out ESPNEWS soon, or come over, because I have it on TiVo. He should be suspended indefinitely, and that indefinitely should last a very long time. He chucked the bat. And it was a direct hit. It's a good thing the ump was wearing a chest protector.

Big weekend series for the Mets in Atlanta this weekend. I'll have full coverage.

11TH - OURS

Mets 9, Giants 7, 11 innings (NYM: 14-7, SFG: 11-10)

The Mets came back, took a lead, blew a lead, then took a lead again on Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco. In the end, they headed to Atlanta (after an off-day Thursday) with a win, but it could have been costly.

Brian Bannister gave up 3 runs in five innings, and also drove in two runs during a 2-for-3 afternoon at the plate. But it was after he doubled in the top of the sixth, when he was running home to score the go-ahead run, that he came up lame, barely able to make it down the third base line with the Mets' 4th run, with a hamstring injury (big credit to Bannister, though, for gritting it out and getting across the plate despite the pain he was in). Bannister left the game immediately (replaced by Aaron Heilman). I'll keep you posted on when he will come back - but the Mets are having hamstring problems - first Carlos Beltran* and now Bannister. I'd hate to see Bannister be out long - first of all, because the Mets aren't deep in pitching, and secondly because he's fun to watch pitch. I think the latest I heard is that Bannister would be re-evaluated in Atlanta.

Billy Wagner blew a save in this game but all 3 runs he gave up were unearned, coming after a David Wright error with a man on and 2 out in the 9th. After the error, Wagner gave up a pinch-hit, 2-run homer to Barry Bonds (number 711 career), but the Mets got clutch hits from Chris Woodward and THE GREATEST PLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, in the 11th to win it. The Mets also got great work from the bullpen - particularly Chad Bradford and Darren Oliver, in extra innings.

14-7 is the Mets record. That's good for a .667 winning percentage. That's 2 wins every 3 games. The Mets have the potential to keep that up all year. That's scary...for other teams.

MAILBAG: I almost don't believe my eyes - after about 2 years away from the site - Steve from New York is back in the inbox!!! And we welcome him back with open arms:

"Johnnymets -

As you know, I am a long time Mets fan and am used to them making terrible trades. Clearly, Kazmir for Zambrano is very close to top of the list. What is driving me crazy is that everyone in NY sees that Zambrano is horrible except for Randolph and Peterson. What are the two of them smoking? How much longer can this follishness continue? While listening to WFAN earlier today, I learned that the Mets are planning the weekend rotation to be Martinez - Glavine - Zambrano, Fri - Sun respectively. Normally, Sunday's game would be pitched by Trachsel, which is his 5th day. As most Mets fans know, Trachsel does well and likes to pitch on his 5th day. Instead, the Mets braintrust has decided to push Trachsel back a day, instead of skipping Zambrano all together, (which they would have been able to do because of the day off).

What are your thoughts and how long can the Mets fans let this nonsense go on?

PS - The FAN was saying that one of the reasons, besides stupidity could be that they want to keep Zambrano away from the Shea crowd as long as possible. That might be the smartest thing they have done all season (however, it will probably be to the detriment of the team)

PPS = If Bannister can't start on his next scheduled date, do the Mets bring Heilman from the bullpen for a start?

Steve"

Steve - The way I see things with Zambrano right now is, the Mets can't win every game. So Zambrano is that equalizer, allowing them to lose every fifth day or so. (I'm only partly kidding there.) I've said it before - this is the year where the Mets learn whether or not Rick Peterson's work with Zambrano will pay off. (So far, not so good.) I couldn't listen to WFAN today, obviously, but I did get the Mets game on SNY. And Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez were saying that Steve Trachsel will pitch on Sunday, on his regular fifth day, and Zambrano would just be skipped. I'm not sure who's right - them or 'FAN, but now Bannister's injury throws a wrench in things, if he ends up being out for a while.

I do NOT think Heilman should be thrown in for a fill-in start. If he's going to be starting, I agree with what Hernandez said on SNY - it shouldn't be a permanent thing. The thing is, the way Duaner Sanchez has been pitching, I'd rather see him take over Heilman's role, Zambrano be a permanent reliever (where I liked the way he looked last year), and Heilman starting every fifth day. I think that's the best the Mets could do.

Thanks for writing, Steve! Keep it up.

ELSEWHERE AROUND THE NL: Some sweeps worth noting. The Reds beat the Washington Nationals, completing a 3-game sweep, behind a 1-hitter by Bronson Arroyo. I don't want to pat myself on the back, but I did say I thought Arroyo being traded by the Red Sox would light a little bit of a fire under him. He's now 4-0, and has pitched brilliantly.

The Brewers swept the Braves. The Mets have been struggling a bit lately (1-2 vs. Atlanta, 2-2 vs. the Padres), but it's nothing compared to what the Braves have been doing. They're now 9-12. The Mets need to twist the knife a little bit this weekend in Atlanta - a place where they haven't had much success in recent years.

Finally, the Cardinals swept the Pirates, but Jose Hernandez hit a homer off Jason Isringhausen in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game. (The Cardinals won in the bottom half.) I'm telling you - the Cardinals bullpen is flawed this year. That will eventually cost them.

FROM THE AL: This stuff about Kevin Mench is great. I've always liked Mench - I always used to pick him up as a spare outfielder whenever I used to play fantasy baseball with current baseball players. He got off to a very slow start this season - 0 HR, 0 RBI in his first 10 games, I think. Turns out, he was wearing uncomfortable shoes - they were too small for his feet. So he misses five games, switches shoes, and has been on fire. He hit a grand slam Wednesday, and has homered in six consecutive games. What a riot.

THE KID'S KIDS: St. Lucie Mets manager and Hall of Famer Gary Carter has his work cut out for him. The Mets' 2005 first round pick, pitcher Mike Pelfrey, who has been pitching very well (winning Monday night) has been promoted to Double A. Managing in the minors has to be very tough with all of that roster upheaval due to promotions, demotions, etc.

On Wednesday, Carter's Mets scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth (awesome managing!) to beat Jupiter, 5-3. The win makes the Mets 13-6, and vaults them into first place.

Other Kid's Kids (and Dmitri Young's brother): Delmon Young, Devil Rays prospect and current Durham Bull, threw a bat at a home plate umpire after being called out. I'm not sure how the bat was thrown, or how the umpire is doing. This was a replacement ump - the minor league umpires are on strike - as a matter of fact, another replacement ump was involved in an incident with the Norfolk Tides, the Mets' Triple A affiliate, when Victor Diaz collided with him at first base. The collision forced Diaz to miss four games.

SNY PROGRAMMING: For the first time, during Wednesday's Mets game, I saw an SNY programming commercial showing that the Mets would be showing lots of Classic Mets games from 1986 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of that team. They should show classic games non-stop - instead of that drivel they call "Daily News Live". I'm psyched, needless to say.

PIC OF THE DAY: I need to write some stadium reviews from the West Coast - Thursday is a Mets' off-day, so that looks like a good time to write them, but for now, enjoy this pic from our trip:


I do believe the Padres have the least intimidating mascot in the Majors. Although, Padres fans could probably make a good counter-argument......

BEAT THE STREAK: I picked David Wright because he owned Jason Schmidt, but the Giants went with Matt Morris instead. Wright finally doubled in the 8th, to keep my streak alive - now a 5-gamer. I'm going with the history again on Thursday - Mike Lowell, a career 6-for-13 hitter against Paul Byrd.

METS 12-7, 1st Place, NL East, 3 gms. up

The Giants beat the Mets 6-2 in the first game of their 3-game series in San Francisco Monday night.

As you know, the wife and I saw the A's in Oakland, but we did swing by AT&T Park (formerly SBC and PacBell Park) in San Francisco. It looks very nice:

So we'll be going back to San Fran to check out that park...probably three more name changes later. And they'll probably be playing the:



Big picture there from outside the right field gate - guess the grounds crew was getting ready for the Giants' next opponent - our New York Mets.

BELTRAN*: Carlos Beltran* has a strained hamstring. He's not going to play during the Giants series. This is why the asterisk has yet to be removed from his name.

HERNANDEZ: The latest on the Keith Hernandez flap/debacle. Suzyn Waldman, who is a Yankees broadcaster (the only woman play-by-play person in the majors, actually), has been a New York sports radio personality for years. She's a woman. Anyway, she says she expects as much from Hernandez, because he was apparently always surly to her in the clubhouse. I believe it. Here's a guy who's been around guys since before high school, at a time when women weren't around sports like they are now. He's from a different time. I'm not defending him, because he's gotta keep his dumb opinions to himself. I enjoy Hernandez's outspoken baseball opinions - but he should keep those opinions limited to baseball.

As I'm writing this, I'm remembering a game at Shea last year where the cameras caught an overweight guy eating ice cream in the stands. Hernandez made an inappropriate comment then. He needs to filter things a little more - and I expect he'll be more careful commenting on non-baseball issues from now on.

WHAT IF......?: There's a new addiction brewing inside of me. It'll take off in just a few days. Whatifsports.com. You may have heard of it - it's a site where you can compile fantasy teams using any player from any year in the history of baseball. A friend of mine knows a guy who's starting a "What If" league, in which 24 people will join, each being a separate team. These 24 people will be divided into six divisions, and there will be 6 division champions, 2 wild cards, and a full playoff and World Series following a 162-game regular season. I think it'll start Wednesday, and I hear 3 games are played a day, so I'll be checking this site constantly. It could be dangerous.

Of course, if I'm going to venture into something like this, I'm not going without the Mets. So here's the squad (with the help of my article last year of the "greatest offensive seasons by Mets"):

The Lineup
2005 Jose Reyes - SS (hopefully he'll get on base enough)
1988 Wally Backman - 2B (good number 2 hitter)
1985 Gary Carter - C (expensive but non-negotiable that he be on the team)
1999 Mike Piazza - DH (same)
1999 Robin Venture - 3B (Last year's David Wright was too expensive)
1976 Dave Kingman - LF (Couldn't afford Strawberry, so I'll take Kingman's 37 HR's)
1975 Rusty Staub - RF (Solid outfield numbers)
1976 Ed Kranepool - 1B (I needed to save some money at first)
1985 Lenny Dykstra - CF (Speed at the top, speed at the bottom)

The Bench
1995 Tim Bogar (He had a good year in a down year for the Mets)
1999 Shawon Dunston (Hopefully a good pinch-hitting option)
2001 Joe McEwing (Flexibility to play a lot of positions)
1999 Todd Pratt (Needed a good, cheap backup catcher)
1980 Mookie Wilson (Some late inning speed for the basepaths)
2004 David Wright (Couldn't leave him off the team! Not as good as '05, but still good)

The Pitchers
1972 Tom Seaver (Had to compromise, take a cheaper season - his best year cost $13 Mil)
1984 Dwight Gooden (Not his best season either, but still better than most in history)
2005 Pedro Martinez* (His numbers were among the best in team history last year)
1988 David Cone (20-3 record - how could I not)
1970 Jerry Koosman (Had to have a lefty - but not Koosman's best season)
1969 Tug McGraw
1985 Jesse Orosco
1989 Randy Myers
1989 Roger McDowell (Not a bad foursome out of the 'pen)
1962 Vinegar Bend Mizell (He's awful, but I had to fill a roster spot cheap - he's programmed to only go in for mop-up duty when I'm losing)

So that's the squad I'll hopefully win it all with. You only get $100 million to work with, and I spent a lot of that on pitching. I hope pitching truly does win championships. My offense isn't too bad, though - I can use Hall of Famer Gary Carter along with Mike Piazza, since we can use DH in this league. Needless to say, I can't wait for the games to get underway. And you better believe I'll be giving updates.

THE KID'S KIDS: I haven't gotten a final from Tuesday night, but the St. Lucie Mets' win over the first place Manatees Monday has them at 11-6, 1.5 games back. They're in second place, a half-game ahead of Palm Beach.

BEAT THE STREAK: Alfonso Soriano got a hit, so I'm working on a 4-gamer. Gotta get this one to 10, at least. For Wednesday, it's David Wright, a career .600 hitter against Giants starter Jason Schmidt. (He's 3-for-5.)

The Mets are a 3:30 game tomorrow in San Francisco, before heading for a very important road series in Atlanta. And lucky me - tomorrow is a half-day of school. I'll have a full game posting Wednesday evening. Right now, it's time to go to bed and try to stay up for a Steve Trachsel start. That'll be quite a task.

The Mets are taking on the Giants in San Francisco as I write this...I'll try to do next-day updates of the West Coast games.

TRIP PIC: I was going to end with this, but I'm afraid what I've spent most of my time writing about (venting about) is boring, and I didn't want you to miss it - in case it's worthy of a Pulitzer. So here's one of the pictures from the trip out West (a possible semi-regular feature, until I'm out of pictures):

I love this picture. This is from our trip to McAfee Coliseum, and the A's-Rangers game. It was Huston Street Bobblehead Doll Day. Unlike the Mets, who only give bobbleheads to kids, the A's give them to everyone. So I got a bobblehead. But that's beside the point. The A's took a 3-1 lead into the 9th, and Street comes in to nail it down. I'm telling the wife and the other two women we went to the game with how everyone always does very well on their Bobblehead Doll day. Well, Street proceeds to give up 4 runs, including a single and homer to the first two batters to tie it. I saw this kid waving the bobblehead, with Street in the background, and said, I should take a picture of that. I did. It was on the pitch that Street gave up the homer to Mark Teixeira. Glad I snapped it when I did - this was the last time the kid waved the bobblehead. I think if you click on the picture you'll get a large version of it - I love that the players are all following the ball as it heads over the fence. Walter Iooss, eat your heart out. Crap, I just realized I should have tried to sell this picture to SI.

I read in the Sunday paper that Street was the first player to blow a save on his bobblehead day, or something like that. I forget the actual stat.

And now these messages:
I need to throw the gloves down. I'm really disappointed in SportsNet New York (SNY)'s non-baseball coverage. (And to be honest, the jury's still out on the Mets games - I love Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez, but my sample size of seeing these games is very, very small.)

To the point, 'Daily News Live' is awful. (Maybe if SNY would have made me the official blogging partner, and had a show called "johnnymetslive", we could have avoided all this.) I've mentioned this show before - hosted by Gary Apple. He is brutal, and the show is bad. It's a roundtable featuring some guests, Apple, and three writers from the New York Daily News who have no business being on TV. (I have been anti-newspaper people on TV for a long time here in Boston, and now it's happening a lot in New York. It just doesn't work for me, outside of a select few who appear on ESPN. I just can't believe the egos on some of these newspaper writers.) Anyway, the main thing that has me fuming from Monday is an interview I saw on 'Daily News Live'.

The interview focused on Mets announcer Keith Hernandez, and a female trainer for the Padres. If you missed this story, here it is (I didn't see this happen live because I was flying back from California): Mike Piazza homered off Pedro Martinez*. The SNY cameras showed Piazza slapping hands in the dugout with teammates, and then a woman. Hernandez, on the air, said something to the effect of, "Whoa, what's she doing in the dugout? Players, personnel, and staff only! She doesn't belong there. I'm not going to say she belongs in the kitchen, but get her out of the dugout." Now, later in the broadcast, the Mets found out she was a trainer on the Giants staff, and Hernandez rescinded his comment a bit, making sure as long as she belonged there, it was OK for her to be there. On Sunday, on the air, Hernandez apologized to anyone he might have offended with his "inappropriate" comment.

So it's a big non-story, pretty much. Hernandez even called the trainer to apologize. So 'Daily News Live" does a big live interview with the trainer, with Gary Apple and the News writers asking her questions. What does she do for the team? She's a massage therapist. Does she belong in the dugout? Absolutely, she says. What exactly does her role with the team entail? She is a massage therapist, and a personal trainer...but not an athletic trainer. Not licensed as an athletic trainer.

OK. Dud interview. Then Bill Madden gets on, and he comes off like an absolute idiot. Let me paraphrase some of their exchange:

Bill Madden: So let me get this straight, you're a masseuse?
Trainer: I'm a massage therapist....
BM:(Cutting her off) yeah, a masseuse. So you give the guys massages?
Trainer: If that's what the player needs that day, that's what I'll do. But it depends on the situation - if I need to work a guy out...........(she continues, explaining her job)
BM: And you think it's perfectly OK for you to be in the dugout during a game?
Trainer: Absolutely.
BM: Now, do you usually wear that hideous camouflage uniform when you're in the dugout?
Trainer: (explains the Padres were wearing the camouflage uniform to pay tribute to the military on "Military Opening Night", then says if you think those uniforms are hideous, that's your opinion, but we were wearing them along with the team with good intentions).

From here on, the questions just got silly and irrelevant, and as the wife says, made Hernandez's comments look tame compared to what they were saying to her.

Hernandez was then interviewed by Apple, and he was clearly steamed that this had taken on new life. He said, look guys, I apologized for an inappropriate comment, the issue isn't that she was in the dugout, it was what I said. He was starting to call out the guys in the studio for trying to crucify the woman for being in the dugout. It was just awful, and I think I've wasted too much space trying to recount it here. I need the Mets to get off the West Coast.

Bottom line: it made the New York writers look like a bunch of ignorant jerks, with nothing better to write about. What a disgrace.

By the way, the Mets are already down 3-0 after an Alou first inning homer. Also by the way: despite his comments, the wife is still a fan of Keith Hernandez.

THE KID'S KIDS: After my lengthy time away from the site, the St. Lucie Mets are now 10-6. They're actually in third place in their division. I'm not sure if the record includes the Mets' 5-4 win on Monday night, though - over the first place Brevard County Manatees.

BEAT THE STREAK: Back to taking it seriously, after vacation. I'm on a modest 3-gamer, after a Jimmy Rollins hit tonight (actually, 2 hits, I think). I took Alfonso Soriano for Tuesday, against Dave Williams of the Reds (formerly with the Pirates). He is bad.

PADRES 7, METS 4

After dropping two out of three to the Braves in New York, the Mets split their 4-game weekend series with the Padres in beautiful San Diego. I need to go to bed, but there are some things I want to say, so I'll throw them out there, and then hopefully I'll be back by either Monday or Tuesday night (the Mets' West Coast swing is going to make it hard to do regular nightly updates):

GIANTS/ROCKIES: This Jose Mesa thing is ridiculous. Omar Vizquel wrote a book a few years back in which he called out Mesa for blowing the save for the Indians in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. Mesa's response is that he said if he faced Vizquel 10 more times on the field, he'd hit him 10 times. They last met in 2003, and Mesa hit him (shortly after the book came out, I think). Then they faced each other Saturday night, and Mesa hit him. Vizquel calmly took his base, but on Sunday Matt Morris of the Giants hit two of the first five Rockies he faced. Mesa needs to cool it. Or at least Vizquel should charge the mound and face Mesa so they can settle this. But then Vizquel would be dead. So that probably wouldn't be the best solution.

THOME: I can't believe the season Jim Thome is having in Chicago. I thought he was washed up. He scored a run in the team's first 17 games (among other things). That streak ended on Sunday, as the White Sox won their eighth in a row, but that's impressive. That's making things happen. Forget about my Mike Lowell pick for Comeback Player of the Year (which is also looking pretty good) - it's going to be Thome in a runaway if he keeps this up.

I have much to say about my West Coast trip, but it's going to be a rough week sleep-wise, so I'd better get a jump on the sleep and go to bed now. I'll try to post regularly this week as I recover from the longest game in PETCO Park history.

NATIONALS' DISASTER

Mets 13, Nationals 4 (NYM: 7-1; WAS: 2-8)

The Mets are rolling right now, so it's not a stretch to throw in the ol' Happy Fan-O-Meter, indicating the Mets are on their way to the World Series. It should also be noted that the way the rest of the National League East is playing, the Mets will clinch the division by July. (By the way - I'm not going to apologize for the Mets having a seemingly easy division this year - it's been impenetrable in recent years - they deserve this break. Also, it remains to be seen if they can beat the Braves - we'll find out about that next week.)

I didn't TiVo the Thursday game - it was the last day of school before spring vacation, and I figured with the students going to music class at the end of the day, I'd have plenty of time to follow the score. By the time I logged on, the Mets were up 4-0, and had hit 3 homers. They cruised to the 13-4 win, and Victor Zambrano is now 1-0 on the year. If Carlos Beltran* is playing angry (at the New York fans), then he'd better stay angry for the next 6 years. Future Hall of Famer David Wright hit career homer number 44 (#3 on the season), and Cliff Floyd might finally be heating up, as he hit his first homer. By the way, those three homers all came in the first inning. Carlos Delgado also added a homer in the third inning.

The only negative out of this game was Jorge Julio, who came on in relief and gave up a homer in his one inning of work. Rick Peterson better get to work on him. Darren Oliver, who barely made this team, gave 2 innings of perfect relief after Zambrano left (Zambrano was the first Mets pitcher not to go 6 innings this year - but it was his first start in a long time).

The Mets swept the Nationals in Washington - and if the Nats weren't mad at the Mets before this series....they sure are now. The Mets return home and will face the Brewers this weekend. It's to the point with the Mets where I don't mind seeing them lose once in a while, because I don't see this team hitting a prolonged losing streak at any point in the year.

OTHER TEAMS: The Braves are struggling - losing two out of three at home to the Phillies. And Chipper Jones is on the DL. They'll make some sort of run this year - but things are looking bad for them. And earlier this week I mentioned the bullpen troubles the Cardinals have been having. Jason Isringhausen gave up another go-ahead home run again on Thursday - this one to Carlos Lee of the Brewers (the Mets' next opponent) in the 11th inning. They lost, 4-3. Lee had some game - in the bottom of the 10th, he saved the game by robbing Juan Encarnacion of a game-winning 2-run homer, and making a jumping catch on Jim Edmonds to end the 10th. He climbed the wall on the Encarnacion play - it was great.

CORRECTION: I watched a bit of the Angels-Rangers last night, and - of course - Vlad Guerrero got a hit. It was his 39th straight game against Texas with a hit - I had said 37 going into last night's game. Sorry. I shortchanged Guerrero. I used to dislike Guerrero when he was in the same division as the Mets - I love watching him play now, though.

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets beat the Jupiter Hammerheads, 3-1 on Thursday night. They're now 6-2, a game back of Brevard County. Good for Hall of Famer Gary Carter - a strong start to his season.

BEAT THE STREAK: I have a modest 2-gamer going right now, and I've picked players all the way through my return from vacation a week from Sunday. Hopefully when I come back I'll be on a 12-game hitting streak.

VACATION: I'm very psyched that in 19 hours I'll be on a plane to California. First stop, San Francisco - I'll be at the A's-Rangers game on Sunday. Then it's L.A. - Dodgers-Cubs on Wednesday. We finish our week in San Diego, and we'll be at the Mets-Padres game on Friday night. If we pass an internet cafe or something, I'll try to do a post. Otherwise, I'll be back a week from Sunday - maybe the Mets will be up to 13-1 by then.

NICE CLEAN WIN

Mets 3, Nationals 1 (NYM: 6-1; WAS: 2-7)

Thankfully, no one got hurt. I was very worried about that. The Mets and the Nationals played a very close, very competitive, very good ballgame on Wednesday, with nary a threatening pitch thrown by either side. Tony Armas went up and in against Pedro Martinez* in Pedro's first at-bat, but neither one was what you would consider a brushback pitch.

Pedro* looked great. If he just needed that one regular season start as a tune-up, it worked. He's now 2-0, and if he pitches like he did Wednesday night, he's on the fast track to the Cy Young Award. He threw just 28 pitches through 4 innings. And he was hitting his spots. He looked like his old self.

The Mets' bats did just enough - Carlos Delgado had an RBI double, Carlos Beltran* had an RBI sac fly, and Cliff Floyd scorched an infield hit that scored a run. Beltran* was 2-for-3. His batting average is up to .292. Anderson Hernandez had another hit - this one on a well-placed bunt down the third base line. And the bullpen turned in another good outing - Pedro* went 7, then Aaron Heilman pitched the 8th, allowing Billy Wagner to get his second save of the season.

The Mets kind of own the Nationals lately. They play very well against them. The Mets go for the sweep on Thursday afternoon.

IMPRESSIVE STREAKS: One came to an end Wednesday night, the other could still continue. Future Hall of Famer David Wright went without an RBI in Washington, so he only went the first six games of the season with at least one RBI. That was a Mets record. And I touched on this last year - but this streak gets more and more impressive every time the Angels play the Rangers. Vladimir Guerrero has a hit in every game he's played against Texas - 37 straight. They're playing Wednesday night after I write this - but the Rangers won't hold him to 0 hits. It's pretty much a guarantee.

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets are now 5-2, either tied for first or a half-game back in their division, pending the result of the Brevard County game. The Mets lost 2-0 to the Cubs on Wednesday night, but Tuesday night the New York Mets' first-round draft pick of a year ago, Mike Pelfrey, got the win.

OTHER MINOR LEAGUE NEWS: Our boy Boof Bonser is now 1-1, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits in six innings at Pawtucket Tuesday night. Rochester lost, 2-0. I wish I realized he was going to pitch in Pawtucket - that might have been worth the trip for me.

BEAT THE STREAK: My new pick is Ichiro, just because. Tomorrow is the day I can start picking players through my vacation. I'll start taking this a little more seriously when I get back from California. Jose Reyes was my pick Wednesday night, and he had a hit.

OPENING DAY PART TWO

Mets 7, Nationals 1 (NYM: 5-1, WAS: 2-6)

One week later, different ballpark, same teams, same result. Mets win over the Nationals. I just finished catching up on the game, watching it off TiVo in fast forward. Brian Bannister got the win he should have gotten last week - now he's 1-0. Bannister pitched 7 very good innings, striking out just one, but also giving up just one run. It came on an Alfonso Soriano homer in the 7th. Soriano blasted a ball just foul down the left field line, then on the next pitch crushed the solo homer. So Bannister did look tired at the end of his start, just like last time, but he also reached back for that something extra against his last batter and struck him out...just like he did the last time. Bannister might have a nice year - that'll be something fun to watch.

Offensively, things are looking good for the Mets. Future Hall of Famer David Wright (of course) got things going with an RBI double in the 4th, then Cliff Floyd made it 2-0 with a sac fly (he has yet to get hot - but look at what the Mets are doing without him. I'd rather see Floyd finish the year with solid numbers after a slow start, like he will hopefully do this year, than have him start off as hot as he did last year and slowly sliiiiiide down).

The Mets got 2 more in the fifth on an RBI single by THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, and then an RBI double by Paul LoDuca. Reyes' hit scored Anderson Hernandez, who slapped at the ball and hit it over the pitcher's head for an infield single. If he can manufacture hits like that, everything will be fine at second base. After Brian Bannister doubled in the 7th, Jose Reyes tripled, making it 5-0. It's more exciting to see Reyes hit a triple than to watch home run hitters come to the plate. Reyes hit a ball into the left-centerfield gap, and legged out the triple. He is so fun to watch.

Carlos Beltran* capped the scoring with a 2-run bomb to right field - I haven't seen a measurement, but it hit the facing of the upper deck, which says 468 on it. So it was at least 470 feet. Could our boy Carlos* finally be coming around?

No one was hit in this game...Wednesday night could be a different story, when Pedro Martinez* takes the mound against his new rivals.

RANTS FROM A MAD PREGNANT WOMAN: Just recently I was discussing with the wife how much time I might be able to take off from work when the baby arrives. It looks like it might be two weeks. Since the baby is due September 30th, I mentioned the possibility that my two weeks off could come around the time of the World Series, in which I fully expect the Mets to be participating. I may have mentioned something about taking the time to go to New York for the World Series. She said no. Actually, it was, NO!!!! Something about having to take care of the baby. I think it's the hormones. She'll see things differently once the baby's out. I'll try again then.

GONE-SON ARROYO: Rhymes with Bronson. I can't believe that Arroyo has homered in his two starts with the Reds. I think he's really playing mad that he was traded. That could have been the best thing that ever happened to him.

THE KID'S KIDS: Unfortunately, at posting time, the finals of the night games for the St. Lucie Mets aren't available, so I'm going to have to do these on one-day delays. Two days in this case, because Monday night's game was suspended due to a power outage, in the ninth inning. So that game was going to be completed before Tuesday night's regularly scheduled game. I'll update all that on Wednesday. St. Lucie is a game back of Brevard County right now, at 4-1 on the season.

BEAT THE STREAK: Stupid A-rod. The streak came to a screeching halt when the Yankees came back with 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th, to beat the Royals, 9-7. A-Rod was left on deck, at 0-for-2, in the 8th when the Yankees made the last out, and he never got up again. A new streak has to start now - I might just pick random guys all next week while I'm away, and pick up with Beat the Streak when we get back.

OFF DAY

The Mets had Monday off, as they get ready for this week's grudge match against the Nationals in Washington. I spent part of the off-day watching some of the Cardinals' home opener (in their brand-new ballpark) against the Brewers. I've decided the Mets may have what puts them over the top in the National League this season - a good bullpen.

I know it's early, but the Mets' bullpen has looked good. And the Braves' bullpen has not. And after seeing the Cardinals get swept by the Cubs, including Jason Isringhausen giving up a grand slam to lose the last game of that series, I'm thinking the Cardinals don't have the greatest bullpen around either. Here's another hint as to how good the Cardinals' bullpen is: they have Braden Looper. Isringhausen made the ninth inning very interesting on Monday too - letting the Brewers get the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth. I don't think he has it this year - and I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on the DL at some point. Then make way for Looper. So with the additions the Mets have made, I think that's going to be a strength, while it may be a weakness for the other National League powers. Just something to watch for.

NEW STADIUMS: The Cardinals opened up their beautiful new ballpark. From the outside, the stadium looks great - like one of the new ballparks we see all around the majors. On the inside, it looks like the old Busch Stadium, post-artificial turf. It really looks plain. Nothing distinguishes it. Which I guess is probably what Cardinals ownership wanted - a traditional look.

I hope (and I know that they will) the Mets make their stadium stand out when it is built. Here's a look at what the stadium will look like:

I just can't believe this is actually going to happen for the Mets. I won't have to travel all around the U.S. to check out neat ballparks (although I will) - I just have to go to NYC. Of course, I'll probably have trouble getting tickets, because by then people will be jumping all over the Mets bandwagon.

ROTATION: Brian Bannister pitches for the Mets Tuesday afternoon in Washington, keeping his rotation spot. Pedro Martinez* pitches Wednesday, and then it's Victor Zambrano on Thursday. Zambrano has had plenty of time now to rest his balky hamstring, after the rainout Saturday pushed his Sunday start way back.

PEDRO* AND THE ROTATION: I had a thought this weekend. Remember when Pedro* could have, possibly, made the Opening Day start for the Mets? And then he could have started game 2, but then all of a sudden, he's starting game 3? Now, remember there was a bit of a stir over the fact that Pedro* really didn't want to pitch in Boston when the Mets went to Fenway? Well, if my math is correct (and I need to check this again), if Pedro* started Game 2 of the season, he would be on schedule to pitch in Boston. If he started Opening Day, he would definitely be pitching in Boston. But he started game 3, and that puts him on target (again, I think), to miss the Boston series. Interesting, no?

Now, I'm not accusing Pedro* of faking his injury to miss the WBC, and now to avoid becoming a fan target in Boston. I'm not. It's the last thing I'd want to do, especially after Pedro* yelled at Mike Lupica in the Mets' clubhouse after the rainout on Saturday about an article he misinterpreted as Lupica saying he was faking his injury. I don't want that. I'm just pointing out the interesting fact that Pedro* might be missing his start in Boston. That's all.

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets lost their first game on Sunday to Vero Beach. They're now 3-1 on the young season. Monday night they started a three-game series against the Daytona Cubs. I'm not sticking around for a final score - I'll update that on Tuesday night.

BEAT THE STREAK: Thank you very much Brian Roberts. I am on a 7-game streak right now. I took Alex Rodriguez against the Royals at Yankee Stadium for Tuesday. The bad news is next week we are away, and I always do poorly at Beat the Streak when I have to pick far in advance, a la a vacation. The good news is, I'm going to California in just three more days!

Mets-Nationals brawl-fest begins Tuesday night - Bannister's second major league start.

METS WIN IS ALL WRIGHT

Mets 3, Marlins 2 (NYM: 4-1, FLA: 1-4)

Future Hall of Famer David Wright had all 3 RBI for the Mets on Sunday as the Mets came back from being down 2-0 to beat the Marlins. A lot of positives in this game - not the least of which is that it was a sell-out crowd on Autism Awareness Day at Shea, and the crowd was into the game from the beginning - a sign winning baseball is back at Shea.

First of all, I was lucky, because due to the rainout on Saturday, I saw Tom Glavine versus Dontrelle Willis instead of Victor Zambrano and Sergio Mitre. Definitely an upgrade. Willis kept the Mets' bats quiet until the seventh. (The Marlins had gotten two off Glavine in the sixth). In the seventh, Paul LoDuca singled, then Carlos Beltran* (who wasn't booed...much) rolled one under the shortstop's glove for a single. They were on 2nd and 3rd for David Wright who went the opposite way, and the ball bounced past the right fielder for a 2-run triple. Wright was stranded on third, but the Mets...and the crowd...were excited.

Duaner Sanchez kept the game tied - he has been pitching great. Billy Wagner pitched a scoreless ninth, then Beltran* led off the ninth with a walk, and went to third on a Carlos Delgado single. Wright then lifted a fly ball to right, scoring Beltran* with the winning run. This is why Beltran* needs to be on base - things always happen when he is hitting/producing. He had a good weekend.

Glavine pitched well - it's too bad he couldn't get the win. Anderson Hernandez went 2-for-3 too - Kaz Matsui is due to come off the DL soon, and all the talk on New York sports radio is whether Hernandez's glove is enough to keep him in the lineup.

The Marlins aren't going to be an easy win this year - they're a good little team. It's important that the Mets established themselves against Florida with their showing in the shortened 2-game series.

The Mets are 2 games up in the East - Atlanta has had a rough start to its season. The Mets have Monday off before playing in Washington Tuesday afternoon.

BEAT THE STREAK: I'm up to a 6-gamer, with Carlos Beltran*'s little hit on Sunday. Brain Roberts is the pick for Monday, against the Devil Rays.

The Kid's Kids will return on Monday, because it's late and I need to go to bed.

Mets 9, Marlins 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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