REIGN OUT

Mets 4, Braves 1; Mets 8, Braves 0 (NYM: 86-52, ATL: 66-73)

I like to think the Mets were sending a message. Coming off back-t0-back weak offensive games, then a rain out, the Mets showed the Atlanta Braves exactly why they won't be celebrating their 15th straight division title - and why the Mets are going to be the new National League East champs.

I only saw about 4 of the 18 innings in Wednesday's doubleheader, but I saw enough to get the impression that the Mets pretty much dominated both games. In game one, Dave Williams (I'm really sorry I underestimated you, Mr. Williams) turned in another stellar outing, getting the win, and Billy Wagner notched the save. ESPN showed a stat that wih the Mets, Williams' ERA is about 3.24 or so, where it was 7+ in Cincinnati.

Then in game 2, Jose Reyes led the game off with a homer, and the Mets never looked back. Paced by Oliver Perez's best outing as a Met, by far, (5 hits, 6 K's, in a complete-game shutout), the Mets broke the game open with a 4-run 6th inning.

There weren't really many stellar performances, but a couple stood out for the Mets. Jose Reyes was 4-for-8, going 2-for-4 in both games. And Shawn Green had his best games as a Met, going 6-for-8, 3-for-4 in both games, with a homer in both.

I thought the doubleheader Wednesday was supposed to be day-night, so I apologize if I wrote that, because it obviously wasn't the case. Back to one game at a time on Thursday, when the Mets host the Dodgers.

MAGIC NUMBER: The Mets did their part, winning both of their games on Wednesday, making the Magic Number 9 before the Phillies even took the field for their game against Houston. Then Houston got 4 runs in the top of the ninth, beating the Phillies, knocking the Magic Number to 8. From 11 to 8 - a 3 number day!

THOSE FLORIDA MARLINS: Finally, a no-hitter. I wait for the first no-hitter of the year every year (still waiting for 2005's). Besides the Mets, it's the next best part of the DirecTV baseball package...finding out there's a no-hitter going on, then watching it. Well, Wednesday night that moment finally came for 2006 - in the unlikely form of Anibel Sanchez of the Florida Marlins. He seemed very likable in his post-game interview, so I'm glad he did it. I am also impressed by all of the Marlins' young pitching.

And finally, on the Marlins - I understand that Jeffrey Loria doesn't see eye-to-eye with Joe Girardi. But the man can manage. And somehow, because this is the way things always work in sports, Girardi will end up managing the Cubs next year, because he's from the area, and Dusty Baker will be gone. But Loria shouldn't let Girardi go, because this season has been an amazing managing job by him, and the Marlins will take a step backwards if Girardi leaves...I'm sure of it.
GOOD NEWS: I've figured out the ideal way to handle the blog and the post-season. As you may or may not know, I get very tired during the school year, and become like an old man, with an early bedtime. I can't blog after the games, like I do during the regular season. So I thought, what with the Mets playing deep into the post-season this year (hopefully), how can I chronicle the run to the title?

Well, fret no more. I have a laptop for work, so I think I will write in a word document as the games are going on, so I capture the emotion of the live event, and just cut and paste it the next day. (I wouldn't be able to put the word document on-line until the next day at school.) The postings will be a little late, but at least they will be there. So I think that will solve all our problems.

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets gave up three runs in the ninth, but held on to beat Palm Beach in Game 1 of their best-of-three series Tuesday night, 6-4. Wednesday night, they advanced to the Championship Round, with a 6-5 win. This was Hall of Famer Gary Carter's first managing post-season series win - two more wins (I think) from a minor league championship!

FINAL FOOTBALL REMINDER: I would love all of my readers to sign up for our football pick 'em game, on Yahoo!. The instructions are on the Jets site - with the updated info you need - the League ID #. So sign up ASAP! Picks must be in by 5 minutes before kickoff of the week's first game - which in this case is Thursday night. (Thanks to The Wife, Dave in Brighton, and the Southern Bureau for already signing up.)

LUCKY SEVEN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NO SWEEP

Phillies 5, Mets 3 (NYM: 28-18, PHI: 24-22)

The Phillies averted disaster by beating the Mets during an afternoon game at Shea. The Phillies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first against Jeremi Gonzalez, the Mets tied it at 3 in the second on a 3-run homer by the suddenly powerful Jose Reyes, and then Pedro Feliciano gave up two runs in the seventh to let the Phillies win it. Gonzalez pitched OK, but he'll be sent down, as El Duque will take his rotation spot on Sunday. Heath Bell pitched well - and he's been pitching very well at Norfolk - I wouldn't be surprised if Bell takes Jorge Julio's bullpen spot.

Brett Myers pitched very well. The Mets are allowed to lose one out of every three to the Phillies - I'm OK with that. Now a three-game series at Florida - the Mets need to sweep. Simple as that. And Pedro* needs to get a win against the Marlins - finally breaking his string of no-decisions.

I didn't get to see much of Thursday afternoon's game - but I made it home in time to see the bottom of the ninth. And it should be noted that the Mets again managed to get the tying run to the plate against Tom Gordon. Even in a game where it didn't seem likely that the Mets would win, they had a faint threat of tying the game. Good signs, when that happens.

MEDIA CORRECTION: Since I was out all day, I was going to TiVo this game, and I said yesterday Mike & The Mad Dog were going to broadcast it on SNY. Turns out I forgot to TiVo the game, but as I was driving home, faintly I got WFAN on the car radio - and Mike and the Mad Dog were broadcasting the game on WFAN (which makes sense, since that's where their radio show is, and since YES carries it on TV, not SNY). So I ended up hearing a little of their play-by-play. It was OK. They did it for charity, so I guess I can handle that. But since it's always been my dream to do play-by-play, I still get a bit jealous when guys get these chances that would never in a million years fall my way.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DEAL: Omar Minaya said Wednesday after he traded for Orlando Hernandez that he had other deals cooking. He proved himself Thursday, when he traded minor leaguer Robert Manuel to the Reds for pitcher Dave Williams. Astute readers will remember I've mentioned Dave Williams before. (In case you're too lazy to click the link, here's what I wrote:

"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.")

He is bad - he's been sent to Triple-A, probably to learn how to pitch. The Mets didn't give up much - Manuel was in Single-A...with decent numbers, but who knows what he'll turn into. Minaya says you can never have too much pitching. We'll see what else he's got going on.

WRIGHT IN SI: David Wright is the subject of a story in this week's 'Sports Illustrated'. Everything you hear about Wright is positive. He and Derek Jeter are two of the best people ever produced by a New York city farm system (actually, you could probably throw Bernie Williams in that category too....maybe even Mariano Rivera - although I don't know much about him as a person). Wright is just such a good person - everyone raves about how humble he is, and has stayed, even with his success. I just hope it lasts - and based on the type of person he is, and was raised to be, I think it will.

THE KID'S KIDS/LAST-PLACE LASTINGS: Both St. Lucie and Norfolk entered Thursday's action with just a game difference between themselves and their next-closest competitor. The Tides were just a game away from tying for last place, and the St. Lucie Mets were just a game up on Brevard County for first place.

St. Lucie was playing too late for this writing...I'll update them over the weekend.

Norfolk is really close to leaving last place - they beat Syracuse again on Thursday, 7-2. Milledge followed up his 3-for-6 in last night's game with a 1-for-5 on Thursday - and it was a solo homer. He's hitting .291.

FANTASY UPDATE: The Southern Bureau, owner of the What If Nationals/Expos, e-mailed me to say, "What's going on with this what if league? I win 12 in a row, lose 8 in a row, it's the same team! Nothing has changed...why are they so streaky?" I agree. Wholeheartedly. A day after winning all three of my games, I've lost all three of my games. I just had a feeling it might happen. What a pain. I go back and forth between liking this game and HATING it. Right now, I hate it. But I'm still 5 games out of first, tied for second.

BEAT THE STREAK: Ichiro didn't get a hit - Rodrigo Lopez picks today to throw a gem. Wonderful. Back to 0 again. This is the most frustrating part of 'Beat the Streak' - trying to get a streak past 9 or 10 games, so that you can actually care about it. Maybe this will be the streak that gets me going. I'll take Jose Reyes against the Marlins, since he's swinging a hot bat these days.