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

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

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

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

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

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

Let's Go Mets!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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