3/4 SEASON CHECK-IN

We're almost at the three-fourths mark of the season - 11 games left until that point. Since I didn't do a mid-year check, I'll do it at the 70% mark.

This year has been strange. It seems like the Mets have been fighting an uphill battle all year, but they still have the best record in the National League (and third best in the majors). It seems like most of the offense is still trying to get it going...as they have been since April. Even David Wright, who has heated up considerably since his early part of the season, doesn't seem like he's clicking on all cylinders.

Some things you had to see coming - I said early in the year that neither Jose Valentin nor Damion Easley would be the second baseman for the Mets come October. I didn't exactly foresee Valentin going down to injury, or, for that matter, either one playing as well as they did most of the season, but the fact that Luis Castillo is now the Mets' second baseman is definitely an improvement I've been hoping for since March.

But there were other things you didn't see coming - Shawn Green is just five back of Carlos Beltran in terms of games played in the outfield this year - who would have thought he would have logged the most games in the outfield this year? And after he seemed to have turned the corner last year, Beltran is back to his struggling self as a Met - looking like he's never seen a curveball.

The pitching has been by far the biggest, and most positive, surprise. From John Maine, who is having an outstanding season, to Oliver Perez, who has been a solid starter, to consistent Tom Glavine, giving the Mets a chance to win each time he goes out, to even the contributions of Jorge Sosa, who is now pitching out of the bullpen. The pitching has saved the Mets' season, because it took the offense so long to get going. The bullpen has not been as good as last year, but the most important member of that bullpen, Billy Wagner, is having one of his best seasons.

A lot of people were down on the 2007 Mets from the beginning of the year. But so far they've proven those people wrong, hanging onto first place from the get-go (or, at least, mid-May). Now, they are poised to get some key players back (Pedro Martinez*, Carlos Beltran), while some other key players start to find their way (Delgado, even Wright and Jose Reyes). That could result in the 2007 Mets looking a lot more like the 2006 Mets heading into October.

MONTHLY RESULTS: I haven't updated this in a while, but it seems worth doing, since May seems so far away:

April: 15-9
May: 19-9
June: 12-15
July: 13-14

The Mets are off to a great start in August - 4-1 through Monday. They have a lot of ground to make up after a couple of pretty poor months there.

YANKEES-BLUE JAYS: This Alex Rodriguez thing isn't going away. The Blue Jays threw at A-Rod on Monday - retaliation for when he yelled to try to distract the third baseman on a pop up earlier this year. Then, on Tuesday, Josh Towers threw at A-Rod. I would bet that if the opportunity presents itself, Wednesday's starter will also throw at A-Rod. The Blue Jays seem to have been extremely, extremely bothered by this incident...and it looks like they've been waiting for this series to exact revenge. I just hope no one gets hurt - you know how I feel about brawls.

NEW FEATURE: I draw your attention to the poll on the right. I don't have many readers, so this won't be the sample size of, say, other sites, but I thought it looked neat. Please, give us your two cents.

JOHNNYJETS: I hate to toot my own horn, but I was checking out johnnyjets.blogspot.com today, and I was pretty entertained by what I wrote at the end of last year. Therefore, I have decided to give the Jets site the same revamped treatment as this here Mets site. Check it out when you get a chance...there's also an update, and there will be more periodically leading up to the season.


Also, please let me know if you have ideas for the name of either site - I'm still reconsidering a change to this site name, and the Jets one definitely needs one. I invite your feedback.

FOOTBALL H.O.F.: Speaking of football, I didn't watch the induction ceremony, but I did see the highlights of the NFL Hall of Fame inductions. I've never been a fan of Michael Irvin...but hearing the clip where he talks about how last year's NFL Hall of Famers are all great people, in addition to football players, made me almost like him. Almost. A little humility (meaning humbleness, not embarrassment, just so we're clear) goes a long way, Michael.

OLIVER PEREZ: STOPPER

Mets 2, Yankees 0 (NYM: 37-28, NYY: 33-32)

That's more like it. In the first game I feel like I've been able to watch in more than a week, the Mets again looked like the team they were a little more than a week ago.

Oliver Perez put an end to the Mets' 5-game losing streak with 7-and-a-third innings of shutout ball, giving up 5 hits and just three walks, with 6 strikeouts. He got the win to improve to 7-5 - and he has a 2.93 ERA. The Mets didn't just beat anyone either...they stopped the hottest team in baseball, ending the Yankees' 9-game winning streak. And they beat Roger Clemens, which is always a nice added touch.

The Mets didn't solve all their problems in one night - Carlos Delgado struck out 4 times, and the 4-through-8 hitters combined to go 0-f0r-19. Carlos Gomez in the 9 spot was 2-for-3. The Mets did, though, play some outstanding defense all night long. The outfielders (Carlos Beltran and Gomez, specifically - I'm itemizing only because Shawn Green was his usual not-covering-a-lot-of-ground-self) turned a lot of fly balls into outs, and made some tough outs look easy at Yankee Stadium.

Jose Reyes was the main producer for the Mets (see below). Willie Randolph is trying to shake the Mets up a bit - with the offense struggling, he's changed the lineup a lot the past week. David Wright hit third Friday night (something he has been doing here and there), Carlos Beltran was hitting second, and Paul LoDuca was hitting fifth. The players have been changing in and out, starting in Detroit last weekend, and playing in the American League ballparks, with the DH. It continued through Los Angeles, and Shawn Green came back to the lineup, and it is still happening. I've said it a couple of years ago, and I'm saying it now - I like Carlos Beltran hitting in the two spot. And now that David Wright is hitting again, put him anywhere - I don't care. Wright has another long hitting streak going - he's hit in 16 straight after a 1-for-3 on Friday. FYI - his batting average is up to .287.

MTA johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: Jose Reyes gave the Mets a big kick in the pants Friday night with the way he played - 3-for-3, a homer, and both runs batted in for the Mets. He also stole 3 bases for 35 now on the year.





NBA FINALS: No one asked, but I'm sure you were wondering how I felt about the Spurs beating the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. It was about all I could have asked for in a league I care very little about - a new championship matchup, and it only took 4 games to decide. I'm glad it's out of the way.

SUITS AND TIES: I'm pleased that the NFL has lifted a tiny piece of its controlling tendencies to allow Mike Nolan to wear suits when he coaches 49ers home games. I think it's nice, and something more people should do. Here's the baseball tie-in (pun intended) - some say it's ridiculous that baseball managers wear uniforms...I'm indifferent. But if they started wearing suits, I think that would look equally ridiculous in the dugout.

Anyway, the point I wanted to bring up is that I came across a picture of Nolan, and he's wearing a tie clip towards the bottom of his tie. I have a tie clip, and for the past three years, since I wear a tie to school, I've been wearing the tie clip around the middle of my tie. I feel like I've been making a fashion faux pas for three years now. Below you see the comparison - who's wearing it correctly? Or is there no right or wrong way? (Maybe Nolan's only wearing it low because of all the headsets and stuff an NFL coach must wear...or he's miked for sound.)

METS FINALLY LOSE IN ARIZONA

Diamondbacks 3, Mets 1 (NYM: 19-11, ARI: 17-16)

For the first time since my honeymoon (three years ago), the Mets have lost to the Diamondbacks in Arizona. For those of you who don't know (before I get into Sunday's game), The Wife and I went to Hawaii after we were married, May 8, 2004. The Wife decided, though, that on the way out, we could see a ballpark, at Arizona, and see the Mets there at the same time. Long story short, I loved Arizona, the ballpark was just OK, but the Mets lost, 12-8. They lost the next night, too. Then they won the third game of the series....and hadn't lost in Arizona since...until Sunday.

The Mets played well, especially when you consider it was a step up from spring training for them - Endy Chavez in center, David Newhan in left, Ruben Gotay at second, and Ramon Castro behind the plate (various players resting, and Moises Alou still out with a bad knee). Poor Mike Pelfrey, he must have been cursing Willie Randolph that so many starters were sitting on a night he was trying to build on a good outing his last start.

Again, Pelfrey put himself in a hole early. He gave up a run in the first, and after the Mets tied it in the 4th, he gave that run right back. He also gave up the third run, giving up the three over five-and-a-third, and getting bullpen help to only give up the three. A decent outing, but he could have been better. Pelfrey took the loss, he's now 0-4 - I'd still rather have him out there, though, than a Chan Ho Park. (Jorge Sosa I'm not sure about, after his great start on Saturday.)

The Mets are still not getting the offense from the guys they need to hit. David Wright's average is down to .239. I thought he'd heat up in Arizona, but it seems he's cooled down even more. You can't blame anything on Jose Reyes, he's been on fire all year. Carlos Delgado has shown signs lately that he's breaking out...but not much power from him. The Mets need to start hitting, because I don't think Shawn Green will keep this up all year, and Moises Alou is not going to be able to play every day.

The Mets move to San Francisco next, where Oliver Perez gets the series started against Barry Zito on Monday night. You thought 9:40 starts were bad, I might take the next few nights off for schoolwork, and not write after the 10pm games.


Radisson Hotels Johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: He wasn't dominant, but he was effective, and he got the outs when he needed them. Livan Hernandez held the Mets to just one run on six hits in 7 innings, walking three and striking out three. This makes Livan and El Duque the first half-brother combo to be named johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game.

WHAT A STEAL!: Jose Reyes stole his 19th base on Sunday.

SATURDAY'S GAME

The Mets extended their winning streak in Arizona to 13 games with a 6-2 win. Shawn Green is the johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game for his 2-for-4 night. He homered (his fourth), had 3 RBI, and scored twice, pacing the offense.




BEAT THE STREAK: I picked Manny Ramirez for Sunday, a rare pick - I'm not sure I've picked him in a full year. Anyway, he didn't play. So I think my streak stalls at 12, and picks up again tomorrow. I like Albert Pujols against Jeff Francis.

THE OLIVER PEREZ 10K

Mets 6, Marlins 3 (NYM: 16-10, FLA: 13-14)

The Mets capped off a tough series against Florida with a win, and Oliver Perez was once again impressive.

Perez struck out 10, improving his record to 3-2, as the Mets beat the Marlins, 6-3. (I didn't see any of this game - it was a day game, and I was at school.) Every Mets starter except Carlos Delgado had a hit - David Wright continues to break out of his slump - he was 2-for-5, this time hitting from the 5 spot (he had been in the two spot the past couple of nights, I forget if I mentioned that). Endy Chavez started in left, and had a hit and 2 RBI, and Shawn Green had two more hits. Ruben Gotay started at second base.

Joe Smith entered the game in the sixth with runners on, got out of a jam, and pitched another scoreless innings (one-and-two-thirds overall), Scott Schoeneweis had a scoreless inning getting the game to Billy Wagner, and Wagner slammed the door for the save.

About the only negative I can see is that two of the runs allowed by Perez were unearned, and David Wright had two errors. Other than that, this was a big win, heading out to Arizona.

I can't give a full verdict on Oliver Perez yet...but he's had one bad start. Other than that, he's been about everything Mets fans have hoped for. And on Wednesday afternoon, he was a stopper - that is huge.

The Mets open up a series in Arizona on Thursday - nine o'clock starts, ugh. You might not hear from me until Friday night - I'm warning you now. Tom Glavine starts on Thursday against Micah Ownings. I hope the Mets bats are as alive in Arizona as they've been there the past couple of years.

JetBlue johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: Oliver Perez. Not only did he put a stop to the two-game losing streak with a great outing on the mound, but he was 2-for-2 at the plate, scoring two important runs. Perez's line - 5-and-2-thirds innings, 3 runs (one earned), 3 hits, 3 walks, and 10 K's. His ERA on the season is 3.41.

WHAT A STEAL!: No stolen bases on Wednesday for Jose Reyes.

DOUBLES: Shawn Green had his 9th double of the season on Wednesday, Jose Reyes his 10th. The Mets' single-season doubles record WILL fall this season - it's just a matter of which Met finishes with the most this year.

COMMENT ON THE COMMENTS: The Southern Bureau is a very respectable sports journalist. But when it comes to Oliver Perez, the JMDBSDC has a very strong negative and inaccurate bias, the opposite of the blind-fantasy-baseball-induced love of Oliver Perez possessed by Dave in Brighton. I think the Southern Bureau was once burned by Perez and is finding it hard to forgive. Clearly, Southern Bureau, it is time to forgive, and re-sign, and move forward.

As for Davd in Brighton, he mentioned Chan Ho Park's career earnings - that's all thanks to the Texas Rangers.

BEAT THE STREAK: At press time, the Giants hadn't even played, so we have no idea about Ray Durham. Hopefully we'll all wake up and the streak will be at 9 games. Until then, I'll go with A-Rod on Thursday. Also, mlb.com has FINALLY started their 'Survivor' game.

ROCKY OUTING

Rockies 11, Mets 5 (NYM: 13-7, COL: 9-13)

So much for a sweep. The Rockies outhit the Mets 20-12 in an afternoon game at Shea Stadium Wednesday, preventing the Mets from picking up their third win in a row.

This was the second straight bad outing for Mike Pelfrey...and this one was much worse than his last. Pelfrey followed up his 4 runs in five innings against Atlanta with 6 runs in three innings. Both were at home, for whatever that's worth. Pelfrey was quoted after the game as saying something like, "I kept throwing fastballs and they kept hitting them. I guess I'm just stubborn." That doesn't sound like the smartest approach to me.

Overshadowed by the Rockies' 20 hits were the Mets' 12 - a third of which belonged to THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes - he was 4-for-5. Endy Chavez started in left field, and he was 2-for-5. Shawn Green also continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-4 with 3 RBI. David Wright continued his not-hot hitting (and I didn't even pick him for Beat the Streak), going 0-for-3.

The Mets have Thursday off, before opening a three-game weekend series in Washington. I'll try to produce something creative for the blog on Thursday.

Coors Light johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: Can't ignore Willy Taveras's 5-for-6 effort. He only scored twice and had just one RBI, but he had a couple of bunt singles that apparently sparked the team. I couldn't watch this game, by the way - it was an afternoon game, and I was at school. But a 5-hit day most of the time will merit Player of the Game honors.

TURNING TWO...HUNDRED: Still not sure what the Mets are chasing here, but it's worth noting that the Mets turned 2 more double plays on Wednesday, giving them 28 in 20 games.

WEDNESDAY: 2 SEASON TOTAL: 28

NL EAST NEWS: The Braves-Marlins game had an exciting ending Wednesday night. The Braves, and Tim Hudson, took a 3-0 lead into the ninth inning. The Marlins got three straight hits off Hudson (and his 0.60 or thereabouts ERA), and Bob Wickman came in. He gave up 3 runs, and then a passed ball brought home the winning run for the Marlins. All three runs were charged to Hudson, so his ERA went up to 1.22. It was Bob Wickman's first blown save of the year - and his ERA is still just 0.90. I'm glad Tim Hudson got three earned runs - I hold a grudge for him stinking it up last year, and single-handedly destroying my fantasy pitching staff before I finally cut him.

BEAT THE STREAK: Jimmy Rollins hit his (league-leading!) 8th homer of the season, so I have tied my season-best hitting streak at 2 games. I'm going with Lance Berkman on Thursday - he has good career numbers against Tony Armas of the Pirates.

BRAVES OUTSLUG METS IN PITCHER'S DUEL

Braves 9, Mets 6 (ATL: 12-6, NYM: 11-6...0.5 back)

Tom Glavine - still 7 wins shy of 300 for his career. The Mets bullpen - worse than it was on Saturday. David Wright - still under the 'johnnymets.blogspot.com Beat the Streak jinx'. Sorry about that.

This was a see-saw game - and the Braves jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the first pitch of the game. Tom Glavine left a pitch up high, and Kelly Johnson jumped all over it to lead off the game with a homer.

In the 5th, Shawn Green tied the game with a solo homer off of John Smoltz. At that point, Green was 11-for-23 in his career against Smoltz. The fifth inning was exciting - after the homer, Jose Valentin had a long flyout to the wall opposite field in left, then Tom Glavine hit a roller down the third base line. Smoltz jumped off the mound, barehanded the ball, and threw a strike to first to get Glavine. It was some play. Jose Reyes reached, then Paul Lo Duca blasted one to the right-center gap, and it bounced over the wall for a ground rule double - it would have scored a run otherwise. So with runners at second and third, Carlos Beltran took a third strike -the strikeout that tied Smoltz with Cy Young on the all-time list.

In the sixth, Jeff Francoeur had a 2-run single, making it 3-1, Atlanta, off Glavine.

In the bottom half, Carlos Delgado singled, then David Wright struck out (0-for-12 since his hitting streak ended). Moises Alou singled, putting runners at first and second. Shawn Green walked controversially, and when Bobby Cox argued, he got ejected from the game (127 career, four from a major league record). With the bases loaded, Jose Valentin made it 3-2, Braves, with a single. Then, after Julio Franco pinch hit for Tom Glavine and flew out, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED lined a ball down the right field line - 3-run triple, the Mets were ahead, 5-3, and Tom Glavine could win the game. (Paul Lo Duca added an insurance run.)

No way the Mets could lose the game now...they just don't lose games like this. Well, they lost this one. In the 7th, Ambiorix Burgos got two quick outs, then got a fly ball to right field. Shawn Green jumped for it, when he didn't have to (he was on the run, but it was a routine fly ball), and it went off his glove....and it wasn't ruled an error. Scott Schoeneweis came on, gave up a walk, then a 3-run homer to Edgar Renteria. 6-6.

In the 8th, Aaron Heilman served up a 3-run homer to Kelly Johnson, following an error by Jose Valentin. (Valentin has been very sure-handed, so this is the exception, not the rule. Looking dopey in right field has almost come to be expected out of Green.) All of the runs were unearned, but Heilman lost the game.

The Mets mounted a mini-rally, but came up short. With two on in the 8th, Jose Reyes and Paul Lo Duca failed to get a run home. In the 9th, Bob Wickman struck out Carlos Beltran in a 12-pitch at-bat to lead off the inning, walked Carlos Delgado, got David Wright on a fielder's choice, gave up a single to Moises Alou, then got the tying run, Shawn Green, to ground out to short.

The Mets have lost just two series this season, and they've both been to the Braves. That doesn't bode well, if only because it lets the Braves believe they still have some sort of a shot. The Braves have played better than I thought they would to begin this season...but I don't think they'll have staying power.

The Mets are now a half-game back of Atlanta, but they can do some damage this week - they host Colorado, then go to Washington. It's John Maine against Taylor Buchholz Monday night.

Kelly's Roast Beef johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: Kelly Johnson killed the Mets on Sunday. He was 3-for-4 with 2 home runs, 4 RBI, a walk, and three runs scored. Clearly he reads the blog and took offense to me saying earlier in the year that the Braves don't have anyone who can lead off for them.

CITI FIELD UPDATE: The fact that the Mets will have a new stadium soon is quite possibly the most exciting thing for me since 1986 as far as the Mets go. Every time I drive by Shea now as I head to my parents' house in Queens, there is more and more progress on the new stadium.
That was one of the things I was looking forward to in going to the game on Friday night - seeing the construction over the outfield wall. Unfortunately, I couldn't go to Friday's game. However, my sister went to Sunday's game against the Braves, as the Mets held their annual Autism Awareness Day. (My sister does fantastic work with children, day in and day out...many of the children she works with have some form of autism. Last year The Wife and I went to Autism Awareness Day with her, and we saw Tom Glavine versus Dontrelle Willis. But I digress.) My sister took a couple of pictures with her cell phone, forwarded them to my cell phone, and I was able to get them into my e-mail, and now onto the blog (I feel like Jack Bauer). So I present you with the latest visual proof that the Mets are, in fact, building a new stadium.








COMMENT ON THE COMMENTS: Please ignore the dumb postings that may end up having me discontinue the "Comments" section. Also, don't forget you can e-mail the site at johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com.

As for the Southern Bureau's comments on David Wright's homers...I can't tell you why he's not homering. I'll only say that if he wasn't hitting at all, I'd be worried. When you look at Wright's numbers since last year's All Star break, he has just 6 homers since last July. Now, he has tended to fade late in the seasons, so maybe he's made an adjustment, and is keeping himself fresher for the second half of the season/post-season. Also, Southern Bureau, maybe it just serves you right for drafting him and not allowing me to have him on my team.

BEAT THE STREAK: David Wright has to get a hit eventually, so I'm taking him against Buchholz on Monday. My longest streak so far this season has been 2 games. That's disgusting.

REELIN' IN THE FISH

Mets 11, Marlins 3 (NYM: 10-4, FLA: 6-9)

(No picture capability again) The Mets continued their hot hitting in Florida on Thursday night, banging out another 16 hits in an 11-3 win, completing a 2-game sweep.

Interestingly, the Mets did not play their cleanest game of the year - committing 2 errors, but it didn't matter. Paul Lo Duca missed the game, since the hand he hurt the other night was acting up. So the Mets shuffled their lineup. Carlos Beltran batted second, and was 4-for-6, hitting his 4th home run (and two doubles). Moises Alou hit third, and was 2-for-4, and Ramon Castro hit in the seventh spot, going 2-for-5 with a homer. Shawn Green also had a good game (2-for-5, 2 doubles). This is one tough lineup, and against a young pitcher in Rick Vanden Hurk of the Marlins, it's almost unfair. The Mets blew this game open with 6 runs in the third inning.

Orlando Hernandez has pitched well in his career against Florida, and on Thursday he went 7 innings, giving up 3 hits, 2 runs (only one earned), 2 walks, and he struck out 10, improving his record to 2-1. He was lights out after the first inning, when he gave up his two runs, not helped by an awful throwing error by David Wright.

The Mets are a half-game ahead of the Braves in the division, entering this weekend's three-game series at Shea. I'll write again either Saturday night (after Saturday night prime-time NASCAR, woo!), or Sunday after the game.

BANK OF AMERICA JOHNNYMETS.BLOGSPOT.COM PLAYER OF THE GAME: Just because I don't know how often this will happen this year, the award is going to Ramon Castro for Thursday night. Castro didn't just fill in for Paul Lo Duca, he was a big part of the Mets' offensive attack. Castro was 2-for-5, with 3 RBI, and a run scored.

WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright was 1-for-3, continuing his hitting streak. He still doesn't have a homer on the season, but he is hitting about as consistently as anyone in baseball. It's a 14-game hitting streak on the season, 26 games over two seasons.

BEAT THE STREAK: David Wright got me a hit - I'm going with his hot bat for a couple more days.

BOUND TO HAPPEN....

Braves 5, Mets 3 (NYM: 4-1, ATL: 4-1)

I knew the Mets weren't going to go 162-0, but I still wanted to see just how long they could stretch the season-opening win streak. I guess it was just four games. But the Mets were done in by one of the things that keyed them to their 4 straight wins - their defense.

The Mets looked all set after the top of the first, after jumping out to another 1-0 lead - this one from an unlikely source: a homer by Paul Lo Duca. Tom Glavine gave it right back, though, and you could tell by the way he was working that career win number 292 was not going to come easy - of course, it didn't come at all.

The Braves' first started with an innocent grounder to second, which turned into their first baserunner when Carlos Delgado dropped the throw from Jose Valentin. Kelly Johnson then came around to score on a grounder to short. Matt Diaz homered in the second to give the Braves the 2-1 lead, and the Mets their first deficit of the season.

In the fifth, the Mets did their manufacturing run thing, after a leadoff walk by Jose Reyes. He stole second, went to third on a grounder to second by Lo Duca, and then scored on a single by Carlos Beltran. The Mets knocked around John Smoltz, but he seemed to get the outs when he needed to.

Unfortunately for Glavine, the outs couldn't come because of his defense. After no errors in 4 games, the Mets committed two on Saturday. In the bottom of the sixth, with the bases loaded, Shawn Green dropped a Matt Diaz fly ball that allowed one run to score. The next batter, Woodward, flew out to right off Pedro Feliciano, and Green made a nice running catch, but the ball was deep enough to score a run to make it 4-2. Then Joe Smith came on and got a groundball, but it was too slow for Reyes to make a play, so the Braves took a 5-2 lead. All 5 runs were charged to Glavine, but only two were earned.

The much-improved Braves bullpen held the Mets to one run the rest of the way, though the Mets did threaten Bob Wickman in the ninth. Trailing 5-3, Carlos Delgado walked, and David Wright singled (extending his hitting streak on an otherwise horrid day - 3 strikeouts against Smoltz). With two outs and runners on second and third, Green lined one towards right field, but the ball was snared by Craig Wilson at first. A tough way to end the game, but it showed the Mets still have that ability to come back late in games, and you still get the sense that they're never out of a game.

CHICK-FIL-A JOHNNYMETS.BLOGSPOT.COM PLAYER OF THE GAME: No one really stood out in this one, so we'll go with Matt Diaz, who had a homer and lifted the fly ball that Shawn Green dropped. At least he put it in play, and you have to give him some credit for that - chances are the then-go-ahead run would have scored anyway. Diaz finished 1-for-2 with 2 RBI and a run scored.

NOTES ON THE GAME: The Braves have no true leadoff hitter, now that Rafael Furcal is gone. They also have no true second baseman. Kelly Johnson is playing second and leading off, but I also noticed this on Friday night, when Chris Woodward was the starting second baseman and leadoff hitter. That's a step back from Furcal, and Marcus Giles at second.

ALSO THE WAY I FEEL: Tim Kurkjian was guest host on Mike & Mike In The Morning the other day (I think it was Thursday), and the subject of the DirecTV/other cable providers Extra Innings packages came up. (An aside: I find the Mike & Mike show to be much more tolerable when someone like Kurkjian or Buster Olney is on for the entire show rather than the regular Mikes...but that's another story for another day.) Kurkjian said he has DirecTV, and the day he got it, he says, "was, other than the days my kids were born, the greatest day of my life." So, he said, it wouldn't be right for other people to not have the opportunity to get the package. I agree.

SNY 2007: Friday night was my first chance to see a Mets game on SNY. Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez were in the booth, and were very good (for the amount I saw before I fell asleep). A couple of notables:
-Slightly newer, snazzier graphics.
-Good ads - one, a tribute to Ron Darling for being named best New York sports analyst (I think, I was a little fuzzy on the award). The other was hilarious - it was a cartoon of Cohen, Darling, and Hernandez sitting on the couch watching the game, and Hernandez keeps saying, "I sound great. Wow, I'm doing a great job." And Darling and Cohen end up taking off Hernandez's mustache, and the announcer says, "Watch the Mets with Gary, Ron, Keith, and Keith's mustache." Good stuff. I hope there are different commercials like that each week. Hilarious.
-Also, forgot to mention this, so might as well here - Lee Mazzilli is the new studio analyst this year. I haven't seen enough of his work to comment yet.

1986 ROUNDUP: I don't remember seeing him all last year on camera, but Roger McDowell is still the Atlanta Braves' pitching coach. They showed him on Friday night, and either Keith or Ron said, "Roger smiled a lot more as a player." I thought that was funny.

MORE BROADCASTING: Caught the Reds' games over the weekend, and Grande was doing the games. Wonder what kind of a rotation they have going there. I'll have to keep an eye on that.

A WORD ON THE WEATHER: This year is more extreme than most, but I feel like every year there's a hubbub about the season-opening weather, and moving all of the openers to warm weather cities. Now, I don't know that that's a foolproof option - I hear there's a chance of snow in Arlington, Texas, for the Red Sox game Saturday night, which is surprising to me, but I feel like this is always a controversy in April every year, and then it dies down and is forgotten. I do feel, however, that this year has been extreme, as I mentioned above, extreme not only in weather, but also in outcry over the weather. And I think there will be some fallout - especially since Cleveland and Seattle are losing a game because of the weather, and because Victor Martinez got hurt in the bad weather, AND because of the controversy on Friday surrounding the weather and the way the game was called off. I don't know how much fallout, but I feel like the situation won't die away so easily, and maybe there will be some change next year.

BEAT THE STREAK: After no hits Friday by Xavier Nady and on Saturday with Derek Jeter, I'm going with as sure a thing as I can on Sunday, with the Cleveland doubleheader. I'll take Grady Sizemore - all he needs is one hit in two games to get me started.

SO DISAPPOINTING

Cardinals 9, Mets 6 (Series tied 1-1)


Two inches. That's how close the Mets came to probably having a 2-0 series lead instead of being tied 1-1. Shawn Green missed catching Scott Speizio's triple by two inches. Maybe less. I'm not going to say that Green should have caught that ball - it was a very tough play. Actually, he kept the Mets in the game by getting a glove on it, preventing a home run, and keeping the game tied at 6. But had he moved his glove two inches to his left, the Mets would have had a 6-4 lead, and would have had Billy Wagner in the game in a save situation, and things could have been a whole lot different.

Tony LaRussa really made all the right moves in this game. Starting Speizio. Subbing in So Taguchi late in the 8th inning. Tyler Johnson to face Carlos Delgado to start the ninth. Putting Scott Rolen in along with Adam Wainwright in the 9th, and seeing Rolen rob David Wright of a base hit, making the second out of the ninth inning. Chalk one up in the LaRussa column.

I still feel confident in Wagner in save situations. Something's different with these guys in non-save situations, and it's very frustrating, but it always seems to be the case. Billy Wagner has been untouchable in save situations - he only gets himself in trouble when he puts people on. But in a tie game, he comes in and gives up a homer. Then two more runs. I don't think Willie Randolph made a bad decision putting Wagner in the game - his hands were tied. After lifting Maine, the Mets were going to be in trouble by the 8th inning, after using Chad Bradford (great outing), Pedro Feliciano (good third of an inning), Guillermo Mota (first bad outing in a while), and Aaron Heilman (awesome). They needed to use Wagner in the 9th - because there wasn't going to be a save situation anymore. The only thing to hope now is that he bounces back - and didn't throw too many pitches.

The one bad decision I think the Mets have made this post-season is keeping Cliff Floyd on the roster for the NLCS. He can barely walk, and barely lasted an inning and a half, and like I wrote about after Game 1, might not be available for more than pinch hitting duty. Endy Chavez has done a great job filling in, but he should have been given the left field job from the get-go in this round. Now the Mets are one reliever short, and could have jeopardized having Floyd in the World Series, if they make it. They should have allowed him to rest, because by doing so they would have improved their Series chances.

If you would have asked me what I wanted to see from the Mets in this game, I would have told you they need to jump out to an early lead, set Chris Carpenter in his place. And thanks to a Carlos Delgado 3-run homer in the first, that's what the Mets did. They led 3-0, 4-2, and 6-4, and blew those leads. That's not Mets baseball. FOX alluded to the fact that the Mets bullpen has been overworked - I don't think so. They just came off five days of rest. I agree they've been getting a lot of work, but they're not overworked.

That said, Game 3 will be huge for the Mets. Steve Trachsel needs to pitch well, and needs to go deep into this game. It wouldn't hurt the Mets to win big, too - run up the score a little bit so that the bullpen, if it is used, has some wiggle room. And Billy Wagner can sit a game out.

Some thoughts on a couple of players:

DELGADO: I meant to say this the other night, but I better not hear anymore that Delgado was the longest-tenured player to never reach the post-season. I don't care. The minute he played in Game 1 against the Dodgers this became a non-story. He's in the post-season. And man, has he thrived. His two homers tonight were huge - but so was his error.

MAINE: He was hurt by the error, but he isn't doing himself any favors struggling to find the plate. He's throwing too many pitches, and too many balls. I also felt that his August 22nd start against the Cardinals, where he got tagged for 7 runs, may prove to be important because he learned not to let Albert Pujols beat the Mets - he had all 7 RBI.

GREEN: I was just mentioning to my dad tonight that getting Shawn Green was a great deal for the Mets. I'm not sure how much I wrote about it at the time, but I wasn't a fan of the move. I thought Green was on the fast track towards "washed up", and wouldn't contribute. I was wrong. First of all, he's got right field locked up for the Mets - could you imagine if the Mets had Lastings Milledge out there in this series? They'd be in trouble. He's a threat in the lineup, and he's a good influence in the clubhouse. All positives. And he almost made the great play in Game 2 to get the Mets a win. Almost.

MEDIA: A couple of notes on the media. I started Game 2 listening to the first couple of innings on the radio, because I had to pick up my mom at the train station. Dan Schulman and Dave Campbell. Campbell was really ticking me off - he was very down on the Mets. He didn't give the Mets any credit - talking about how poorly St. Louis played, rather than how well the Mets played in Game 1. That bothered me.

Also, I love that super slo-mo camera FOX has - it's really good for breaking down a guy's swing. It's also a really good teaching tool, watching the way major leaguers swing. And for this series, they not only have the camera trained on the hitter, but on certain plays in the field. And I like that because it makes some of those plays look cool.

MAIL: Two entries in the mailbag - actually, one's from the comments section (The Southern Bureau one), and the other's from the mailbag (Steve in Queens). They're very related, so I'll post them both, then respond:

"Watching Jeff Weaver shut down the Mets for half the game reminded me again how the American League is going to KILL whoever the NL team is.

Weaver was CUT from an AL team just months ago for being TERRIBLE, and now he almost wins a game in the NLCS.

Unreal. I think a third straight sweep is on the way. But lets all enjoy the Mets run until then...for Johnny's daughter's sake."

"Johnnymets -

I understand your desire to have every team play each other at least once in the World Series, but you are a Mets fan first. I want to know who you think will be an easier matchup for the Mets in the WS. I think that the Mets would destroy Oakland and will have trouble with the Tigers. Therefore, I do not want the Tigers to make it to the WS. Putting aside your desire of WS matchups, do you agree or disagree.

Also, one of my friends from work was able to get me a ticket to tonight's game. As you well know, I am slightly concerned about the frigid weather that has been forecasted for this evening. Anyway, LETS GO METS.

Steve from Queens"

I'll go backwards here. First off, Steve is cold-blooded and doesn't like being out in the cold weather. So that explains that. Secondly, as for a possible World Series matchup, I think both of these comments are very similar.

I think it's safe to say the Detroit Tigers are going to the World Series (up 3 games to 0). And watching them play the past six games, I can't believe I once thought the Twins or Yankees would be tougher opponents. So to that end, I agree with you Steve - the Mets would probably be better off facing Oakland. (All of this assumes the Mets will play better in the remaining NLCS games and advance.)

As for how the Mets would do against the AL entry (Detroit), I have no idea. If any team has the bats to challenge the Detroit arms, it's the Mets (although it was also the Yankees). I'd like to see the Mets get that opportunity, that's for sure. I do think the Mets match up a whole lot better than St. Louis (they might be sweep numbers 1 and 3 in a row for the NL if they make it).

Losing Game 2 of the NLCS, and the chance for a sweep, hurts the Mets' chances of setting up their best pitcher (Tom Glavine) for Game 1 of the World Series. But I think Detroit-Mets makes for a great matchup - the Mets have the most AL-style lineup in the NL (and now AL-style starting pitching), and the Tigers play the most NL-style ball in the AL. We'll get into this more if I'm lucky enough to be writing a Mets-Detroit World Series preview.

Very big Game 3 for the Mets - and Steve Trachsel - Saturday night. It also wouldn't hurt for the A's to steal a couple and push the Tigers one or two more games.

METS 8, PUJOLS 7

Mets 8, Cardinals 7 (NYM: 76-48, STL: 66-58)

Tuesday night's game is pretty much a microcosm of my feelings about the way the Mets match up with the Cardinals. The only person in that lineup that can beat you is Albert Pujols, which John Maine let happen (twice), and the Cardinals' bullpen stinks. The unfortunate thing is that the Cardinals are very beatable - because of that, their lead in the NL Central is now down to one game over the Reds, and they are in serious trouble when it comes to making the post-season.

John Maine was the starter for the Mets, and he had a bad outing, mostly because of Pujols...but also because he let baserunners on ahead of Pujols. Pujols hit a 3-run homer and a grand slam off Maine, accounting for the entire Cardinals offense (this all came after Maine retired the first nine batters he faced). Lucky for the Mets, Jeff Weaver was the Cardinals' starter, and he gave up two homers to Carlos Delgado - a solo shot and the Mets' team-record 9th grand slam of the year (as well as Delgado's 400th career homer). That narrowed the gap to 7-5, which the Mets got to 7-6 in the 6th.

It stayed that way into the ninth (despite my prayers that the Mets would rock Braden Looper in the 8th inning), when ineffective closer Jason Isringhausen came on for St. Louis. After getting Jose Reyes to ground out, Isringhausen gave up a single to Paul LoDuca, then Carlos Beltran ripped a game-winning homer over the right field wall.

It was an exciting win for the Mets, and it was the type of game where you felt the Mets would come back and win, or at least I did, because of what I've been seeing with the Cardinals' bullpen all year. The interesting thing from this game was the post-game quotes, too, because Beltran talked about how the winner of this series is making a statement. That's good that the Mets are going out to show that they are the best team in the National League - it would be embarrassing for them to lose this series to the Cardinals.

This is a relatively tough stretch for the Mets. After 3 with St. Louis, the Mets host Philadelphia (no doubt looking for revenge for last week's 3 out of 4 series win by the Phillies). Then the Mets go to surprisingly tough Colorado (who they just swept in New York), then they go to Houston before coming back home to take on Atlanta and the Dodgers. Those are some of the better teams in the National League, and it would be fitting that the Mets clinch the division against one of those teams, putting an exclamation point on the Mets' dominance over the National League. (The Atlanta series is September 4, 5, and 6th, too early for a clinching - but wouldn't that have been awesome if the Mets could celebrate the division championship in front of Atlanta.)

Steve Trachsel takes on Mark Mulder in game 2 of the St. Louis series on Wednesday night.


MAGIC NUMBER: The Phillies beat the Cubs on Tuesday night, for the second night in a row, so the Mets' Magic Number only decreases by one. The Phillies can't stay as hot as they've been - I expect this number to start dropping a lot very soon.

GOOD NEWS FOR GLAVINE: I guess it pays to be an optimist. Turns out Tom Glavine will not have to undergo surgery, and will only miss 7-10 days, which is nothing compared to the worst-case scenarios that were being laid out for Glavine. And at his age, a 7-10 day period of rest for his arm isn't the worst thing to happen to the Mets.

GREEN'S GANG: The Mets acquired Shawn Green from the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Green hasn't been playing much lately, since the Diamondbacks are giving playing time to a youngster, and he's been unhappy about that. The Mets gave up minor league pitcher Evan McLane (who I saw pitch for the Tides at Pawtucket earlier this season on the johnnymets.blogspot.com Lastings Milledge scouting trip). But in order to make room on the 40-man roster for Green, the Mets had to designate Victor Diaz for assignment - so I think another team can pick him up, but if he doesn't get picked up in 10 days, the Mets will retain him. There's a lot of potential in Diaz, but I guess he won't reach it as a Met...what with Milledge, Beltran, and whoever else in their outfield, Diaz was probably destined to be a career minor leaguer in the Mets' organization.

I'm not too crazy about the Mets adding Green. It doesn't seem like something they need right now - but he can change my mind if he plays like the Shawn Green of a few years back, rather than the one of the past couple of years.

THE KID'S KIDS/ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: The rare double minor league rainout. Both the St. Lucie Mets and the Norfolk Tides had their games postponed due to rain on Tuesday night.