Bounty

The stupid "The division hates the Mets" story got me thinking.  Metstradamus joked about the Mets putting bounties on other players.  Fine, do it.  Not real bounties, but something team building and fun.  Whoever has the best game against the Phillies in a series gets to set the radio/tv for a week.  A pitcher who gets Hanley out the most gets to pick where they eat dinner next. 

 

This all probably stems from the general disconnect players and fans have.  While there is often a jealousy of New York money and success and popularity, it’s rarely the other way around.  What does Hanley Ramirez have for the Mets to hate?  We’re trying to get them to feel our hatred.

 

We seem to have criticized the Mets for acting like they deserved the division in ’07.  Well, they did deserve the division, and I think they should continue to act like that.  The Mets should walk into opposing stadiums like they own the place.  Walk into ’09 like they own the division. 

 

This would be great:

 

Wright: “The division is ours this year.”

 

Reporter: “But aren’t the Phillies the defending division champs? Don’t you have to go through them?”

 

Wright: “Even bad teams get lucky sometimes.  The Phillies..who’s on that team?  Cole..somebody or another right?  Bring it on.”

 

Good Bye and Good Riddence

The Mets game was a disaster, all across the board.  Managing, situational hitting, bullpen.. So while we still have a lead in the wild card and a more than adequate chance to make the division title ours, I’m going to talk about something else.

 

It’s hard to be a baseball fan without at least a little respect for Yankee Stadium (not necessarily the Yankees themselves).  The Stadium has been around for roughly 86 years, and housed some of the earlier stages of baseballs history.  If there is a baseball ‘god’, it’s Babe Ruth, who made the first marks at the Stadium.  So my gut reaction is that they shouldn’t be demolishing something full of so much baseball lore.

 

The Mets fan and Yankees hater side of me enjoys that they’re knocking down something so historic.  You could argue that the Curse of the Bambino that supposedly stopped the Red Sox from winning was actually reversed when the Yankees went through the process of starting to dismantle the Bambino’s house.  The Red Sox won twice, and the Yankees have gradually gotten worse and worse, until this season when they will miss the playoffs entirely.  Going into the final game ever at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees number for elimination is 1.  This means that if they lose, not only will it be the final regular season game in the building, but also clinches that it will be the last game, period.  They’re currently up 5-3 in the 5^th, but we’ll see how it turns out. 

 

Physically, Yankee stadium isn’t very nice.  The concourses, specifically on the ground floor, are tight and feel cave like.  The seats aren’t great, and the upper deck is tall and steep.  The entire place feels old, because it _is_ old.  Besides the ‘magic’ behind the historical place, I’m glad they’re knocking it down.  As a baseball fan in New York, I do occasionally find myself at the place, whether randomly or for a Subway Series game, and my priorities when visiting are my own comfort and enjoyment.  I already have to deal with Yankee fans when I’m there, so why add in small concourses, ancient bathrooms, long lines, broken seats and all the other things wrong with the place? 

 

Babe Ruth may miss the place, but I won’t.  May the Yankees live to regret this decision and be doomed to decades of failure.

 

Back to the Mets, I’m sick and tired of Mets fans acting like Luis Castillo is beating up babies and stabbing nuns in the clubhouse.  To me it seems like he plays at least as hard as anyone, and he certainly gets on base more than Argenis Reyes, and more than Easley.  I don’t think the 7^th spot in the lineup is the best location for him, but that’s Manuel’s lineup, not Castillo’s.  The guy might not have the range he used to, but he’s certainly not stationary.  If the Mets were pounding in runs, specifically in clutch spots, then maybe you live with a defensive Argenis a little more often.  Right now though, they need both Castillo’s OBP, and his average with runners in scoring position.  

Division Title is Brewing

Regardless of the struggles for the division, the Brewers inability to win games has put up a safety net for the Mets.  They own a substantial lead over the wild card challengers in Milwaukee, so that even were they to lose the division they’d likely make the playoffs.  However, with a Mets win last night, and a Phillies loss, the Mets are now one loss ahead for the division.  That’s really two, because if they were to end tied, the Mets as winners of the season series would get the division, and the Phillies the Wild Card. 

 

There are nine games left, which is also the magic number to clinch the division outright.  Seven is the magic number to clinch the postseason altogether.  Both are doable.  This team looks good right now; finding ways to win, capitalizing on errors, and not letting their own errors hurt them.

 

86 wins in the book, with nine to play.  Chances are they don’t win every one of them, but end up with a comfortable 90-92.  Which is where they’d have been last year if their collapse had been mini instead of total.  Time to finish it out, put the Phillies away, and win this division.  Leave the final weekend at Shea for Shea, not trying to make the playoffs.

 

Argenis Reyes really should just told he can come back next year.  His spot in the lineup should just read ‘out’.  I know Castillo has been slow returning from the DL, but so has Church, and we’re not killing him.  Castillo is better than Argenis, and a hurt Castillo is better than a hurt Easley, and I don’t think Castillo’s that hurt.  Maybe he’s lost a step here and there, but he still can run the bases, still can draw the walk, still gets on base.  If he can get on base, and Wright, Beltran and Delgado can hit, then everythings peachy.  Argenis Reyes however, hasn’t had a hit in over a month spanning 12 games.  He’s had one walk in that span.  Castillo accomplished both last night.

Magic Number Mojo

Obviously baseball is a very superstitious sport.  That doesn't mean jinxes are real, or that some things don't have to happen the way they do.  There are some things you just can't wait until the last minute to plan for.  The playoffs are one of them.  Many Mets fans out there don't want anyone mentioning the magic number for instance, but if these fans got their way the Mets would wake up on October First having made the playoffs, but having even more issues.

A. They already sent the groundscrew home for the winter, so the field isn't ready, the grass isn't cut, the trap hasn't protected the field, (They're knocking it all down anyway right?), and the lines aren't drawn.

b. No one's showing up to see them play, since they never printed or sold the tickets.

c. The vendors and ushers aren't there to escort anyone to their seats or sell them hot dogs.  There aren't any hot dogs anyway, since they didn't reorder from Aramark past September 28th. (Would anyone be surprised if the concessions are out of virtually everything that day, clinched or not?)

d. In fact, the wrecking ball is already dismantling Shea, because everyone told them to assume the season was over October first until told otherwise.  Can't play at Yankee Stadium, since that's meeting the same fate.   

e. If they did manage to play, it wouldn't be on the radio.  Fox has the tv covered, but Howie Rose is already in Uniondale and Wayne Hagin went home. 

f. Mr. Met is off doing weddings and other apperances, unable to man the Pepsi Party Patrol Cannon.  

In all, the number (and not just on Metsblog) has been posted before.  '06 as well as '07.  Would Glavine and Mota have pitched better if the number wasn't up there? no.  Even without it on the main page, it'd be mentioned in every thread.  Everytime you look at the standings and the Phillies score, you're thinking "how many more Mets wins and Phillies loses before we're in?".  So posting it is merely giving us the info we want, which is what the blog is for.  I'm too lazy to come up with a proper auto-updating widget (and don't know javascript well enough) to put up the Magic Number, but it stands at 13 with I believe 26 games left.  

Can't win them all

Wow.  Bummer of a weekend.  It turns out this team is roughly the same team as last year.  I’d originally thought the bullpen was better, but without Wagner, it just isn’t.  The bigger deal is that the Brewers seem to be freefalling again, like last year.  It’s shocking that the Phillies beat them in 4 games, but the Mets at least still have a two game in the loss lead.  One of those games is to night. 

 

I’m still not worried, this has been the trend for most of the season.  They’d get a little good run going, and the Phillies would struggle a bit.  Then it’d reverse, and the Phillies would catch back up.  But each cycle of this, the Mets seemed to gain a little bit of ground.  In July and early August, the Mets would get to a game or two lead, and lose it again.  Now they’re getting a three of four game lead, and letting it dwindle down to one or two.  I still think it’s likely the Mets win by four, and I think it’s entirely probable that the Phillies lose 3 games this week.  If the Mets can lose less than that, or go 5-2, next week they’ll be a solid three games up with a week to play. 

 

The biggest problem is still that the bullpen is unsettled.  Last year at this time, we didn’t know who to go with when.  Maybe because they were all struggling or hurt.  This year it appears to be the same story.  For the most part guys like Ayala and Stokes have been solid since coming here, but is that something that’s going to be the norm?  Or are they going to be tired out from being the go-to guys, and by the final weekend, we won’t know who to call on in a tight spot? 

 

The Mets have had plenty of opportunity to put this division away.  There have been a game here and there that they just let get away, gave up early, or couldn’t shut the door on.  They could easily be in a position that the Phillies wouldn’t even be sending out ticketing emails about coming to see their playoff push. 

 

However, it is what it is.  Let’s see the Mets end this this week, play TWO games better than the Phillies, and enter the final week four games up. The Cubs have a magic number of seven, and likely will be using those four games against the Mets for rest and setting up for the playoffs.  Just like it’s been each of the last three seasons, the division is there for the Mets taking.  

Who's got the '08 Magic?

I find myself every year kind of liking the Cubs..just because..they're less harmless than a baby bear. Like the Red Sox did, they have a pretty loyal fanbase for never having won. And of course I'm rooting for them as much as any of those fans this weekend.

So if the baseball gods chose based on 'magic'...who wins between the Cubs and the Rays this year? The Cubs look like one of the best teams in baseball, and they just seem to have a sense about them of winning. The Rays have now assured themselves of their first non-losing season. Ever, and yet they continue to push to replicate the '69 Mets. So in terms of baseball magic, you'd think these two teams are the favorites for the World Series. Who wins out? My money's on the Mets.

I have faith in the Cubs to do well against the Phillies. They took the game against their 'ace', and no reason why they can't win at least two out of three here. I think yesterday around 9:30 is when the Phillies may have said good bye to first place for the next dozen years or so.

don't pump up the Cubs too much though, we still have to face them in September, and even if we no longer have the Phillies to worry about then, we still need to win 3-1 to take a slim one game edge in the all-time season series against them.

The Yankees edge out a victory today to remain a slim six games behind the wild card leading Red Sox, a team that even without Beckett looks much better than the 'Bronx Bombers'. The Yankees finish on the road, so the last game at Yankee Stadium will be earlier than that. Is it possible they take the wrecking ball to it before the season even ends? Either way, I'd bet that it starts coming down before the Mets clean out their lockers for the last time.

Hot Potato

The game of hot potato continues. Can anyone remember the last time their was a serious division fight? 2006 was a runaway, and 2007 ended with a crazy game of hot potato, with both the Mets and the Phillies doing their best not be be stuck with the division in the end. The Phillies lost, or won depending on how you look at it, that game, but it appears we're playing a new round. I serously thought that by this point in August the Mets would be taking that potato like a football and heading into the end zone. Instead they floundered around in April, and whenever they've acquired the lead, they've made sure to play just bad enough to lose it again. Then the Phillies take a shot at playing badly, the Mets catch and pass them, and we repeat the process.

Sure, last night sucked. Not because of anything Philly is or did, but the same revolving story with the Mets. The bullpen giving it up in key situations, although Pedro could've been better, the inability to score after putting up runs early. This wasn't a 'great battle', it was an exercise in frustration. However, it was just one game, and even if it technically puts the Phillys back in first, there is still plenty of time to play. It's merely a two game series, and tonight is merely one more game. I wasn't surprised that the Mets, who were so hot, have faltered a little of the last five games, but it's time to make a serious play.

We've got Santana going, they've got Kendrick. A mismatch on paper, but then so was this division going into this year. Santana's pitched so brilliantly lately, you wonder if he's not just due for something more medicore. However, the Mets are also due to beat on Kendrick a little, and maybe they'll be able to mess up a now tired Phillies bullpen. Getting Kendrick out early serves that purpose as well. Keeping the bullpen puts pressure on their starters, and gives the Cubs a prime opportunity to beat on them this weekend. The Mets have an off day tomorrow, which allows them to throw everything they've got at the Phillies today and rest after.

It's an important game, but not a dire one by any stretch. Let's see the Mets get back to some decent baseball and put some solid distance between them and the Phillies. I'd like to see the September series as an opportunity to bury the Phillies, not a close battle.

On the (W)right Track

Does it get any better than this? The Mets continue to demonstrate that they are the class of the National League East. Braves dominate the Mets? Braves won seven of nine this year? Guess not. Better luck next year Braves.

The Phillies fall another game back, and now face the Dodgers, while the Mets face the Astros. The Dodgers are a better team, but their records aren’t that far apart. Then the two teams meet up for two next week. There are no real goals; just play better than the Phillies do. I’d like them to finish with the Phillies and be further ahead then they are now.

This was one of those games where you almost expect the Mets to drop one. They’ve been hot, they can’t win them all, Pedro can be hit or miss sometimes, and the bullpen hasn’t blown a game in a couple of days. Instead, the Mets pull one out, and now have Santana on the mound tomorrow. It doesn’t matter that it’s against Oswalt.

Now only are Ace’s supposed to stop losing streaks, but they’re supposed to string together winning streaks. All of a sudden the Mets have another winning streak, and Johan has a chance to make it longer. The Mets are on pace for 90 wins for the first time in ages. Johan on the mound, an emotional walk-off win, coupled with the return of Ryan Church, and the Mets will be rolling tomorrow night.

Things have to be looking bad for the Phillies. They lost ground despite playing the Nationals and winning two of three. They’re going into another four game series against the Dodgers, against whom they were swept recently. Could the Phillies fold under the pressure and go away so soon? Only time will tell.

Rookies are Rosey

I'm feeling rather chipper, excuse my pun, about the state of the Mets right now. Specifically about Mike Pelfrey, and Daniel Murphy. It's still too early to know anything about Murphy, but so far he's looked spectacular. He may not be the greatest outfielder, but he's not an outfielder. He's shown the willingness and ability to play anywhere however, and if the Mets decided the best way to fill left field, for now and the future, is to keep going with the conversion process for Murphy, I'm sure he'd turn out to be more than serviceable out there.

Pelfrey has got enough major league innings under his belt now to say that he's not a flash in the pan. Pelfrey is looking more and more like the real thing the more he pitches. The Mets organization, even without uber-conservative Peterson, wants to try to keep an eye on Pelfrey's inning count as the latest viewpoint is that it's important to keep the young pitchers from throwing too many innings too fast. Pelfrey is pitching too well for that. Manuel was probably thinking that he'd let Pelfrey pitch a solid six or so innings, and go to the bullpen. Pelfrey was too economical and too dominant to make a decision like that anything but stupid. With less than 100 pitches, Letting Pelfrey finish out the game for his first complete game was good for the bullpen's stamina, Pelfrey's confidence, the fans entertainment, and most importantly, It was good for the Mets.

Church looks like he could return soon, and where a month ago the Mets were desperate for a _second_ outfielder, now they're trying to figure out how to have playing time for five of them...not to mention Endy, who really has been a big help, despite the horrible start he got off to. Assuming Church comes back soon, there should be enough playing time for Church, Evans, Murphy, and Tatis among the two corner outfield positions, including the possibility that some of them could give Delgado a day off. Hopefully Endy can find some playing time also, to stay sharp, and maybe Beltran can get a day off here and there, depending on the playoff race.

Everything's coming up roses for the Mets lately.

Have to Listen to the Leaders

Reyes: Fly Like the Wind

Here's my take on the Reyes thing, I support him fully in this. I think it was a mistake to keep Manuel while firing Willie. If a change was going to work, it needed to be a clean slate, not someone leading that's been through the same problems. So when Manuel starts his tenure by pissing off Wright and Reyes, it doesn't look good.

Wright and Reyes, by example or otherwise, are going to be or already are the leaders of this team. The team revolves around them, and Manuel needs to work with them and allow them the ability to do that.

At least give Reyes the chance to walk it off, jog in the outfield, really see if he's hurt. Manuel, admittedly, said that it was his first day played into his decision. This isn't about Manuel though, it's about Reyes and winning the game, which we had less of a chance to do with Easley. Reyes wanted to play, and the only message this sends besides “I know best” is that he doesn't have to play hard when he's not feeling 100%. Reyes is who he is, and we don't need him molded into some media-darling cookie cutter player. So what if he throws a tantrum? Haven't so many of you been saying how you want to see fire and fight with this team? Well Reyes has got it, he is who he is and trying to make him something else is detrimental to the team, as we saw early in the season when Beltran reminding him to stop worrying about how he's perceived and play the game the way he knows how.

This whole firing situation reeks to me of setting up the team to fail. It sounds like “You can't fire me, I quit!” by Mets management. They've decided the team isn't going to win, set up a fall guy, and laid the groundwork for next year. What they forget is it's early June. I still think the Mets can and will break out of it, but it also feels like the media and management are fighting against it. The team needs to be able to relax, and it doesn't look like this is going to afford them that. Only time will really tell; will this team be counted out on August 1st and pull a Colorado Rockies to make the playoffs after the pressure is off? It's still too early for that too.

Rangers Can't Win

Texas Rangers are 1-5 all-time at Shea Stadium. Of course, they've never played the Mets. The Yankees ripped them apart back in 1975 when they played at Shea. The only certainty about this weekend is that the Rangers won't ever have a winning record at Shea Stadium. This isn't an absolute however, but it's unlike the Rangers will visit Shea in the World Series.

I 'have' to go to the game tomorrow. I'm looking more forward to getting my Nathan's Shea replica than the game though. It's sad, but it's a lose-lose situation for a while. They lose, it sucks. They win, okay fine, show me more. It is ultimately still kinda early, and the Phillies aren't going to run away, but they need to get around to figuring out what type of team they want to be and how to play like winners.

E. T. Phone Home

Tonight reminded me of the movie E.T., when E.T. and Elliot are both in the hospital and seem to be linked. The link is broken and Elliot begins to recover, but E.T. doesn't, being out of his element. So went tonight.

After eight innings of baseball, the Mets were deflated by Billy Wagner giving up the game tying home run, and Chase Utley drives in the tying run in the top of the 9^thin Florida for the Phillies. Things seem as bad as they could be, but then that link is broken and the Phillies to whom first place is as alien as Earth was to E.T., will soon be back where they belong.

The Marlins storm right back and set the Phillies down with a walk off grand slam. The link has been broken and it takes a little time before the Mets recover, in the bottom of the 13^th, with Beltran's sixth walk off home run of his career. Beltran's last walk off two run home run was against those very same Phillies back on May 23^rd of 2006. This was a long time ago, back when players like Steve Trachsel were still on this team,but we've been looking for turning points all season and maybe all the symmetry associated with this win is what they truly needed.

There was energy, determination, fight, and all sorts of good qualities during this game. Don't forget that Castillo was on base and Beltran at the plate because of a fielding error at third base, so the Mets were capitalizing on errors too. Beltran also had a key two-run single, on a clean line drive to center, earlier in this game to start the scoring. This hit also came after an error charged to Brandon Webb allowed Castillo to reach base after Reyes got the call from the ump on a close play at first. You take what breaks you can get and do the most with them.

Team chemistry? It's something that's not easy to tell from the outside, but teams that don't like each other don't pass out papers with formulas to make the playoffs. Do you think fans could stop getting on Carlos Beltran? The guy is great, I don't know where we'd be without him. He had a little power outage, and he had a little bit of a struggle getting runners in from scoring position lately, but so did everyone. Beltran is as vitally important to this team right now as Wright and Reyes.

Wagner's blown save may have been a punch to the stomach as Gary Cohen said, but Carlos Beltran coughed up the disappointing start to the season and booted it out of the ballpark in the 13^th.

Aboard the Runaway Train

I don't buy the argument that the Mets are .500 over the last 162. It's a misleading statistic. This team has rarely played .500 baseball. It's played better and it's played worse. Talent wise we all know they should be better. Anyone that tells you otherwise is either disappointed, or a Mets hater.

The biggest, and main reason for their failures has been their inconsistant hitting. They often fail to do the situational stuff, like get guys in from third, or get a big hit with runners on. They're doing better at scratching and clawing and adding on than last year, but often they only do this, failing to have the big 5-6 run innings. Some of this can be attributed to lack of power, notably the decline of Carlos Delgado, who's actually hit the ball well lately. However, as Keith would tell you, they didn't always used to look for the damn 3-run home run. Could this be all the problem is? Rather then trying to simply bloop one or make solid contact up the middle, everyone's trying to drive the ball high and far? Could someone please tell the Mets that a ground ball often scores the run as easily as the sac-fly, so stop worrying about driving the ball or long home runs and just get a hit. Maybe more guys could score from second and go first to third if every hit didn't look like it could be caught causing them to have to hang back.

I'll even give the Padres two of these games. Wagner is going to have the occasional blip, so maybe you give them Sunday. And the offense isn't always going to be on, maybe an opposing pitcher actually pitches well, and maybe the Padres can take one of those other three. Still, the Mets should've been able to take those other two, and they have no excuses. They're backing themselves against a wall for no reason.

100 games left. You could project numbers, guess or estimate what everyone is going to do. And you'd be wrong 95% of the time. The Mets are capable of winning anywhere from 45-70 of the remaining games. The Phillies are capable of losing anywhere from 40-60 games. Looking at the big picture is what got them into trouble last year. I say they look at being in position to take the division back from the Phillies by their next meeting in early July. That is 22 games prior to a four game series. Probably 23 games if you factor in the Yankee makeup. There is no reason why they can't play one game better than the Phillies every week, and be in a competitive place by July.

Who knows where they're going to go, how they're going to play, or if the Phillies are going to keep this pace. It's up to the Mets, and the most infuriating part of it all is that we could be on a train ride headed for a wreck with no way to get off.

Oh, and could they go ahead and announce the Yankee makeup date already? If they'r really planning on doing it in two and a half weeks, it'd be nice to know. Especially if they make it at an iffy time like Friday afternoon.

Where's the Spark?

I'm as frustrated as the next guy. I'm just thankful there aren't too many angry pessimists reading this blog, harassing me. I don't think firing Willie is the answer, but at this point I don't think there is much the Mets could try that I wouldn't accept.

The one thing I hold on to, is last year I felt like had that horrible September been earlier, and had the Phillies played better, the Mets would've been able to snap out of it. It just came too late for them, and I feel like they're really letting the pressure get to them.

They need to find a way to succeed, and then once the pressure is off, move on. This might boil down to getting some lucky bounces and having some bad teams make mistakes to cause them to have some big comebacks and big winning streaks. Maybe a big (June 30th, 2000) comeback is what they need to say, "Alright, we can do this." and do it. Or maybe they need to lose some players/coaches/managers. Or maybe they need to be 20 games out in mid-august and have a crazy run once they've been counted out.

Maybe they need to just lock out the media for a day or two and focus. I'm still not panicked, but lately that's more because I know the Phillies and Braves aren't that good/healthy than because I like how the Mets are playing.

Good.

Beltran's making statements now? Good. I love it. I'm glad he thinks the Mets are the team to beat. They are. They own this division. This was my favorite part.

"I don't care," Beltran said. "They boo me in Houston. One more city won't make a difference."

Good. Stop worrying about what fans think and just take what belongs to you. Maybe Willie's right when he suggested you becoming a father gave you confidence.

It's still February and I'm starting to feel some strong magic with this team..March 31st can't come soon enough.

So Long

Oh Look, the Phillies aren't in the Playoffs. Did anyone not see this coming? Honestly I thought they may win a game just because they can occasionally hit the ball and no one pitches that well all the time, but apparently not. Good job further proving that the division title in the East was lost and not won.

Most people out there are saying the Mets would've lost too, and while that may be true, I don't think they would've made as poor a showing as the Phillies. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter. Congratulations to the Rockies, and It's hard to not feel good about a team winning it's first postseason series, even if it wasn't against top-quality opposition.

The Mets won just as many playoff games as the Phillies this year. Here's to another 14 years of playoff drought for Philadelphia.

a sigh of relief?

Resounding weekend. I left work Friday with the magic number at 9. I arrive at work today and it's at 5. Three Mets wins, and even though it doesn't feel like a winning streak, it still is. It is said that good teams find a way to win, and nothing defines that than a bottom of the 11th featuring Aaron Sele, and Scott Schoeneweis for the save and the third consecutive win, on a day when the Phillies had lost. Delgado has his power stroke, which is the most important part of his game, Wright has another game-winning RBI, Alou is still hitting everything, and somehow, the bullpen's gotten some outs.

Plenty to worry about still, but hopefully they can get these 5 games out of the way, and be able to rest bullpen and injuries the final weekend.

As for the Phillies...I was in Washington DC this weekend to see the final two games of RFK Stadium, against the Phillies. The Nationals are really a bad team, and Saturday was at best 50/50 Nats fans to Phillies fans. Predictably, once the Phillies scored three in the top of the 10th, most of the Nationals fans left. Me and my friend decided to make our way towards the right field part of the stadium to be closer to the stairs we needed to exit from. As we walked around the stadium, each section noticed our Mets stuff, and took the opportunity to yell and boo us. It's an interesting feeling listening to most of the upper deck of a stadium booing you, It was like a wave of boos as we walked around. Of course I got in my "First place!", and "Better luck next year!" yells in, as well as pointing at the Mets score on the out of town scoreboard. Oddly, I didn't hear anything from the Phillies fans on Sunday.

Let's see the Mets come out swinging tonight, picking up that extra half game with the Phillies off, and go into the final 6 games with a decent lead.

Eyes on the Prize

What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. So at this rate, the Mets should be superb by October. Going into last weekend you figured the Mets had only a week left of baseball, and then a week of coasting. It looks like they decided to do it the other way, taking off for a week, hopefully followed by a week of good solid baseball. They went from being probably the first or second team to clinch, to a team letting the competition have a shot at the prize.

If the Mets play doesn't give you faith in a postseason berth, and why should it, you have but to look south, at Philadelphia. This team is truly abysmal. They can outhit just about anyone, but when it comes to the playoffs and October, hitting just doesn't get it done; You need to be able to pitch. The inability for the Phillies, and the Braves, to play truly competitive baseball for any length of time has been a double-edged sword. Sure it makes winning the division a little easier, but It bestows an air of confidence on the Mets that they haven't deserved. It's about time for the Mets to grab the prize that's been sitting their all season long for the taking, before they knock it into the Phillies lap.

Brave Woes

We got the one game, which of course is less than optimal. However, we retain a comfortable four loss lead in the division. This was a much more important series for them than for us. Had the Mets won two, the Braves would be six back and in trouble. Now they're not as much in trouble, but like they have for the past three months, they'll be playing a series this weekend for third place.

Worry-warts are saying that this is the same old Mets team, struggling against the Braves. I think differently. That particular struggle was put to rest last year. The reason the Mets are 4-8 against the Braves this year is precisely that they're not that good. The flip side is that the Braves know that the Mets are the team to beat, and they don't seem to have any sort of struggles in playing the Mets. While the Mets see the Braves as just one of the teams they have to hold off, the Braves see these games as must wins. The Braves know that they have to beat the Mets to get to the top, and they play these games appropriately.

The Braves have to play this games this hard, because they're not that good. They know they need to get through the Mets to win the division, because even winning what they have against the Mets, they're not in first. If the Mets had even split these 12 games with Atlanta, I'd probably be discussing resting players already. All is not lost though. The Mets have two options that they can very easily take. The first is to start playing like they're capable, beating teams left and right, starting with the Marlins this weekend. If they play strongly, there is no way the Braves can catch up. The other option is to play the six remaining games against the Braves hard, and put the distance between them that way.

The Mets have the capability to play well, and to win this division. They are easily the best team in at least the East, if not the whole league, and when they play well no one else has much of a chance.

Continuing to Roll

I strongly feel that John Maine got snubbed, but I'm not surprised. He suffered because Billy Wagner deserves to be there too, is a bigger name, and was the 4^th Met selected. I feel bad for Kevin Youkilis too, who certainly deserved to be there. I really feel baseball should attempt to honor guys like this, who would go to the game excited, and not guys like Manny Ramirez, who will go reluctantly, if at all. To make the All-Star game more meaningful, fill it with players that want to be there. We don't necessarily need guys playing all out, colliding with catchers and getting into fights, but these young guys that want to be there will play hard, and enjoy playing. That's what would make it watchable.

The Mets dropped the finale, missing out on sweeping the Phillies. It doesn't matter, they had a bit of a sloppy day and left the Phillies with a little bit of hope. It's misguided hope, as the Mets now have won eight of their last 10, and now hold a five game, six losses, lead over the Phillies. The Braves are four games back and five losses. I'd be happy with picking up one more game on each before the All-Star break. Colorado has been playing badly since sweeping the Yankees, and while they're due to start winning some, the Mets can take two out of three easily, even with Vargas pitching one of the games.

Mike Pelfrey looked good, I've thought he looked good all year long, just not quite ready. He looked more ready this time, if not quite there. I feel like one of these days he's suddenly going to develop some confidence, make a small adjustment with his pitching, and suddenly will start winning. I'd like him to start throwing more innings, but even three runs in five innings at a ballpark like that keeps the team in the game. Maybe if he keeps pitching like that, the offense will feel last pressured to score nine runs to win for him, relax a bit and just start hitting, and making plays behind him defensively.

I don't know what's up with Oliver Perez. We all know he's pretty much a head case, and when he's made such good progress this year I'm not sure I want him pitching injured either. We've in a good situation right now, with a good lead. If he's really hurting, we could DL him retroactively, he'd be eligible to come off by the games after the break, and we could get some help up here in the meantime.

Carlos Gomez has picked up a bit of a reputation as a hot dog, which is why Joe Smith asked Carlos Beltran how to say “hot dog” in Spanish. “Perro caliente,” Beltran replied. Gomez seemed to like the new nickname. I like it too.

Speaking of the All-Star break, I hope Ricky Ledee doesn't see the other side of it. Lastings Milledge has starting playing rehab games, and I see no reason why he shouldn't be with the team by then. Whether to try to contribute, or to showcase to be traded. Willie seems to be alternating Ledee and Gomez anyway, and I don't know anyone that looks forward to seeing Ledee's mangled picture up on the scoreboard.