Recap

Believe it or not, I am now closer to the Mets than I was a week ago, and yet my ability to see, comment, and blog is reduced.

I am currently stationed in North Carolina, headed toward New York, but the house I am in does not have access to the Mets cable channel, and the internet access and computer are too slow to even try to watch highlights from the web.

But from what I have been able to glean, here is my summary of the past week:

1- The Mets are slowly pulling away from the Phillies, despite the fact that the Mets have been playing the healty Brewers at Milwaukee, and the Phils have been playing the Nationals.

2- If Ryan Church can stay healthy, the Mets have a much better chance of success.

3- To win games, keep Aaron Heilman off the mound.

4- The lineup seems to find a new clutch hero every day. The big hitters (Delgado, Betran, and Wright) are sharing duties well.

5- Stokes and Ayala have so far proven to be great pickups.

On Friday, the Phils come to town at a bad time for them and a good time for the Mets. This is a series that calls out for a sweep by the home team, which would mean a 6 game cushion and a real chance of holding on.

Yesterday and today

Yesterday was a game that the Mets never should have lost, and yet, as it was playing out, most people would have been sure that they were going to lose. Especially after the 5th inning.

The Mets had a 7-1 lead through 4 1/2 in Philly. You'd be excused if you thought the game was in the bag. Perhaps with a solid starting effort from Pedro, you would have been right. But control was an issue today; Pedro gave up 5. And so it was 7-5 with 4 innings to go.

And Mets fans know that a 2 run lead is rarely enough for the Mets bullpen. Stokes was okay, but Heilman and Schonweis gave up the tieing (9th inning) and winning (13th inning) runs.

The Mets ability to score in the first inning has gotten a lot of publicity, but what I have noticed is that they rarely score in the later innings.

That all changed today. Trailing 3-2 after 7, the Mets scored 4 in the 8th. Delgado hit 2 homers on the day; Murphy had a clutch double. Now this is more like it! The Phils bullpen is not unbeatable. Santana gave up 3 in 5; the bullpen, especially Stokes and Ayala, were solid.

click here for the Mets game wrap-up

nervous wait

I'll be watching the results of the Dodgers-Phils game today. If the Phils win like they did yesterday, they will be 1/2 game out of first. The Mets were looking fantastic, having won 9 of 10, but they have dropped the last 2 at home against the Astros, once again proving that they can't match it up with the NL Central's best teams. It doesn't bode well for the playoffs.

Meanwhile, John Maine got belted yesterday, and may not return this season. Pedro Feliciano was the goat today, giving up a couple of homers in the 10th. Aaron Heilman also allowed a run to score when he relieved Oliver Perez in the 7th. Perez was solid but not exceptional by his standards. And Heilman?

"We aren't going to be perfect out there," Heilman said.

Thanks for that, but I had already noticed.

Jekyll and Hyde (with Hyde hiding at the moment)

I'm enjoying this Jekyll phase of the Mets season. Another shutout (Santana, who pitched 7); a perfect bullpen (Heilman and Ayala each pitched an inning and set down 6 straight - I was especially encouraged by the formerly 'bat-shy- Ayala's 10 strikes and 1 ball); and timely (and lucky) hitting by David Wright, who blooped a single, and the red-hot Brian Schneider, who slammed a 2-run homer.

The Phils are slamming the Dodgers, so the lead will stay at 2 1/2.

Bay Side Story

The Mets are gonna have their way tonight!
The Mets are gonna have their day tonight!
The Mets are gonna get a hit from David Wright!

pulling away a little

The Nationals offered a little help today, breaking a 12 game losing streak to edge the Phillies 4-3 in Philly. Meanwhile, Carlos Delgado was silencing his critics. With a little help from the official scorer, he went 5 for 5. Only one of those hits, a ripped double to right, was clean. There were 2 ground balls through the middle, and a third that was fielded and thrown away by the second baseman. I'm not sure how the official scorer turned that one into a hit. In the ninth, Delgado hit a liner to left that was a sure out, but the left fielder lost it in the lights. That also went as a hit, and Wright scored in a walk off win.

Pedro Martinez pitched 8 plus strongs innings, then Ayala got the win, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless. He must have that arm angle all fixed now.

The Mets are 2 1/2 games in front and have won 9 of 10. The Marlins have dropped back to 6 out.

Mets get another pitcher

The Mets won again today, as did Philly, so the race stayed the same. But one thing did change: the Mets added another dodgy pitcher to their stable. Al Reyes had been sent to the minors by Tampa Bay after having a tough year: two stints on the disabled list, and 2 tazer incidents with Florida cops. He was pitching well when he returned by his second DL trip, but maybe there is a little more to the story than that. In any event, this guy is a real closer: he saved 26 of 30 games last year. The Mets are hoping that a change of scenery will heal his arm and halt his late-night bar episodes. He'll go straight to double-A ball until he gets it together.

It's not a bad strategy: with Wagner still on the DL and looking doubtful for return this year, to assemble a bunch of possible diamonds in the rough, in the hope that a couple will shine up real good. The only thing is: would you trust any of these guys when they walk to the mound, in, say, game 7 of the World Series?