And Back to Baseball.....

After a decidedly mediocre week of picks in Week 4 of the NFL action (6-7 against the spread thus far), it’s an easy matter to turn my head back to baseball. The Mets finally get to think about next year. The Twins and Tigers battle for the final playoff spot tonight. The Yanks are all set to play somebody. And Arod incredibly reached 30 homers and 100 rbi’s on his very last at-bat of the regular season.

That last fact is the most amazing stat of all. I’m not crazy about Arod but it is almost magical that he managed to attain still another baseball record in such a fashion. He had 28 homers and only 93 rbi’s entering the contest. Going into the sixth inning, he still needed two dingers and 7 rbi’s for his record 13th 30-homer and 100 ribbie season!

No problem for Arod. He hit a 3-run homer early in the sixth and, after the Rays walked Teixeira with two men on, for the sole reason of guaranteeing their man Pena would stay tied with Teixeira for the AL lead in home runs, Arod had his chance. He made the most of it too. I have to give him a lot of credit. Finally. Even if it could have happened to a nicer guy. He missed 28 games! Unbelievable!

Getting back to the Mets though, we’ll be seeing some changes very soon, and probably first with the coaching staff. It’s pretty much assured that their pitching coach Warthen will be replaced, a move that can’t really be faulted as the Mets staff led the league in walks. They may get a new third base coach as well, and the two moves taken together set a strong precedent for rewarding success and punishing failure. A good thing.

If the Mets do stay the course with their core players, they’ll only need a left fielder. I’ve read over and over that they need a first baseman, a left fielder and a catcher but that’s not necessarily the case.

Omir Santos showed a lot of promise as a clutch rbi guy for a good portion of the season, at least while I was still paying attention. Schneider really had a horrible year at the plate but he’ll be leaving. Yeah, they need a catcher but not a great catcher, not somebody who’ll break the bank.

At first base, who knows? They could re-sign Delgado if he’ll go for a limited number of years, say one or two. And Daniel Murphy, though not possessed of the power numbers required for a first baseman, certainly qualifies as a reserve at first. He did lead the team in home runs even if the number was only 12. He’s a young guy who can only get better.

That leaves left field and one proven pitcher. Left field should be easy. I’d love for the Mets to get Matt Holliday. I don’t think they will but they should. He’s a legitimate star and he only gets better when everything’s on the line. The Cards will probably try to keep him, but the pockets in St Loo aren’t that deep. If Holliday doesn’t become the World Series MVP, he may be available. After all, the Cards already have Pujols. Talk about an embarrassment of riches.


Holliday batted .313 this year with 24 homers and 109 rbi’s. After being traded to St. Louis, his numbers on the year improved dramatically. He smacked 13 hr’s for the Cards in just 2/3 of the at-bats he had in Oakland. His career numbers are .318 and, well, he’s basically your everyday run-of-the-mill 30 homer 100 rbi guy. He’ll be 30 years old in January.

Assuming the Mets can’t get Holliday, or if they’re just not interested, a more likely explanation although I have no idea why any team wouldn’t want one of the premiere players in both leagues, there are also some other nice players out there.

There’s Jason Bay, who was even more productive for the Red Sox, but he batted just .267 and he strikes out a LOT, with 162 K’s to Holliday’s 101. Another intriguing possibility is getting Hideki Matsui, who, despite garnering just 456 at-bats, hit 28 homers and knocked in 90 runs. He’s also the definition of “clutch”. Plus, how nice would it be to keep the Godzilla in New York?

There’re also some other possibly good choices but to my eyes riskier propositions. Rick Ankiel will be available and so will Andruw Jones. Then there’re Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero and former Met Xavier Nady, to take a bit of a step down. Most of these are either centerfielders or right-fielders but I’m sure Beltran may be ready to move to another outfield position that may be easier on his legs.

At first base, all things considered, I’d stay with Delgado, assuming he can be had reasonably. Available are Hank Blalock, Russ Branyan, Ross Gload, Nick Johnson and Adam LaRoche. While any of them could supply some power, it would be impossible for any of them to provide the leadership and continuity that Delgado would.

Then there’s the starting pitching situation. The possibilities there are almost too numerous to mention. But there are some big names, Bedard and Hudson, Lackey and Lee, Myers and Penny, Piniero and Prior, Sheets and Wolf, Washburn and Brandon Webb, who’d be one of my favorites if healthy.

For comic relief, Carl Pavano will be a free agent once again, currently serving his one-year contract out with the Twins after putting together a pretty nice year. Overall, he’s 14-12 with a 5.10 ERA with 147 strikeouts and just 39 walks.

The Mets situation is fixable. Easily fixable. Things would have to fall their way but don’t they always? I just heard that Jose Reyes will have surgery after so long dismissing the possibility. Beltran is still hurting a bit apparently. Wright can’t hit for power anymore. Delgado is old.

That’s the core. But can the Mets luck stay bad?

Mets and Manny - One And Done

I had expected a blowout. After all, Chan Ho Park never had anything, no wins, no stuff, no control, you name it, he didn’t have it, except maybe a plane ticket out. The Mets, on the other hand, had only the best pitcher in both leagues on the mound, the guy with the awful stuff, that fantastic control and overpowering confidence.

And hadn’t the Mets come out of their funk? Hadn’t they just beat the Braves in Atlanta twice in a row. Wasn’t Beltran still knocking the cover off? Wasn’t Delgado now in the lineup? And wasn’t David Wright starting to look less ridiculous out there?

Yeah, I wanted a blowout but what I got was so much better….a pitching duel to match any I could remember, in recent memory anyway. Who was that guy on the mound? What had he done with Chan Ho? And how did he keep befuddling all those Mets batters?

For six full innings, they matched zeroes and Park had allowed just one hit, Santana was doing a better job with strikeouts but Park may have looked even more masterful, as he doesn’t have the wicked fastball or changeup that Santana mixes in to so much effect.

As anyone would have expected, the game changed as soon as Park left the game, ironically enough, for an Eric Bruntlett that Santana just blew away. (Park had at least managed to walk twice).

You knew that the Mets would score, you just wondered how they’d do it. You didn’t have to wait long. Scott Eyre walked Delgado to open the bottom of the 7th but then got Wright on a pop and lucked out when Murphy drove a ball to deep left center for the second out.

The Mets pinch-hit Tatis for Jeremy Reed to get that right-handed bat in the lineup. The Phils matched up by bringing in their righthander Durbin. Tatis gave a mighty swing that sent his broken bat all the way to shortstop but left the ball dribbling down the third base line.

The play had trouble written all over it and trouble was just what the Phillies got. Third baseman Pedro Feliz charged the ball and unleashed a wild throw to first that got past the first baseman and all the way to the wall in short right field.

Delgado meanwhile had advanced to second and chugged on down to third upon seeing the overthrow. For whatever reason, either because Tatis was on his way to second or because he didn’t ever expect chuggin’ Delgado to advance, or maybe he even saw Razor Shines, the third base coach throw up the stop sign, Werth hesitated for a second or two.

It was all Carlos needed. Ignoring the stop sign, here came big Carlos. When he finally did release the ball, Werth threw a strike to the plate but he had waited too long. Delgado hit the dirt and was sliding through the catcher’s feet when he got tagged. The Mets had their one.

Why did Carlos go? Because he knew, Chan Ho knew, the Mets bench knew, the fans in the stadium knew and everybody at home watching knew that one run was all that was going to be needed on this day.

Oh sure, there was some concern on my part when Manuel brought in Ryan Church to bat for Santana shortly thereafter. Especially after Church struck out swinging on a ridiculous outside pitch and who should I see warming up but Pedro Felicicano!

But Pedro would prevail on this day. He must have known Delgado would pummel him if he didn’t. And, after Victorino threw another scare into everybody, Feliciano managed to strike out hulking Ryan Howard.

That’s when I really knew it was over. If Feliciano wouldn’t allow himself to lose it, there was no way that K-Rod would. Today it would be one and done.

And of course it was, despite the two long, long fly balls hit by Ibanez and Stairs in the top of the ninth. Beltran squeezed the last out and it was over. The one run would carry the day.

And speaking of “one and done”, I just learned that Manny Ramirez, probably my second favorite player in MLB (second to Beltran), failed a drug test and will be suspended for fifty games, costing himself 7.7 million dollars. It looks as if Major League Baseball is serious.

One and done.

The Answer - Playing Smart Baseball

Let ‘em play. It’s May 4th, for Pete’s sake. All the brilliant sports-riders know best, of course. The Mets have no heart. The Mets have no edge. The Mets have no pitching. Oliver Perez is a bum. Gimme a break already.

Let’s go through the field and evaluate what we have:

1B – Carlos Delgado – we may not have him for the year as he’s nicked up right now, but who’d you rather have than Carlos #1 (or Carlos #2 depending upon your point of view). Carlos is a hitter’s hitter, who records every at-bat in a log. How scientific is that? What players do that? Is this a guy who needs an edge?

Tatis has been his backup. He’s only recently started to hit the way he can hit. I look forward to seeing the old Fernando again, either in left or right fields, or first base. Dan Murphy can also spell Delgado in a pinch. From what I’ve seen ths far, he may be a better risk at first than in the outfield.

2B – Castillo and Cora – Castillo has been pretty good so far and Cora, in his limited playing time, has really shown me some flash in the field. There are a lot of second basemen who hit better but I’ll take fielding consistency at this position and we’ve got that, at the very least.

3B – David Wright – once again, who’d you rather see there? He’s shown some great fielding lately and, while he hasn’t hit in the clutch yet, you can say that about a lot of players, including Texas Rangers star shortstop/third baseman Michael Young. He’ll get better in the clutch, and I’ve seen improvement since he’s been moved out of the three spot, which he couldn’t and shouldn’t be forced to handle, not when Carlos Beltran is on the team.

SS – Jose Reyes – once again, who’d you rather have? Jimmy Rollins? No thanks. Hanley Ramirez? Not me. I want to see Jose vacuuming up everything in the hole or to either side and running like crazy. He does need to recognize the game situation though, and he looks as if he’s trying.

C – Ah, now here’s a sore spot. Three catchers means you really have no catchers. Schneider just isn’t really good in any area. I haven’t seen anything from him, which is why we see so much of Castro, who’s always got a reason for not playing, it seems. Now we’re getting to see Omir Santos, and I’ll take him over the other two any day of the week. So there’s hope at catcher. If he can keep it up, Santos is the answer.

CF – still once again, who’d you rather see in center than Carlos Beltran? Great fielder, great hitter, good speed, and only occasionally seems to be sleep-walking. Time off may be the answer to that quirk, but not too much please, just enough to give him that “edge”.

LF – okay, here’s a bit of a problem, but it’s getting better. Murphy shows some signs of calming down in the field and hits the cover off the ball. Sheffield spells him and he’s a great hitter, but you can downgrade him to just good lately. All in all, they’re an entertaining duo. You’ll get excitement from both of them, but sometimes good and sometimes bad.

RF – Ryan Church just doesn’t do it for me. He doesn’t hit in the clutch, he only occasionally seems to hit at all but he fields the position really well. He doesn’t seem to come through, at least not this year, and I’d love to see anybody else in the lineup rather than him. One reason Beltran had no steals until recently is that he was followed in the lineup by a totally oblivious Church. No edge here at all.

SP – Okay, now here’s a problem being addressed. Santana and a bunch of non-producers has been the story but there are some encouraging signs lately from both Mike Pelfrey, John Maine and Livan Hernandez. The only recent dud is crazy Ollie, which might turn out to be a mistake of Pavanian proportions. Stay tuned.

RP – Putz and K-Rod have been lights out, for the most part, but then there’s Sean Green, who really hasn’t been getting it done lately. Maybe the answer for him is less usage, not more. But these young guys filling out the pen show a lot of promise, moreso than, say, the Yankees have in their pen.

Mgr – Jerry Manuel’s my type of manager. Smart with a good personality for handling all the different types you find on a baseball field. Once again, who’s better? Sciosia? Valentine? Girardi? Come on. You won’t get Francona, one of the only managers who might be better, but he’s a Manuel-type anyway.

So there’s very little reason to complain, given the makeup of the team. It’s a very tricky business. If Omar did make any mistakes, it was signing Perez and making the trade for Church and Schneider for LoDuca. Of all the myriad moves he’s made over the years, that’s not really much to whine about.

The players have to just start playing as smart as the manager. Reyes can’t over-run bases and get thrown out, Beltran can’t take a play off by not sliding, Wright has to take a different approach with two strikes or with men on base. And Manuel has to keep his prodigious baseball savvy in check . Sometimes the answer is the obvious one, not one that only a genius could even conceive.

But it’s all fixable. The most serious problem nobody talks about is the problem with Delgado. Even without him, however, the Mets should be okay, with enough pitching and defense to win a lot of games.

But they have to play (and manage) smart baseball. We haven’t seen much of that. They seem to have reverted to the form they had in Willie Randolph’s last days, which is to say they’re doing just enough to lose.

Whatta Relief!!

For a Mets fan, nothing could be better than this opening to the season. The first game could have been straight from the desk of Omar Minaya. Santana gets his 6 or thereabouts, Green gets it to Putz and Rodriguez. All was right in the world of blue.

After a day for us Mets fans to contemplate our good fortune,we got to witness a game that was probably indicative of many games to come. The starter was good but not great, or not careful, and Pedro Feliciano was his old self; that is to say he gave up two more runs before handing it over to any competent reliever. And then the competent guys, Putz and K-Rod again, were either tired or just unlucky and ran into lots of adventures before the game mercifully ended.

Luckily for the Metsies, they got some tremendous production on the other side of things, especially from the two Carloses. Nine runs is awfully hard for any team to overcome and certainly the Reds were not equal to the task last night. But they put a real scare into K-Rod. In fact, I thought he was giving us his best Aaron Heilmann impression. He looked as if he was afraid to put the ball anywhere near the plate.

Yeah, all you have to be is a little off, and a little unlucky, and you can easily lose. The first base umpire made a bad call, or a homey call I tend to think, ruling that Delgado had left the bag too early, before he had the ball, before pegging a throw over to third to try to nail Cinci’s new star Brandon Phillips. Replays showed the umpire was dead wrong and my letter to the Commissioner is on its way.

So, in lieu (does anybody say instead anymore) of two outs and a man on third with the score 9-7, it became one out and a man on first and third. Big difference! Especially for a K-Rod who was struggling to say the least. He went 2-0 on half the Cinci lineup, seemingly following the John Franco school of avoiding the plate at all costs, hoping the batter either swings or the umpire gives him the ol’ 6-inches off the plate strike.

K-Rod got neither the wild swings from the batters nor the corner calls.. Soon the bases were loaded. But K-Rod showed his toughness and smarts by striking out Gonzalez on a high hard one and then getting a little lucky when Nix blasted a pitch to the deepest part of centerfield.

So the Mets can win even when their starter doesn’t pitch well. And even when their relievers don’t knock anyone’s socks off, and that was definitely the case last night. And even when the horrible umpires in MLB do their best thing, which is to miss obvious calls.

And that will be important because the Mets starters just aren’t that good, despite some things I’ve heard to the contrary. For example, I’ve heard that Pelfrey could be a number 2 starter anywhere. That’s baloney. A number 3 or 4 starter maybe but not a legitimate 2. He may be the best of the rest though.

Just how bad are the rest? Given a choice of pitchers on a particular day, of the three, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Livan Hernandez, I’d pitch Livan. I have very little confidence in Maine, he’s with his head in the clouds all the time and Perez is just crazy, especially after the fourth or fifth inning. I’d gladly select Ollie to pitch a playoff game but not those regular season yawners, yawners to him anyway.

The bats won’t always be as prolific and the pitchers won’t always be good, but given last night’s game as an example, opponents will still have to either score a lot of runs or get by those last two stalwarts, Putz and K-Rod. And that won’t be too easy.

Yankee fans are dying right now, of course, what with CC’s inauspicious opener and Wang’s bashing last night. You can almost bet that A.J. Burnet will have trouble too, if not for the season, at least for Game 3. There’s a lot of pressure pitching for New York and none of these fellows will find it terribly easy to finally get comfortable.

As I’ve said before, Sabathia starts slowly and if the papers (I hate media, don’t you) beat him up in April, there may not be much of CC left for May through September, even as big as he is. And if he should have an extended bad period, which he has had before, it’s all over but the shoutin’.

Texeira’s done nothing yet either, and Colby Rasmus is not the stuff that dreams are made of. And I don’t like their batting order either.

Jeter is not a leadoff hitter. He’s not fast enough. He’s no real threat on the bases. Damon isn’t The Flash reincarnated either but he can lead off. Jeter should bat 2nd. He’s got that good bat control and he’s smart and unselfish. The 3-4-5 of Teixeira, Matsui and Posada is the best the Yankees can send up there right now, but it certainly isn’t an awe-inspiring middle. For example, I’d prefer any combination of Wright, Beltran and Delgado.

Then there’s the 6 spot though the 9 spot. Cano’s at 6 but he should probably move up in the order, Nady’s been at the 7 spot but he’s a bigger threat to me than Posada at 5, in the long run anyway. Then there’s Ransom and Gardner at 8 and 9 and I’d certainly have to agree with that for now.

But, until Arod returns, I’d like to see Gardner, Jeter, Damon, Teixeira, Matsui, Nady, Posada, and either Cano and Ransom or the other way around depending on who has less speed. Arod’s return will not only solidify the center of the lineup but tend to extend the strength through the order.

And how ‘bout some relief?

Thanks No Matter What

It's the bottom of the 6th at Shea, and the Mets are still down 3-1 to the Marlins and who knows how this thing will turn out. But as I've watched, I realize I'm thankful I've had the opportunity to watch certain players all season long. Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado....they've really given us their all, at the plate and in the field. This occurred to me as I watched Beltran run hard to catch up to one of those Texas Leaguers and make the sliding underhanded grass-skimming catch, the kind of play that can spark a team. That catch brought to mind other Beltran highlight-reel catches, his run into the wall the other day, pictured above, his over the shoulder hill-climbing grab in deepest centerrfield last year in Houston, and his face-smashing run into Mike Cameron. Jose, what can you say about Jose? Night in and night out, he does it all, at the plate, in the field, even in the dugout, and certainly on the basepaths. Tonight, I watched him charge to his left to snag a softly-hit ground ball, then fire to Delgado, who made a beautiful scoop of Jose's hurried throw to nail another Marlins baserunner. And that play brought to mind other plays only Jose could make, all those triples, Jose charging with that high-kicking gallop of his around second and on his way to third. Yeah, and Jose and his high-jumping pirouette to celebrate, well, just about everything. Delgado too, he's been the big guy at the plate, all those timely homers and doubles, sure, but pretty nifty around the bag too this year, at least in the second half. Where would this team be without Delgado? But, alas, there aren't really enough of these guys on this Mets team. You could argue that Wright belongs in this upper- echelon too, I guess, and it's true that he's been pretty steady all year. And he has a knack for making the spectacular play at third, but too often he misses the easy ones. And too often he doesn't hit when you need him the most. My point is .... this team's been a lot of fun to watch, whether or not it makes the playoffs. But there just isn't enough balance. There are the superstars I've mentioned and then a bunch of guys who try hard; sometimes they'll come through but more often they won't. I cringe when I see some of them. I won't name names, we know who they are. Yeah, it's 4-1 now and Feliciano has failed again, and Heilman is on his way to ruining any chance the Mets will have to come back in this thing. How often have we seen that? A lot. Wright just made a great stop of a hard line drive to keep the Mets in it but here's Willingham to face Heilman with the bases loaded. Advantage Willingham, at least in this situation. It's hard to think of a batter who wouldn't have the advantage against Heilman. Heilman steps off the bag, he's afraid to let it go. I don't blame him. He misses outside, it's 3 and 2 now in another excruciating Mets moment. Now he forces in the 5th run with a ball thrown not only into the dirt but into the dirt about four feet in front of the plate. And here comes Manuel. Again. So...does this team deserve to make the playoffs? Not really. There just aren't enough good players. I won't harp on the relief staff again, but really.....and what could this team accomplish in the playoffs anyway? But they're fun to watch. There can be no doubt about that. Thanks, Carlos and Carlos and Jose. Oh, and Johan too. Too bad there aren't more like you.

A Time For Heroes

It's that time of the year when a team needs its heroes to take it over the top. The Mets have two or three right now, Johan Santana, Carlos Delgado and Daniel Murphy. I would say not for David Wright. Swinging at a pitch a foot out of the strike zone with the winning run on third base automatically disqualified him. I guess he was going for the RBI record. Well, that's cool, David, but there was a ball game to be won.

The Mets lost again tonight and I'm sick about it. I've stood by this team through all the thick and thin of this season, the drought under Willie Randolph, the totally foreseeable injuries to ancient Latinos, and the horrible relief pitching. But tonight's loss was so excruciating that I think I'm done. I can't root for a team that plays the game the way the Mets played it tonight.

The Mets needed a hero tonight. Carlos Delgado tried to be the man again by smacking a grand slam. Daniel Murphy certainly tried his best to win with his triple to lead off the bottom of the ninth. The score was tied. They just needed one run, 90 feet. But Wright was either going for the Mets RBI record or was just plain over-anxious. He foolishly struck out. On a pitch about as close to the strike zone as the dugout.

I mean....things aren't bad enough. The ridiculous President wants to spend 700 billion dollars we don't have to bail out the financial industry. The economy's in danger. Well, HELLO, the economy's been in danger ever since you took the reins. The Governor wants to double the tolls on our Parkway and Turnpike to help the construction industry. Well, guys, what about us? What about the poor saps who've been working all their lives to try to make ends meet?

And now this. My principal diversion in life, the Mets, can't make a fire with a box of matches and a can of gasoline. A squeeze would have brought the runner home. You've got about 20 speedsters on the roster. All they had to do was pinch-run for Murphy and lay one down. Pinch-hit for Wright if he's not able. (But not Castillo, that would be asking too much).

So it wasn't the relief pitching tonight. It was just bad baseball. Stupid baseball, the kind they played for three months under Willie. I'm tired of it. This team doesn't deserve to win, plain and simple. They just don't get it. They just don't get it done. They don't deserve to win anything, not the World Series, not the NL East and not a wildcard. They just deserve whatever record they wind up with, and second place is even more than they deserve.

Look around at the other teams in the various races around the league. Look at the Brewers. They had C.C. Sabathia pitching on three days rest tonight and he was great. Prince Fielder has been playing his heart out in these money games, reminding me of his Dad in his glory days.

Look at the Red Sox. Big Papi played half the season with a wrist that wasn't working right. A little fella named Dustin Pedroia was batting cleanup and doing a bang-up job of it. They lost Manny and didn't miss a beat. Players stepped up (oh no, did I really say that)?

The Dodgers won something like nine in a row once they replaced Jeff Kent as second base. Joe Torre just keeps on rolling. The White Sox, the Twins, they have guys who come to play. They try hard every day and look pretty consistent every day. Not like these Mets.

If only the Phillies hadn't lost again and revived my hopes. If only they hadn't had so many chances that they may as well have thrown away. If only I hadn't been looking for a hero who never materialized. After all, the Mets just have early-inning heroes.

Yes, the Mets are still in the race, I realize that. But, after last night,I think it's just a mathematical anomaly. The heroes are all in Milwaukee.

Of Real Men and Weakness

Shawn Merriman had some big trouble with his knees. ACL, MCL, whatever….it was serious. Merriman had been feeling pain in his knees since 2006. Yet the man still wanted to play. He was panned far and wide for his decision, by players, coaches, former coaches, TV analysts, doctors….the whole gamut of people and professions who’d have anything to say on the matter. I say “Good for you, Shawn”. At least you tried to keep playing.

Billy Wagner, upon being questioned as to how his son Will felt about his Dad not playing ball anymore, broke down a bit, trying to hold back the tears for not being able to provide that same cool Dad he had always been, at least not for a while.

Jerry Manuel confronted Jose Reyes in his coaching debut, he changes ineffective pitchers, he threatens established players with “rest”, he plays the guys who produce while giving everybody every opportunity that he can to do just that.

Carlos Delgado refused another curtain call for another two homer day, saying it’s not the right time, this after smacking about a bazillion home runs since the middle of July, not to mention the singles and doubles he’s had with the game on the line.

Carlos Beltran worried about his knee but still played on in centerfield. David Wright worked with his batting coach when his production fell off and went 2 for 4. Ryan Church shook off his concussion and his slow start after his return by smacking a home run.

LaDainian Tomlinson had the nerve in last year’s playoffs to sit when he knew his knee would not allow him to be an effective player in the biggest game of the year, this despite knowing the heat he’d take for sitting.

Jake Delhomme came back from his injury to throw a dart for a TD pass with zero seconds on the clock. Willie Parker came back from his injury to wipe out the Texans in his first game back. Larry Fitzgerald practiced his blocking to make way for his running backs.

Okay…enough. But these are real men. They try as hard as they can. They try to get better. They have the courage to take the big hit. They have the humility to turn down any unseemly adulation. They use their brains to the fullest. They maximize their resources. They motivate. They have human feelings. They also have human failings but overcome them.

What they don’t do is whine. What they don’t do is say, “look at me, please look at me some more, let every camera be focused on me”. They either don’t brag or, in very few cases, they back up a brag. They play hurt if they think they can be effective, or they sit if they know they can’t produce, damn the consequences. They have the confidence through practice to produce when the game is on the line.

Then there are the weaknesses in men and organizations, only too easy to pick out.

Chad Johnson is a perfect example, a borderline lunatic…. I don’t really care that he changed his name, but the reason was bad. Muhammad Ali had his reason. Anthony Dorsett had a reason too, even if it was specious reasoning. Any reason other than focusing all eyes on himself would have suited me. And yes, I know the team ignored his contract demands.

Then there are group weaknesses, specifically team weaknesses, that persist year after year. It’s frustrating as a fan of football to watch the Detroit Lions fail year after year to do anything to improve their situation, and not just the Lions, but also the Oakland Raiders, the Houston Texans, and those Chad-full Cincinnati Bengals.

It has to be assumed that for these teams that consistently fail, there is a group lack of character, and it is easy to infer from this that the weakness is right at the top of the organization.

In the Lions’ case, it’s the Ford family, stubbornly refusing to change an obviously blundering joke of a General Manager, who for years drafted only wide receivers, then changed coaches on both sides of the ball. Never though has he thought to pick up any offensive linemen.

Then of course there is Al Davis, who drafts skill players year after year and has a penchant for glitz, more glitz and cornerbacks. Lately they’ve drafted the best quarterback and then the best halfback in the draft. But Al’s team has been an embarrassment for a few years now. This team couldn’t block the Rutgers Newark boys choir. (I don’t know that there is one. If there is, there may be some tough singers on it).

They say the game has passed Al by. I’d have to agree. Gene Upshaw’s death reminded me that the Raiduhs used to have a GREAT offensive line. Former long-time Raider coach and current TV personality John Madden has consistently expounded on the significance of the offensive line in books and on the air. C’mon Al, take a hint.

Then there are the Houston Texans. They made a veritable basket case out of David Carr. Only now as the Giants backup QB are we able to see what Carr could have been if he hadn’t developed the happiest feet since Fred Astaire. A number of prognosticators actually like their chances this year. But after their frightfully inept performance against the Steelers, it’s hard to see them contending for anything. Ever.

All may not be lost though. I mean, look at the Chicago Cubs. They haven’t won the pennant since 1945! But now, led by sweet Lou Piniella, they’ve got some real men of their own. Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and others almost too numerous to mention. All that and pitching too.

I think we’ll all be seeing the Chicago real men meet the Mets real men in October. These are two teams that shucked the obstacles standing in their way. If they can just get there, they’ll both be ready to go.

Just Too Much..

It was just too much, way too much to absorb...a full schedule of football games, a Mets doubleheader against the hated Phillies, Brett Favre vs. Chad Pennington. Who could even think about Serena winning another U.S. Open?

Sunday certainly didn't disappoint, if you were a Mets fan, a Jets fan, or a football fan in general. The Mets salvaged the third game of their series against the Phillies behind Johan Santana and still more heroics from Carlos Delgado.

The Jets pulled a tough one out against a surprisingly tough Miami team and, for those who just love football, NFL style, Tom Brady hurt his knee, not a happy circumstance, surely, but one that seemed to open up new vistas for teams in the AFC East. That could mean the Bills, who looked ridiculously strong against the Seahawks, will battle it out with the Jets and Pats for the division title.

The great Peyton Manning and his Colts couldn't beat the Bears! And da Bears looked like the old Bears, all defense and just enough offense. And, oh yeah, Serena Williams beat Jelena Jankovic for the U.S. Open title.

Of course, that Mets win was the best for this writer. Not only did Carlos Delgado rip two loooong home runs, not only did Johan Santana baffle Phillies hitters into the eighth inning, but Luis Ayala gave Mets fans hope that he may be a legitimate closer, no matter what happens with Billy Wagner's elbow.

It was a channel-flippers delight. From my perspective in Toms River, there were two football games of particular interest, Eagles-Rams and Jets-Dolphins. Maybe it was fortuitous that the Eagles and Number 5, Donovan McNabb, pulled away rather early from the lowly Rams, allowing that much more attention to be paid to Chad Pennington’s comeback against the Jets.

Chad came within a couple of inches of bringing the Fish all the way back from a 13-point deficit versus the Florham Park boys in green, foiled in the end only by the quick and sure hands of cornerback Darelle Revis.

Of course, all that action afforded very little time to catch Pedro Martinez and the Mets endure an old-fashioned wuppin’ by the Phils. Just as well, I guess….who wants to watch a favorite pitcher get whacked?

Other surprises abounded around the league. There was Jake Delhomme threading the needle to one of his more obscure wideouts with zero seconds on the clock to break the Chargers’ hearts and signal the return of John Fox and his Carolina Panthers.

There were the horrid Detroit Lions lying down against the Falcons and letting LaDainian Tomlinson’s former backup in San Diego, Michael Turner, light them up for TD after TD. And B.C.’s own Matt Ryan’s first career pass went for a TD for 62 yards!

The Cowboys seemed to be having a field day vs. the Browns until Tony Romo got bent, folded and mutilated by three giant bodies in brown. But not before he hit Terrell Owens for a vintage touchdown.

There was another new QB in Baltimore too, a really tall fellow named Joe Flacco who ran one in from about 40 yards out. And there was Ray Rice from Rutgers making some nice runs too. That all this occurred against the Bengals of Cincinnati and their whacko wideout Ocho Cinco made it all the more enjoyable.

Expectations of a great game between the Saints and Buccaneers materialized as Reggie Bush wowed the Bucs secondary with moves they’d never seen and a stiff arm too. Drew Brees hit Devery Henderson for about 85 yards. But old veteran Tampa QB Jeff Garcia wasn’t able to bring the Bucs all the way back this time.

In some quarters, they said the Eagles would be tough, but nobody said it with conviction except those rabid fans last seen shrieking “Fly Eagles Fly” into the night. But a rook named DeSean Jackson seemed all they said he might be. And little Brian Westbrook was pretty huge once again. Oh, and did I mention the 90-yarder to a fellow named Baskett?

After the totally uneventful Giants win over the hapless Redskins on Thursday night, not much was expected in the way of excitement this first Sunday in September. Surely there would be the same stories this year, New England, San Diego and the Colts would dominate the AFC action. Jaguars and Titans would threaten but weaken down the stretch. The Cowboys would once again rule the NFC, and the same Giants and Packers would threaten once again The Bears would be terrible once again.

In one fell swoop though, the Pats lost the best QB in either league, maybe for the season. The Chargers lost with no time on the clock, the Colts lost to the Bears. And Ben Roethlisberger and his boys in black and gold lit up the scoreboard, with cameos by Hines Ward and the return of Willie Parker.

Hmm, maybe things will be different this year.

Maybe anything is possible. Rookie quarterbacks can excel in this league, and wide receivers too, if just given the opportunity. Old QB’s can still return from injuries to wow the crowd, big defense and heart can still win games, and old-fashioned power football can still be overwhelming.

And it’s not over yet, this first NFL week. There is still a contest between those formidable Vikings and Favre-less Pack coming up, those same Vikings accused of tampering with good ol’ Bret. It should be a war.

Despite all the strange pigskin happenings though, the highlight of the day was still that Mets game. Delgado’s first homer dented the scoreboard at Shea, impressive enough, but his second seemed to soar over the stadium’s upper deck. And those two dingers followed a two-run single in the first that put the Mets on top for once in this series.

Thanks to Santana, the Mets wouldn’t need anybody but Delgado on this night. Howard, no problem. Utley, who’s he? Jayson Werth, fuhgeddaboutit.

The Mets are still up by two. WOOHOO!

Big Men - Big Times

The times were similar for both teams. One team had climbed to the top of their division after five months of mostly turmoil, only to find themselves hanging onto the lead by a thread. The other had made the playoffs for thirteen straight years but were in danger of getting swept by their most hated rival.

Each team would weather the storm. Each of them would accept their challenge and survive. And each would have some heroes of the day, but, in each case, the biggest hero would be their big man.

For the Mets, it would again be Carlos Delgado, whose heroics have been so numerous, I half expect him to come out of the dugout in gleaming armor and wielding a lance instead of a bat. To borrow from Richard Adams in his great story Watership Down, Delgado’s walk-offs and game winning hits have been, as the rabbits would say, “hrair”, which means a great many, as rabbits can only count to four.

For the Yanks. it would be Jason Giambi, who, despite his prodigious numbers this year, had been branded most recently as a non-performer in big spots, as had his even more infamous teammate, Alex Rodriguez. The Giambino had been benched quite a bit as of late, as his fielding and running game lagged somewhat behind his bat, which was saying a lot.

As this writer has most often been a Yankee-hater, and as I was otherwise occupied for the Yankees afternoon game, I only heard about Jason’s big hits after the game. The last thing I heard on the radio was Susan Waldman somewhat viciously panning Arod and Giambi for their failures to hit with runners in scoring position. That reaming was followed by Arod flying out with runners on first and third. Giambi was spared only because he wasn’t yet in the game.

The next thing I know, one of the gym rats is running around with an ear to ear grin, for not only had the Yanks won, but they did it against Jonathan Papelbon. Only later did I discover that it was my favorite Yankee who did the damage. And, to be honest, I guess I really don’t hate THESE Yankees. Not these pitcher-less and Posada-less Bombers, whose biggest hero for the year had been Mike Mussina.

And not THESE Yankees, who had converted Joba Chamberlain from the holder to limited starter, then full-blown starter and now slated to become the holder again after his time on the DL. Not THESE Yankees who actually looked forward to Carl Pavano’s return, with good reason as it turned out.

And not to belabor a point, but the boys in pinstripes are still holding on, notwithstanding Cano’s massive inconsistency, Arod’s fall from grace, Damon’s misadventures in the outfield and Jeter’s off-year. It’s easier to count the blameless, only the Moose and Bobby Abreu of the core group, and of course the ageless one, Mariano Rivera, in any event decidedly less than “hrair”.

But the main reason they’re still breathing a breath of life today is Jason Giambi. In the biggest game of the year, on the very precipice of disaster, the Giambino was the man once again, mustache and all, coming off the bench to destroy the hated Red Sox and their peerless (if tainted in Yankee-land) closer Papelbon.

It’s almost always the big men who draw the attention in any sport, and it’s no different for baseball. And no big man personifies that relationship more than Carlos Delgado. Since July 13^th, the Mets have only lost four games in which Carlos Delgado has had an RBI. And with the Mets relief staff, that’s saying an awful lot.

Delgado has, if my math is right, 43 ribbies since July 13^th. But that doesn’t really tell the story. He’s had at least one ribbie in 20 different games, and the Mets are 16-4 in those games. And, in many of those, Delgado has had the walk-off home run or the game-winning RBI. So he’s been, um, good.

Delgado always has a smile, it seems, even when he’s not doing so well. It’s really a pleasure to see him make some numbers for his new contract, and playing the complete game at first base too. And nobody celebrates like the Mets, and especially when Delgado’s doing well.

You have to admit, the Mets are a cool team to root for, and Delgado’s maybe the coolest. The big guy, playing like the big guy in that batters box and around that keystone bag. He strides (slides) back towards that dugout, big smile, amused that he can still be the man, at least right now, and all those big hits will go a long way towards ensuring his future too.

Even the manager’s cool. If Delgado has been Lancelot, then Manuel has been Merlin. It really is extraordinary the presence of the man when talking baseball, so comfortable, like talking to the local hardware store guy about your patio, for your seven houses.

And the big man is certainly making him look good. The record’s good, they’re up by a game instead of down by a game, and Carlos’s two dingers had a little bit to do with that. Those Phillies, they ain’t so baaaad.

So there it is. Giambi and Delgado, two big men in New York making their presence felt in that lineup. The rest of the guys can be faltering, on both teams, guys like Beltran and Arod, but these big first basemen can take you where you want to go, all by themselves sometimes. At most they need just one or two other guys to do something…..walk, get a little base hit, a sacrifice, whatever, and the big men can do the rest.

They say timing is everything in life. And so it is for these two big fellas. A little hot streak for them both right now, the Yanks chasing the Red Sox and the Mets trying to just hold on, would be perfect.

Thankfully Wrong....

Okay, I was wrong. The Mets weren’t in trouble after all. It didn’t matter that they lost a really tough on on Tuesday night, that Jerry Manuel hadn’t let Johan Santana finish the game, or that the Phils knocked three different relievers around to the tune of six runs.

Within a few hours of my Wednesday column of doom, the Mets would come back. John Maine survived and Jose Reyes helped cement the win in Game 2. And last night, Oliver Perez and Carlos Delgado did even better.

But, best of all maybe was the way they did it in Game 3. Phils starter Jamie Moyer had pretty much shut the Mets down while Oliver Perez had stymied the Phils even more spectacularly. But with the score tied at 1 in the eighth, Perez got into some trouble, hitting Ryan Howard with a pitch to load the bases. Stepping up to the plate was none other than Jayson Werth, who had slugged a huge homer off Perez in the 6^th to tie the game.

And who should Manuel call on to bail the Mets out of a jam? None other than the unflappable Aaron Heilman, another of those up and down Mets relievers. But Aaron was up to the task last night, blowing a couple of fast balls by the big slugger, followed by another that had a little too much of the plate and Werth drove it a long way once again.

But this time, you could see that centerfielder Carlos Beltran had a bead on it, and the Phils threat was suddenly over. Perhaps motivated by their near demise in the top of the eighth, the Mets struck gold in the bottom half.

Robinson Cancel, who is becoming a bigger cog in the Mets wheel, singled and moved to second on Reyes’s bunt. After Phils reliever J.C. Romero snagged a broken-bat liner off the bat of Endy Chavez for the second out, he intentionally walked David Wright to load the bases for Carlos Delgado.

So there it was, lefty on lefty, with the game on the line. Carlos, who hadn’t had much luck against Romero in the past, nevertheless hung tough and managed to drive an outside pitcher’s pitch to the opposite field, scoring Cancel and Wright to spot the Mets to a 2-run lead. The Mets intrepid cleanup hitter had done it again.

And, just as he did in Game 2, Billy Wagner came on in the 9^th to get two fly balls from Victorino and Feliz, and, after allowing a base hit, retired 2007 MVP Jimmy Rollins on a hard ground ball. The Mets would end the day in first place in the National League East and solidify their lead in their head to head contests with the Phillies.

It must be pointed out, though, that while Wagner was ultimately able to close out both Games 2 and 3 for the Mets, nobody knew that on Wednesday morning. If I had known the Mets would have Wagner available for the rest of the Series, my outlook wouldn’t have been nearly so miserable.

To his credit, Jerry Manuel was gracious after the game, and did not harp on the fact that Mets fans were upset, or that every beat writer with a pen and a keyboard had been prophesying his team’s doom.

He singled Oliver Perez out for his fine 12 K performance and talked about Delgado, not just for his prowess with the bat, but also for his leadership in the clubhouse. Jerry was pleased that Carlos’s staggering success at the plate would only enhance his standing as a leader in the clubhouse.

Could that be the key to Delgado’s surge at the plate for Manuel, an acknowledgement of Delgado’s importance as a leader? Is it possible that Willie didn’t appreciate his efforts, or wasn’t able to express his regard in the same way? I guess we’ll never know unless some cable station does a reality show on an out-of-work baseball manager.

It’s not that important now, of course. For whatever reason, the Mets are doing much better than they had under Willie. Whatever peccadilloes Willie had are irrelevant now. The Mets can look forward to a brighter future, with better hitting for sure and more timely pitching as well.

And, looking forward, the immediate future looks hard. The Cardinals come to Shea with a better record than the Mets, followed by a series with the surprising Florida Marlins, who have been hovering around the top spot in the division all season long.

The biggest question now is whether the Mets should pick up an outfielder. Once again, Ryan Church is hurt and may be unavailable for some time. Moises Alou is unavailable. The Mets have been doing well by surrounding Beltran in left and right with Fernando Tatis, Marlon Anderson, Endy Chavez and a kid named Nick Evans. But will they do as well in September and October as they are now?

While I think the Mets could stay pat and survive, it’s probably not the optimal solution. I’d like to see them pick up Xavier Nady. Xavier used to be the Mets rightfielder before he was unceremoniously traded away. After the Mets lost Duaner Sanchez to injury in 2006, they picked up Roberto Hernandez from the Pirates and last night’s hero, Oliver Perez.

While Nady was once thought to be just a part-time player, Nady’s hitting .330 this year with runs and rbi numbers in the 50’s for the lowly Pirates. I’d love to see him back again. He was never a great fielder, but he’s one of those guys you feel comfortable with at the plate. He’d look good in blue.

I understand the Pirates are asking the world for him now. Maybe they’d like Oliver Perez back in the black and gold. That won’t happen.

But if the Mets can’t make a trade, I think they’ll be ok. With or without another outfielder, they’re too tough to just fold under pressure.

Overthinking the Easy Ones

How many times have we seen it before, with other teams, with other middle-relief guys who try on the closer's hat? They don't have a prayer. So it was with the Mets last night as they wasted a fine performance by Johan Santana and a 3-run lead to lose the opener of their three-game set with the Phils, 8-6.

What I don't understand is why Santana came out of the game at all. He was doing quite well, thank you. I can understand saving your starter when you have your closer in the bullpen, but when you don't, bite the bullet and have your starter try to finish the game, especially if it's one of the biggest games of the year.

But Jerry Manuel didn't do that. He decided to see what he had in his pen. He found out. He thought Duaner Sanchez could be a closer. Wrong! After three straight hits off Duaner, he went to Joe Smith, who did manage to induce a harmless ground ball that Reyes flubbed.

Why he took Smith out is another mystery because his replacement, Pedro Feliciano, did worse. In fact, nothing Manuel did last night worked out in any way, shape or form. Except for starting Santana, it was all down hill from there.

The handwriting was all over the wall, even before that sad ninth inning. They sent Endy Chavez home twice to get thrown out, one time with nobody out. It just didn't make sense. It seemed as if they were tempting fate, asking themselves "what can we do to turn a ridiculously easy victory into a damaging and embarrassing loss?"

Once again I’m left to contemplate what a strange game is baseball. A team that seemingly had everything going for it entering a series, a team that pretty much had its way with the Phils for eight full innings, loses it in the ninth in spectacularly horrid fashion, thus losing not only THIS game but also any momentum it had going in.

Okay, I’m done now. Coulda shoulda woulda. So Jerry Manuel blew a game. He’s won way more than he’s lost, and maybe he had this one coming. Who knows what Santana said to him after his eight innings on another hot, humid night at Shea? Who knows why he took out Smith, the only guy in that ninth inning who did anything right?

Last night Manuel lost much of the faith I had in him. The biggest game of the year was in the bag. He gave it back. Santana had thrown 105 pitches. He felt fine. Wagner was hurt. Sanchez had pitched two big innings on Sunday. I don’t understand what he was thinking. No thinking was required.

I can’t even discuss it anymore. A team as stupid as this one doesn’t deserve to win anything. Manuel thinks wins are cheap. He’s never heard the old saw “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.

So the game that was in hand is now lost. Now the Mets face the Phils with lesser starters, less confidence and still no closer. The Phillies now have the edge in this all-important series. The Phillies delivered the big hits. The Phillies made the plays in the field. The Phillies have everything but the manager who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

There must have been an old Willie handbook in the dugout, that one entitled “How to Lose Games with the Better Team”.

How many games can a team give back over the course of a season and still win? This team has given back about 20 games on the season. And counting.

Can they turn it around? Yeah, sure they can. With Delgado scorching the horsehide off the ball, and with horses like Beltran and Wright in the lineup, anything is possible. They have the best starters in the league. But it’s less likely for sure. It’ll take a little time to get over such a bad loss.

That Reyes reverted to making the big mistake doesn’t bode well either. His decision to reach for the second base bag when a flip to Easley would have done nicely kept the rally going strong. Instead of being up two with two men on and one man out, it became bases loaded once again with nobody out.

Although I understand the switch to Smith when Sanchez wasn’t doing the job, I don’t comprehend at all the switch to Feliciano. Smith had done his job. He got a ground ball when he needed it. Why switch to Feliciano? And then Heilman once the game was irretrievably lost.

But it was really all over much earlier. That would be when Santana came out of the game, much to the Phillies delight. The guy who had frustrated those heavy-hitters all night long would be on the bench. Wagner wasn’t a possibility. The Phillies licked their lips in anticipation. They could win this game after all. And did.

Of course there is a flip-side to all this. All Manuel really did was put the game in the hands of his relievers. It didn’t work out, but many would say he made the right move, all those pitch-count people, all those folks with fresh pitchers at the end of the season, for teams that will have lost way more than they will have won.

I’m already regretting all the nasty things I’ve said. Manuel hasn’t made many mistakes since he’s assumed the reins from the dead team he took over from Willie, a team with tired veterans, with a shortstop always looking over his shoulder, and with cleanup hitters gone bad.

So we Mets fans have to be patient with a mistake, even if it did come at the worst possible moment, against the worst possible opponent. For once, Manuel overthought the situation, and was caught counting chickens down the road, saving his ace for some game in October.

He just forgot that you first have to get to October.

The Chemistry Set

How'd you like to come back to the dugout after a big hit and get high-fived by Carlos Beltran and David Wright? And finish the night in first place. Well, that's what Fernando Tatis got to experience last night. He was one of 8 different Mets producers in a game marked by some shaky pitching, some nice hitting from both sides, and comebacks, lots of comebacks.

Ten is good. Ten beats 9 and 11 would be heaven. (No, I didn't really say that). I thought the streak would end at 9. It certainly could have. They were up 2, then down 3 in a flash, then down just 1, then up by 1, then down by 2 before finally ending it up by 2. Wright, Beltran, Easley and Delgado were strong at the core of the lineup while Delgado and Tatis did their best to extend that middle. They even got something out of Nick Evans and Marlon Anderson.

So last night it was hitting. Carlos Delgado was especially impressive, I thought, not so much for his power but for his nice little dump-job single over the shortstop into short left field. If Carlos the Elder doesn't watch out, he may find himself in the National League RBI race. In the last month, he's driven in 23 runs, second only to Jermaine Dye. While he still has a long way to go, with just 55 ribbies on the season, it's conceivable that he could catch a lot of folks.

So there was a lot to be happy about....again. But there were some rough spots on the pitching side of things. Johan Santana wasn't Johan Santana last night. But Aaron Heilman reverted into, well, Aaron Heilman. Johan gave up a 5-spot in the fourth inning, including a couple of dingers, but what the heck, Jake Peavy gave up 4 home runs in his game so it was a strange night all around.

Heilman just allows too many baserunners, base hits and walks too. Last night he managed just 2/3 of an inning, and his three baserunners were inherited by Scott Schoenweis, who tried like the dickens but still wound up allowing them all to score before recording the final out.

It was interesting that Manuel replaced Heilman as soon as he did. And, even though Schoenweis wasn't able to avert the damage, it was the right move. Jerry managed his head off last night, replacing pitchers all night long. And they were the right moves. That they all didn't pan out is secondary.

Those pitching moves do a couple of things. First, they check the momentum. Second, they give the opposing batters something different to look at. But they also keep your team in the game mentally, and that showed last night too.

Who woulda thunk it? The Mets from April and May wouldn’t have come back even once. These Mets came back again and again, continuing a predilection not only for increasing leads but for coming back too. It’s something on which Manuel focused, and it’s working out for them.

Yes, the Mets are finally in first place, tied with the Phils at long last. But the Phils picked up a pretty fancy pitcher yesterday, and the Marlins aren't far back. The Mets need to keep it going, and it'll be up to John Maine tonight, who hasn't been quite as overwhelming as have battery-mates Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez, at least not lately.

Tonight will be a good test for him and the Mets as they face the Reds Bronson Arroyo, who can be very good or very bad. We’ll see whether our local boys can get another win to extend that streak, against a team that had had a fairly nice run themselves as of late, before they ran into the juggernaut. The Reds are a very respectable 10-6 since June 28^th.

Those Reds sure can hit a little bit. They were calling Adam Dunn Dave Kingman last night but he looked like more to me, as a batter anyway. He does have a little trouble keeping his feet while rounding the bases. And Ken Griffey Jr. is pretty much as advertised. Then there’s Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto, not a lineup that can be taken lightly for sure.

And baseball is a strange game. A pitcher can, all of a sudden, pitch lights out. Batters can get cold. For no reason whatsoever. And then there’s the law of averages. How many teams win more than ten in a row?

But the Mets played last night as if they really, really wanted that tenth win. They certainly didn’t play like a team resting on its laurels. From the manager to the pinch-hitter, they were definitely paying attention, as if they knew the slender thread that separates winning from losing is a very thin one, and as if they were determined to fend off that first loss, for, once losing, who knows what will be on the other side?

The Mets had every reason to lose last night. Not only was there the streak, but there was the break too. Surely they couldn’t be expected to put one more win up on the board. But they did it, in a pretty spectacular fashion too, a fact that I’m sure was not lost on the Phillies, or the Marlins, for that matter.

The Phils have already picked up Joe Blanton from the seemingly inexhaustible inventory of pitching in the Oakland A’s organization. All in all, a smart pickup for them, given that the guy eats up a lot of innings, has pitched really well in the not too far recent past, and will probably pitch better in a pennant race.

Omar Minaya may be burning up the phone lines, but somehow I don’t think so. We haven’t heard one good rumor. I suspect he’ll make a move when he feels that he has to do so. Chemistry after all is a delicate thing.

And the Mets have some right now.

Finally Getting It

I'm a Mets fan and I couldn't be happier! How many times has anyone heard THAT this mostly sorrowful first half of the 2008 baseball season ?

As late as the fourth of July, the Mets were showing good signs but were still 5 1/2 out. Since then they've scored, if my counting is accurate, 54 runs and allowed just 13. That translated into 9, count'em, 9 straight wins, almost a fortnight of steadily increasing fortunes as our local heroes won game after game after game. WOW!!

They got it from unlikely guys. They got it from the stars. They got it on the mound. They got it in the field. They got it at the plate. They got it from the pen. They got it from the starters. Well, you get the idea. Jubilation !

Last night it was the Mike Pelfrey show. The day before, it was seemingly everybody on the field, Reyes and Beltran and five stingy pitchers. For their first game in Colorado, there was Ollie Perez throwing in 6 good innings behind Reyes and Easley.

Before that, their final game in San Francisco, Fernando Tatis and those relievers bailed out a somewhat shaky John Maine. Johan Santana showed what he could do the day before, he and that relief staff shutting out those Giants while Ramon Castro went 2-4 and delivered a big home run. Mike Pelfrey outpitched Lincecum before that with the steady Carlos Beltran hitting the big one.

But it all started in Philadelphia. The Mets had lost the opener of that four game set 3-2 but had won the next two before that final game in Philly. That game would decide whether the Mets were content to just split with the division leaders. They were not.

Although the Mets staff was belted around for 9 runs in that one, the Mets were one better. The top of the lineup, Reyes and Chavez and Wright, wouldn't be denied and Billy Wagner bailed out centerfielder Carlos Beltran from taking too much heat for what had been viewed as a questionable decision to throw a man down at third base. (It was a great throw and it would have been the third out and the end of the game). That was the biggest game of all in this unlikely streak, the one where the Mets showed some real grit against a determined and talented bunch.

But another true Mets believer might point to that third game in Philly, the one that Wagner let get away from Oliver Perez but Fernando Tatis saved, delivering a huge two-run homer in the top of the 12th to bail the embattled Billy out. John Maine pitched a good one the day before to take that second game in Philly, the Mets coming alive in the eighth and ninth behind guys like Easley and Delgado, Schneider and Chavez.

That's just an overview though. Much more could be said. You could point to the Mets new-found ability to tack on runs to early leads, something their new skipper had pointed out to them. You could point to their prowess in the field as guys like Easley and Tatis, Chavez and even a rook named Evans made light of the absence of more established players named Church and Alou and Castillo.

But the most overpowering feeling of all about these Mets is that they are just getting it, feeling it, or whatever way you’d choose to characterize a team that feels comfortable with itself, and that’s having fun, happy with its new direction and what very probably is a lighter feeling around the clubhouse.

For Jerry Manuel can actually be funny and usually is. At the same time though, he’s thoughtful and comes up with new ideas, things they’d either never heard before or just forgot. Here’s a guy who’s light enough for Reyes to deal with, and yet heavy enough to yank even the great Pedro off that mound when required.

Whatever the actual chemistry behind this Mets resurgence, man, is it ever welcome! You have to feel the Mets have turned the corner, and maybe they’ll never have to look back. Even with the break coming on, a break that might and probably will spell the end of the winning streak.

For the Mets have been getting outstanding performances from some very unlikely sources, guys out of the past like Easley and Tatis and Chavez, and guys from the future like big Nick Evans and still another speedy Reyes named Argenis. At some point, these wunderkinds may begin to falter.

But that’s the “glass half empty” side of things. Why shouldn’t they continue to perform? Easley and Tatis have done this baseball thing for a lot of years, and who says they can’t view this as their swan song, a chance to finally come out of the shadows. And isn’t it a good thing that what had once been viewed as a tired, old team has been re-energized with some talented and spirited youth?

The “glass half full” side of me says that these guys don’t really have to do it forever. Second baseman Luis Castillo returns from the disabled list after the break. And right fielder Ryan Church, who outperformed everybody before getting hurt, might be returning. It turns out that his recent headaches weren’t lingering concussion symptoms at all, but more related to migraines.

Manuel’s biggest challenge of all might be his management of these returning players into the lineup. It’s sort of an old baseball adage that guys don’t lose their positions due to an injury. Will Manuel sit Easley for Castillo? Or will he be able to spot Easley at the other infield positions? Will Chavez sit again when Church comes back?

As difficult as it may be to manage the return of the regulars, you get the feeling Manuel will handle it. He’s been there before, for Expos and Marlins and White Sox and you just know he’ll manage it. And so does his team

A Tale of Two Carlos's

After having managed two wins rather handily against an erstwhile perennial-playoffs Yankees team, Willie Randolph will take his beginning-to-be-performing Mets team into Atlanta this afternoon, no doubt hoping for a continuation of some hot hitting from his two Carlos's, Delgado and Beltran.

When these two buddies from Puerto Rico are hitting, there isn't too much else that has to go right, or Wright even. In fact, the Mets fortunes closely reflect those of its two big men, for better and worse. And, if motivation, borne of a remarkably uneven past, can inspire a better performance, these two should shine from now until October.

Any Mets fan over the age of ten can still vividly recall the October of two season ago, Carlos Beltran at the plate, watching strike three bend right-to-left over the plate, thus ending their 2006 season. But those fans with a longer memory may also recall Beltran's eight home runs in the 2004 playoffs.

On October 15, 2006, NY Times writer Lee Jenkins opined that "The Mets....evened the NLCS at two games apiece because Delgado made it so. Every ball he hits seems to be worth chasing." Upon checking how Delgado did in Game 7 of that series, I see the Cards walked him three times. That Wright, following Delgado in the lineup, only went 1-4 that day is probably better forgotten.

But the stories of these two goes well beyond 2006, tales of woe mostly. For example, Delgado began his career with the Toronto Blue Jays, who won the World Series in both 1992 and 1993 but in that 1993 season, Delgado only played two games. Talk about bad luck, the 1994 World Series was cancelled entirely.

Delgado didn't become a regular for Toronto until 1996 and from 1997 to 2006, Carlos had ten consecutive seasons of 30 or more home runs, and in the year 2000, he hit an incredible .344 with 41 home runs while garnering enough MVP votes to finish fourth to a fellow named Giambi. But Toronto wasn't in contention during those years.

In 2005, Delgado got his big break, finally hot on the trail of a Championship with the Florida Marlins, who won it all in 2003 over the Yankees. But the Marlins finished only 83-79 in 2005 despite Carlos’s .301 BA and 33 home runs.

The year 2006 was the Marlins fire-sale year, or one of them anyway, and the Mets acquired Carlos’s huge contract from the Fish and got 7 million back in the bargain. But, as good as Delgado was in the 2006 NLCS, Heilman served up that costly two-run homer and Wainwright curled in that third strike to Beltran and, poof, another year was wasted.

Beltran shares a similar baseball heritage, aside from any ties to Puerto Rico. Beltran started out with the Kansas City Royals and had consecutive 100-rbi years from 2001-2003. Kansas City, of course, never sniffed anything close to a pennant in those years.

In 2004, however, Beltran got his big break, getting traded to the Houston Astros, but wound up losing a tense NLCS to the Cards. He was awesome in that year though, banging out 15 homers and 51 ribbies for the Royals and 23 dingers and another 53 ribbies for the Astros.

Beltran was also the star of that year’s playoffs, of course, with his 8 playoff dingers. The Mets moved in with a truckload of money and Carlos became a Met. Carlos had a horrible (for him) 2005 Mets inaugural though, with high expectations doing him in. Carlos the Younger hit only 16 HR’s and 78 ribbies.

All of which, of course, brings us to the heart-breaker of 2006. And then the meltdown of 2007. Mets fans can’t really say which year hurts more, most would say 2007, but some of those may have missed that 2006 called strike three.

In any event, Beltran wore the horns in 2006 and Delgado certainly at least shared a pair with his sorry 2007 of .258 with just 24 home runs. Carlos the Elder had a lot of company, of course, and analysts are still debating who’s more to blame for 2007.

When there are so many candidates for the horns, it’s only natural to point towards the manager, of course. And Mets fans did. And they have continued their pointing into 2008. And who can really blame them?

As this is written, the Mets continue their foibles against the Braves, making Tom Glavine the reincarnation of, well, Tom Glavine. They’re down 3-1 in the fifth and John Maine is now out of the game.

Both Carlos’s have already had their share of bad luck in this game, and, one wonders, is this their fate, to be remarkably talented but unfulfilled millionaires? There have certainly been sadder tales in the history of the major leagues. Don Mattingly, Ernie Banks, and a host of others never won the big one.

Despite what my head keeps telling me, my heart is really with these two. They are, by all accounts, remarkably nice people, but people prone to long streaks of good and bad, driving their fans and their manager to distraction, at least, and in the manager’s case, perhaps to another city.

Another common thing about these two, though, is that there is a LOT of history there. Can two old war-horses such as these really muster up the enthusiasm and effort required to produce in each and every game? Having just watched Beltran bounce out weakly to shortstop on a ball about a foot off the plate, I have to wonder, not that he hasn’t done that a thousand times before.

Much as Jason Kidd played a magnificent fourth quarter and just survived the first three, so do Carlos and Carlos plod through the season and turn it on for the Yankees, or to keep Willie in the dugout for the rest of the season.

This Braves game seems to accentuate the point. Aaah, it’s a double-header, maybe they’re saving it for Game Two.

Going to Church

The Mets are full of surprises this year. Biggest surprise of them all though has been the consistent play of right fielder Ryan Church. In 28 games he's played, he's had at least one hit in 22 of them. He's batting .310 with 4 home runs and 22 rbi's this season. When he's not killing the competition with his bat, he's using his glove or his arm, as he demonstrated just this past Sunday against the Diamondbacks, cutting down a runner trying to take third base.

Just for a bit of perspective, Church has a career batting average of .275 and, before this season, he had a distinct problem hitting left-handed pitching. Not this year. He's actually batting better vs. lefties than against righties. This is his fifth year in the majors and he's never even played a full season.

Last year, though, he played in 144 games for Washington and hit .272 with 15 homers and 70 rbi's. His OPS (On-base pct. plus slugging pct.) last year was .813 and, as his current OPS of .856 isn't really that much higher, I think we can continue to expect good things from Mr. Church. And, who knows, maybe another change of his place in the batting order. He started the season batting sixth, but his remarkable consistency and apparent bat control has made him a natural for the number two position in the lineup. Even Willie has noticed.

It's a good thing for some pleasant surprises, especially with these Mets, who have had more than their share of unpleasant ones. Until just recently, Carlos Delgado had continued to disappoint (from last year) but Luis Castillo hadn't been too far behind in the anguish department. Carlos Beltran, while he does still play a great centerfield, hasn't been quite himself yet, batting .221 with 24 runs scored but just 13 ribbies and his record with runners in scoring position has been worse. Perhaps Carlos needs to relax.

Baseball is a streaky game and the Mets certainly follow that pattern, maybe too much. Reyes has demonstrated his affinity for going to sleep, at the bat and in the field as well. Moises Alou's only consistency has been his appearance on the disabled list. Much the same could be said for Brian Schneider. Angel Pagan had started very hot but has now cooled considerably.

Then there is David Wright, .469 and .198, those are this year's numbers versus lefties and righties. Would that there were more left-handers because his overall batting average is just .274. Mr. Wright has always been a little strange at the plate though. Every at-bat seems to go to two strikes immediately, yet there's no one you'd rather have at the plate with two strikes than Mr. Wright.

Then there is the pitching. Johan Santana has been amazing as usual yet continues his predilection for giving up home runs. Oliver Perez has been less than amazing and continues his penchant for making the big mistakes. John Maine has been pretty consistent, but each of his games seems like an adventure. Nelson Figueroa has been another shining light, not so much for his overall stats but for his relative consistency. Pelfrey has been Pelfrey, and his 2-2 record has been achieved via a 5.27 ERA.

I don’t even want to think about Pedro Martinez, the pain of his going down so quickly is still with me, and I can’t say I’m happy that he recuperates somewhere in Latin America. Oh, and then there is El Duque. Right.

Strangely enough, I continue to have faith in the bullpen. Billie Wagner, Duaner Sanchez, even Aaron Heilman, I think, over the long run, they’ll be good, especially if Aaron becomes a long relief guy rather than that setup guy for Wagner. To me, the winner of that spot has clearly been Sanchez, who is just tougher in that situation, has better stuff and maybe more command of the zone.

The others aren’t bad either. Feliciano, Smith, Schoenweis, and even Sosa, who has had his share of bad luck, all have had their moments this season, and I mean that mostly in a good way. Sosa, for example, leads the team in wins with 4.

The Mets have been consistent though only in their overall mediocrity. Currently at 16-14, they are only third in the NL East, behind the Phils, of course, and the surprising Marlins. They lose 4 out of 5, then win eight in a row, then another streak of three losses. Now they seem to win one, lose one, which, I must say, doesn’t make me feel any better but does prevent overall despondency to invade my spirit.

I keep thinking things can only get better. Catching, for example, has been a merry-go-round, what with Schneider’s mysterious hand infection and Castro’s hamstring. I have to admit taking a liking for Raul Casanova, who seems to do the job behind the plate and in the batter’s box as well. His .262 BA isn’t really too shabby and he can hit for power, although he’s hit just one home run thus far.

Tonight we have Nelson Figueroa going again and I’m hopeful, both for Figgy and the whole team as well. I do see some good signs. I wonder who’ll bat second. I hope Mr. Castillo rides the pine. I look forward to seeing Delgado continuing to hit, for Wright to find his way against right-handers, for Beltran to have some luck at the plate, something he never seems to possess in abundance.

Perhaps the thing I most anticipate is having the “regular” lineup in place. Schneider is back so it’ll be Reyes, Church, Wright, Beltran, Alou, Delgado, Schneider, Castillo and the pitcher. That, at least, was the lineup last night, and, although they only scored one run with it, I’d like to think it was the Dodgers’ pitching that shut them down.

And I’ll root for Church. As Kipling said, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs”….

Omar's Home for the Aged

I've heard all season how much talent there is on the Mets. I myself picked these Mets to win the NL pennant this year, but it seems as if that prognostication may have been wishful thinking. In GM Omar Minaya's zeal to maximize experience on his roster, he may have forgotten just how much experience these old fellas really have.

Do you want adventure? Just hit a grounder to the Mets right side. Carlos Delgado, the erstwhile slugger and first baseman, will give that ground ball his best effort every single time. That usually means a swipe at the ball; his feet begin to move as the ball passes the lip of the infield.

Delgado’s bat, to be kind, doesn't inspire fear in opponents anymore. For a player who keeps and consults a hitting chart, he seems to be a slow learner. Pitch him outside, he'll try to pull it anyway, the result usually being a ground ball to second base into a shift. For the record, Carlos will be 36 in June and this is his 16th year in the majors. I wonder if his birth certificate shares a lot of the same characteristics as the one Miguel Tejada's been showing around.

Next to Carlos is already oft-injured Luis Castillo, who is a good little fielder but has become totally ineffective at the plate. Just for the record, Luis is just 32 but this is his 14th year in the major leagues. That's a lot of ground balls, a lot of bending, a lot of everything. It seems to have taken its toll.

We Mets fans anxiously await the arrival of Moises Alou. Moises will be 42 in July. This will be his umpteenth year in the majors and he does sport a .303 career batting average along with 332 home runs. But he played only 123 games in 2005 playing for his Dad in San Francisco, then just 98 games in 2006 for the Giants, then just 87 last year for the Mets. Does one detect a pattern here?

Then there is my favorite pitcher, Pedro Martinez. Pedro pitched a few innings in his first start before grabbing his hammy. He's now expected to return to the mound in 10 days. Which mound that might be I have no idea. Pedro will be 37 in October and, hopefully he'll be getting a World Series ring for his special day. For the money he's getting, though, why can't he make an appearance once in a while?

The long line of aging superstars continues. There is also El Duque, Orlando Hernandez. He'll be 39 in October. He just had surgery on his right foot but the boot won't come off for another two weeks.

I suppose I should be thankful that Delgado and Castillo at least play. If Delgado goes down for some reason, we're left with journeyman pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson, who is 34 years old. Of course, Marlon hasn't been too successful at pinch-hitting this year, but, what the hell, it's still only April, right?

There are only 10 current Mets players born after the year 1978. Six of them are pitchers. The position players are Jose Reyes, David Wright, Angel Pagan and the new backup catcher, Gustavo Molina. Pagan is supposed to be replaced by Alou. Is it surprising to anyone that the best performances thus far have been put in by these same young whipper-snappers. (Ryan Church will be 30 in October).

I should point out that Omar has done much better in the pitching arena. Johan Santana has been terrific as expected. Oliver Perez and John Maine are two other fine arms acquired by Minaya. They provide hope, as does Mike Pelfrey, another young starter, and even recently-acquired Nelson Figueroa. That's a pretty fair rotation, even if Pedro and El Duque never show their faces again.

So there is still hope for Mets fans. We have had our share of bad luck. Three grand slams have been given up by the relief corps. Even for a bad staff, that would be rather unfortuitous. Aaron Heilman surrendered one. Jorge Sosa surrendered the other two, and I suspect we'll be seeing less of Mr. Sosa in the near future.

The regulars, though, have to start playing to their potential. The chemistry has been bad. If not for Angel Pagan and Ryan Church, two of the most unlikely heroic figures one could imagine, we might have a much worse record. We could be the National League Tigers.

Jose Reyes, David Wright and especially Carlos Beltran have to be more consistent. Beltran has been somewhat hampered by his "new legs", I think, and it seems to have sapped some of his power. He also has hit a LOT of line drives directly at fielders. I think Beltran will get better and better, and, if he does, he is capable of carrying this team all by himself.

It is also entirely possible that Delgado has taken his batting problems into the field with him. But this is the Major Leagues. Life is tough. If Delgado can’t work his way out of his current funk, Willie will really have to start managing, starting with replacing Delgado for defensive purposes in close games.

Willie has been slow to react to situations. A perfect example of this is his hard-headedness with respect to batting Castillo second, despite stats reflecting the team’s total ineffectiveness and abysmal won-loss record when that is the case.

Willie has attacked Pagan for no good reason except to solidify Alou’s place in left field upon his return. He’s been insistent on keeping Heilman in his place in the relieving rotation despite every indication that that might not be prudent. Yet he’s been remarkably supportive of Brian Schneider, the oft-injured catcher.

Can Willie manage? A team this old needs a manager, perhaps a real gunslinger, somebody who’ll recognize when a change is needed and then make it. So far, he’s just dug in his heels, fighting the tide going against him.