Good Morning Mets Fans!

It's a team thing.

We'll add some accolades to the Carlos Delgado worship brigade a bit later on--he's earned it--but let's talk a little about the team yesterday.

• 8 Mets, every non-pitching starter, had a hit
• 6 Mets scored runs
• 5 Mets had RBIs
• 5 Mets had a multi-hit game
• 4 consecutive relievers held the opposition to only one total hit and no runs
• 3 Mets had homeruns

Ollie Perez started the game and pitched poorly. He had a very good fastball, but his slider was way off, and he couldn't get settled down after the Nats started hitting.

The Nats seem to hit Ollie well and last night was certainly no exception. He only lasted 3.1 innings and was charged with 7 earned runs.

"Today I didn't do my job," Perez said. "Good fastball, bad slider."

Nelson Figueroa allowed all his inherited runs to score, further adding to Ollie's total. I'm a fan of Nellie the person, and not a fan of Nellie the pitcher.

It just seems like the bad teams hit Ollie well--he has a 7.07 ERA against below-.500 teams this season. Luckily, none of those teams will make the playoffs.

But let's get to the good stuff, like Joe Smith pitching 1 2/3rds sparkling innings to get the win after it looked like the Mets bullpen was bent on giving the game away. Smith came in and shut them down.

Joe Smith has lowered his season ERA to 3.67 and has not allowed an earned run in his last 14 appearances. He is 2-0 in September with a 0.00 ERA and stands 6th in the NL in appearances....and he is 24 years old!

"Their pitchers also had problems getting the outs until they got to Smith and finally Ayala," Washington manager Manny Acta said. "Smith was the key. He stopped us."

So much good stuff--how about Carlos Beltran and the run he's on?

Beltran is hitting .385 in September after an August of .303. His power stroke is back, he is hitting in clutch situations, he's running, playing a sparkling centerfield, and there is no question he wants to get back to the postseason and put on a show.

Belran's blast last night, to go along with a double that banged high off the fence, was a key hit for the Mets. His 2 RBIs gave him 100 on the year, 5th in the NL, to go along with his 103 runs scored. So much for Beltran having an "off year"!

Jerry Manuel, who will most certainly be brought back as Mets Manager, seems to have settled on a lineup.

If you've been paying attention you've surely noticed that the "playoff push lineup" is Ryan Church and Fernando Tatis as the corner outfielders and Damion Easley at second base. Church bats second, Tatis 6th, and Easley 7th.

This is really the most potent group the Mets have offensively and will get better when Ramon Castro returns Friday to start against lefty's.

Ryan Church is back to form--he had another homerun last night, and he really seems relaxed at the plate. When he initially came back his timing was off and he was lunging at the ball. No longer. He is 4 for his last 9.

And there was Delgado...the Big Man...the thumper in the middle.

In his last 2 games he has 4 homeruns that traveled about 1,700 feet. In his last 13 games he has 4 multi-HR games. How about a .423 batting average, .483 OBP, and 1.000 Slg % in September?

He is 3rd in HRs and RBIs in the NL, absolutely an MVP candidate and is driving the club forward each and every day in his quest for a ring.

We'll close this out, just as the Mets did, with Luis Ayala, who earned his 6th save in 7 attempts with the Mets.

As my good friend Ira said last night, "where would the Mets be without Luis Ayala?"

Amen.

The Fightin' Fish beat the Phillies, so the Mets stand 2.5 games up with 18 left to play. It's a pretty simple mathematical formula from here on out called "just win baby!"

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Washington (56-89)	0	0	2	5	1	0	0	0	0	8	12	1
N.Y. Mets (81-63) «	0	2	3	2	0	3	0	0	x	10	14	1

Player of the Game

New York

C. Delgado	AB	3
	R	3
	H	3
	HR	2
	RBI	3