VIDEO: Jim Joyce BLOWS Perfect Game Call

This is outrageous!

Must Have Mr Met Hat

NOTE:  I do not make any money posting these links.

I am a Mr Met fanatic.  In fact, my license plate is "Mr Met", and I have a great collection of anything and everything Mr Met.

This morning I found this hat, and I just had to share it with my readers.

It's a bit pricey at $24.99, but sometimes money just doesn't matter.

I just ordered it, and you can too from this website and link on lids.com.

HINT:  apply the code LIDSFGS at checkout and get free shipping!

The Golden Age....of the Strikeout?

Today is September 12, 2008--there are about 17 games left in the regular season.

It's been a very good season for a variety of reasons. Statistically, nothing really stands out--let me re-phrase that--there is one thing, and we'll get to it in a second.

There's been good slugging, but no one chasing 50+ home runs and 150 RBIs. Ryan Howard leads MLB with 43 HRs, and about a half dozen guys are in the mid-30s.

Good hitting? Sure, but no one is making a run at .400 or even .380. The top hitters for average are Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols, both at about .360, and the next highest guy is Matt Holliday at .329.

Pitching-wise it's been business as usual...there is one 20-game winner, Cliff Lee, and 2 or 3 other guys that might win 20.

So what is different about this year?

It's the strikeout.

Two players have a very good chance at striking out 200+ times on the year: Ryan Howard and Mark Reynolds. A third, Jack Cust, will get up to 190.

To put that in perspective, no one, in the entire history of major league baseball, has ever struck out 200 or more times in a season.

Ryan Howard is at 189 and will easily eclipse his record of 199 Ks, which was set just last year.

Mark Reynolds is at 183 and has already Kd 13 times this month.

Jack Cust is "only" at 174, but he's a sure bet to add at least 10-12 more Ks to his total.

In 2005 only 60 players had 100 or more Ks. In 2006, 74 players reached that figure. In 2007, that number rose to 89. If 2008 continues to form, we could see that number topped to over 90 players with 100 or more Ks.

Mets fans should actually take heart--the team has the fewest Ks in the National league and is 3rd in walks. When looking at the K leaders, you have to go all the way down to 41st to find a Met.

So to what do we attribute this continuing rise in Ks over the last few years? Better pitching? A wider strike zone? Technology? I will say: no, no and no. There seems to be another reason, though only a freakenomist would make the connection.

You have to ask--are steroids, or more specifically, a lack of steroids, part of this trend?

I think so. Bats and reflexes are slower, and those "big swings" are still there. The trend in increased Ks began in earnest when the testing and punishment for steroids came into play.

Homerun totals are down, strikeout numbers are up--the variables are the same, the game is the same, the strike zone is the same--in fact, nothing else has really changed at all these past few year--except steroid use.

Welcome to the new era of the "non chemical aided" free swinger....it's not a pretty sight.

Sortable Batting
RK	PLAYER	TEAM	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Ryan Howard	PHI	560	91	136	25	2	43	129	1	1	72	189	.243	.330	.525	.855
2	Mark Reynolds	ARI	487	84	118	25	3	27	92	10	1	56	183	.242	.321	.472	.794
3	Jack Cust	OAK	434	66	99	16	0	28	66	0	0	96	176	.228	.368	.459	.826
4	Dan Uggla	FLA	478	88	125	37	1	30	84	5	5	65	152	.262	.357	.531	.889
5	Chris Young	ARI	569	76	140	41	6	19	74	12	5	53	151	.246	.309	.439	.749
6	Carlos Pena	TAM	442	70	109	21	2	28	88	1	1	83	148	.247	.374	.493	.867
7	Adam Dunn	CIN/ARI	459	72	110	20	0	36	89	2	1	109	146	.240	.389	.519	.907
8	Matt Kemp	LAD	544	83	155	36	4	16	69	33	9	42	141	.285	.336	.454	.790
9	Jeremy Hermida	FLA	480	70	119	22	3	16	58	6	0	46	131	.248	.322	.406	.728
10	Jim Thome	CHW	448	82	111	26	0	31	84	1	0	80	130	.248	.364	.513	.878

Mets Sweep Braves, Extend Lead in the NL East

The Mets won again and swept the Braves. The red-hot team and extended their lead in the NL East to 2.5 games over the Phillies and 6 games over the floundering fish.

We'll have the full game report in the morning.

National League East
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road	East	Cent.	West	L10	Strk
N.Y. Mets	71	57	.551	-	38-23	32-34	28-20	13-16	20-15	8-2	W 3
Philadelphia	68	59	.535	2½	34-28	34-31	27-22	21-14	16-12	4-6	L 1
Florida	65	63	.508	6	35-31	30-32	27-21	15-17	18-15	3-7	L 2
Atlanta	56	72	.441	15	34-31	22-40	20-26	11-24	17-14	1-9	L 4
Washington	45	83	.352	26	23-39	22-44	17-30	14-23	6-20	1-9	W 1

Johan Santana Named NL Player of the Week

Johan Santana and Ty Wigginton split the honors.

Johan Santana went 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA, giving up just three runs on 11 hits and two walks while striking out 13 in 16 total innings. Thanks in part to his dominance, the Mets rolled to six wins in seven games against the Nationals and Pirates, and they are in first place in the hotly contested NL East.

Billy Wagner to Have Shoulder Examined

The NY Mets are reporting that closer Billy Wagner will have his shoulder examined on Monday during the Mets off day.

Manager Jerry Manuel said, "We want to know what was keeping him tight. It was 120 degrees. ... I was loose."

The tightness began, Wagner said, as he warmed up.

He didn't anticipate having his am examined by an MRI.

"I hope I don't have to spend that much time in the city," he said.

Wagner said the trapezius has bothered him for about two weeks.

"I'm old -- I'm supposed to hurt," said Wagner, who turns 37 on Friday.

Wagner struck out the side in the bottom of the 10th to earn the save as the Mets closed out their series with the Reds in Cincinnati.

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Just another day at the ballpark for the 2008 Mets. You know, 17 Hits, 10 Runs, a David Wright Homerun, strong outing by Pedro, 8-0 lead early.....and Billy Wagner on in the bottom of the 9th with the ballgame riding on his final pitch to Jayson Werth, the go ahead, and potential game winning, run for the Phils. Of course this was the same Jayson Werth that took Wags deep in the bottom of the 9th on Sunday to force extra innings.

Nervous, sweaty, irritated, unable to sit, here's the pitch from Wags--game over!

Crazy scoring day....went something like this:

8-0 Mets, and then...
10-1
10-2
10-3
10-5
10-7
10-9

Game Over...just like they draw it up in the manual. It was a wild ride! The Mets are now 45-44, and 2.5 games back in the NL East. With each game the club looks tighter, hits better, and shows a lot of the fight we expect from playoff caliber teams. The Mets, as has been reported on SNY, have a dugout full of chatter--pitchers now stay on the mound and hand the ball off to each other--it's a team with camaraderie, and that means something. Guys want to pick each other up. For those of you that have played sports, you know how good it feels to play ball with guys you like on a team with energy and kinship.

A lot of encouraging signs last night, none more so than Pedro Martinez, who looked like, well, Pedro Martinez. Pedro was more on top of the ball last night in his delivery. That translated into a lot more bite on his breaking pitches and more swings and misses. Pedro fanned 6 in 5 1/3, though he did look a little gassed in the 6th after running the bases and hitting an RBI single in the top half of the frame.

Is Pedro back? Maybe not all the way back, but I will say "Pedro is now here in 2008" and has a little ways to get back to 100%, but he's getting there. I think even he'd agree with that.

"My confidence is still an issue," Martinez said. "Without a doubt, this personal slump isn't over yet. I still have a lot of work to do."

The other encouraging sign from last night was the continued resurgence of the Mets offense. The Mets reached double digits in hits for the seventh time in nine games and now have 88 hits and 50 runs in their past seven contests.

"Maybe we're seeing the ball better," said center fielder Carlos Beltran, "we're getting on base and everything is starting to click."

The Mets can also point the finger at one Mr Professional Damion Easley as a reason for their resurgence---the guy is hot--no that's an understatement--they guy is so hot that he can turn sand into glass by waving his magic bat over it. Yeah, that's better.

How hot? Well he batted .340 in June, which was apparently just a tuneup for July.

Yup, he is 14 for 30 in July--a ridiculous .467. He has started all 7 games in July and is positively locked in on every at-bat. That puts pressure on the opposing pitcher, that moves runners along, that helps your teammates, that scores runs, that gets you to middle relievers quicker, that helps a lineup click....that is hot!

David Wright drove in 4 runs last night and now has 70 RBIs on the year. David Wright is not an All-Star...yet. He's in second place in the last man voting--I kind of hope he stays there.

Jose Reyes had two more hits, 2 more runs scored, and a stolen base last night...he now has 111 hits on the year, 66 Runs Sored, and 32 Stolen Bases....Jose Reyes is not an All-Star.

I was re-examining the Mets remaining schedule last night, and my eyes popped--they literally popped--in fact I had to take a break and put them back into their sockets.

The Mets have played 49 road games and only 40 home games. This means they have 41 home games remaining, and only 32 road games. Moreover, they don't have any more long road trips left, and they are done visiting the West Coast.

If you are a loyal reader (and I know you are) you'll remember how much I bagged on MLB for sending the Mets to the West Coast three times in June, with two of the trips occurring with one Mets 3-game homestand in the middle--ridiculous.

Well dear readers, let me say now that the brutal June schedule may have been a blessing in disguise, though it also may have contributed to Willie's dismissal, but that is pure supposition.

So what road games are left?

4 in Cincy
6 in Fla
3 in Houston
7 in Wash
4 in Pitt
2 in Philly
3 in Milwaukee
3 in Atl

Not bad--not bad at all. Did I mention the other thing in the Mets favor? 9 days off--yes, 9 off days--a ton by baseball standards. Seems as if the Mets first half schedule didn't allow for those "off day" thingies very often, so they load them up in the second half (when you need them the most).

So let's recap--the Mets are 2.5 games out, they only have 32 road games remaining, they don't have any more brutal road trips, Pedro is pitching better, the offense is clicking, Damion Easley can turn sand into glass with his bat, and David Wright and Jose Reyes are not all-stars.

Enjoy your coffee my peeps! Two young guns go tonight--Big Pelf against the amazing Tim Lincecum--could be a great one!

Jose Reyes Not an All-Star?

In what world does Miguel Tejada make the All-Star team over Jose Reyes? It's not like the Astros don't have another All-Star rep, they do, so there must be some other compelling reason.

Maybe Tejada is one of those honest, great guys, who never cheats and plays the game with a passion, so the fans and players love him? Ummmm, no.

Then what is it? Does he have an edge over Reyes in some statistical categories?

Let's look at the NL shortstops:

Player	Team		GP	GS	AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	SH	SF	OBP	SLG	OPS
Ramirez	FLA		86	86	.302	344	75	104	17	3	21	43	190	44	77	21	5	0	3	.386	.552	0.938
Reyes	NYM		85	85	.294	361	63	106	21	10	9	38	174	36	47	29	9	2	3	.355	.482	0.837
Tejada	HOU		87	86	.282	348	58	98	20	2	10	44	152	16	42	6	3	0	2	.319	.437	0.756
Guzman	WAS		86	86	.315	375	50	118	25	2	5	27	162	14	29	3	3	1	1	.342	.432	0.774
Theriot	CHC		80	76	.308	315	47	97	12	1	1	23	114	39	30	15	8	1	1	.387	.362	0.749
Drew	ARI		82	77	.256	313	45	80	19	5	12	30	145	17	54	2	1	2	3	.293	.463	0.756
Escobar	ATL		79	76	.289	311	44	90	11	1	6	30	121	36	41	2	4	3	1	.362	.389	0.751
Rollins	PHI		64	60	.267	258	37	69	18	4	6	29	113	24	25	19	0	2	0	.332	.438	0.770
Hardy	MIL		75	73	.289	277	35	80	19	0	10	34	129	29	40	2	1	3	1	.355	.466	0.821

Well, that's strange....Reyes has a higher batting average, more runs, more hits, more doubles, more triples, more stolen bases, a higher OBP, higher Slg% and a higher OPS...and it's not close. In the two categories that Tejada does have an edge, he has one more homerun and 6 more RBIs despite batting in a run producing spot in the order.

Reyes, in fact, leads MLB in triples, is 5th in Runs, 6th in Stolen Bases and 7th in Hits... in all of baseball. He is not an All-Star.

When someone figures this out, please let me know...also, please check Tejada's briefcase out for incriminating photos of Clint Hurdle watching a gladiator movie with a batboy.

Passing of the Torch: Jose Reyes Surpasses Derek Jeter

Is there any doubt that Jose Reyes is now a far, far superior player to Derek Jeter? Yes Jeter won all those championships years ago, and yes he is still the Captain, and heart and Soul, of the Yankees. That was the past....a great past, but the past.

So the question for the present is as follows: Is Derek Jeter still a great, or even good, player? The numbers say no. The numbers also point to the inevitable decline that all stars go through.

Derek Jeter has had an exceptional career...a Hall of Fame career. But these days he is a singles hitter who can't play defense, and his bat and foot speed are not nearly what they once were. How often have you heard the phrase, "Past a diving Jeter!" as he again fails to move a few feet to grab a ground ball.

Jose Reyes, on the other hand, keeps getting better. He already has 39 extra base hits, and is on pace for an outstanding 75 extra base hits in 2008 after compiling 60 last year and 68 in 2006.

To put that in perspective for our Jeter vs Reyes comparison, Derek Jeter had the following extra base hit stats for the last three seasons:

2005: 49
2006: 56
2007: 55

And where do these two stars stand in 2008? A comparison of the numbers shows the following:

Jeter:

SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	79	315	48	88	15	3	4	35	25	38	5	2	.279	.342	.384	.726
Career	1914	7744	1427	2444	401	57	199	968	786	1329	269	72	.316	.387	.459	.846
Last 7	7	28	5	6	2	0	0	2	4	4	0	0	.214	.313	.286	.598
Projected	155	618	94	173	29	6	8	69	49	75	10	4	.279	.342	.384	.726

Reyes:

SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	83	353	62	104	20	10	9	37	35	45	28	9	.295	.355	.484	.840
Career	679	2871	482	819	138	62	54	279	210	349	262	67	.285	.334	.433	.767
Last 7	8	35	5	11	0	2	0	3	4	4	1	2	.314	.385	.429	.813
Projected	160	680	120	200	39	19	17	71	67	87	54	17	.295	.355	.484	.840

As you can see, Jose Reyes leads Jeter in every stat, in some cases by an embarrassingly wide margin. Moreover, Reyes has 39 XBH to Jeter's 22.

The bottom line is that Jose Reyes is now firmly entrenched as the best SS in New York--and it's not close.

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Image via WikipediaWhat a brilliant game last night by our emerging pitching phenom, Mike Pelfrey.

All Big Pelf has done in his last 7 starts is hold the opposition to a 3.02 runs per game and go 4-0.

Big Pelf is now 6-6 and he looks like he has a real presence on the mound.

Speaking of hot Mets, Jose Reyes got his major league leading 10th triple last night. With 20 doubles, 10 triples, and 9 HRs, Reyes is an absolute extra-base hit machine. He's batting .295 and has an excellent .355 OBP to go along with a .484 slg %.

When your leadoff hitter has an .839 OPS with 28 stolen bases, you have yourselves someone pretty special on your squad.

Carlos Delgado anyone? Another dinger last night, and another guy who just looks like he is in that nice little groove where the good swings far outnumber the bad. I said it a few days ago, and I'll say it again--Carlos Delgado is going to have an outstanding second half...I can see him getting to 35 HRs and 100+ RBIs.

Ryan Church, Ryan Church, Ryan Church...he is 8 for 21 since his return, and the Mets are suddenly getting double digit hits and runs....coincidence? I think Not!

OK, so Luis Castillo is on the DL....ummm, good? Damion Easly hit .340 with .434 OBP in June (bet you didn't know that!), and he is another guy who is making great contact. Easley and crew can fill in nicely while Castillo gets fully healed, and then we can go from there.

One thing I love about Jerry Manuel is that he doesn't capitulate...he said he was giving Castillo a small chance, and then he made his move quickly and decisively to put him on the 15 day DL.

The Mets reached double digits in hits (10) for the fourth time in five games and have totaled 39 hits in their last three games. They also batted .313 (46-for-147) and scored 26 runs in splitting the four-game series with the Cardinals.

I was thinking back to some of the more ultra-moronic newspaper articles about Johan Santana and the "bad season" he is allegedly having. Well, here are his June numbers, please tell me if you think he had a "bad month" or a "good month".

Starts: 6
W-L: 1-4
IP: 39 2/3
ERA: 2.27
Ks: 38
BB: 15

OK, there's more, but for now I am going to pour myself a nice hot cup of coffee and savor the Mets win....it's on to Philly this weekend, and we have Santana going tonight!

Mets Misery

Another superb start wasted, but this time there would be no 13th inning heroics, only a crushing defeat and a team that, for all intents and purposes, is starting to look defeated.

David Wright, the poster boy for accountability and optimism, looks absolutely crushed right now in the dugout. The losses are taking a toll on the Mets young star.

The Mets faithful, who have supported this team to the tune of 3 million visitors per year, are angry--and they should be.

Change is a coming my friends, and it will be Willie--it has to be Willie.

Has he done anything egregiously wrong of late in his game management? Absolutely not, in fact I would say the opposite is true.

But as we've reported here for months, accountability starts with the leader, and Willie Randolph, as the Manager, is the leader of this bunch.

It's time for a change....maybe too late, but maybe soon enough to salvage 2008.

Has Major League Baseball Lost It's Mind?

The Mets have the strangest, most nonsensical and yes, stupid, schedule in June that I have ever seen.

ZERO division games and two West coast trips a few days apart.

This is just plain bad stuff...not good for the game, not good for anyone.

They can, and should, do better.

Willie Randolph's Day of Reckoning

Today is the day when Willie Randolph might get fired, or he could get a mini-lease on his managing life.

Willie is a good guy and, despite the protestations of many, a good manager. But he doesn't appear to be the right manager for these Mets, and that has been obvious since the season began.

Call it lack of faith, call it lack of chemistry, call it lack of motivation, call it fear of failure. The 2008 Mets are struggling to keep their collective heads above water, and like adding a catalyst to a chemical mixture, a change at the helm will cause a reaction.

Remember when Buddy Harrelson took over for Davey Johnson? The Mets went on a tear and nearly made the playoffs. That's what the Wilpon's want...someone who can come in and salvage this season.

Which Players will benefit? Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and the bench.

Which players will this hurt? Luis Castillo and Carlos Delgado.

So who will it be? Jerry Manuel? Gary Carter? (we kid) Ken Oberkfell? Wally Backman? Lee Mazilli?

If I were king for a day it would be Backman....yes the Wally Backman with the personal baggage.

You know what? The guy is exactly what this club needs right now--a kick in the pants. A fiery attitude that stands in polar opposition to Willie Randolph's even keel demeanor.

Could it happen? Sure. Will it? Doubtful. Looks like Jerry Manuel is going to be the guy, and that might not change much of anything.

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Image via WikipediaO-F-F-E-N-S-E!

It's a beautiful thing.

The Mets finished their three-game series with a flourish, sending eight runners across the plate and getting a "Good Ollie" effort.

Carlos Beltran continues to tear the cover off the ball. Beltran is 6 for his last 16 with 8 RBIs. "I feel my legs and my timing are almost getting there," Beltran said. "I don't want to say that I'm perfect, but it's getting close."

If that is "close" I will take close any time. He looks confident and ready at the plate, and not like a guess hitter struggling to make contact.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	3	7	0
N.Y. Mets «	3	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	x	8	14	0

W: O. Perez (3-3) L: J. Cueto (2-4) HR: CIN - None NYM - C. Beltran (3), R. Church (7)

Recap/Box · GameCenter

The rest of the Mets offensive stars are hitting as well--David Wright has come out of his mini-slump; Carlos Delgado is riding a 9 game hitting streak; Ryan Church hit another home run yesterday (he leads the club with 7), and Alou just goes up there and is Alou, ie, see ball, hit ball, drive in run. And a nice BTW--Brian Schneider is batting .301 on the year and is starting to show a bit of power.

So what to make of all this? Are the Mets back to where we thought they'd be with a lineup? The short answer is yes. Having Alou back in the lineup has restored order to the Mets universe. He is a right handed hitter who makes great contact and works the count, and he absolutely allows the other players to relax and find their rhythm. Willie Randolph agrees on the importance of chemistry and rhythm.

"To me, it doesn't matter who we're playing," Randolph said. "The Washington team plays us tough. We just need to win ballgames and execute and do the things that are conducive to us getting into a rhythm and playing better overall baseball."

Said David Wright: "We try to beat up on everybody. It doesn't matter who we're playing. To go out there and win a series, that's big."

"We have the type of offense, when we click, we're going to score a lot of runs," Wright said. "We can do it in a number of different ways. We can hit the home runs like we did today or we can play small ball, steal some bases. When everybody gets hot, it's a pretty scary lineup."

Ollie Perez had a very strong outing; in fact he was down right dominant through his first 5 innings before getting into a little trouble in the 6th. He seemed to go away from his fastball and drop his arm slot in the 6th, and the results were't great.

Randolph said Perez (3-3) gets in trouble when he "starts acting like a jazz player and improvising" with different arm angles and pitching rhythms. That's what happened in the sixth inning, when Perez went to a sidearm delivery on a pitch to Paul Bako that went into the dirt, rolled past catcher Brian Schneider and allowed Jeff Keppinger to score from third base for the third run of the inning.

"I was a little tired," Perez said. "It's been a tough week for us because we went to Arizona, the time was different, we flied like five hours and we had (a doubleheader). You just have to make pitches and get out of the inning."

But it's the offense we're all excited about. Yes folks, the cylinders are clicking--32 runs in their last 3 wins is evidence of that. Yes Arroyo had a nice game Saturday night, but that's going to happen. The key is to keep the momentum going against the Nationals and get a sweep, or at least 3 of 4.

Some stuff I like:

Newsday has a piece on Scott Schoeneweiss turning Boos into Cheers.

The Bergen Record talks about Ollie's Jolly Day.

Weather Looking "Iffy" for Shea and the Mets

What say you Mets fans?

Will the Mets play tonight or will the game get rained out?

Can David Wright break out of his slump?

Can Mike Pelfrey return to the form he displayed early in the season?

Will Carlos Delgado take a home curtain call?

Who is Willie going to have hit in the #2 hole?

Has your week been good or bad, and were you counting on a Friday night home game to make life just a tad bit better?

Keep those finger's crossed....early season rainouts after an off day are not a good thing!

Say it with me: No Mets Rainout!

Mike Pelfrey: The Mets Bubba

Now I remember who Mike Pelfrey reminds me of.

"Run, Pedro, Run!"

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Mets Scoreboard
Final 11th	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Pittsburgh (10-16)	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	4	8	1
N.Y. Mets (14-11) «	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	9	1

David Wright snapped an "oh'fer" night with a game winning RBI "single" deep to the right field corner in the bottom of the 11th to give the Mets the win over a game Pittsburgh Pirates team.

"I was begging the wind to keep it fair, and it barely stayed in," said Wright, who was 0-for-4 when he came up in the 11th. "It was the ball vs. the wind, and the wind was slowly taking it, but it got down just in time."

The game was filled with good and not so good moments, including two more home runs given up by Mets ace Johan Santana. It wasn't a great outing by Santana, but as Ken Davidoff at Newsday reports, "You haven't seen the best of Santana yet."

"They haven't seen a really good Johan yet," Doug Mientkiewicz, now with the Pirates, said yesterday, before the Mets and Pirates slogged their way to a 5-4 Mets victory in 11 innings. "Johan's always started slow. Even in Minnesota. He always started very slow. But then as soon as the season started developing, he was lights out."

When asked about last night's game, Mets manager Willie Randolph was pretty pragmatic, "We'll take the win, although it wasn't real pretty." Willie's frustration probably stemmed from the Mets woeful 1 for 10 performance with runners on base.

The star, and some might say the near-goat, of the night was Jose Reyes. Reyes reached base in all six at-bats with 3 walks and 3 hits, including his third triple of the year.

Reyes also had a throwing error in the 9th that led to the tying run. That run, though unearned, was the first that Billy Wagner has allowed all season.

Ryan Church continued his strong 2008 with a 2-run home run. In a terrific article at the NY Daily News, Church talks about his family and their impact on his life.

On the Mets team website, they are already pimping him for an All-Star slot. Ummmm, OK, it is waaaaay too early for that. Let's just enjoy his solid play and hope he can maintain this pace for a full season.

In a night where the bullpen pitched 5 1/3 innings, we saw more of the good/bad that has defined the Mets of early 2008.

NY Mets	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Santana	5.2	2	2	2	3	7	2	3.12
Feliciano (H, 5)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.08
Heilman (H, 5)	0.1	1	0	0	1	0	0	6.28
Schoeneweis (H, 4)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.08
Sanchez (H, 4)	1.0	2	1	1	2	1	0	1.17
Wagner (BS, 1)	2.0	2	1	0	0	2	0	0.00
Sosa (W, 3-1)	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6.89

The first reliever was Pedro Feliciano, who came in and got the one out that helped Santana escape with the lead. He mixed his devastating slider with superb location to get the Mets out of a 6th inning bases-loaded jam. Adam Laroche looked overmatched against the crafty lefthander.

Aaron Heilman entered the game to a chorus of boos (enough already Mets fans!), and gave up a walk and a hit before getting an out. Scott Schoeneweiss, who is having a heck of a year, relieved Heilman and got two key outs. The final out came on a close play at home after Mets catcher Casanova let the ball get by him, he quickly recovered and fired a strike to Schoeneweis covering at the plate to nail Jose Bautista trying to score from third. In all honesty Bautista looked safe, but the Mets got the benefit of the call on the close play.

In the 8th Mets manager brought in Duaner Sanchez to try and hold the Mets 4-2 lead. It's obvious that Sanchez is looked at as the Mets 8th inning guy this year, and this was his first major test. It wasn't a good one.

Sanchez loaded the bases and never looked comfortbale on the mound. The gritty reliever hung in there and only gave up one run.

He loaded the bases on a walk to Xavier Nady, then walked Chris Gomez to decrease the lead to one run. He got out of the inning on a grounder from Jose Bautista and a popup by Ronny Paulino.

Mission semi-accomplished: "He was able to dodge a big bullet there," manager Willie Randolph said.

In the 9th Jose Reyes' error allowed the Pirates to get the key runner on base. After Billy Wagner uncorked a wild pitch and gave up a bloop single to Freddy Sanchez, the game was tied.

Wagner then settled down and pitched the rest of the 9th, and the 10th inning, in his usual dominating fashion.

Jorge Sosa pitched the 11th for the win. Surprising stat of the year: Jorge Sosa is tied for the Mets lead in wins.

The bottom of the 11th finally brought the game winning run.

Endy Chavez singled off John Van Benschoten (0-1), Pittsburgh's sixth pitcher, to start things off. Van Benschoten, called up Sunday when Matt Morris was released, balked to move Chavez to second. On the SNY replay you could clearly see him lean in and flinch before stepping off the rubber.

Marlon Anderson sacrificed Chavez to third and Jose Reyes was walked intentionally. Luis Castillo came up with a chance to drive the run in, but he patiently drew another walk to load the bases for David Wright.

Wright then hit a fly that just barely landed inside the right-field line, causing a delayed reaction from the players and fans.

My reaction was a sigh of relief.

Enjoy your coffee Mets fans!